A DOCUMENTARY on the experience of Cypriot volunteers in World War II was released last week during an event to mark the 71st anniversary of the start of the war.
Cypriot veterans, their families and politicians, including President Demetris Christofias, all gathered at the Pallas Nicosia on Wednesday to see the first screening of the film, and honour the volunteers’ contribution to the allied war effort.
After welcome speeches by Veterans’ Association president, Loizos Demetriou and historian, Rolandos Katsiaounis, the association screened the 96 minute documentary which includes footage from the war and interviews with veterans, such as former President Glafcos Clerides.
A law student in London at the time, Clerides was trained as an aerial bomber. Recounting his last flight mission, he describes how along with 1,000 other planes, each carrying a four ton explosive, they attacked the city of Hamburg in Germany.
“As I walked through the city we had bombed I was overcome by the reality of what we had done and for the first time I felt disgusted with myself. Forty thousand were killed,” Clerides said. “It is then that I realised, war doesn’t solve anything. Fifty of us bombed them simultaneously, it was like an earthquake had hit, and the houses were collapsing as though they were made of paper.”
Directed by Evangelos Ioannides, the film paid tribute to the 20,000 Cypriots, and the estimated 10,000 expatriate Cypriots who joined the armed forces in the Second World War. It is estimated 600 died and 2,500 were captured.
Asked about his experience as a prisoner of war, veteran Antonis Hadjiossif said: “What was life like for the prisoners of war? One of humiliation, cold-blooded murders and cruelty. I saw a Cypriot man being executed by a German officer simply for not greeting him appropriately. Our survival literally relied solely on the aid of the Red Cross who gave us food to make it through the week,” the member of the General Council of the Veterans Association said in his interview.
The war came at a time of widespread unemployment and poverty in Cyprus, and joining up presented the only opportunity some had of providing for their families. Although most were unarmed and working as transporters of weaponry and food supplies in France, North Africa, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Greece, Crete and Italy, the hardships they faced were just as arduous, and over 600 were killed.
The film is due to be broadcast on CyBC soon and DVDs are available for purchase for €2 through http://www.cyprusveterans.com.cy/welcome.php
