Contribution short abstract:

This contribution aims to examine co-narratives of Greek resistance during the 1940s that do not fit into the grand narrative of resistance but are crucial for tracing the everyday experiences of partisans.

Contribution long abstract:

The paper shall discuss co-narratives in narrating Greek resistance movements during the 1940ies. The grand narrative of resistance in Greece is, as in other countries with a strong antifascist struggle during the occupational period, based on the heroization of male partisans, grand events and battles, re-producing a whole lot of patriotism and heteronormative gender attributions.

Narratives that do not fit into the grand narrative are not recognized by the official commemorative institutions and often by the former partisans and their descendants themselves. A closer look at resistance narratives shows, for example, that women's experiences are passed on when they fit into the image of armed resistance. Other acts of solidarity, activism and care fall between the lines, are only told in fragments and require dedicated listening, as well as caring piecing together by researchers.

Therefore, a methodological look is also taken at how seemingly fragmentary co-narratives can be translated and conveyed to a readership. Strategies are discussed that make it possible to make these co-narratives (e.g. women's narratives, narratives of those who did not remain loyal to the resistance groups) tangible and communicable. Walks, music interviews, the drawing of memory cards, narratives that revolve around objects of memory can be a way of capturing stories of everyday resistance and solidarity, of everyday experiences during the occupation beyond the grand narratives. Different writing formats, in turn like ethnographic poems, can be a way of conveying these narratives illustrating how they are interwoven into selection processes of remembering and forgetting.