Common Past—Conflicting Remembrance: the Different Policy of Memory on the Greek Civil War’s Soldiers.

The article examines the divergent policies of memory regarding the fallen soldiers of the Greek Civil War (1946–1949), focusing on how both the victors—the National Army—and the defeated—the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE), the military wing of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE)—have utilized remembrance to shape conflicting historical narratives. Initially, the victorious side institutionalized memory through state ceremonies, military cemeteries, and public commemorations, while the defeated were excluded, denied burial rites, and subjected to enforced silence. From the 1990s onward, the KKE actively reclaimed Civil War memory by erecting monuments and promoting the DSE's legacy as a heroic class struggle, though it has largely neglected efforts to exhume or properly bury fallen fighters. The article highlights how memory politics remain deeply intertwined with ideological identity and national reconciliation, raising questions about whether current commemorative practices facilitate genuine historical processing or perpetuate old divisions.