Dr. Menelaos Charalambidis, historian and PhD holder from the University of Athens, will be the guest on “Remarkable Personalities” on Voice of Greece, on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, at 22:00 (Athens time), hosted by Stavroula Karali.
Dr. Charalambidis, author of the books “The Experience of Occupation and Resistance in Athens”, “The Collaborators”, and “The December Events of 1944”, shares with the listeners of the Voice of Greece the dark pages of the German Occupation. He focuses on the role of women, who moved from the margins of life to the forefront through their participation in the Resistance. As the historian emphasizes, “for the first time, women moved from being extras in life to becoming protagonists.”
The historian, researcher, and author speaks about Lela Karagianni, a mother who never broke down even when the occupiers brought her seven children before her and threatened to kill them unless she revealed her comrades. He also refers to Elektra Apostolou, editor-in-chief of underground publications in occupied Athens, who was brutally executed and whose body was desecrated even after her death.
Dr. Charalambidis also talks about the young heroines of the struggle, 17-year-old Iro Konstantopoulou, executed by the German occupiers, and Eutychia Moriki, who longed to join the armed resistance but had no weapon. He mentions Eleni Glykatzi from Vyronas and the brave young women who, with self-sacrifice, stood in front of the tank during the great and bloody demonstration of 1943.
In the program, Dr. Charalambidis also describes the role of Asia Minor refugees in the Resistance, people who, only 18 years after their first catastrophe, could not bear to experience another.
Finally, he talks about the historical walking tours he organizes every week in Athens, guided routes through the streets of occupied Athens and the Resistance, where the traces of war remain indelible to this day.
Produced and Presented by Stavroula Karali
Broadcast: Wednesday, 29 October 2025, 22:00–23:00 (Athens time)
