The Return of the King
These two photographs[i], circa 1946, give a picture of the political uncertainty in Greece after the liberation. A referendum, tainted by rumors of voter fraud, [1] was held on September 1, 1946 for the restoration of the monarchy. It passed by 68.4% of voters with a turnout of 88.6%. And on September 26, George II returned to Greece but died shortly after of natural causes on April 1, 1947. Incidentally, when his death was announced some thought it to be an April Fool's joke.
Immediately, his younger brother, Crown Prince Paul, succeeded him to the throne. During Paul's 17-year reign, with the generous financial and military aid (The Marshall Plan) from the United States, the country experienced an accelerated economic growth and a measure of political stability.
In the picture above, judging from the exuberance of the participants and the sign on the windshield of the truck, “ΕΡΧΕΤΑΙ,“ which means “He is coming [back, from Egypt],” I assume it is from some kind of a “victory lap” by the monarchy-restoration supporters. The placard displays the Royal Monogram of King George I of Greece, the crown resting on the letter "X" [chi] [2], and below it is the slogan “Long live the King.”
Incidentally, the royal monogram "X" was also the banner of the British supported paramilitary militia of the extreme right, "X" [chi], during the Resistance (members of the organization were called "Chites"). It was lead by Colonel George Grivas, a Greek Cypriot by birth who in the 1950s became a nemesis for the British as the leader of the underground Cypriot organization EOKA, fighting them for the island's independence under the nom de guerre "Dighenis."
The picture on the left is from a rally held by the anti-restoration coalition before the referendum. The slogan on the top of the placard proclaims “Long live Democracy,” while portraying a French-style “Democracy” slaying the “monarchy-dragon”—evoking hagiography depictions of one of Christendom's most venerated saints, St. George, the dragon slayer. At the bottom, the sign reads “Democratic League of the Suburbs [of Athens].”
Note: Both pictures were scanned from flyers; Christos did not remember how they had come into his possession.
[1] The official report of the Allied Mission to Observe the Greek Elections [AMFOGE] acknowledged the existence of voter fraud, despite its vested interest in legitimizing the election, that "There is no doubt in our minds that the party representing the government view exercised undue influence in securing votes in support of the return of the King." They however claimed that without said influence, the monarchy would still have prevailed in the election (^ https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1946v07/d145) .
[2] Mr. Leo Panousakis mailed me the following explanation for the "X" in the King's crest: "King George the First had the cypher X because one of his other middle names was Χριστιανος [Christian](naturally, as he was hailing from Denmark). I think I remember reading somewhere that all Greek Kings had this middle name as well, which however a quick internet search could not corroborate (for the time, at least). King George II, for sure (although it was never referred to) as he had a very similar looking cypher. It was differentiated from his father's by the insertion of two small II's between the crossed X. Also If you see the cypher of Prince George, younger brother of King Constantine I, who was the Prince Regent of Crete in the end of the 19th c. it is also an X, from the Γ, conjoined with the Χ as per the pic of his standard here: http://www.royalchronicles.gr/prigkipas-georgios-nikos-kazantzakis-oi-dyo-simantikoi-andres/."
