Facts

1822: Those besieged by the Turks in the tower of Zafirakis in Naoussa make a heroic exit. 13 girls of Naoussa, mothers and children, gather on the bridge of Arapitsa and throw themselves into the waterfall, repeating the dance of Zalongos (The Destruction of Naoussa).

1924: The Istanbul Athletic Association is founded in Athens by refugees from Istanbul, which takes the lead in sports events with the initials AEK.

1943: Mass graves of 4,000 Polish civilians and officers are discovered by the Nazis in Katyn Forest, Russia. The Soviets deny responsibility for the executions and blame the Germans. Eventually, post-communist Russia would admit in 1990 the responsibility of the Soviet secret service (NKVD) for the massacre, which was ordered by Stalin in 1940 (Katyn Massacre).

1970: The trial of the resistance organization “Democratic Defense”, which developed into a fierce “accusation” against the Junta, by both the defendants and the defense witnesses, is completed. Among those sentenced: Sakis Karagiorgas (life), G. A. Magkakis (18 years), Nikos Kostantopoulos (8 years) and Christos Protopappas (8 years).

2000: Kostas Simitis is sworn in as prime minister for the third time.

2003: 21 students from the Makrohori High School of Imathia lose their lives when a lorry rammed the tourist bus they were on. Six people will be sentenced for the accident to prison terms from 4 to 15 years.

Births

1906:Samuel Beckett, Irish playwright. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. (“Waiting for Godot”) (D. 22/12/1989)

1926: Elli Lampeti, stage name of Eleni Loukou, Greek actress. (D. 3/9/1983)

1947: Thanos Mikroutsikos, Greek composer and politician. (Thu. 28/12/2019)

Deaths

1984: Dionysis Papagiannopoulos, Greek comedian actor. (Born 12/7/1912)

2015: Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan writer. (Born 3/9/1940)

2015: Ginder Grass, Nobel Prize-winning German author. (Born 16/10/1927)