“Vote down EDA” — Greek anti-communist poster from the 1958 legislative election showing the Soviet octopus stretching its tentacles across Greece. Its eyes are labelled “KKE”, for the Communist Party of Greece, and “EDA”, for the United Democratic Left. Its cap reads “USSR”.
Unsure who published this poster though it may have come from an anti-communist journal called Sovietology, run by George Georgalas, a former communist who would later work for the military junta's Ministry of Public Relations and Propaganda.
EDA was formed in 1951 by leftist politicians, some of whom had been former members of the KKE and Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) during the war. The right often characterised them as a front for the then-outlawed KKE.
Some wartime EAM/ELAS stuff:
Some wartime EAM/ELAS stuff:
In the poster, the USSR – through a facade of various left-wing committees, parties and groups (in this poster, the Democratic Trade Union Movement, the Peace Committee, the Human Rights Commission, the Greek-Soviet Association etc.) – seeks power in Greece.
By the 50s the communist (or fascist, capitalist, anything really) octopus was already something of a tired trope but it would persist throughout the Cold War.
Also inb4 replies.
On IG there was some controversy over the translation. It's a colloquial expression – literal translation is something like "throw black on the EDA". Commenters also suggested "don't support EDA/don't vote EDA", "downvote EDA”, “blackball EDA".
On IG there was some controversy over the translation. It's a colloquial expression – literal translation is something like "throw black on the EDA". Commenters also suggested "don't support EDA/don't vote EDA", "downvote EDA”, “blackball EDA".
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