Kimonas or Kimon Zografakis ( el, Κίμωνας ή Κίμων Ζωγραφάκης; 1918 – 23 November 2004), frequently referred to by his nom de guerre, Black Man, was a distinguished

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

partisan in the

Cretan resistance The Cretan resistance ( el, Κρητική Αντίσταση) was a resistance movement against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy by the residents of the Greek island of Crete during World War II. Part of the larger Greek ...

from 1941 to 1944 against the Axis occupation forces.Αφιέρωμα - Κίμωνας Ζωγραφάκης, Πατρίς onLine, 24 Νοεμβρίου 2004
archived her

/ref>

Early years

Kimonas Zografakis was born and raised in the village of Kastelli, Heraklion, Kastelli Pediados in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

. His parents were Georgios (nicknamed ''Xirouhis'', Greek: ''Ξηρούχης'') and Ekaterini (née Katzagiannakis) Zografakis, who had two daughters and six sons. During the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdoms of Italy and G ...

(1940–41), Kimon Zografakis served on the Albanian front.

World War II

After the surrender of mainland Greece in April 1941, Zografakis returned to Crete. He participated in the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island ...

, fighting at Kokkini Chani, just east of Heraklion, Crete along the coastal highway. After the fall of Crete, he rejoined his family at Kastelli. In early 1942, the German occupation forces started the expansion of the nearby

airfield An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...

. Zografakis' father, elected as the president of the local community, was ordered to organize his fellow villagers into forced labor camps at the behest of their Germans occupiers. However, he was unwilling to cooperate and he resigned from his post. He moved his family to the village of Kastamonitsa, a village just southeast of Kastelli. At Kastamonitsa, the entire family partook in the resistance, developing links with EOK.

Special Operations Executive

Young Kimon sought an opportunity to reach the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, and thus, joined Great Britain's 8th Army in North Africa who were fighting the Axis countries. In early June 1942, he got his chance when he assisted a group of SBS commandos carrying out th
sabotage of the Kastelli Airfield
Doundoulakis, H. and Gafni, G. ''Trained to be an OSS Spy,'' Ch. 3, Master Plans and Impending Adventures, p. 33, Xlibris, 2014. After the operation, he followed the British commandos to the

where he fought in battles at El Alamein and

Mersa Matruh Mersa Matruh ( ar, مرسى مطروح, translit=Marsā Maṭrūḥ, ), also transliterated as ''Marsa Matruh'', is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highway ...

. He later joined Force 133 and trained as a parachutist and

saboteur Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identiti ...

. After returning to Crete in July 1943, he took part in the second sabotage against the Kastelli Airfield under the orders of Anders Lassen.Harder, Thomas. ''Anders Lassens krig'', København, Information, 2010 Zografakis eventually escaped again to Egypt. In October 1943, after the battle of Kato Simi and the

Viannos massacres The Viannos massacres ( el, Σφαγές της Βιάννου / Ολοκαύτωμα της Βιάννου) were a mass extermination campaign launched by German forces against the civilian residents of around 20 villages located in the areas of ...

, the Germans arrested many Greek officers. This was in reprisal for the death of German soldiers and for their complicity with the

Cretan Resistance The Cretan resistance ( el, Κρητική Αντίσταση) was a resistance movement against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy by the residents of the Greek island of Crete during World War II. Part of the larger Greek ...

as well as assisting the SOE. Among them was Kimonas' brother, Giannis, who was a reserve second lieutenant injured at the Albanian front. Giannis Zografakis was court-martialed and sentenced to death with four other officers. They were executed in Agia Prison near Canea,

. Later, under the SOE's command of Sandy 'Alexis' Rendel, Zografakis secretly returned to Crete. He took part in several

clandestine operation A clandestine operation is an intelligence or military operation carried out in such a way that the operation goes unnoticed by the general population or specific enemy forces. Until the 1970s, clandestine operations were primarily political in ...

s mostly in eastern Crete. He was part of a group of partisans operating a

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

radio hidden in the caves of the

Dikti Dikti or Dicte ( el, Δίκτη) (also Lasithiotika Ori; el, Λασιθιώτικα Όρη "Lasithian Mountains"; anciently, Aigaion oros ( grc, Αἰγαῖον ὄρος) or la, Aegaeum mons) is a mountain range on the east of the island of C ...

range. Along with SOE-trained John Androulakis, he partook in th
Peza oil field sabotage
In February 1944, Zografakis met the legendary SOE agent

Patrick Leigh Fermor Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's greates ...

, who parachuted into Crete at

Katharo Katharo is a plateau on the Dikti mountain on the island of Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest ...

plateau, assisting him in the preparation of Gen.

Heinrich Kreipe Karl Heinrich Georg Ferdinand Kreipe (5 June 1895 – 14 June 1976) was a German career soldier who served in both World War I and World War II. While leading German forces in occupied Crete in April 1944, he was abducted by British SOE officers ...

's abduction.Stroud, Rick. ''Kidnap in Crete: The True Story of the Abduction of a Nazi General'', Bloomsbury, 2015 In early April 1944, Zografaki
sheltered Kreipe's abductors at his family house
in Kastamonitsa for more than a fortnight.Leigh Fermor, P. ''Abducting a General'', Ch. 13, The best laid plans ..., p.118, John Murray, 2014. In August 1944, he participated in a successful attack against fuel dumps in Drasi, Mirabello.

Post World War II years

Zografakis was awarded several medals from Greece and Great Britain for his service. However, in 1955, after disagreeing with the British government Cyprus Emergency, over its policies in Cyprus, he respectfully returned the medals given from Britain.Σανουδάκης, Αντώνης. ''Το αγγλικό προσωπείο και ο "Black Man". Αφήγηση Κίμωνα Ζωγραφάκη'', Ταξιδευτής, 2005,

References

External links

''Patrick Leigh Fermor''
* Patrick Leigh Fermor, Leigh Fermor, Patrick * Antony Beevor * Artemis Cooper * George Doundoulakis * Helias Doundoulakis
''Trained to be an OSS Spy'' by Helias Doundoulakis/Gabriella Gafni

''I Was Trained to be A Spy'' by Helias Doundoulakis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zografakis, Kimonas 1918 births 2004 deaths Greek Resistance members Special Operations Executive personnel Cretan Resistance People from Heraklion (regional unit)