THE SCHS MARKS THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF

THE BATTLE OF CRETE

On 17 and 18 June 2021, the Society of Cretan Historical Studies is holding a colloquium on the subject of Events and the Management of Memory: Crete 1941/2021 as part of the commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Crete. The Colloquium will open with the presentation of the latest volume in the SCHS Testimonies Series, No Easy Escape by Len Frazer. Dr Yannis Skalidakis of the Department of Political Science, University of Crete, will speak about “The first year of the Occupation in Crete through the testimony of Len Frazer”, while the editor of the volume, Dr Ian Frazer, Honorary Fellow of the School of Social Sciences, University of Otago, will present a paper on “Len Frazer, SOE and Western Crete”.

The other speakers are Dr Kostis Christakis, Knossos Curator of the British School of Archaeology at Athens, Dr Tassos Sakellaropoulos, Head of the Benaki Museum Historical Archives, and political scientist and historian Dr Vassilis Manoussakis. Photographic material will be presented by researchers Dimitris Skartsilakis and Nikos Valassiadis.

The Colloquium will be opened by Claire Mitsotaki, SCHS Vice President and editor of the Testimonies Series. The meetings will be chaired by Costis Mamalakis, Modern History Consultant of the Historical Museum of Crete.

Each day’s proceedings will close with a screening:

• June, 17: The documentary Sons of Tū -Mata-Uenga. A Pilgrimage Cruise by the 28th Māori Battalion of New Zealand by Michael Havas (1977). The SCHS honours the memory of the Māori soldiers of the New Zealand Army who shed their blood in the defence of the island.
• June, 18: The video presentation “Unknown aspects of the Battle of Crete” by Greek Navy Commander Ioannis Prekatsounakis, produced by the Navy Historical Service, 2020.

The Colloquium will be held via Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/93905092322), starting at 19:00, and is free of charge to all.