Love and War

The personal record of actual war events in addition to the atmosphere of that period completes the picture of an important historical fact.

In autobiographic Memoires the authors and historians used as a role official classified material and only added other events and elements when and if the text was facilitated by these. From this aspect we greet the english edition of the widely read book of Z. Hadjifotiou “Love and War” which has reached its 21st edition. The author is an eccentric personality equally ebullient in war as in peacetime who has put on paper his many activities – with much elegance in all his books.

Off-spring of a very well to do family he abandoned very young the comforts of home and over-coming many difficulties and dangers arrived in the Middle East to join there the free Greek fighting forces. He was known to his comrades -in- arms as a gentleman and a daring warrior who smelled sweetly of cologne in the morning and stank of alcohol at night.

The narration of “Love and War” will now give the foreign reader the opportunity to ascertain the spirit which motivated the young men of that tragic period.

I am sure that the well loved by all Deputy Mayor of Athens will be endeared by his readers as well. We wish to thank the valued co-operation of Terry Crosfield for the translation of the Greek text in English as well as the Stavros Niarchos Foundation which foresaw the historical importance of these Memoires and the need for these to circulate abroad by providing the necessary funds for this edition.

Gerassimos Apostolatos

President of The Society for Study of Greek History

(From the first English Edition in 2001)