Aris Velouchiotis

Aris Velouchiotis (Greek name: Άρης Βελουχιώτης - real name: Thanasis Klaras - Θανάσης Κλάρας, Lamia, 27 August 1905 – Mesounta Arta, 16 June 1945) was a Greek journalist, politician, KKE member and leader of ELAS, the largest resistance organization in Greece during the Occupation. He was born in Lamia to a wealthy family. He studied agronomy at the Averofia Middle Agricultural School of Larissa, but soon abandoned his profession and moved to Athens. There he was initiated into communist ideology and in 1924 became a member of the Federation of Communist Youth of Greece. During his military service he was sent to the Disciplinary Ulama of Kalpaki. He was very active within the ranks of the KKE, and at the end of 1928 he became editor-in-chief of Rizospastis. He was imprisoned in Syngrou, Aegina and Gyaros and as a KKE official he operated in Thrace. During the Metax dictatorship he was imprisoned in Aegina and Corfu, where he signed a statement of repentance. In the Greco-Italian War he served in the artillery and after the collapse of the front he asked the KKE to organize a guerrilla force against the occupiers. After the establishment of ELAS in February 1942, he became the head of a small armed group, changing his name to Aris Velouchiotis. Through his own actions, his section developed impressively and became the nucleus of ELAS in central Greece.