UNIVERSITY OF THESSALY
2nd International Conference on Economic and Social History
"Markets" and Politics
Private interests and public authority (18th-20th centuries)
Volos, 10-12 February 2012
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Abstracts
- Vassilis Manoussakis The Business Elites of occupied Europe and the end of Nazi “New Order”: the cases of Greece and Belgium
In 1943-44, the upcoming liberation was a cause for both hope and anxiety for many businessmen around occupied Europe. This presentation will focus on how business elites in Greece and Belgium prepared themselves for the end of the occupation. The main difference of the two countries is well known: while Greece soon plunged into a civil war, Belgium had a much smoother transition to peace. However, when it came to the attitudes of the business elites there were more similarities than one might expect. Greece, of course, never had something equivalent to the Belgian Galopin doctrine. Nonetheless, the fear of communism and the threat of legal action against many of them for collaboration were common among both Greek and Belgian businessmen at the time. Their response was also similar: bribes, support of political groups, even armed right-wing organizations were used to ensure both the continued existence of the capitalist political order as well as the personal survival of those in question.
