The fully reformed and enriched Museum of National Resistance, in Koryschades, Evrytania, was inaugurated today, Saturday, by the president of the Parliament, Konstantinos Tasoulas.

“The Hellenic Parliament, the institutional custodian of historical memory,” co-financed the complete renovation of the Koryshkadon School building, following the 2018 memorandum of cooperation, with the Region of Central Greece, the municipality of Karpenisi and the Kokkalis Foundation, emphasized Mr. Tasoulas.

The President of the Parliament in his speech referred to the message of the Museum of National Resistance, pointing out: “I am here to know and feel the history, which is a great lesson for all of us, a difficult competition. To know history and feel it, to enjoy it and for this knowledge to help me serve the difficult, ultimate and greatest lesson of unity and reconciliation”. In the publication of the catalog of the Parliament, Mr. Tasoulas also pointed out that: “The Library of the Parliament took care of the historical research, the preparation and implementation of the museological study and the publication of the catalog of the permanent exhibition, as well as the enrichment of the documents in permanent collection of the Museum” and added: “The permanent exhibition of the Museum of National Resistance of Koryshkades constitutes a cell of collective memory in a today’s oligarchy village, which nevertheless exudes historical memory. Here, once again, the contribution of the Hellenic Parliament to the strengthening of local societies, their history and culture is highlighted. In the age of the automated convenience of new technologies, the lessons learned from indulging in high values ​​and the bloody struggles to claim them are necessary and useful.”

According to a relevant announcement by the Parliament, the Deputy Governor of Central Greece, Aristidis Tassios, referred in his greeting to the Region’s memorandum of cooperation with the Hellenic Parliament, the Municipality of Karpenisi and the “Petros Kokkalis” Foundation, noting that “the result of this cooperation is the reformed Museum with the renewed and enriched exhibition narrative waiting for all visitors to discover.” Pointing out that the history of our country was written in blood, he added that “it is our duty not to forget the past. To emphatically honor the historical memory and our glorious ancestors. To offer strong lessons for today and most importantly to create a strong perspective for tomorrow”.

The mayor of Karpenisi, Nikolaos Souliotis, in his greeting pointed out that “the emblematic site of the old stone-built school, surrounded by the Euritanian mountains, was the most suitable place to inspire people in 1944, to house the work of the National Council, gathering representatives from all over Greece with the sole aim of liberating the country and restoring national unity and popular sovereignty. The accumulated historical energy of the site and its monumental value, as well as the growing interest of visitors, created the need to upgrade and strengthen historical knowledge with a coherent and more complete documentation and narrative material in space and time.”

In his greeting, the MEP and vice-president of the Kokkalis Foundation, Mr. Petros Kokkalis, said, among other things, that it is a great honor for the Foundation to participate in the project, noting: “Unity, the fight for freedom are what we should be concerned with”.

According to the same announcement, for the compilation of the exhibition material, the research and data collection by the staff of the Library of the Parliament was extended to more than 50 public and private bodies. The permanent collection was redesigned and enriched with printed archival material (newspapers, forms, photographs, posters) and three-dimensional objects offering a global narrative of the resistance of the Greek people to the German invaders during World War II. The head of the effort and curator of the Exhibition is Doctor of History and member of the Parliament Stathis Koutrouvidis. Visitors to the reformed Museum of National Resistance can take a guided tour of the faithful stage representation of the space that hosted the National Council and, through more than 500 documents, approach the events of those days.

The exhibition that will be permanently hosted by the Museum includes 6 thematic sections:

  • the epic of the National Resistance,
  • the blowing up of the Gorgopotamos Bridge,
  • the national council elections,
  • the “Battle of the Harvest”
  • PEEA and the National Council: the next day and everyday life

Many of the items of doctor and National Councilor Petros Kokkalis donated by the Kokkalis Foundation were added to the collection. The collection also includes the full photographic record and the biographies of the National Councilors as well as works and drawings of the painter and engraver Valias Semertzidis from his stay on the mountain in 1944, which his wife Kalliroi Semertzidis donated to the Parliamentary Library in 2019.

The opening ceremony was attended by, among others, the 3rd Vice-President of the Parliament Athanasios Bouras, the Member of Parliament of Evrytania Mrs. Thomais Oikonomou, the Mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis, the new Mayor of Karpenisi Christos Kakkavas, the Vice-Regional Governor of Central Greece Katerina Kalatzi, the Metropolitan of Evrytania George, representatives of Security Forces and parties.