17 November 1973, a tank at the gates of the Polytechnic, photos: www.naftemporiki.gr
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the restoration of democracy, the Greek Parliament Foundation is opening an exhibition entitled, The Dark Seven Years 1967-1974: The Colonels’ Dictatorship.
The exhibition will be opened by the Parliament Speaker Evangelos Meimarakis at the Hellenic Parliament Foundation Exhibition Hall, 14, Amalias Ave, on Wednesday, November 19, 19:00.
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Korydallos prison. Photo of prisoner Maria Kalergi
Visitors will be able to choose their way through the exhibition: following the exhibits chronologically or performing their own research based on archive information in specific places within the premises.
Photographs, newspaper front pages, manuscripts, posters, handwritten notes, etc. highlight various aspects of those sombre seven years. The focus is on how democratic society was shattered through violations of human rights and personal freedoms. This exhibition also features the resistance organised inside the country and the international support to the fight against the dictatorship.
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27 September 1971. Lady Amalia Fleming being brought before the military tribunal
The exhibits come from Greek and foreign archives, both public and private, e.g. the parliament’s library, the Contemporary Social History Archives, the Benaki Museum, the state radio and television archives, the General State Archives of Greece, Τhe Hellenic Literary and Historical Archive, the Gennadius Library, and many others.
In parallel, a symposium will be held on the topic of "The dictatorship of the colonels and the restoration of democracy", on 10 and 11 November, in the Senate hall of the Parliament. Prominent historians, lawyers, political scientists, etc. will discuss a wide range of issues: the political climate during the period prior to the dictatorship (1961 - 1967), the regime’s ideology, the court trials, the opposition inside the country and the overseas activities against the junta, Greece’s foreign policy at the time, the economy, corruption in public life, the response of the spiritual elite, the restoration of democracy on 24 July 1974, the establishment of a national unity government and the challenges it encountered, the referendum and the adoption of the Constitution in 1975.
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December 22, 1971. The funeral of Giorgos Seferis
Information
Duration of the exhibition: 20.11.2014 – 12.06.2015.
Hours: workdays (excluding Thursday): 9:00 to 16:00; Thursday: 9:00 to 20:00; weekends: 10:00 to 15:00 . Phone: 210 3735109, 210 3692429 (9:00 - 16:00).