Nikolaos Roidis, son of Ioannis and a second lieutenant in the infantry, was killed on June 6, 1944, fighting against the occupiers and their collaborators. His grave also holds the remains of 10 young Resistance fighters. It features a statue of the “Mother” holding a dove, symbolizing peace. This initiative was led by Roidis’ mother, Aikaterini, who was a member of the Board of the Panhellenic Association of Victims of Nazi Occupation “THE MOTHER OF THE PHOENIX.” In 1976, Aikaterini, actively advocating for a memorial to honour the victims of the Occupation and National Resistance, requested that this mass grave be preserved forever by the City of Athens as a symbol and monument of the National Resistance from 1941 to 1944.
The Greek woman has always stood as a heroic companion to the men fighting in all of the nation’s toughest battles. […] And now, in our dark enslavement, in the life-and-death struggle against our enemies for the survival of our people and the freedom of our nation, the remarkable Greek woman, modestly and quietly, with a deep understanding of her mission, offers her invaluable and essential support to our sacred cause. […] Let the woman, then, be the “Mother” of our nation’s struggle in all her efforts.
National Solidarity [GAK, Archive of Heraklis Petimezas]