Greek Elections Grouping

[BigDogMilitaria]

Recently acquired this Greek Elections grouping and wanted to share it with the forum members . One of the rarest uniforms I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning . Enjoy 

 

 

[Nack]

Wow!  Very cool!

[B52]

Hi, 

 

Lovely set! Fun timing: I have found a French jacket some weeks ago. Unfortunately, no name…

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

B.

[Brian Dentino]

14 hours ago, BigDogMilitaria said:

Recently acquired this Greek Elections grouping and wanted to share it with the forum members . One of the rarest uniforms I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning . Enjoy 

 

 

An absolutely beautiful and historically (dare I use the "R" word) but certainly a very tough to find and desirable grouping.  Congrats on the pick up.  That bullion Greek Observers patch is the real gem of that group.  Outstanding and thanks for sharing it with us.  Congrats again, awesome find!

[manayunkman]

Jay you’ve done it again!

 

Beautiful group.

 

I heard about Tony very sad.

 

Last time I saw him was at your place.

[BigDogMilitaria]

38 minutes ago, manayunkman said:

Jay you’ve done it again!

 

Beautiful group.

 

I heard about Tony very sad.

 

Last time I saw him was at your place.

thanks Peter,

 

and yes, its a big loss. I had forgotten about the day you both were there. Good times.

[Ivydiv]

Great pick up Jay. You've really found the "needle in the haystack" this time. Beautiful bullion patch. Really a killer group. Congratulations, Dave

[T1gertank519]

Really unique group. Simple things like multiple languages on his identification card are what grab my attention. Awesome finds

[Croix de Guerre]

I had to look that one up as I had no idea about it.  Here is what I found;

"The 1946 Allied Mission to Observe Greek Elections was set up to guarantee the fairness of the elections and of the plebiscite on monarchy that rival political factions had agreed to hold following the armed clashes of December 1944 and January 1945. To that end, the most recent developments in probabilistic sampling were put to use and a team of experts was sent to conduct a series of surveys on the conditions in which these consultations were held. The purpose of this paper is to examine this controversial yet largely forgotten episode, which sits at the intersection between the history of Anglo-American foreign intervention during the early Cold War and that of survey sampling as a scientific tool."  

 

The 1946 Allied Mission to Observe Greek Elections
An Experiment in Quantitative Political Science
La Mission alliée d’observation des élections grecques de 1946. Une expérience de science politique quantitative
Jean-Guy Prévost
p. 163-192
https://doi.org/10.4000/histoiremesure.8146

[Croix de Guerre]

"This Insigne identified members of a special mission which was carried out over a 3 month period immediately following the end of WWII. The mission was Allied Mission for Observing Greek Elections or AMFOGE, also called (oficially) Allied Mission To Observe Greek Elections. 

The design of an owl peeking over it’s wing signified a wise, vigilant entity, quietly watching/observing.

Background info: Greece had a long history of being under a dictatorship, then being occupied by Axis forces during WWII, then after WWII was ended and Axis forces withdrew, a civil war broke out between factions representing democratic and communist government. The country was in ruin.

The Varkiza Peace Agreement of Feb 1945 included a provision requesting Allied Powers to send observers to monitor elections to verify fairness, prevent intimidation of voters and ensure the compliance of the citizens with the Greek election laws.
Governments of Britian, France and US accepted the Greek government's invitation to send observers.

Elections were set for March 30,1946.
The US provided 601 military and 21 civilian members
France provided 164 military and 5 civilian members
Britian provided 273 military and 21 civilian members

Even though the mission was civil, not military, mission developers knew conditions would be difficult and that the training and expertise of military personel would permit quicker adaptability to the work to be done. 

Members of the mission met in Naples in Feb 1946 for indoctrination and training of map reading,physical training, first aide and vehicle operation and maintence as well as crash courses in the history of Greece, geography and politics of Greece.

The members were assigned to teams of 3 men which included an officer, an enlisted man and an interpreter. The teams were dispersed in Jeeps throughout 5 districts: Athens, Herakleion, Tripolis, Patras and Salonika to conduct the Mission's business.

The teams work spanned 3 months in preparation for the election. After the mission and the election occured, a report was issued which detailed the mission and summarized that the elections were found to be free and fair and the results represented the valid verdict of the Greek people."

 

Collectors Weekly

 

 

[Backtheattack]

Oh what a find! With so much history!