In the 5th July issue of The London Review of Books Richard Clogg wrote a very moving article “In Athens”. I urge you all to read this article in full. It isn’t very long, but in it he describes what Greece was put through in just about living memory, at the hands of the occupiers in World War II.

Famine, hyperinflation, barbaric reprisals by the Germans, homelessness, corpses gathered every morning in the streets of Athens, the utter destruction of the country. He evokes all this to remind the ladies and gentlemen pontificating and wagging their fingers at us that apart from “The Glory That Was Greece”, the country has a more recent history, that was agony and suffering and destitution, imposed on it by the fathers of those currently meting out the punishment they feel is necessary to make us behave.

Even David Cameron comes in for a spot of criticism. Richard Clogg tells us that in a recent visit to the US the British Prime Minister claimed that “… in 1940 Britain was the junior partner to America in the anti Nazi struggle. The fact is,” he continues however, “that in 1940 after the fall of France, Britain’s only active ally in Europe was Greece.” And not only that, I would add, but Greece fought hard, driving the Italians back into Albania and forcing Germany to enter the war to save her ally, earning Churchill’s famous remark: “It is not that Greeks fight like heroes, but heroes fight like Greeks.“

Christine Lagarde’s Marie Antoinette arrogant pose of “not being in the mood” for negotiations, Schauble’s barking orders, and now Cameron’s threat to close the borders to all Greeks should we exit the Euro (to protect his citizens from hordes of invaders?), show an insensitive, needless arrogance to… whom? Little Greece who has been through so much and stood up at extreme cost to herself, against fascism and nazism.

I would like to close with Richard Clogg’s closing comment:

“… a word of contrition, if not apology for German war crimes that are still in living memory (from Merkel), and a recognition of past Greek sacrifices in the common struggle against fascism, which are likewise still a living memory (from Cameron) would not come amiss.”

Thank you Professor Clogg. From the bottom of out hearts we truly thank you,