EU Parliament names room after ‘Manolis Glezos’, Greece’s prominent anti-Nazi resistance fighter

Manolis Glezos is referred to as a ‘major figure in the national resistance against fascism’ in a press release issued by the European Parliament.

Manolis Glezos is remembered as a Greek hero of National Resistance during WWII Source: Guido van Nispen/flickr CC BY 2.0

Highlights

• “Manolis Glezos” is the new name of a European Parliament meeting room
• The renaming proposal was put forward by the European Left political group
• The initiative aims to pay tribute to his contributions in Greece’s resistance fight during WWII

The EU legislative body announced on Tuesday a symbolic gesture underway to honour his memory by naming a meeting room of its establishment after him.

The Left Group in the European Parliament spearheaded the proposal “as a tribute to the remarkable life of this former MEP”.

Prior to his tenure as Member of the European Parliament between 2015-2016, Glezos had also served during the period 1984-1985.

Born in a mountainous village of Naxos island in 1922, Glezos lived up to 97 years of age.

He was a prominent anti-Nazi resistance fighter in occupied Greece during WWII, and became widely known for tearing down the swastika flag from the Acropolis in May 1941 along with Apostolos Santas, also a teenager at the time.

The name “Manolis Glezos” replaces the previous name «SPINELLI 1G2» of the meeting room located at the Altiero Spinelli building of the European Parliament in Brussels.