Ioannis Metaxas: The Formative Years 1871-1922

General Ioannis Metaxas (1871-1941), a figure well-known in Germany as the fascist dictator who ruled Greece from 1936 to 1941 and constructed the Metaxas Line, is in Greece remembered as the man of the Ochi (No) against the Italian ultimatum and the leader of the successful defense campaign in Epirus and Albania. In contrast to the biographical accounts of his "colleagues" Hitler and Mussolini, his life had not been the subject of a comprehensive biography until now.

In the first volume of this biography covering the years 1871-1922, Professor Joachim has reconstructed the formative years and the path of the future dictator. The source material is excellent, as Metaxas kept a diary throughout most of his life and also recorded his other thoughts in writing.

While Joachim's biography has a strong political focus, it also provides insights into Metaxas' private life. Particularly valuable is the consistent tracing of Metaxas' moods and thought structures, which also provide indications of an increasing pathological development. Metaxas was a deeply divided personality, oscillating between euphoria and deep depression.

Born in Cyprus, Joachim studied in the United Kingdom and the United States. After completing his studies, he taught for several years in the US and subsequently in American colleges in the Middle East. The last years of his life were spent teaching Modern History at the University of Cyprus in Nicosia. Joachim passed away in 2003 after his retirement.

The book draws most of its original material from the extensive diaries of Metaxas and the personal theoretical notes he wrote in a separate Notebook until late in his life. These sources reveal a man of passionate nature, with firm convictions and deep feelings, who wrote on a wide range of topics: military matters, politics and the politicians of his day, social problems, historical issues, everyday events, and world affairs. There are also tender personal reflections and incidents that unveil a vulnerable and often melancholic individual, despite his driving ambition and lust for power.

A central focus of the biography is Metaxas' evolving political ideology, which he formed and developed during his earlier years as a young officer attached to the Staff of Prince Constantine, the brother-in-law of the German Kaiser, and during his studies at the Kriegsakademie in Berlin. Here, the future dictator of Greece wrote fascinating passages concerning what he described as the decline of Nineteenth Century Liberalism and Parliamentarianism, and his own concept of totality in human life, the totalitarian view of the world.

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