The anniversary of the Polytechnic uprising through the telephotographs of the Museum

This year marks 52 years since the Polytechnic uprising, a day of remembrance and honor for the students who raised their voices against the junta, demanding freedom and democracy.

It was November 14, 1973, when students occupied the building of the National Technical University of Athens on Patission Street, demanding free elections in student associations. Very soon, students, workers, and pupils flooded the Polytechnic campus. The mobilization turned into an anti-dictatorial movement, while the radio station set up inside the institution broadcast the slogans "Bread – Education – Freedom" and "Down with the junta" blared from the radio station set up inside the institution.

In the days that followed, the students organized committees for security, food, medical care, and information. The rallies become even more massive, as crowds of people arrive at the Polytechnic and the surrounding streets, demonstrating against the junta. The dictatorship, alarmed, mobilizes the army and tanks, while hospitals receive the first wounded and dead.

The dictators, seeing the danger of losing control of the situation completely, order the security forces to escalate the repression. Shortly after midnight on November 17, a tank invades the Polytechnic, demolishing the gate and crushing the students standing behind it. Arrests and manhunts follow, with constant gunfire in the streets of Athens.

Although the regime remained in power, it suffered a heavy blow. A week later, Georgios Papadopoulos was overthrown by Dimitrios Ioannidis, paving the way for the fall of the junta. On July 15, 1974, the coup against Makarios in Cyprus leads to the Turkish invasion on July 21. Faced with the threat of war with Turkey, the military is forced to relinquish power, marking the end of the seven-year dictatorship.

The Museum, in honor of this year's anniversary, presents three telephotographs from its collections of earlier celebrations, highlighting not only the students' struggle, but also the preservation of the memory and values of freedom and democracy.

Photos from left:

1. Anniversary of the 1979 Polytechnic uprising. The banner of the National Student Union of Greece (EFEE) dominates the gate of the institution, which was reorganized after the fall of the junta and began to operate freely again. (Floros Brothers Archive – Nikos L. Floros)
2. During the 1986 anniversary celebrations, young people lay flowers at the head of the statue of Nikos Svoronos, which was placed on the Polytechnic grounds in 1979 and became associated with the students' struggle. (Floros Brothers Archive – Nikos L. Floros)
3. Gathered in the courtyard of the Polytechnic, honoring the 1986 uprising. (Floros Brothers Archive – Nikos L. Floros)