The Civil War

Already since the beginning of 1946, the Soviet Union had demanded the withdrawal of the British forces from Greece, at the same time that the British interference in the Greek affairs was increasingly becoming a wide military engagement. From 1946 onwards, the forces of the left in Greece received material aid from the communist regimes established in neighbouring countries, while the Greek government enjoyed the increased military assistance not just of Britain but also of the U.S.A. which had already started to play a crucial role in European affairs.

As the Varkiza agreements had collapsed, there was now no political will to seek a compromise solution. Until the end of 1946 the civil war was a reality. During the years 1946-1949 the country was put to the test for a second time, without basically having recovered. Its social structure suffered new deep scars, while the material losses in the country's public infrastructure and resources were total.