Often overlooked in the study of the post-war period in Europe is the history of Greece as an early flashpoint of the Cold War period. Lost within the larger historical focus on the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan is the story of those who fought against the German Occupation of Greece as resistance fighters and who were labeled as communist collaborators in the post-war period. These women identified as communist collaborators and sympathizers during the post-war period were imprisoned, tortured, removed from society, and relocated to remote islands within Greece.
Director Stavroula Toska, in an effort to learn more about her own mother’s history, documents the story of a group of women imprisoned during the Greek Civil War (1946-1949) as political prisoners and exiled to remote islands in Greece. While conducting interviews and traveling with these women who are now in the eighties, Toska accompanies them as they make their annual trip to the Greek island of Trikeri which served as one of their prisons. The lasting impact of this experience is evident through their own words but also in how they describe their life once they were released and its impact on their personal relationships.
This compelling story of the lived experience of these women during this period is told in their own words through interviews, through photographs taken within these prison camps, as well as entries from journals these women kept during the imprisonment which is narrated by Olympia Dukakis. Striking in the photographs are women who appear happy with smiles on their faces; however, these photographs did not tell the real story of a camera smuggled into the prison camp and hidden journals. Instead, these tools served as a way to document the condition these women lived in and the physical and mental torture they experienced. Within the context of what happened to these women is the larger issue during this period of the British and the United States' influence exerted over Greece in their fight against the spread of communism.
Beneath the Olive Tree provides the necessary background information for those unfamiliar with this period of Greek history to ensure everyone has accurate information to understand the context for which these events are happening. The lack of historical understanding the current generation of Greek people has about the brutality of the Greek Civil War is surprising. This period of history is not fully taught to students in school and creates an environment in which history can repeat itself.
This educational film documents the human condition to thrive even in the most adverse conditions. These women were able to find a way to humanize their experience forge life-long relationships as political prisoners and document their lived experience through photographs, written journals, and their memories. Beneath the Olive Tree is recommended for any history film collection focused on Greece, World War II, post-war Europe, human rights, peace and justice studies, and international relations. Recommended. Aud. J, H, C, P.