Global InformationKonstantinos Koukidis information
Konstantinos Koukidis | |
|---|---|
 Plaque in memory of Konstantinos Koukidis | |
| Born | 1922 |
| Died | 27
April 1941 Acropolis |
| Cause of death | Suicide by jumping |
| Known for | Alleged Evzone who resisted the Nazi invasion of Greece |
The name Konstantinos Koukidis (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Κουκίδης) is used to refer to the alleged Greek Evzone or member of the National Youth Organisation who was on flag guard duty on 27 April 1941 at the Athens Acropolis, the day Wehrmacht forces entered Athens and begun the Axis occupation of Greece. After the first Germans climbed up the Acropolis, an officer ordered him to surrender, give up the Greek flag, and raise the Nazi swastika flag in its place. Koukidis instead supposedly chose to stay loyal to his duty by hauling down the flag, wrapping it around his body, and jumping from the Acropolis rock to his death.
The first correspondence about the event occurred on 9 June 1941, and it since has been sporadically mentioned through eye witnesses and personal memoirs of supposed friends of Koukidis, mostly every OΧΙ Day. After research that took place in Greek government facilities as well as the archive of the Greek military, no record had been found of a person named Koukidis, nor of any such event taking place.
Despite that, in October 2000, then mayor of Athens Dimitris Avramopoulos installed a commemorative plaque near the spot which the event supposedly took place, although he stated that there were no specific documentary evidence on Koukidis or his act, which modern historiography considers to be apocryphal.