March 7, 1948 marks a historic milestone for the Dodecanese islands and the modern Greek state. On this day the Dodecanese islands officially become part of Greece again, placing an end to Italian rule, as well as 740 years of foreign rule over the islands.
The unification of the Dodecanese islands with the motherland came after many years of struggles and sacrifices of the enslaved people of these islands. A first attempt was made on June 4, 1912 when representatives of the islands, organized the Pan-Dodecanese Congress of Patmos and declared the independent State of the Aegean, but it was unsuccessful. Surprisingly, the unification came after the defeat of the Nazis during the WW II where Greece fought decisively and with many loses on the side of the Allied Forces.
Throughout their long history, these islands, followed the fortunes of Hellenism. Nevertheless, through the centuries their identity, the impetus of the Greek, remained intact. The most historically important and well-known is Rhodes (Rodos), which, for millennia, has been the island from which the region is controlled. Of the others, Kos and Patmos are historically more important; the remaining nine are Astipalea, Kalimnos, Karpathos, Kasos, Leros, Nisyros, Symi, Tilos and Kastelorizo. Other islands in the chain include Agathonisi, Alimia, Arkoi, Chalki, Farmakonisi, Gyali, Kinaros, Levitha, Lipsi, Nimos, Pserimos, Saria, Syrna and Telendos.
Below is a chronology of the major events of that time:
- November 9, 1940: Constitution of the Regiment of the Dodecanese Volunteers with Ioannis Kazoullis initiator and first provisional commander Major Markos Kladakis from Symi and the participation of youth that manage to escape from the islands, under the Italian rule.
- September 8, 1943: The fall of Mussolini on July 25, 1943 and the capitulation of the new Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio on September 8, 1943, also known as Armistizio, marks a series of dramatic developments in the Dodecanese. The administration of the Dodecanese is taken by the German General Ulrich Kleeman.
- May 8,1945: The leader of the German occupying forces, General Wagener, signs in Simi the protocol of unconditional surrender of the Dodecanese to the British Allies Forces and the commander of the Ieros Lohos (a special Greek Army division), Colonel Christodoulos Tsigante.
- May 9,1945: British forces (Indian battalions) and men of the Ieros Lohos are landed in Rhodes. The people of the town and villages, welcome the troops holding Greek flags. The period of the British rule of the Dodecanese begins.
- June 27, 1946: The Council of Foreign Ministers in Paris decides the integration of the Dodecanese islands with Greece.
- February 10, 1947: A peace treaty is signed in Paris between the Allied Forces (including Greece) and Italy under which Italy grants in Greece with full sovereignty of the Dodecanese islands and adjacent islets.
- March 31, 1947: The British commander of the Allied Forces occupying the Dodecanese, Brigadier AS Parker, delivers the Administration to the Vice Admiral Pericles Ioannides. Begins the transition period of the Greek Military Administration.
- March 7, 1948: King Pavlos (Prince Charles’ uncle) and Queen Frederica, arrived in Rhodes in a frenzy of enthusiasm, accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister Constantine Tsaldaris, ministers and military to celebrate the official Integration of the Dodecanese islands with Greece.
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