Manolis Glezos

A great honor for late resistance fighter Manolis Glezos by the European Parliament, just before the one-year anniversary of his death

The former German ambassador to Greece Peter Schoof expressed his condolences in a tweet over the death this week of Greek World War II resistance hero Manolis Glezos.

A lot has been said about Manolis Glezos, the proud Greek who was the first to publicly stand up to the Nazis and humiliate Hitler by taking down the swastika flag from the Acropolis.

A pallbearer, wearing a protective face mask and gloves, carries a cross and a photo of late World War Two Greek resistance hero and politician Manolis Glezos, during his funeral attended only by few people as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Athens, Wednesday. Glezos died of heart failure at the age of 97. [Reuters]

The Greek flag on the Acropolis is flying at half mast in honor of World War II resistance hero Manolis Glezos who is to be buried Wednesday.
In a post on social media Tuesday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the gesture was a tribute to a "great Greek."

Glezos died of heart failure at a central Athens hospital Monday. He was 97.

With true heroes valiant deeds seem par for the course.

For them there is no choice other than rising to the occasion when they hear the call of history.

It is their opportunity to even risk their life in order to stand up for their ideals and principles.

Their dedication to their system of values obliterates any fears or reservations.

Veteran leftist and World War II resistance fighter Manolis Glezos died Monday at the age of 97. He died of heart failure at a central Athens hospital after being admitted on March 18. Respected across the Greek political spectrum, he was most famous for climbing the walls of the Acropolis in 1941 to take down the Nazi flag. He was sentenced to death in absentia.

"The death of Manolis Glezos leaves the Greeks poorer. But his life has left Greece richer, because his example… is a guiding light that arms us with strength so that we may remain united through difficult times like the present," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday in an announcement on the death of the prominent leftist politician and World War II resistance fighter.

Newly appointed Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou offered her condolences on Monday over the death of Manolis Glezos, describing the World War II resistance fighter and leftist activist as a "brave man."

Politicians from across the spectrum paid homage to Manolis Glezos, the veteran leftist and resistance fighter who died at the age of 98.