Politics in Modern Greece and the Influence of the United States 1974 was an important year for Greek politics. It was like a year that would change Greece and its politics forever. The year 1974 may not matter to most countries, but for Greece it was the year the decision to move to democracy was made. Before this transition was decided, Greece was not doing well economically. After being attacked many times and losing soldiers in World War II, even though Greece was in ruins, they began their war. There were many events leading up to this, but the first major event was the death of Prime Minister Metaxas in 1941. Due to this sudden death, the communist party, for the first time since Mataxas' banning of communism, took control of parliament. This meant that a communist prime minister was in power. This is where the problems begin. Since Greece was so focused on their army winning the war, everyone's main goal was to do their part to win the war against the Axis powers. Communists create an army. The Democratic Party obviously didn't want to be left out in regards to helping win the war. And soon their army was called the Democratic Army. Immediately after the victory of the war, Greece experienced a year of peace and tension in which the democratic party took control of the parliament after re-election. Newly elected politicians in Greece insisted that their elections were "fair". Even today it is not known whether they were right or not, but the evidence shows that they were not right. And so, with the Democratic Party in power, “elected” Democratic politicians sought to eliminate communism with labor camps. Outraged by this, war broke out against the Democrats. Meanwhile in the United States all aid to the USSR had been suspended which began the Cold War. President Truman... middle of paper... feared a civil war. The government was losing control at an ever-faster pace and soon gave the people what they wanted: freedom and democracy. And so the question you might ask is, “was Greece successful?” “have all their previous problems disappeared?” The answer, unfortunately, is no. The situation in Greece is almost the same as when it transitioned to democracy. The Greeks have 20% of their citizens unemployed and this year the settlers have begun to turn over, a new civil war is about to break out. However, today the question is: “will the Greeks ever be as prosperous as their ancient ancestors?” Only fate can tell us. Bible or Graphic www.Marxists.org/archives/40s-50s 2011 Marxists Internet Archive www.trumanlibray.org/archives 1955 Truman Library Works Cited www.Marxists.org/archives/40s-50s 2011 Marxists Internet Archive www.trumanlibray .org /archives Truman Library del 1955