Heroic Greece
Greece. By Stanley Casson. (Oxford Pamphlets on World Affairs. 4 The Greek White Book sets out in austere and judicial array t various diplomatic documents relating to the Italian attack u Greece two years ago. The Greek Prime Minister, M. Tsoude contributes a preface. The outstanding interest of the book is, my mind, the light it throws upon the characters of the men w represented Greece and Italy during this crisis in their affat Greece did not win her second Marathon by accident. guardians of her honour were shrewd, upright and conscientious m The Italians, on the other hand, acted like men long since corrupt by their own Fascist ballyhoo ; they were insolent, vain and witho scruple. The Persian king who ordered the Hellespont to chastised with whips was not more ridiculous than Count Ciano one of his silly frenzies. The Greek Minister in Rome descri how Ciano sent for him to protest against alleged violations of Gr neutrality. All the instances cited by Ciano were fabrications, this, of course, causes no surprise, but it is interesting to note Ciano first threatens war with theatrical gestures, then, because Greek Minister remains calm, threatens war a second dole, finally, astonished that his visitor exhibits no symptoms of t
begins " explaining the threat of war in a more precise form." This is the sort of statesman to whom the countrymen of Cavour and Mazzini have recently entrusted themselves!
The Greek Minister in Rome was John Politis, member of a family long famous in Greek diplomatic history. Politis show, up very well in these documents—a clear-sighted and courageous man. He never tried, as the diplomats of greater Powers so• often tried, to evade unpleasant truths. He never advised appeasement. One telegram which he sent to Athens is of especial interest to a British eye. It is dated July 9th, 194o, and follows a number of telegram, describing the nervous excitement that prevailed in Rome when it seemed that mighty Empires were about to fall like the walls of Jericho, before the mere braying of the Fascist trumpets. Politis makes this acute observation: " In my recent conversation with the .Minister for Foreign Affairs I had the clear impression that the question 'Of what use to you now is the British guarantee? ' was trembling on the tip of his lips."
There are also new lights upon the character of General Metaxas, the Greek Premier. His sober patience, his unassuming patriotism, shine in contrast with the florid subterfuges of his Fascist counter- part. When the attack came Metaxas sent a " Circular to all Royal Legations." The circular sets out the details of the Italian ultimatum. Nothing is written in justification either of Metaxas himself or of Greek foreign policy. There are just these simple words: " I add for your information that Greece will resist the Italian invasion with all her forces."
A fair number of misprints and minor mistranslations occur in the book, which ought to be corrected before a new edition is made. Also, the Slovene city of Trst is constantly referred to by its Italian name, which seems a needless concession to enemy propaganda. Otherwise the editorship is as inspiring as everything else in the book and a model for future compilers of diplomatic memoirs.
Mr. Stanley Casson, whose Greece Against the Axis was a brilliant study of a later stage in this same story, has produced something much less worthy in a new Oxford Pamphlet on Greece. What he writes about the countryside and the people is done with deep understanding and sympathy ; but the sections on modern Greek history, particularly those dealing with Venizelos, the last World War and the Greco-Turkish war, seem to me, not so much mislead- ing, as unintelligible. It is admittedly difficult to compress a country's history into 4o pages, but it should be done well or not
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