ΔΡΟΜΟΙ ΤΗΣ ΕΊΡΉΝΗΣ (ROADS OF PEACE) 2ND MARATHON PEACE MARCH TRIBUTE
1964. 4to (11 ¼ x 11 in.) in wraps. Very Good condition. Item #4094
Grigoris Lambrakis (b. 1912 – d. 1963) was a public figure in post-civil war Greece whose assassination sparked massive demonstrations against the right-wing government. He was a record-holding professional athlete in track and field, he actively participated in the Greek Resistance during the German occupation, and after World War II he became a well-respected doctor. He was very politically active in the pacifist movement and eventually was elected as a member of the Greek parliament in 1961. In 1963, the police arrested organizers of The First Pacifist Rally from Marathon to Athens and the event was banned. Committed to the cause and taking advantage of his diplomatic immunity, Lambrakis marched alone with a banner until he was also arrested. The following month, two right-wing extremists attacked Lambrakis, clubbing him in the head. He died five days later in the hospital on May 27, 1963.
In 1964, the 2nd Marathon Peace March commemorated Lambrakis’ death and drew a massive crowd to walk the forty-two kilometers between Marathon and Athens. Participants included Ava Helen Pauling (wife of Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling) representing Women Strike for Peace, Isabella Blum (Belgian public figure) representing the World Peace Council, Gopinath Pillai (Indian public figure), Harold Hamilton representing the British newspaper Peace News, Pat Pottle and other representatives from the Committee of 100 (a British anti-war group). This publication commemorates the peace march and proposes a third peace march with the aforementioned participants as members of a preparatory committee. 40 pp.
Price: $500.00