Κοινωνία και ποινική πραγματικότητα στο νομό Ιωαννίνων την δεκαετία του 1930

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the consequences of unlawful activity in the region of Epirus, which affected every aspect of the political, cultural and social life during the 1930s, as well as -more broadly- during the Interbellum. To that end, we have resorted to a detailed documentation of instances of criminal behaviour, the occurrence of which exerted a defining influence on the social and political fabric of the region. Nevertheless, our aim would not be adequately attainable had we not sought to highlight the methods of penal repression, through an analytical thematic approach of all the ways in which unlawfulness was manifested. Subsequently, our aims also include the question of the degree in which the financial situation and the social characteristics of both the Interbellum and the preceding (19th) century contributed to the outbreak of unlawful behaviour. The problem of banditry, for instance, constituted one of the most basic parameters of this line of thought, since the phenomenon generally dominated no less than the previous two centuries. In addition to the above, our line of enquiry also includes a number of questions focusing on human behaviours and, subsequently on the inmates themselves, who, as prisoners or exiles, often developed initiatives against the Authorities' repressive stance. In addition, we have highlighted aspects concerning the anthropogeography of unlawful activity as well as the related repressive policies. Specifically, comparative analyses were implemented, regarding the local differentiations between Ioannina and the rural hinterland, among social classes or even between the two sexes. More generally, our study focuses on the identification of the way in which the Modern Greek society, as exemplified by the Epirus region, has faced the unlawful phenomena, and of the way in which it was ultimately affected so as to become a part of this reality. In any case, the lasting influences of the ottoman past, combined with the intensely transformative trends and the instable political climate of the period (frequent government changes, coups, dictatorial regimes), exerted an influence on the everyday reality, including any unlawful outlets. In order to achieve the aforementioned main goals, we have focused our attention on various sources. Doubtless, the availability and the utilization of the archival materials of the Court of First Instance of Ioannina formed our main documentary source as well as the starting point for any further research-oriented or bibliographical approach. Further specifying the form of the evidence in question, our interest was initially focused on two main directions: (a) the minutes and the rulings of the Court of Misdemeanours of Ioannina; and (b) the penal findings of fact by the said court. However, it must be stressed that the this material is vast in volume, especially if one considers, that in the space of a single year, the number of cases heard by the three-member Court of Misdemeanours were as many as 2,100. Furthermore, the contribution of other sources, originating from the Record Offices of Athens and Ioannina, was also considerable. One can indicate, by way of example, the minutes of the Town Council of the Ioannina Municipality, the Hellenic Literary and Historical Archive, the Diplomatic and Historical Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Studies Department of the Ministry of Public Order and the General State Archives in Kerkyra. However, a special mention should be made of the press, as it constituted the main source of information, second to the judicial records. To begin with, it is underlined that a thorough investigation was conducted through the newspapers that were published in the regions of Epirus, Kerkyra and Athens. A greater emphasis, though, was placed on the outlook of the articles and the way in which facts were recorded and presented. In approaching the sources, we were doubtless concerned by the multiplicity of readings to which journalistic texts are subject, as they fall within a framework which formulates public opinion. Regarding the methodology of recording and utilising the aforementioned archival material, we have resorted to the aid of statistics. Absent the management of the material which was achieved through tabulation, the immense wealth of data would have been practically impossible to exploit and appraise in order to permit the emergence of our findings. A table which is especially important is the one which displays the progress of cases at the level of courts of first instance, as is the one which documents unlawful acts categorised by geographical region. A third noteworthy table is the one which highlights punishable actions broken down by category and frequency. However, it is worth pointing out that this effort was supplemented by the creation of an analytical set of tables and graphs in the specific chapters of this work. Moving gradually into the structure of the study, we now focus our attention on the structure of chapters. Specifically, three main chapters were composed, through which we progress from the static nature of judicial evidence to the timeline of history, through a variety of sources which originate from different entities and concern different points in time. More specifically, the first chapter, titled «The Early Hellenic Period (1913 - 1932)», focuses on the interpretation of the intensely unlawful reality during the first years after the incorporation of the Epirus region to the Greek state. Practical considerations, however, have meant that it focuses on the historical affinity of this period with the preceding ottoman century and that the social behaviour of the region is interpreted as stemming from past practices. In any case, the main manifestation of this reality materialised in the form of banditry. Consequently, the chapter highlights the specific attributes of bandit activity and the forms in which it was manifested (kidnapping, hostage-taking, ambushes etc.) and comparatively presents them alongside the socio-cultural characteristics of the Epirus region. In any case, many of the features typifying Greece during the Interbellum are present in the Ioannina region as well. The second chapter, titled «The Post-Venizelos period (1933 - 1936)», forms the first main part of our work. In this chapter, we deal with the various manifestations of unlawful activity, spanning from immediately after the end of the Venizelos' government to the establishment of the Metaxas' dictatorial regime. To facilitate our goal, we have presented the unlawful phenomena distinguishing between the town of Ioannina and the rural hinterland. In addition, within these two sub-units, the relevant conclusions from the geographical presentations were facilitated by an analytical thematic approach of the unlawful activity. We have thus highlighted this geographical variance by focusing on the people-offenders themselves, while at the same time acknowledging the interdependence in the occurrence of criminal activities. This can be deduced, for instance, from instances of population mobility, as a part of the rural world from the countryside resorted to violations in the town, due to social and financial factors, despite the fact that the majority of unlawful acts occurred in the hinterland. In the third part of our study, titled «The Metaxas' Period (1936 -1940)», we attempt a different approach to our queries, even though the queries and the goals set are not dissimilar to those of the post-Venizelos period. In other words, we shift our argumentation more towards the temporal differentiation between the two periods, in relation to the repression process. At the same time, we follow a unified geographical approach, with a view to identifying the policies applied by theMetaxas' regime. In summing up the main findings of our research, we could argue that: (a) the form of unlawfulness which had dominated in the region since the 19th century was banditry. Naturally, the attributes of this phenomenon at the turn of the 20th century were more related to the unlawful actions envisaged in the modern penal code. At the same time, a tendency of representation with political outlook emerged among the bandits. In addition, the pastoral characteristics of the population, who experienced difficulties adjusting to the urban way of life, combined with the mountainous landscape and the rural issue, point towards the interpretation of the outbreak of banditry, (b) the sense of imposing discipline on public as well as personal life, which typified the Interbellum, was perfectly obvious in the case studied. The promulgation and enforcement of repressive legislation (Anticommunist Act [Ιδιώνυμο] etc.), in addition to the propagandist functions of the government-controlled press, fueled various forms of unlawful activity. The unrestrained use of exiles as a sentence, at a time when the institution of incarceration was being more widely established, formed a central feature of this reality, (c) The defense of personal honour exercised a significant defining effect on social behaviour and contributed to the formulation of values. In any case, honour related homicide statistically formed the second most common cause for perpetrating a crime, following banditry, (d) The value of livestock in the mountainous regions, coupled with the power of tradition and the needs of sustenance, contributed to the outbreak of animal theft, (e) Financial hardship, increased taxation, the influx of refugees from Asia Minor and the inability of the government apparatus to deal with the situation, coupled with the location of Ioannina as a trade centre, facilitated the outbreak of property-related violations. Similarly, in the rural hinterland, a set of offences, such as tobacco smuggling, reveal the innate problems of the countryside, (f) During the Metaxas' period, it is possible to observe an amalgamation of penal and political offences, while it is obvious that the judicial route was being circumvented through the Public Security Committees. This fact produced an inevitable shift in the statistical data, as it caused a reduction in the tried cases and ultimately led to a virtual reduction of the unlawfulness indices, which was more pronounced after 1938, in an attempt by the regime to prove that society prospered, (g) The anti-parliamentarianism of the Metaxas' regime widened the repressive practices, as numerous citizens were subject to an ideological persecution; and (h) The press adjusted to the features of each period, since during the post-Venizelos period they approached unlawful activities with a detailed attitude, whereas during the Metaxas' period they adhered to silence tactics. More specifically, in the first case, it is possible to discern that rich journalism, especially regarding banditry, formed a common practice, possibly due to similar phenomena in the past. By contrast, during the Metaxas' period, the press was basically prone to concealing the relevant instances and therefore contributed to the cultivation of a climate of virtual security.