Hellenic State (1941–1944)

The Hellenic State (Elliniki Politeia, also translated as Greek State) was the collaborationist government of Greece during the country's occupation by the Axis powers in the Second World War. After the fall of Greece, General Georgios Tsolakoglou was appointed Prime minister of the new Greek government on April 30, 1941. As King George II had left the country with the legitimate Greek government-in-exile, the new regime avoided all reference to the Greek monarchy and used Hellenic State as the country's official, generic, name. The collaborationist regime lacked a precise political definition, although Tsolakoglou, a republican officer, considered the Axis occupation as an opportunity to abolish the monarchy, and announced its end upon taking office. The existence of a native Greek government was considered necessary by the Axis powers, in order to give some appearance of legitimacy to their occupation, although it was never given more than an ancillary role. The country's infrastructure had been ruined by the war. Raw materials and foodstuffs were requisitioned, and the government was forced to pay the cost of the occupation, giving rise to inflation, further exacerbated by a "war loan" Greece was forced to grant to Nazi Germany. Requisitions, together with the Allied blockade of Greece, resulted in the Great Famine (Greek: Μεγάλος Λιμός) during the winter of 1941–42, which caused the deaths of an estimated 300,000 people. The regime was first led by Georgios Tsolakoglou, the general who signed the unconditional surrender of the Hellenic Army to the Germans. However, he was sacked a year later and replaced by Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, who himself was sacked in 1943. The last prime minister of the Hellenic State was Ioannis Rallis, who led the collaborationist regime until its dissolution in 1944. Georgios Bakos, a Greek Army major general, served as the minister of national defense, a position which Rallis had previously held in the regime. The Hellenic State was widely viewed as a puppet government and was unpopular with the Greek people.