Exile Museum

What I can see

The museum offers an overall experience of the exiles and the life of political prisoners. The exhibits of the museum come from personal collections and cover a period from the 1920s to the post-dictatorship period (after 1974). They are divided into museum and archival material. The museum material is divided into 5 thematic sections: a) organization and establishment of camps, b) struggle for survival, c) cultural activities, d) artistic creations, e) educational and political work. These sections include everyday objects, photographs, musical scores, paintings, sketches, pyrographies, drawings, sculptures and a variety of handicrafts, from painted cards to theatre props. The archival material consists of exile decisions, permissions, camp telegrams and notes, texts, photographs, letters, newspapers, illegal material, educational activity material and audio-visual material with testimonies and events. In addition, the museum has a library with 2500 titles, which are constantly growing.

What I can't see

Although the Greek title of the museum refers to a specific place of exile, the museum also concerns other places of exile, such as the islands of Gyaros and Leros. The island of Agios Efstratios (Ai Stratis) is the most isolated island of the Aegean Sea. The first political prisoners were sent there by Eleftherios Venizelos, who persecuted leftists and communists, based on their ideas (Idionymon). The camp reached its maximum capacity during the Metaxas dictatorship (1936-1940). Shortly before the German Occupation, the camp commander ordered the shooting of prisoners to prevent them from escaping, resulting in the death of three. The rest were handed over to the German invaders and many died of hardship. After the liberation, the camp closed for a short period of time. It reopened during the civil war and closed 13 years after the end of the civil war. It was again used by the dictatorship of colonels, but not to a great extent. Among the exiles of Ai Stratis were leading intellectuals and artists, such as Kostas Varnalis, Menelaos Loudemis, Giannis Ritsos, Tasos Livaditis, Manos Katrakis and many more.

Info

• Address: 31 Ag. Asomaton St.
• Postal Code : 10553
• Phone: +30 210 3213488
• E-mail: [email protected]
• Website: http://www.exile-museum.gr

Bibliography