The 1974 collapse of the far-right junta brought relief – but for some it took years to feel safe
After a seven-year military dictatorship that tortured and exiled opponents, violently suppressed dissent, and restricted freedom of expression, a new dawn broke in Greece on 24 July 1974. The authoritarian regime of the colonels that had ruled since 1967 had collapsed the previous day.
“I was at a friend’s house when my mum called and demanded I return home. She said there might be trouble,” said Panagiotis Fourkiotis, 63, recalling the night the regime fell. But in his neighbourhood, all he remembered seeing were smiling faces as he walked home.
