One of the figures we have referenced in several of our articles is Aris Velouchiotis. Many readers also write about him in their comments.

Today, we will focus on the end of Velouchiotis, as described by an eyewitness, Captain Thanos. This account is included in the book The Political Testament of Aris Velouchiotis, published in 1976 by Captain Thomas (Giannis Chatzipanagiotou).

Babis Klaras, Velouchiotis’ brother, who was well aware of every detail of his life, carefully examined this book and vouched for the accuracy of the description.

Velouchiotis Opposes the Varkiza Agreement and Continues the “Struggle”

Aris Velouchiotis did not participate in the Dekemvriana (December 1944 events). He chose to remain in the Peloponnese. He also disagreed with the Varkiza Agreement (February 12, 1945), which he considered disastrous, “a true suicide of the EAM people’s movement.”

Leaving the Peloponnese for Roumeli, he expressed his disagreement to the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) through a statement that caused a stir among its recipients. Velouchiotis declared that he refused to return to the “normalcy” promised by the Varkiza Agreement. He would remain in the mountains to continue the struggle—or at least to wait and see how events unfolded, as he believed conflicts would reignite.

The leadership of both the KKE and the EAM panicked over Velouchiotis’ decision and made desperate efforts to dissuade him. Initially, he seemed unwavering.

Eventually, he partially compromised—he would remain in the mountains but refrain from taking action. He even agreed to change his appearance, as did the few comrades who followed him, known as the “Mavroskoufides” (Black Berets). Velouchiotis shaved off his legendary beard, as did his men. They donned new British uniforms with peaked caps, spoils from the Dekemvriana, and were now armed with British weapons. This made them resemble a British military unit rather than ELAS guerrillas. In early March 1945, they headed to the Pindus Mountains.

However, Velouchiotis was not the only guerrilla who remained in the mountains. After the dissolution of ELAS, those who believed they faced certain extermination sought refuge in neighboring countries, particularly Yugoslavia. Some captains, such as Diamantis, Belis, and Othrys, remained hidden in the mountainous regions of Greece.

The KKE and EAM were in a difficult position. While they managed to keep these formidable captains inactive—who had taken to the mountains primarily to avoid persecution—the same could not be done with Velouchiotis, who followed his own ideology of continuing the guerrilla struggle. If he resumed action, it was certain to cause turmoil with unpredictable consequences.

Thus, the KKE leadership sought to neutralize him by any means. The party’s General Secretary, Giorgis Siantos, sent repeated letters trying to convince him to move to a neighboring socialist country. At the same time, the KKE’s internal party mechanism turned against him.

In the mountainous countryside, in what was once “Free Greece,” many villages remained under KKE and EAM influence. However, Velouchiotis faced opposition there. He was offered minimal help—or none at all. It was clear that even his former comrades wanted to drive him out of Greece, forcing him to flee to Yugoslavia or Albania, as thousands of other Greeks had done.

The Return of Nikos Zachariadis from Dachau and the Denunciation of Velouchiotis by Rizospastis

In our article on October 25, 2020, titled “The Dark Years of Nikos Zachariadis in Dachau,” we discussed his stay there from November 1941 to May 1945. There are several unclear aspects regarding Zachariadis’ time in Dachau, and much has been said about the fact that, upon his return to Greece, he weighed around 70 kg, while others returned emaciated.

There is, however, another lesser-known aspect of Zachariadis’ time in Dachau. During the so-called “Moscow Trial” in January 1950—after the defeat of the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE)—Zachariadis and Partsalidis, representing the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), were confronted with accusations from Albanian leader Enver Hoxha and Mehmet Shehu. Hoxha argued that the Varkiza Agreement was a mistake and that the KKE’s decision to organize its guerrilla forces as a conventional army was disastrous.

Joseph Stalin, acting as the “judge,” adopted Hoxha’s accusations. However, as Hoxha later wrote in his book With Stalin (1979), the Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vyacheslav Molotov, who was present along with Mikoyan and other Soviet officials, presented Zachariadis with written allegations claiming that he was a British agent.

Hoxha recounts:

“As we were preparing to leave, Molotov intervened and addressed Zachariadis:
‘Comrade Niko, I have something to tell you. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union has received a letter from one of your comrades, alleging that Nikos Zachariadis is a British agent. It is not our place to make this matter public, but we cannot keep this letter secret without informing you, especially since the accusation comes from a member of the KKE leadership. Here is the letter. What do you have to say?’

Zachariadis replied:

‘I will explain this. When Soviet troops liberated us from the concentration camp, I approached the Soviet command and requested to be sent to Athens as quickly as possible because that was where I belonged. We were at a decisive moment, and I had to be in Greece. However, your administration at the time had no means of transporting me there. So, I had no choice but to turn to the British command, from whom I requested assistance in returning to my country. The British put me on a plane, and that is how I arrived in Greece. This comrade assumes that, since I returned with the help of the British military, I must have become a British agent, which is, of course, a mistake.’

At that point, Stalin intervened:

‘This matter is now clear and settled. We are done.’

“He stood up, shook each of our hands, and as we were leaving the office—a long hall—Stalin called out:
‘One moment, comrades. Comrade Hoxha and Comrade Zachariadis, embrace each other.’

We embraced.

As we exited, Mitsos Partsalidis remarked: ‘There is no one like Stalin. He treated us like a father. Now everything is clear.’

All of this is documented in Hoxha’s book With Stalin (1979).

The Denunciation of Aris Velouchiotis

Returning to Aris Velouchiotis, after Zachariadis’ arrival in Athens, Velouchiotis made repeated attempts to contact him but received no response. The final blow came with the front-page article in Rizospastis on June 12, 1945. It is worth noting that at the time, the newspaper was legally published.

“The KKE openly denounces Aris Velouchiotis. Comrade Zachariadis has informed us that the Central Committee of the KKE, after reviewing reports from various party organizations, has decided to openly condemn the suspicious and adventurist actions of Aris Velouchiotis (Thanasis Klaras or ‘Mizeria’). Even after the Varkiza Agreement, Velouchiotis continued his activities. This activity, which could only serve reactionary forces by providing them with the means to attack the KKE, violated the Varkiza Agreement and justified its opponents’ crimes. It can no longer be tolerated, and we must openly denounce Aris Velouchiotis…“

This official denunciation sealed Velouchiotis’ fate, leaving him isolated and targeted, ultimately leading to his tragic end.

The End of Aris Velouchiotis: Eyewitness Accounts

In the Pindus mountains, Aris Velouchiotis found himself surrounded by the National Army and decided to break through their encirclement. However, after a series of maneuvers, he fell into a trap due to the betrayal of a KKE member who was his guide. On June 15, 1945, he was encircled in Mesanda, near the banks of the Achelous River, not far from the Korakos Bridge. The situation was dire for him and his men.

Suddenly, two men emerged from the fir trees and ran toward them. They were father and son, both shepherds. The father was a former EAM supporter, and the son was a former Second Lieutenant of ELAS, having trained at the school in Rentina.

“You’re surrounded by the army,” they told them. “But we know these parts step by step. We can get you out.“

Velouchiotis and his men felt reassured. He immediately began planning their escape. The main group of 70 men, led by Pelopidas, would head northwest, attacking as they moved, while Velouchiotis and a smaller group would move south, crossing the Achelous. The two groups planned to reunite later at a predetermined location.

By 5 p.m., they were ready to move. Sporadic gunfire, growing closer, signaled that the army was approaching. At that moment, Velouchiotis faced an unexpected and deeply distressing revelation.

The young shepherd took him aside, hesitating, and with sorrow in his voice, said:

“Leader, there’s something you need to see. You can’t go on without knowing this.”

“What is it? Speak.”

“Here… read this.“

He handed Velouchiotis a copy of Rizospastis dated June 12, 1945, containing his public denunciation by Nikos Zachariadis. Velouchiotis read the article and was visibly shaken. For a moment, he stood silent, deep in thought. He could not believe that the man he had awaited like a Messiah had not only renounced him but had publicly condemned him.

Yet, he quickly gathered himself and ordered his comrades to proceed. The two shepherds guided them with remarkable precision. Pelopidas and his 70 men successfully escaped northward, while Velouchiotis and a group of 20 managed to cross the Achelous at Korakos Bridge.

For nearly 30 years, confusion surrounded the events that followed. The answer finally came in 1976 through the book of Kapetan Thomas (Yannis Chatzipanagiotou), one of Velouchiotis’ closest fighters. He presented the testimony of another trusted comrade, Kapetan Thanos, who was present during Velouchiotis’ final moments.

As mentioned earlier, Velouchiotis’ brother, Babis Klaras, studied the book and vouched for the accuracy of the account.

After Velouchiotis crossed the Achelous River with his 20 comrades, he did not continue moving away from the National Army. Instead, he ordered his men to turn back and cross the river again, a highly dangerous maneuver. His comrades were alarmed and puzzled by his decision. Velouchiotis told them that they needed to return to Roumeli, where they would be safe. They followed his orders, and by the morning of June 16, they had successfully crossed the Achelous again. However, they suffered a significant loss: Dimosthenis Zaglaras from Lamia, one of their most capable fighters, drowned during the second crossing.

Velouchiotis appeared heavy-hearted, silent, and expressionless. The others sensed that something was troubling him, but they could not grasp the severity of his thoughts. The account of Kapetan Thanos, as recorded in Kapetan Thomas’ book, describes what followed.

A sudden gunshot from a revolver broke the silence that had settled after the battle had ceased. The guerrillas nearby were startled, as Velouchiotis had stepped away for a moment. Tzavellas rushed to see what had happened. Velouchiotis had shot himself near the right temple with his iconic Colt revolver, which he always carried. Having survived countless battles where his comrades wished each other “Good bullet, comrade,” he had now fulfilled this wish upon himself.

“The leader is dead! The leader has killed himself!” shouted Kapetan Tzavellas as he turned to the others. They looked and saw the deep crimson blood trickling down from Velouchiotis’ forehead as his body lay lifeless on the ground. Speechless, they gazed at him, their eyes welling with tears. A week earlier, he had warned them that he would take his own life once he ensured their passage back to Roumeli, but none had truly believed him. Now, in silence, they realized that he always did what he said he would. The quiet was broken only by Tzavellas.

“What are we standing here for, staring like fools in silence? The leader has left this life—what are we to do with ours? We follow him into the grave, just as we followed him in life.“

Leon disagreed, as did the others, including Kapetan Thanos and old Hector.

“Why? I don’t understand why we should die, especially now that we have escaped danger. If we can survive, why choose death?“

“No one was forced into the mountains, and no one is obligated to go to the grave alone. Farewell, comrades,” Tzavellas said.

Before the others could react, he looked toward Velouchiotis’ lifeless body, unhooked the British Mills grenade from his belt, placed it on his chest, bit down hard on the pin, and pulled it out with his teeth. That was it. His heart was shattered instantly. Some grenade fragments struck Velouchiotis as well. Two bodies now lay side by side. For the moment, everything had played out as it was meant to.

Epilogue

This is the Left’s version of Aris Velouchiotis’ end, based on the testimony of Kapetan Thanos (Yannis Chatzipanagiotou). Velouchiotis committed suicide in the Fangos Gorge near Mesounda, Arta. He was 40 years old. The next day, on June 17, 1945, the Voïdaros Battalion of the National Guard found the bodies of Velouchiotis and Tzavellas and beheaded them. The beheadings were carried out by one of Velouchiotis’ former fighters, known as “Drakos.”

The heads were first paraded through the village of Myriofylo with celebrations before being taken to Trikala. There, they were hung from a central lamppost in Riga Feraiou Square. Later, the Minister of Public Order, Napoleon Zervas, arrived in the Thessalian city to confirm their identities. The heads were then transported to Athens, but their final fate remains unknown.

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) decided to semi-officially rehabilitate Velouchiotis for the first time in 1962, with a second political rehabilitation taking place during the nationwide conference on July 16, 2011. Although the 2011 decision acknowledged that Velouchiotis was correct in his assessment of the Varkiza Agreement, his party membership was not restored. This decision was based on the argument that he had violated party discipline and had leveraged his reputation and the respect he had gained as an ELAS commander and KKE member during the previous period.

Source:
Nikolaos I. Mertzos, Svrnout, the Betrayed Guerrilla War, 10th Edition, Erodios Publications, Thessaloniki, 2010.