Georgios Petrakis (; 1890 – 1972), better known as Petrakogiorgis (also transliterated as Petrakoyiorgis, Petrakoyeorgis, ), was a

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

businessman,

partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

, and politician. He was a leading figure in the

Cretan resistance The Cretan resistance (, ) 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 resistance, it lasted from 20 May 19 ...

of the years 1941 – 1944 against the Axis occupation forces, well respected for his patriotism, courage, honesty, perspicacity and selflessness.

Before World War II

Petrakogiorgis was born in the village of Magarikari,

Mesara Plain The Messara Plain or simply Messara () is an alluvial plain in southern Crete, stretching about 50 km west-to-east and 7 km north-to-south, making it the largest plain in Crete. On a hill at its west end are the ruins of Phaistos and ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, which was then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. His parents were Emmanuel Petrakis and Antiope Papastefanaki. Petrakogiorgis fought as an officer in the

Asia Minor Campaign Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, after the end of which he worked as a merchant of agricultural products and owned an olive oil mill and a

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

factory.

Resistance service

Aged around 50 when the war broke out, Petrakogiorgis was too old to be called up. Nevertheless, he was one of the regional leaders recruited by

John Pendlebury John Devitt Stringfellow Pendlebury (12 October 1904 – 22 May 1941) was a British archaeologist who worked for British intelligence during World War II. He was captured and Summary execution, summarily executed by German troops during the ...

in his effort to organize a system of defense before the German invasion of Crete. Shortly after Crete fell to the Germans in late May 1941, many resistance organisations were formed across the island. Petrakogiorgis, who had already fought in the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (, ), codenamed Operation Mercury (), was a major Axis Powers, Axis Airborne forces, airborne and amphibious assault, amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May ...

and lost his eldest son Manolis during its course, swore in his first men during June 1941, near Kamares. Having evacuated the rest of his family to the safety of the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, he devoted himself whole-heartedly to the fight for liberation. Being pro-British, Petrakogiorgis had close ties with EOK and SOE.Beevor, Antony. ''Crete: The Battle and the Resistance'', John Murray Ltd, 1991. Penguin Books, 1992. He had the code-name Selfridge because, in Beevor's words, ''"his olive mill was Crete's closest approximation to big business"''. Petrakogiorgis' group, named ''"Psiloritis"'', was active in the regions of Mt. Ida, the Mesara Plain, Mt. Kedros, and the

Amari Valley The Amari Valley is a fertile valley on the foothills of Mount Ida and Mount Kedros in Crete. The valley was known as a center of resistance to the Germans during the Battle of Crete and the German occupation. After the abduction of General Heinri ...

, and was often engaged in close combat with the occupation forces. He and his men fought in fierce battles in the region, such that at Papa to Perama (Παπά το Πέραμα), Kouroupitos (Κουρουπητός), Koutsounares (Κουτσουνάρες), Poros Stavrou (Πόρος Σταυρού), Trahili (Τραχήλι) and Madari (Μαδαρή). They also conducted several sabotage operations, smuggled men and equipment, and participated in the abduction of General Heinrich Kreipe. These activities allowed Petrakogiorgis to demonstrate his leadership and military skills, earning himself the nickname ''"the eagle of Psiloritis"''. Yet they also provoked German reprisals: execution of civilians, confiscation of Petrakogiorgis' personal property, and destruction of villages (Magarikari, Kamares, Lochria). The worst of these was the

destruction Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kin ...

of (el) Vorizia by heavy aerial bombardment.

Postwar life

On 11 October 1944, the day

Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...

was liberated, Petrakogiorgis entered the city triumphantly. He was appointed commander of its garrison and held that post till the beginning of 1945. He later entered politics and was elected member of the

Greek Parliament The Parliament of the Hellenes (), commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament (), is the unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme democratic instit ...

with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, led by

Sofoklis Venizelos Sofoklis Venizelos (; 3 November 1894 – 7 February 1964) was a Greek politician who served three times as Prime Minister of Greece: in 1944 (in exile), 1950 and 1950–1951. Life and career Venizelos was born on 3 November 1894 in Chania, ...

, in the

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

, and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

elections. Petrakogiorgis was decorated several times by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

and represented Greece in several resistance fighter assemblies. In 1950, Petrakogiorgis' third daughter Tassoula was 'eloped' by Kostas Kefalogiannis. Kefalogiannis had also taken part in the Resistance whereas his brother Manolis was a member of Parliament with Petrakogiorgis' political opponents, the conservative People's Party. Petrakogiorgis felt insulted by this act and, as a result, the population of Crete divided into two rival camps. Fear of an imminent armed clash led to the suspension of a number of sections of the Greek constitution in the Prefectures of

and

Rethymnon Rethymno (also Rethymnon; ) is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 35,000 inhabitants (nearly 40,000 for the municipal unit). It is believed to have been built o ...

, the declaration of the Psiloritis mountains as a forbidden zone and the deployment of more than 2,000 troops and

gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

to ensure order. The incident involved the top-level military, political and religious leadership of Greece and attracted strong international press attention. Petrakogiorgis died in Heraklion on 14 September 1972. In 2009, a bronze statue was erected near Magarikari in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrakis, Georgios 1890 births 1972 deaths Cretan Resistance Greek MPs 1946–1950 Greek MPs 1950–1951 Greek MPs 1951–1952 Greek MPs 1952–1956 Greek Resistance members Liberal Party (Greece) politicians People from Heraklion (regional unit) Politicians from Crete