In 1943, the secret organisation “Apollon” was established, functioning under the broader oversight of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and cooperating with the Middle East station (Force 133) in Cairo. The group had hundreds of active members throughout Greece, organised into smaller sub-groups focused on intelligence gathering and sabotage. However, in 1944, most members were betrayed, leading to their capture and execution on September 8 in the Chaidari Forest.
The group’s leader and organizer, Ioannis Peltekis, managed to escape to the Middle East. In 1947, he submitted a request to the City of Athens for the allocation of a grave to lay to rest the remains of 18 of his comrades, who had been interred in temporary graves at the Third Cemetery.
The tombstone lists the names of executed Greek saboteurs who served in the Hellenic Navy. The following brief details are drawn from the tribute Greek Sailors in the National Resistance 1941-1945: Secret Organizations, Struggles, and Sacrifices for the Freedom of the Homeland (Research and text by Titos Athanasiadis and Ioannis Maragoudakis):
Apostolos Venizelos, 37 years old, from Chalkida, ensign of the Hellenic Navy. He was captured by the Germans while transmitting information via radio. His last words were: “At this moment, I am being arrested. Long live Greece.”
Antonios Papagiannis, 37 years old, chief petty officer of the Hellenic Navy. He was arrested for espionage, possession of firearms, and use of a radio. He was executed on June 19, 1943, at the Kaisariani Shooting Range.
Konstantinos Kitsopoulos, 29 years old, from Ioannina, petty officer – telegraphist of the Hellenic Navy. He was arrested on January 16, 1943, and executed on June 19, 1943, at the Kaisariani Shooting Range.
Andreas Goutis, 35 years old, from Smyrna, junior petty officer of the Hellenic Navy. He was executed on June 19, 1943, at the Kaisariani Shooting Range.
Also mentioned are Avrelios Varkados, Ilias Alevizakis, and Konstantinos Dukas. Varkados and Alevizakis were workers at the requisitioned war material factory of Maltiniotis and participated in the large sabotage of the engines of German airplanes. Every morning, they would carry metal shavings in their mouths and blow them into the engines, leading to damage or even crashes of German planes. Their trial took place on February 5, in front of the entire factory workforce as a warning. They were executed the following day, February 6, 1943.
In Ioannis Peltekis’ request to the City of Athens for the establishment of a communal grave for the saboteurs, he commemorates the following 18 fellows:
Konstantinos Kapousidis (sailor, 27 years old, from Russia), Vassilis Theofilos (non-commissioned officer, 38 years old, from Istanbul, married, father of four children), Nikos Adam (sailor), Antonios Arvanitis (worker, 22 years old, from Istanbul), Dionysios Grammenos (from Corfu), and Michalis Makridis (21 years old, from Pontus), who were arrested in August 1943 in their attempt to sabotage three enemy ships in the port of Piraeus. They were sentenced to death by the German military court for sabotage. They were executed on September 10, 1943.
Andreas Charalambopoulos, the dynamiter, was arrested on September 3, 1944, after attempting to blow up the Turbine destroyer at the naval base. He endured brutal torture and was ultimately killed. As Ioanna Tsatsou reports, “they cut off his legs, gouged out his eyes, broke his bones and fortunately he died of bleeding. That’s how they found his dead body at the Liosion gate” [Ioannas Tsatsou, Occupation Sheets, Athens 1966].