Greece’s artists played a vital role in sustaining national morale during the Greco-Italian War of 1940-41, using cartoons, posters, illustrated postcards and popular prints to inspire the public, rally support for the armed forces and strengthen the nation’s resolve beyond the battlefield.
Historian and researcher Kostas Mamalakis told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) that the artistic output of the period drew on Greece’s longstanding tradition of historical imagery, which had already shaped popular consciousness before the war.
At the time, Greek cafés commonly displayed maps of Greece, portraits of heroes from the 1821 War of Independence, paintings depicting battles from the Balkan Wars and, occasionally, portraits of political figures.
Following the torpedoing of the Greek light cruiser Elli by an Italian submarine on 15 August 1940, Greece gradually moved towards war. Posters featuring Evzones, the legendary submarine Papanikolis, artillery batteries and other military subjects began appearing in cafés and other public spaces.
When war broke out on 28 October 1940 and Greek forces began pushing back the Italian army, artists quickly adapted their work to reflect developments on the front. Cartoons and popular illustrations became tools of national mobilisation, ridiculing the enemy while encouraging public confidence in the Greek military.
“The themes in cartoons followed events as soon as the first successes of the Greek Army were announced, particularly when the army began pursuing the Italians into Albanian territory,” Mamalakis said.
Artists depicted an Evzone’s traditional shoe kicking back Italian armoured vehicles, a soldier’s fustanella chasing frightened Italian troops, and an inconsolable Benito Mussolini searching for the Acropolis through binoculars.
Alongside newspaper cartoons and large posters, illustrated postcards circulated widely between the home front and the battlefield. They carried similar messages of courage, patriotism and reassurance to soldiers and their families.
Postcards showed the Virgin Mary embracing and protecting a soldier, as well as sailors, airmen and infantrymen charging with bayonets fixed. Ships and aircraft also featured prominently.
Mamalakis said the artistic output helped strengthen the nation’s psychological resilience, although wartime circumstances prevented it from receiving the recognition it deserved.
“ We did not have time to celebrate the victorious outcome of this war because Germany attacked us immediately afterwards, followed by the country’s triple occupation by German, Italian and Bulgarian troops,” he said.
As a result, Greece had little opportunity to assess the contribution of this art to awakening and encouraging a population enduring a struggle for survival and freedom.
Much of the material has survived thanks to private collectors, their dedication and the painstaking work of historians and researchers. Exhibitions have periodically displayed works preserved in private collections, while publications have documented the painters and cartoonists whose creations appeared on posters, postcards, magazines and newspaper pages.
Mamalakis described Greek art from 1940 not as a decorative luxury but as a necessity: a means of inspiring and strengthening a nation fighting for its survival and freedom.
From newspaper cartoons to illustrated postcards, Greek artists turned ink and paper into a form of psychological resistance, helping sustain the spirit of a nation at war.
(Source: AMNA)
