The following is the full text of the address delivered
by King George II of the Hellenes before the Congress of the United
States in Washington, on June 15, 1942.
I am proud to be in your midst and to bring you the
greetings of fighting Greece.
By your side, by the side of Great Britain and of
the other United Nations of free men, I continue and shall continue
no matter what the hardships, whatever the cost-the struggle for the
liberation of Greece-a nation which over a span of 5,000 years survived
vicissitudes and force, and which today is much less disposed than ever
to surrender its great heritage of civilization and languish a prisoner
to the powers of darkness and of evil.
When we took up arms first against the Italians and
then against the Germans, we knew very well what misfortunes awaited
our country and how difficult it was for our friends immediately to
come to our assistance. France then lay prostrate and most of the smaller
nations of Europe, one after another, had bowed to the might of the
invader. But no Greek doubted for an instant where his honor lay. With
the help of God and knowing that every Greek was ready and willing to
die in defense of his freedom and his honor, I assumed the responsibility
to History and to the Greek people to lead them forward in the full
performance of their duty. At one of the most critical cross-roads of
human history, when the fate of civilization hung in the balance, Greece
proved by its stand that no price was too high to pay for human freedom
and international decency.
Fortunately the sacrifices of my country were not
in vain. Due to the resistance of the Greek people in Continental Greece
and in Crete, seven precious months were gained at a most crucial stage
of the war, and the plans of the invader went awry. The Greek victories
in Albania shattered irretrievably Italy's prestige and our resistance
to Germany saved precious time for other fronts.
In this struggle Greece is proud to find itself a
second time within a quarter of a century by the side of the powerful
and generous American democracy. In the United States my country always
has found support and sympathetic understanding. The valuable aid which
you have given us during this war will never be forgotten. The initiative
which you took along with Great Britain, to bring relief to the starving
people of Greece, is a tribute to your civilization, which is characterized
by a Christian spirit of helpfulness. I thank you from the bottom of
my heart.
I know that the people of the United States by long
and arduous effort have earned the right to be and are a living example
of the best in contemporary civilization, and that they are inspired
by those nobler feelings and ideals which distinguish civilized man
from the barbarian. Your prosperous democracy by long and persistent
application has utilized for the benefit of the working masses the numerous
technological means which human intellect today contributes to civilization,
and has given us tangible proof of fairness and of justice.
You have not employed the power of your great country
to attack weaker nations. You have given an example of self-restraint
shown how a most powerful country can impose justice upon itself first,
so that it may rightly exact it of others. The great ideals with which
the United States today inspires the peoples of the world will contribute
not only to the happier conclusions of the current war, but will provide
the foundations of the happier and more harmonious life after the war,
which humanity expects.
Decency and justice must govern relations between
people in the post-war world, which must not be left a prey to vandalism
a further time. In order to achieve this result the machinery of international
cooperation must be strengthened so as to utilize, in order under law,
the tremendous resources of peace loving peoples. The economic life
of the nations must be reorganized in a manner which shall secure to
all the well-being to which the plain men and women of the world are
entitled.
Above all else it is vital that those who have fought
the battle of right be secured against invasion, and the wrongdoers-including
those who either for ulterior motives or simply because of weakness
permitted themselves to become tools of the Axis-be impressed that predatory
policies do not pay. The preservation of freedom is not the obligation
of any single people in any one part of the world; it is an obligation
of all peace loving peoples throughout the world. This simple truth
is the base-rock of international understanding and the cornerstone
for cooperation between free men in the world to come.
Greece with its limited resources is wholeheartedly
at the service of these ideals. Today when more than ever victory is
clearly discernible on the flaming horizon, she is determined to contribute
whatever she can toward that victory. Knowing the boundless resources
which the American people are placing in motion for the common effort
I feel duty bound to speak with great modesty of my country's contribution
to the same cause. However small that contribution may appear to be,
in contrast with what you are doing, it is everything we have. With
all our free fighting men who have survived, with all our ships which
have not been sunk, we will fight on land, we will fight on sea, and
we will fight in the air, to the very end, by your side and by the side
of the other United Nations, until barbaric violence is put down and
a new world is established-a world for free men, not for slaves.