Photographs from the Execution of the 200 Communists in Kaisariani:“Fearless in the face of death, with a clear gaze, these documents belong to the people!”

On Wednesday, 18 February a rally with mass participation of young people was held by the Attica Regional Organization of KNE. Hundreds of KNE members, together with descendants and relatives of the 200 executed communists, marched to the site of their sacrifice at the Kaisariani shooting range, holding placards bearing their names. Upon arrival, their photographs were displayed at the very spots where they had walked with their heads held high, showing unparalleled courage as they faced death with steady gazes and raised fists.

The rally was attended by Dimitris Koutsoumbas, General Secretary of the CC of the KKE, Thodoris Kotsantis, Secretary of the CC of KNE as well as by the communist mayors of Kaisariani, Ilias Stamelos; of Chaidari, Michalis Selekos; and of Petroupolis, Vangelis Simos.

Below you can find the appeal to the youth circulated by the Attica Regional Organization of KNE:

The previously unknown photographs depicting the final moments of the 200 communists—overwhelmingly members and cadres of the Communist Party of Greece—shortly before their execution by the Nazi occupiers on May Day 1944 at the Kaisariani Shooting Range, constitute historical evidence and documents of inestimable value, a source of inspiration for the youth of our country.

An image may condense a thousand words; however, in this case even that is not enough to describe one of the most outstanding moments of our people’s struggle - the anti-occupation struggle, the epic resistance. These photographs are a symbol of struggle. They capture the moral greatness of the communists who marched towards death unbowed, with unwavering faith in the justice of the struggle for a world without the exploitation of man by man and, especially today, they constitute a source of inspiration and strength for every young man and woman.

The photographs belong to the people! Their place is not in trade, in auctions with an uncertain outcome, or in private collections. They are part of the people’s history; they are a shocking testimony to the heroic struggles and sacrifices of the people and, for this reason, it must be immediately ensured that they are returned to the EAM National Resistance Museum of the Municipality of Kaisariani, to the Municipality of Chaidari, and to the heroic KKE, the lifeblood of the EAM Resistance, the mind, heart and organizer of the struggle, so that the sacrifices of our people may be vindicated. Because the heroic history of our people is not a footnote in books; it is a living legacy of struggle that continues!

These photographs rightly frighten and disturb the apologists of today’s system. For this reason, various fascist elements, on the very day when the youth of our country was shaken by these photographs, once again chose to act in the dark, attempting to destroy the marble plaques bearing the names of the 200 executed communists at the Kaisariani Shooting Range, revealing clearly what they represent and whom they serve. Once again, they proved that they are the most hateful enemies of the people; that they serve the system of exploitation and wars, that they have nothing in common with the patriotism of the people who fought for justice and who, during the period of the Occupation, sided with the bourgeois class of the country, collaborated with the Nazi occupiers and their allies. History has charged them with this filth and betrayal and has thrown them into its dustbin. An answer will also be given to those who deliberately distort history, slander and alter the ideals and the content of the heroic history of our people in order to tailor it to their own measures. They will not succeed!

Young people today draw inspiration, learn, and continue, walking in the footsteps of the struggles of our people and its heroes; we pick up the thread and hold high the red flag that took its red colour from blood and sacrifices.

In the raised fist of our comrades in front of the rifles of the firing squad, we see the strength of the ordinary person who can rise above fear, continuing until the very last moment to remain faithful to their aims and ideals.

In their clear gaze and their smile as they march towards death, there is reflected the deeply scientifically substantiated knowledge that the struggle of the peoples will push the wheel of history forward.

The 200 of Kaisariani do not ask us to honour them; they ask us to continue on the road they charted: to confront the barbaric capitalist system; to march on the road of overthrowing the system until the final victory—socialism–communism!

The Attica Regional Organization of KNE calls on all members and friends of KNE to seek out, read, and learn the heroic history of the KKE and of our people, which constitutes a source of inspiration and lessons for the present and the future.

In every school, university, workplace and neighbourhood of Athens, let us spread the historical truth, the call to walk in the footsteps of the heroes of our people, to hold tight to the thread of the struggle for overthrow. Let us widely disseminate the relevant publications of our Party, which constitute an important weapon in the hands of youth. We continue the effort for the success of the Panhellenic Collective Research Project Competition for pupils, which can contribute to familiarity with the history of our country.

We call on school councils, student associations and other youth bodies to take multifaceted initiatives of honour and knowledge, such as historical walks, visits to the Museum of EAM National Resistance in Kaisariani, in Haidari and elsewhere, screenings of relevant films, etc.