Georgios Tsolakoglou facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Georgios Tsolakoglou
Γεώργιος Τσολάκογλου
Prime Minister of the Hellenic State
In office 30 April 1941 – 2 December 1942
Deputy	Konstantinos Logothetopoulos
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Konstantinos Logothetopoulos
Personal details
Born	April 1886 Rentina, Karditsa
Died	22 May 1948(1948-05-22) (aged 62) Athens, Greece
Nationality	Greek
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Soldier
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of Greece (until 1924) Second Hellenic Republic (1924–1935)  Kingdom of Greece (1935–1941)
Branch/service	Hellenic Army
Rank	Lieutenant General
Battles/wars	First Balkan War Second Balkan War World War I Asia Minor Campaign Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Greco-Italian War Battle of Greece

Georgios Tsolakoglou (born April 1886 – died May 22, 1948) was a Greek army officer. He became the first Prime Minister of the Greek government that worked with the Axis powers (Germany and Italy) during their occupation of Greece from 1941 to 1942.

Early Military Career

Georgios Tsolakoglou was an officer in the Hellenic Army. He took part in several important conflicts. These included the Balkan Wars, the First World War, and the Asia Minor Campaign.

The Greco-Italian War

During the war against Italy, Tsolakoglou was a Lieutenant General. He led a part of the Greek army in Western Macedonia. When Germany invaded Greece and captured the city of Thessaloniki in April 1941, his army was ordered to retreat. However, German forces quickly cut off the Greek army's escape route.

Surrender of the Greek Army

When it became clear that further fighting was hopeless, Tsolakoglou and other senior generals decided to surrender. On April 20, 1941, he signed a surrender agreement with a German commander. This agreement did not include Italy, which the Greeks felt they had defeated. However, at the insistence of Benito Mussolini, the Italian leader, the surrender ceremony was repeated two days later to include Italian representatives.

Tsolakoglou later wrote to Adolf Hitler, offering to lead a government that would work with the Germans. Hitler accepted this offer, hoping it would help Germany control Greece more easily. Tsolakoglou believed his actions prevented more suffering for the Greek people. He felt proud of his decision to surrender.

Prime Minister During Occupation

Forming the Government

On April 30, 1941, Georgios Tsolakoglou became the Prime Minister of a government that cooperated with the Axis powers. Other generals from the Greco-Italian War joined his cabinet. The Archbishop Chrysanthus of Athens refused to swear him in, so a new archbishop, Damaskinos of Athens, performed the ceremony.

Tsolakoglou's government had limited support. Many of its members were generals. One minister, Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, was a professor whose main qualification was being related to a German Field Marshal. Another, Platon Hadzimikalis, was a businessman known for being very corrupt.

Italian Occupation of Greece

Tsolakoglou tried to prevent Italy from occupying Greece. He told German officials that Greeks had defeated Italy and would find an Italian occupation humiliating. He warned that Italian control could lead to chaos. Both the German Foreign Office and the German army supported Tsolakoglou's view. They believed Greece could be controlled with fewer German troops if Italy was kept out.

However, Hitler decided to move most German troops out of Greece to prepare for the invasion of the Soviet Union. He ordered that Italian forces replace them. Under the surrender terms, Germany kept control of important areas like Athens and Thessaloniki. The rest of Greece was occupied by Italian and Bulgarian forces.

Bulgarian Annexation of Northern Greece

The decision to give parts of Macedonia and Thrace to Bulgaria greatly hurt Tsolakoglou's government. Bulgarians were traditional enemies of the Greeks. The Bulgarians immediately took over these areas and began forcing Greek officials and citizens to leave. Tsolakoglou's efforts to stop these expulsions by writing to German and Italian officials were unsuccessful. This made him very unpopular.

In 1942, Tsolakoglou toured northern Greece. He told Greek refugees that Hitler would not allow them to lose any territory and that they would soon return home. He often ended his speeches with "Long live a greater Greece!" He hoped that if he cooperated enough, Hitler would reward Greece with more land.

The Great Famine

Tsolakoglou's government tried to help with the severe economic problems caused by the German occupation. However, his efforts were not successful. He also failed to stop the widespread black market. In May 1941, he announced harsh punishments, including the death penalty, for people hoarding food. But this did not solve the problem.

Greece experienced a terrible period known as the Great Famine in 1941-1942. Around 300,000 Greeks died because the German occupation forces continued to take food, without caring for the Greek people. In Athens, the number of deaths increased sharply, and the birth rate dropped. Overall, about 555,000 Greeks, or 8% of the population, died during World War II. The Great Famine was the main reason for these deaths. Tsolakoglou's government had promised to protect the Greek people, but it could do nothing to change German policies. This completely discredited his government.

End of His Term

By late 1942, both the Italians and Germans began to distrust Tsolakoglou. They complained that he kept demanding that Bulgaria return the Greek territories it had occupied. His strong sense of Greek nationalism led him to demand that Greece be treated as an equal in the "New Order in Europe." However, the Germans and Italians saw Greece as a subordinate country.

Tsolakoglou remained Prime Minister until December 2, 1942. He was then replaced by Konstantinos Logothetopoulos.

Trial and Imprisonment

After Greece became independent again, Tsolakoglou was arrested. In 1945, he was tried by a special court for working with the enemy. He was sentenced to death. However, his sentence was changed to life imprisonment. Georgios Tsolakoglou died in prison in 1948 from leukemia.

See also

In Spanish: Georgios Tsolákoglu para niños