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People
Second World War (1940-1945)
Lela Karagianni (1898-1944)
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Lela Karagianni {Λέλα Καραγιάννη} (1898-1944). Lela Karagiani's patriotic acts were most admirable. Nazi Germans executed this wonderful Greek mother after they had tortured her. The Athens Academy awarded her a complimentary "Gold Medallion". There is a bust of Lela Karagianni in Athens [Place Names], in Stournara {Στουρνάρα} street to be precise.
A heroine of recent Greek history, Lela Karagianni was born in Limni {Λίμνη}, Euboea {Evia ~ Εύβοια} in 1898. She was the soul of the national resistance organization during the Nazi German occupation over Greece. Using a house in Filis {Φυλής} street and her husband's pharmacy on Patision {Πατησίων} street as a base, she developed a network for hiding British soldiers, providing them with medical care and getting them out of the country. Later on she used the Saint Ierotheos {Άγιος Ιερόθεος} Monastery in Megara {Μέγαρα} as a base from which she built up the outlawed "Bouboulina" [People] organization. This organization served the purposes of espionage and disseminating information.
On July 11th, 1944, the Germans found out about her activities and arrested her. They took her to the S.S. punishment centre on Merlin {Μέρλιν} street and tortured her to make her confess to what she had done. Later on, at the concentration camp in Haidari {Χαϊδάρι}, she did whatever she could to lend courage to the inmates.
At dawn on September 8th, 1944, she was taken to Dafni {Δαφνί} with some other compatriots and executed while singing the Hellenic National Anthem [Hymn To Liberty] to give courage to the others.
Lela Karagianni (1898-1944)
04-23-2004