Athens General Strike of 1943

a strike that occurred in February and March during the occupation of Greece by fascist Germany. The strike began in response to a call from the Communist Party of Greece and the National Liberation Front (NAF) after the discovery of a secret decree by the authorities “On Forced Labor of the Urban Population of Greece” (January 30) and newspaper information about the planned mobilization of Greek workers for deportation to Germany. The demonstrations of February 24 in Athens (100,000 participants) and March 5 in Athens and Piraeus (300,000 participants) were accompanied by clashes with the police and the occupying troops. In the second demonstration the demonstrators stormed the Ministry of Labor and destroyed the lists of workers who were slated for deportation to Germany. Eighteen persons were killed and over 100 wounded in the clash with the occupying troops. Under pressure from strikes and mass demonstrations in Thessaloniki, Volos, Kalamai, Sparti, and other cities. Hitler’s forces abandoned their plans for the mobilization.