1922–2011
○ Natural causes
The resistance fighter who brought down an occupation symbol from the Acropolis
On the night of 30 May 1941, Santas and Manolis Glezos climbed the Acropolis and tore down the Nazi flag.
Apostolos Santas was a Greek resistance fighter remembered for tearing down the Nazi flag on the Acropolis with Manolis Glezos during the Second World War. Their action became an early public symbol of resistance to the occupation, and German authorities sentenced both men to death in absentia. Santas later joined EAM and ELAS and fought the Axis occupation, but after liberation he was sent into internal exile because of his left-wing politics, including to Ikaria and Makronisos. He escaped via Italy, received political asylum in Canada, and returned to Greece in 1962.
Also known as: Lakis Santas
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1941With Manolis Glezos, tore down the Nazi flag on the Acropolis.
- 1942Joined the National Liberation Front (EAM).
- 1943Joined ELAS and fought Axis forces in Central Greece.
- 1944Completed his law studies after liberation.
- 1946–1948Was sent into internal exile on Ikaria, Psyttaleia, and Makronisos for his left-wing beliefs.
- 1948–1962Escaped via Italy to Canada, where he received political asylum.
- 1962–2011Returned to Greece and lived in Athens.
Related historical events
The 1942 arrest, Averof prison, and release under amnesty
The flag removal in May 1941 led the German authorities to sentence Santas and Glezos to death in absentia, and the two continued underground. In 1942 they were arrested by the Germans. Greek accounts relate that they were caught while attempting to flee to the Middle East, while some English-language reports say they were betrayed; every source shares the 1942 date and their detention in Averof prison. While held there they were tortured, and Santas was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. The occupation authorities never established that the two young men were the same people who had taken the flag in 1941. As a result they were released under the amnesty of 1942, with the death sentence already passed on them left unexecuted. The episode exposes the gap between what Santas did on the Acropolis and how the occupation handled it: the Germans answered a symbolic insult with a death sentence, yet never identified the men they had condemned. After their release the two took different paths. Santas went to the mountains and joined the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), while Glezos stayed in Athens and worked in the student organizations.