Athens Polytechnic,14 to 17 November 1973: When 350 dreamer-adventurers created the biggest defeat of the postwar labour movement

Σημείωση Gatoulea: Παραθέτω τη μετάφραση του κειμένου μου «Πολυτεχνείο, 14-17 Νοέμβρη 1973: Όταν 350 ονειροπόλοι-τυχοδιώκτες δημιούργησαν τη μεγαλύτερη ήττα του μεταπολεμικού εργατικού κινήματος» όπως αποδόθηκε στα αγγλικά από τον διαδικτυακό φίλο και σύντροφο DbO και μπορείτε να την βρείτε στην ιστοσελίδα του.

Όταν μου πρότεινε να το κάνει, δεν πίστευα πως θα ολοκλήρωνε το project…ειδικά μέσα σε μία ημέρα, μόνο!

Με τιμάει αφάνταστα η προσφορά του και θα ήθελα να τον χαιρετίσω για μια φορά ακόμα…

με τη γροθιά σφιγμένη και υψωμένη!

Translated by DbO

November 14, 1973

The Polytechnic is surrounded by police and students are gathered in the courtyard throwing Seville oranges. In the global-student assembly of the Law school, the news is spread that there’s fighting at the Polytechnic the assembly decides to descend to the University.

Rizospastis[1] 13/11/2005

A syndicalist of the Revolutionary Left from the Physics-Mathematics [course],  proposes to stop the assembly and make towards the Polytechnic.

Ergatiki Allillegyi[2] 09/11/2011

The leaders of both Communist Parties, during the first day in the Polytechnic were shocked that policy was determined by the line of anti-capitalist Left. They decided to stay “kneading” the perspective of the “coordinated retreat.” Already since Wednesday evening, that has been their proposal. When defeated, they began to struggle against the “leftist slogans” such as “General Strike” and “Revolution people.” But the General Assemblies of schools organized within the Polytechnic isolate this perspective.

Ergatiki Allillegyi 09/11/2011

On the subject of the Athens Polytechnic uprising against the Junta in the November of ’73 there have been written and spoken thousands of words and stories. It is only to be expected that there’s a lot of “storytelling” for such a historical event.

I will attempt to outline a perspective that has been covered extensively for decades. You see, the “myth” of the Polytechnic has attempted to describe those three days as a pandemic, celebratory and peaceful uprising of the whole Greek people against a handful of ridiculous and isolated dictators who survived only thanks to force of arms and American aid. “Everyone” had taken up arms (peacefully, always!)… Pangalos had been assembling bombs in the Latin Quarter in the May of ’68 and Simitis was placing them in the streets of Athens. On the other hand, the current Minister of Citizen Protection Papoutsis, along with Laliotis and Damanaki had organized the “mass movement” and the “sidewalks”, so that millions of people could flock to demonstrations, sit-ins and strikes. Διαβάστε τη συνέχεια του άρθρου »