The 2026 Greek History and Culture Seminar series at The Greek Centre will continue on Thursday, July 2, with Dr Phil Kafcaloudes presenting “Christos and the Haidari 200”.
The seminar will examine the recently discovered photographs documenting the final moments of the Haidari 200, the 200 political prisoners executed by Nazi forces at the Kaisariani shooting range in Athens on May 1, 1944, under orders from Adolf Hitler.
The photographs were taken and preserved by a German officer and were only discovered after being listed for sale on eBay by a Belgian collector. The Greek government later acquired them as a protected monument.
The images provide further evidence supporting oral histories of the execution, revealing the courage of the condemned prisoners and offering new insight into Greece’s history during World War II.
Dr Kafcaloudes will present the story of the photographs and the background of the prisoners through the perspective of his own grandfather, who was among the Haidari 200.
A writer, journalist and academic, Dr Kafcaloudes previously presented the breakfast program on ABC Radio Australia for nine years and has taught journalism at La Trobe and RMIT universities, as well as internationally.
His work includes the novel Someone Else’s War, which tells the story of his maternal grandmother, a WWII spy in Greece, and the stage adaptation Of Forgetting, recently performed at Melbourne’s La Mama Theatre.
The seminar will be held at 7pm on Thursday, July 2, at Level 12, The Greek Centre, 168 Lonsdale Street. The event is sponsored by Kostas Stefanidis.
Event Details
- Date: Thursday, 2 July 2026
- Time: 7.00 pm
- Venue: Level 12, The Greek Centre, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
