Ίδρυμα Κωνσταντίνος Γ. Καραμανλής

The ‘Konstantinos G. Karamanlis’ Foundation, established in 1983, an important centre for the preservation of historical memory and facilitation of scientific research, is the outcome of private initiative. Three eminent personalities of the world of letters, well aware of the conjunction of circumstances, Konstantinos Tsatsos, Κonstantinos Τrypanis and Konstantinos Svolopoulos, incited by the establishment of such foundations in the broader international sphere, addressed a letter to Konstantinos Karamanlis on 14 May 1983, in which among other issues the following was stressed: “every citizen, and the prominent especially, have the duty to care for preserving in the memory of those to come after them, the political events constituting the history of their era… Motivated by the above sentiments, we have decided on an initiative with the objective of conservation of written texts and oral testimonies of the historical period of our lifetime, which coincides with the period during which you yourself played a leading role in Greece’s political life…”

Konstantinos Karamanlis responded positively to the proposal and proceeded to the establishment of the Foundation, in the conviction that “History must not be forgotten” and that “the teachings of history are always opportune”. His decision to entrust his political archive to a non-profit Foundation to bear his name, was a pioneering act and contributed decisively to a scholarly approach of essence toward the problems of contemporary Greek history. His example was subsequently followed by other Greek politicians, and the foundations established with similar characteristics are evidence of Karamanlis’ timely response to the general spirit reigning at the time.

The Foundation’s primary goal is as comprehensively as possible to cast light on the historical events of the period after World War II, in conjunction with systematic study and research of what was accomplished by Konstantinos Karamanlis, and the promotion of the idea of a unified Europe. A fundamental prerequisite for attaining this goal was the collection, conservation and valorization of his personal archive, aspiring to the promotion of scientific research unconnected to any political or other expediency.

The Foundation is a legal entity under private law subject to the legislation regarding non-profitable foundations. Its establishment and operation is exclusively dependent on the financial support of private individuals, Karamanlis’ close relatives and friends.

The building housing the Foundation in Philothei, designed by the architect Iason Rizos, stands on wholly privately owned land, donated by Konstantinos Karamanlis himself at the same time as his personal archive. Building work was completed in October 1987 and there ensued the installation, equipment, the supplementation and systematic organization of the archive and the library, with the contribution and precious assistance of close friends of the President – primarily of his brother Grammenos G. Karamanlis.

According to his own wish, Konstantinos Karamanlis was interred in the grounds of the Foundation on 24 April 1998.

The institution holds primary sources illuminating the political history of Greece.

The Konstantinos Karamanlis archive, donated by himself, constitutes the main core of this material, covering the broader span of his political career from 1935 to 1998, the year of his death.

The Historical Archive has moreover been complemented with the archives of prominent political personalities and Karamanlis’ close collaborators. The Foundation already contains the archives of Panagis Tsaldaris, Konstantinos Tsaldaris, Evangelos Averoff-Tositsas, Konstantinos Papakonstantinos,, Lina Tsaldari, Alkis Delmouzos and other personalities. A valuable acquisition was Anastasios Kanellopoulos’ archive referring to Panagiotis Kanellopoulos. There are also files of useful data in respect of specific thematic entities, from eponymous donors.

Panagis (1868 - 1936) and his nephew, Konstantinos (1884-1970) Tsaldaris were leaders of the Populist Party and leading political figures in interwar and post-war Greece. Asher Moissis, a prominent Jewish lawyer who lived in Thessaloniki, was connected with Tsaldaris’ political party, for whom he had been a candidate in the 1936 elections. In the face of the Jewish deportations in March 1943, Moissis seemed to mobilize his connections with Tsaldaris family, to organize letters of protest to the Greek and German authorities in Athens. Panagis, Konstantinos and Lina’s Tsaldari archives are thus considered of possible interest for the study of Holocaust in Greece.