“Unfortunately, the theories of the interwar period, the theories of living space that were the starting point of World War II, are nowadays reappearing. Our neighbour from the East, with its revisionist views, does not hide its ambitions. Therefore, the first and foremost thing we need is national unity. This monument and all those who fell during the saga of national resistance remind us that the struggle for freedom, democracy, justice and dignity is an ongoing one. Their memory is eternal”. With these words, the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Group of the New Democracy, MP of Larissa, Maximos Charakopoulos, concluded his address at the event of honour and remembrance organised by the Municipality of Farsala and the Municipal Community of Dasolofos, for the 40 patriots hanged by the German occupation troops and their collaborators, on 31 May 1944, at the location “Orman Magoula”, in Kato Dasolofos, Farsala.
It is noted that after the memorial service by the parish priest Fr. Nikolaos Georgoulopoulos and the laying of wreaths at the monument were followed by greetings and a speech on the chronicle of the sacrifice of the patriots, in the presence of relatives of the hanged and from Pelion.
The MP and historical researcher noted in his address that “we are not only performing a sacred duty, honoring the memory of the executed patriots here in Orman Magulah, but also a duty to remind younger generations of their debt to their country. We therefore honour the memory of 40 heroes who fell for the freedom of the homeland, this highest ideal, in retaliation for the guerrilla sabotage that resulted in the death of four German soldiers. Next to the epic of national resistance, to the heroes for whom we erect respective monuments throughout the country, and whose names are written in gold letters in the deltas of history, there is a stigma that must not be forgotten. The stigma of dogmatism. The fact that a pitifully small, tiny minority collaborated with the conqueror and in black letters exists as a reminder in references in history.”
Also, the head of the Southwestern parliamentary group pointed out that “the second thing that comes to mind when we talk about the national resistance is the need for national unity, because unfortunately the epic of national resistance was followed by civil strife, the civil war that left so much suffering in our country for many, many years.
And the third thing that the sacrifice of the 40 patriots and the thousands of Greeks who fell during the epic of national resistance reminds us of is where the prevalence of totalitarian ideologies such as Nazism and fascism leads. I say this because we are seeing the resurgence of such ideologies in Europe after more than eight decades since the Second World War, which bloodied Europe for the second time. A Europe that sees the good of peace that we thought we had acquired being tested by the war in Ukraine and in its wider Middle East neighbourhood.”
Finally, it is noted that earlier, the Thessalian politician congratulated the runners who participated in the “Vassili – Dasolofos” race of historical memory in honour of the 40 patriots hanged by the German occupation troops.
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