Book: The Magus by John Fowles
Context: The Axis
Invasion of Greece in World War Two
Of course, this is sort of the point of The Magus: that you never really know what is truth and what is illusion.
What role Conchis played in the Second World War – indeed, if he was even
there. Throughout The Magus, neither
Nicholas nor the reader has much of a clue of what is going on or what is real.
The story of Conchis in World War Two is not the only life story introduced to
Nicholas and, in fact, it is revealed later that the real subject of these
tales is Nicholas himself, not Conchis. But I thought that this wartime episode
raised some interesting points relating to the history of the country which provides
the dramatic setting. Even though Phraxos and Conchis are creations of John
Fowles, the experiences of real Greek people during the German invasion must
have inspired at least part of the book. What actually happened to Greece
during the Second World War and how were its people affected?
Greece, being located in the Mediterranean, was to start
with more concerned with Mussolini’s Italy rather than Hitler’s Germany for
fairly obviously geographical reasons. Not until 1941 did Germany show any
interest in invading Greece at all. Possibly, this was because Greece was
itself being ruled by an authoritarian nationalistic government, uner Prime
Minister Mataxas, which was similar to Nazism in some obvious ways. Mataxas’
regime censored dissenting media, banned other political parties, established a
political police force, and extolled the ancient Hellenic values of strength,
honour and family. It even had a youth organisation eerily similar to the
Hitler Youth. So why didn’t this quasi-fascist Greece join the Axis powers in
World War 2? Perhaps because there were fundamental differences between Greek
fascism and German fascism – their stance on Judaism for instance. (By the way,
I’m using the word ‘fascism’ here for matters of convenience; in fact, Mataxas’
regime wasn’t really true fascism in the strict sense.) Moreover, Mataxas
wanted Greece to remain neutral, taking neither side against the other.
Unfortunately for the Greek people, this was not to be.
Early on in the war, Mussolini tried desperately to conquer
and hold the Mediterranean areas, including Greece, Yugoslavia etc. The Italian
troops, however, proved fairly hapless against Greek resistance. For many
months, Italy tried to invade Greece only to be pushed back again and again. The
Greek people, led by Mataxas, were successfully defending their country against
outside forces trying to force them into the larger conflict. Although Greece
was still technically neutral, Britain evidently saw her as being on their
side, seeing as she was fighting against an Axis power. So the British entered
the fray, much to the concern of Greece, who worried that this intervention
would only serve to encourage the Germans to get involved. Apparently, Hitler
was very angry with Mussolini for his failure in the Mediterranean and vowed to
sort it all out. On the 29th January, Mataxas, the dictator turned
defender of Greece, died. Almost immediately afterwards, the assault on Greece
by Germany began.
The British and Greek soldiers were sadly unprepared by the
German techniques of blitzkrieg; the
British soon pulled out of the country, the new Greek Prime Minister committed
suicide, and by May the invasion was complete. As Winston Churchill said: ‘It
is a most strange and grim battle that is being fought.’ Once Germany was in
control of the country, the usual story of an occupied country can be seen –
the suppression of native people, collaboration and resistance. In direct
contrast to Mataxas’ earlier regime, the Germans began to implement a strongly
anti-semitic rule. These policies are well-known – from arrests of Jewish leaders,
confiscation of property, executions, forced labour, compulsory wearing of
Stars of David – everything we are so tragically used to hearing about. By
1943, Jewish people were being sent to Auschwitz, although it was said that
some managed to escape for Palestine. For other Greek citizens, again, the
Greek story is so very similar to other Nazi-occupied nations. Greece was
forced to pay a loan to Germany which would never be paid back, destroying the
local economy and starving many people. As was to be expected, pockets of
resistance began to spring up – but what is unexpected was the Greek reaction
to this.
There was a real event that happened in 1943 which is eerily
similar to the episode described in The
Magus. In a place called Drakeia, some local resistance members killed two
German soldiers. In retaliation, the SS executed a huge number of local men.
Almost exactly as described by John Fowles, there was a rule – the lives of
fifty civilians for one German soldier. But instead of the resistance fighters
(also known as partisans) becoming national heroes, as they would have been in
France, Italy or the Netherlands, their contribution was largely forgotten. In
fact, it would seem that the resistance was actually blamed for the deaths of
the local civilians. The fallout of the massacre in Drakeia, and many other
similar massacres, resulted in a sort-of collective forgetting of Nazi
atrocities in Greece. This could be partly attributed to the post-war fighting
between the newly installed government and left-wing partisans. To ordinary
people, this new civil war would have been tied into the suffering they
experienced during the occupation; the common denominator was the partisans who
then seem to have been seen as the scapegoats for all the terrible things which
happened in Greece since 1941. An Oral History study has shown that the Germans
were seen more as a natural part of life, not as something to rebel against. If
they were left alone, they would leave the Greek people alone – the partisans
and resistance activity only antagonised the situation, and made worse the
lives of ordinary people. Putting The
Magus back into this context, Conchis, in refusing to give up the
whereabouts of the partisans, was taking the side of resistance against
law-abiding Greeks. The subsequent killing of innocent civilians by the Nazis would
have been seen as unfair suffering when the real ‘culprits’ were the partisans.
To us, that seems to be all backwards, which incidentally fits in quite well
with the illusionary theme of The Magus.
But it does show Nicholas’ naiveté, and perhaps the reader’s, when he learns
about this episode in Conchis’ life and thinks it a wholly positive and
well-reflecting incident.
Postscript: It’s only relatively recently that Greek people
have been able to appreciate what the Nazis actually did to them during the
Second World War. During the current financial crisis this has become particularly
relevant. As I type, Greece is seeking potentially billions of pounds from
Germany in reparations for their un-repaid loan. This amount of money could
solve Greece’s money problems. Watch this space.
FURTHER READING
‘Chronicle of the Second World War’ published by Longman
‘Broken Bonds and Divide Memories: Wartime Massacres
Reconsidered in a Comparative Perspective’ by Riki Van Boeschoten, published in
Oral History (Spring, 2007)
‘Mr Churchill’s Statements on the Fighting in Crete’,
published in Bulletin on International
News (May 31, 1941)
'Greece demands billions for German war crimes: Relations between EU partners plunge to a new low' by James Chapman, published in Daily Mail (11th September 2012)
http://www.ethniko.net/wehrmacht-griechenland/bg-wehrmacht-griechenland-01.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Greece.html
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