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2026 - Volume 9 - Number 1

Anti-American and Anti-British Sentiment in Greece (1955-1959)

Emmanouil Peponas * ORCID: 0000-0002-0532-7016
University of the People, Faculty of Health Science nad Education, Pasadena, UNITED STATES

Open Journal for Studies in History, 2026, 9(1), 1-10 * https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojsh.0901.01001p
Received: 6 November 2025 ▪ Revised: 22 March 2026 ▪ Accepted: 29 April 2026

LICENCE: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ARTICLE (Full Text - PDF)

ABSTRACT:
This study investigates the development of anti-American and anti-British sentiment in Greece during the period 1955–1959, within the framework of the Cyprus Question and the broader geopolitical context of the early Cold War. It contends that the activities of EOKA, in conjunction with British colonial policy on the island, constituted the principal catalysts for a marked shift in Greek public opinion. Drawing upon contemporary press accounts, archival evidence, and intelligence reports, the analysis demonstrates how public discourse articulated growing hostility toward Britain as a colonial power and toward the United States as a perceived supporter of British policy. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of mass mobilization and the press in shaping these attitudes. While such sentiments emerged predominantly at the societal level, the Greek government maintained its Western orientation, revealing a divergence between domestic opinion and official foreign policy.

KEY WORDS: Cyprus, Greece, anti-British sentiment, Balkans, EOKA.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Emmanouil Peponas, University of the People, Faculty of Health Science nad Education, Pasadena, UNITED STATES.

REFERENCES:

Archival Material

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). (1955, June 6). CFEP Drafting Group – Economic Defence Policy Review (CIA-RDP63-00084A000100040006-6).

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). (1956, March 11). Current Intelligence Bulletin (CIA-RDP79T00975A002400460001-4).

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). (1955, September 23). Opinion trends in the aftermath of Geneva (CIA-RDP80B0&076R004200110031-2).

ERT Photographic Archive. Petros Poulidis Collection. 0000005102/1.1.48.51.

ERT Photographic Archive. Petros Poulidis Collection. 0000005102/1.1.48.50.

Primary Sources – Press

Grivas, G. (1961). Apomnimonevmata agonos EOKA 1955–1959 [Memoirs of the EOKA struggle 1955–1959]. Athens.

Eleftheria, no. 3, 243, April 3, 1955.

Eleftheria, no. 3, 586, May 10, 1956.

Eleftheria, no. 3, 958, July 24, 1957.

Empros, no. 68, April 2, 1955.

Kathimerini, no. 13, 072, April 2, 1955.

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