An untold story is brought to light for the first time in the new radio documentary of the series “Unguarded Passage”, airing on Friday, May 16, 2025, from 13:00 to 14:00.
The radio documentary, titled “My Uncle Alekos Konstantinidis”, traces the life and journey in Greece of Pontic refugee Alekos Konstantinidis, leading up to his execution in Kaisariani on May Day, 1944. Alekos Konstantinidis was one of the 200 communists executed in Kaisariani—a former political prisoner under the Metaxas regime, which handed him and other Akronafplia detainees over to the Nazi occupiers.
Alekos Konstantinidis, the eldest of three brothers—Grigoris and Michalis being the younger—was born in Batumi (then part of Russia) in the early 1900s. In 1919, like many other Greeks, he arrived in Greece and settled in Kalamaria. He joined the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), remaining loyal to its ideals until his death.
The main narrator is Giorgos Konstantinidis, Alekos’s nephew and son of his brother Michalis. The documentary also features actor Takis Vamvakidis, who recites in the Pontic dialect a moving poem written by Giorgos about his uncle’s execution.
Researched, produced and presented by Thomas Sideris
Broadcast: Friday, May 16, 2025, 13:00–14:00 (Athens time)
