A forthcoming public lecture in Melbourne will shed new light on one of the lesser-known chapters of the Greek Civil War, examining the history of the Democratic Army of Greece through archival material uncovered in Tashkent.
The seminar, titled “The Democratic Army of Greece through the Tashkent Archives,” will be presented by Dr Nick Dallas on Thursday, 12 March at 7pm at the Mezzanine Level of the Greek Centre, 168 Lonsdale Street.
The event forms part of the ongoing seminar programme of the Greek Community of Melbourne, which regularly hosts discussions on Greek history, culture and diaspora issues.
Dr Dallas arrived in Melbourne in 1971 aboard the iconic migrant ship Patris. A graduate of the University of Melbourne, he holds undergraduate degrees in Science, Arts and Commerce, as well as a PhD in Organic Chemistry. He currently works in educational publishing and has been actively involved with the Greek Community of Melbourne for more than a decade.
Since 2012, he has served on the Board of Management of the Greek Community of Melbourne, where he chairs the Education Committee and convenes the community’s seminar programme.
In addition to his professional work, Dr Dallas has pursued extensive historical research. Since December 2024, he has been a PhD candidate at the University of Macedonia’s Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies in Thessaloniki, researching Greek political exiles who arrived in Tashkent in 1949 following the Greek Civil War.
His upcoming lecture will present findings from his research into the archives of the Greek Community of Tashkent, offering rare insights into the thousands of Greek fighters who went into exile after the defeat of the Democratic Army of Greece at the Battle of Grammos in August 1949.
Following the collapse of the Democratic Army, around 100,000 people were forced into political exile in the socialist countries of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Of these, approximately 12,000 Democratic Army combatants were settled in Tashkent, then the capital of Soviet Uzbekistan.
According to Dr Dallas’ research, these individuals represented the surviving military core of the Democratic Army, including much of its officer corps and those considered capable of continuing the struggle abroad.
Drawing on thousands of registration cards containing personal and military information about the fighters, Dr Dallas will present, for the first time, detailed data from the early registration processes carried out in Tashkent. The records provide an unusually precise picture of the people who made up the Democratic Army of Greece and their lives in political exile.
The seminar is expected to offer valuable insights into both the history of the Greek Civil War and the broader story of Greek political exile in the twentieth century.
The event is supported by Tina Giannoukos.
Event Details:
- Date: Thursday, 12 March 2026
- Time: 7pm
- Speaker: Dr Nick Dallas
- Topic: The Democratic Army of Greece through the Tashkent Archives
- Venue: Mezzanine Level, The Greek Centre, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
