Manolis Glezos

Manolis Glezos

Born: September 9, 1922
Died: March 30, 2020
in Apiranthos, Naxos, Kingdom of Greece
Manolis Glezos (Greek: Μανώλης Γλέζος; 9 September 1922 – 30 March 2020) was a Greek left-wing politician, journalist, author, and folk hero, best known for his participation in the World War II resistance.

In Greece, he is best remembered for taking down the Flag of Nazi Germany from the Acropolis during the Axis occupation of Greece, along with Lakis Santas. After the end of the Occupation, his left-wing political beliefs and activism led to him being sentenced to death thrice; his imprisonments and legal troubles were often the topic of international interest, until his permanent release in 1971.

Since the restoration of democracy in 1974, he had been active as a politician, becoming a Member of the Greek Parliament for various left-wing parties over the years. In 2014, at the age of 91, he became a Member of the European Parliament for a second time in his life, for Syriza, making him the oldest-ever member of the European Parliament. He was also the most voted-for candidate in Greece.

Glezos was an award-winning journalist, and worked as head-editor and editor for the left-wing newspapers Rizospastis and I Avgi, which are popular to this day; he also published six books.

Movies for Manolis Glezos...

Laboratory Greece
Title: Laboratory Greece
Character: Self
Released: December 8, 2019
Type: Movie
A journey through Greece and Europe’s past and recent history: from the Second World War to the current crisis. It is a historical documentary, a look into many stories. «If Democracy can be destroyed in Greece, it can be destroyed throughout Europe» Paul Craig Roberts
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The Last Partisan
Title: The Last Partisan
Character: Himself
Released: March 2, 2018
Type: Movie
An integral part of Greek folklore, Manolis Glezos is best known as the man who tore the swastika flag from the Acropolis during the Nazi invasion in 1941. Since then he has lived a mercurial existence; often caught between moments of glory and controversy as he continued to battle for his ideals. With the country knee-deep in a crushing financial crisis, Glezos is back in the limelight, elected as the oldest member of the European Parliament in 2014, at the age of 92. Yet he won't even discuss "the flag incident" refusing to be pigeonholed as a one-hit-wonder. Scolding, lecturing and joking along the way, he develops a tug-of-war relationship with the filmmakers, as they uncover the man behind the myth.
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The Chronicle of an extermination
Title: The Chronicle of an extermination
Character: Himself
Released: March 16, 2013
Type: Movie
Hortiatis is one of the numerous Greek villages whose inhabitants were massacred during the German occupation during World War II. The documentary attempts a “reenactment” of the Hortiatis holocaust through the first-hand testimony of eye-witnesses, while underscoring the significance of the preservation of historical memory. The unfolding of events is shaped by official sources and through individual perspectives and personal experiences of common people, shedding new light on these historic events.
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Debtocracy
Title: Debtocracy
Released: April 6, 2011
Type: Movie
Debtocracy seeks the causes of the Greek debt crisis and proposes solutions sidelined by the government and the dominant media. It follows countries like Ecuador that created debt Audit Commissions and tracks this process in Greece.