Ioannis Metaxas. The Formative Years 1871-1922

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This is a biography of the formative years of General Ioannis Metaxas (1871-1941) who in 1936, established a fascist dictatorship in Greece. Metaxas formed and developed his political ideology in the earlier years of his careers as a young officer attached to the Staff of Prince Constantine, the brother-in-law of the German Kaiser, and during his studies at the Kriegsakademie in Berlin. The book draws most of its original material from the extensive diaries of Metaxas and the personal theoretical notes he wrote at intervals in a separate Notebook until late in his life. Of a passionate nature, with firm convictions and deep feelings, Metaxas wrote on a wide range of topics: on military matters, on politics and the politicians of his day, on social problems, on historical issues, on everyday events, on world affairs. There are also tender personal reflections and incidents which reveal a man vulnerable and often melancholic, despite his driving ambition and lust for power. Here the future dictator of Greece wrote fascinating passages concerning what he described as the decline of Nineteenth Century Liberalism and Parliamentarianism, and his own concept of totality in human life, the totalitarian view of the world.
Professor Joachim retired from the University of Cyprus and in 2003 he died.

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