(MENAFN- The Conversation) At the height of the Cold War, the activities of Greek migrants who had arrived in Australia after the second world war saw the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) take notice.

At the time, immigrants were keenly sought to expand the postwar Australian economy: more than 160,000 arrived from Greece during this period. But migrants were nonetheless viewed with suspicion and distrust, especially those from southern European countries.

During the assimilation era, from 1945 to 1966 – a time when the White Australia policy was still in force – immigrants were expected to shed their cultural identity and adopt what was described as“the Australian way of life”. They were supposed to disassociate with events from the homeland, disavow politics from overseas, and not to develop political agendas within Australia. Memories of past injustices had to be shed.

As historian John Rickard has astutely observed, Australia wanted immigration, but not immigrants.

Surveillance culture

The reports of ASIO agents during the assimilation era reiterated the importance of migrants leaving behind the politics of the countries they came from and severing all political links

Greek communists, predictably, drew most attention from the security agency. Takeover by communists was seen in some quarters as an ever-present threat. But it was not exclusively left-wing organisations that were of interest. ASIO also followed pro-British, anti-communist, right-wing organisations, particularly those that expressed allegiance to Greek royalty and the Greek monarchy.

These groups may have aligned more closely with the conservative political persuasions of ASIO and the Menzies government of the day, but they warranted surveillance nonetheless. So did the various schisms and political machinations of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Easter service at Greek Orthodox Church, Canberra, 1964. Australian National Archives

The surveillance was not new. In the pre-war years, surveillance of Greek communities was actively undertaken by intelligence authorities. During the first world war and after, Greek shop owners, political activists of all persuasions, and the community more broadly were the subject of scrutiny – especially those who were garnering support for political events in Greece, such as the Balkans conflict of 1912–13.

To ASIO, some organisations within the Greek community felt more alien than others. For example, the Greek Orthodox Community of New South Wales – an umbrella organisation – and its affiliates were discussed in positive terms.

Its members were staid and conservative. In 1945, ASIO noted that there was nothing to suggest concerning political activity within the organisation. But even here there was suspicion. The organisation was said to be developing an“outlook” and it was“yet to be seen how far this will develop”. ASIO was of the view that it contained“elements that are so anti-communist and so national that they might easily convert the organization into one of a counter-revolutionary nature”.

ASIO was suspicious of the royalist leanings of many of these groups. Regional groups that promoted a form of Greek nationalism especially drew the attention of surveillance officers.

There was a concern, implied and sometimes made explicit, that rather than assimilating, these groups were stridently promoting Greek culture, while flourishing their right-wing political allegiances.

The Atlas Club

Conversely, the Greek communist community was described as“composed of the lower type of Greek migrants”.

The surveillance of Greek communists was relentless and sustained over several decades. One of its leading figures, George Zangalis, who arrived in Australia in 1950, was pursued over two decades. An extensive ASIO file covers his activities from 1952 to 1973.

The Atlas Club, formed in 1936, was described as especially active and pernicious. It was identified as being at the centre of Communist Party of Australia recruiting. ASIO believed its members were effective in luring new arrivals to the party. It noted how members assembled at wharves where Greek arrivals would berth; in one instance, apparently 20 members were present.

The Greek Atlas Centre in Sydney was a meeting place for Greek and Australian communists and the assembly point for the communist-sponsored Youth Carnival for Peace and Friendship. Of particular offence to ASIO was that“national foods could be obtained at the Club” as well as“national card games”, which made it“an ideal meeting place for new arrivals”.

Much of the focus was on Greek activists who had arrived from Greece and joined left-wing groups in Australia, but there were also concerns about long-term residents of Australia getting swept up in communist politics.

James Mitsos, also known as Demetrious Mitsopoulos, is a telling case. He arrived in Australia aged 11, before the second world war. In 1939, he changed his name to“Papageorgio”. His activities during and after the war suggested his passionate connection to Greece and its political fortunes.

Mitsopoulos became active in promoting communist politics through the Atlas Club. He was described by ASIO as“virtually the leader of the Greek communist community” and said to be responsible for spreading propaganda. Mitsopoulos would find employment for newly arrived immigrants. Through these means, the Greek branch of the Communist Party of Australia found success in recruiting them to the cause.

Born in 1912 in Samos, Mitsopolous arrived in Australia in September 1923 with his mother who, according to ASIO, had divorced his father. He became a tailor. Early in 1928, he went to Sydney, where he spent four and a half years, then returned to Melbourne, where he remained until May 1936. Thereafter, he relocated to Sydney permanently.

Mitsopolous was secretary of the Darlinghurst branch of the Young Communist League, and an active member of the Australian Workers' Sports Federation, which was thought by ASIO to be infiltrated by communists. In March 1941, he was“arrested and interned on the suspicion of being an active communist”.

The activity that led to his arrest had occurred in 1940, when he distributed a communist pamphlet at the Greek Club. It was alleged he agitated his“fellow nationals” to become members of the Hotel, Restaurant and Club Employees' Union.

“Despite this,” ASIO recorded in frustration, Mitsopolous was released in September 1941, on the condition that“he should not reside within 100 miles of the coastline of Australia” – a condition that was later revoked. In December, he offered to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force,“but it was decided that it was undesirable that he should become a member of the military forces”.

In July 1942, the Greek Consul in Sydney asked for restrictions to be lifted. The consulate vouched for his“patriotic feelings, reliability and good character” and said it would assist Mitsopolous in seeking work. This contradicted the consul's initial statement supporting Mitsopolous' internment.“The change of heart,” noted ASIO,“may of course have been as a result of Russia coming into the war.”

In 1944, Mitsopolous was an organiser of the Provisional Committee for the Liberation of Greece. In December of that year, he sent a telegram to Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt, protesting against action then being taken in Greece.

In 1946, he applied for and was granted naturalisation, with the support of Labor politician Eddie Ward. In May 1947, he spoke at the Domain in Sydney against the“intervention and attacks on Greek Democratic Forces”. His talk was sponsored by the Communist Party of Australia and the Atlas Club.

Greek migrants on their way to Australia, 1950. Opal at Latrobe.

For Mitsopoulous, the political situation in Greece, then in the middle of a civil war, was an important and worthy cause to pursue in Australia. He did this through the League for Democracy in Greece.

The League for Democracy in Greece flew in the face of political assimilation. ASIO's concern was less with its members than with the dissemination of propaganda about Greek politics. Formed in June 1948, the league aimed to provide relief to imprisoned Greek democrats and their dependants, heighten awareness in Australia of happenings in Greece, and promote mutual understanding between the two countries. It attacked British and American imperialism and was linked to the Communist Party of Australia. Beyond this, it aimed to establish a communist government in Greece.

During the 1940s, Mitsopolous travelled across the country to heighten awareness of the political situation in Greece. In October 1949, he went to Brisbane, showed a film on Greek refugees, and attempted to form a Greek peace movement. In the same month, he went to Cairns to speak in support of left-wing guerrillas in the Greek Civil War.

In November 1949, taxation officials searched his premises. He was alleged, as a tailor, to be dealing with black-market cloth, but his political activities were more likely the reason for ASIO's attention.

The Democritus League

The Confederation of Greek Organisations in Australia, formed in 1948, was another pro-communist group. It was reported by ASIO that the Greek Orthodox community believed the confederation was“communist inspired” and that communists in Greece had sent out“agents” to obtain“financial and moral support in Australia”.

The confederation actively supported the left-wing Greek Seamen's Union. Acting on the authority of reliable Greek sources and the Orthodox community, ASIO noted opaquely that efforts had been made“to prevent it from functioning”. In documentation about the confederation, it is evident that it sought to promote and advance democracy in Greece.

The largest and most active organisation drawing ASIO's attention was the Communist Democritus League, which was formed in 1935. In 1942, it established rooms in Melbourne. There were numerous reports of Democritus meetings being scrutinised by ASIO agents.

The Democritus League was the major source of communist activity in Melbourne. It had links to the national and international communist movements, and maintained links with Greece and events there. It became the voice for the Greek Communist Party in Australia.

ASIO recorded its meetings and the activities of its members were monitored. Persons of interest included well-known Greek left-wing activists, such as Panayotis Gerondakis, Denis Skiotis, George Zangalis, Peter Couvalis and Basil Steffanou.

Led by Greek children, about 100 migrant unionists march in Adelaide's Labour Day procession, 1956. National Archives of Australia Local activism

Greek activism regarding local Australian politics also caught ASIO's attention.

In the 1960s, Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War ignited civil unrest. The introduction of military conscription generated further angry protests. Joining these protests were large numbers of left-wing members of the Greek community, who protested against the United State's involvement in the war and against Greece's right-wing government.

ASIO agents were especially diligent in noting which Greek clubs actively protested against the war. In 1965, the Atlas Club synchronised efforts in planning a demonstration and recruiting members for the protests. The same year, an“impromptu” discussion at the Greek Democritus League was documented. Special note was made of a discussion between Skiotis and Zangalis about the Soviet Union and intervention in Vietnam.

In April 1965, an activist named George Filopoulos spoke at the club about Vietnam and the protest against the American government at the United States Consulate. Filopoulous reported that the police had attempted to keep the demonstration peaceful but“their efforts had been made difficult by the Greek Consul who had been responsible for sending large bodies of anti-communist Greeks and creating considerable disturbance”.

Filopoulous believed that the Greek Consul was not interested in stopping the war in Vietnam; it was, he claimed,“only interested in creating trouble amongst Greeks”.

All efforts had to be made to end the war, he continued, but the United States wanted to prolong the war and“bleed the people dry and destroy them”. The Americans believed this was“good business”. Democracy, he said,“would and must win”.

Further discussion ensued regarding the political situation in Greece, where it was claimed 65,000 communists had been killed. Filopoulos called for all Greek clubs to work together as“one family”. He believed the situation was better in Sydney than in Melbourne, which was“subjugated” to the conservative Greek Consul.

Greek migrants in a Canberra café, 1961. Don Edwards/National Archives of Australia Political assimilation

Political assimilation was not only imposed externally; it was also considered within the community itself, creating divisions and tensions.

Not all Greek immigrants to Australia wanted to engage with the political situation in Greece. Concerns over the extent to which the community could or should politically assimilate emerged when efforts were made to ease political differences through the formation of the Federation of Greek Associations in Australia.

The first meeting of the federation had taken place in October 1948. It aimed to assist Greek immigrants and“protect the rights of the Greeks here in case of uncalled attacks”. Greek organisations should“waive their political differences” and organise a second conference to proceed to solve the problems facing Greece and the Greek community. The aim was

In November 1949, a federation member named E. Katahanas wrote to encourage organisations to resolve their differences. The purpose of the Federation of Greek Associations was to devise a successful plan“for reconstruction of the ruins and healing of our wounds”, in the context of events unfolding in the Greek civil war.

What alarmed the authorities was the wider intentions of the Federation of Greek Associations in Australia, and its remit to extend its political interests beyond Australia. This was ignited by a letter sent to ASIO by the secretary of the NSW Greek Orthodox Community, Nicholas Syncouides, in which he outlined his opposition to the federation. He accused it of being mischievous, issuing“false statements”, and providing material for the“super-gullible”. He claimed, too, that various groups denied their association with the federation and maintained there was no place in Australia for political agitation about events in Greece.

The stated aim of the federation was to draw Greek bodies into one umbrella group that would work towards“peace and conciliation” in Greece. It also aimed to educate“Greek immigrants on progressive lines”, so that they could become a“valuable asset” to their adopted country and foster“friendly and cultural relations” with the Australian people. But others saw these activities as meddlesome, disingenuous and even dishonest.

These splits reflect the division of the Greek Civil War itself. Ironically, efforts to bring the community together further reinforced divisions.

A Greek family on their way to Australia on board the migrant ship Skaugum, 1955. Cliff Bottomley/National Archives of Australia The end of the assimilationist period

The differences and political battles within the Greek community were fought over a 40-year period – over the long Cold War, from the 1940s to the 1980s. Many in that community believed there was no place for political agitation in Australia. In the 1970s, the Victorian branch of the Greek Orthodox Community, for instance, was waging a battle to expel communist members by making Christianity a core criterion of membership.

ASIO's primary concern was the increasing presence of European migrants who posed a threat to white, British Australia. The information in its files suggests how gathering this knowledge through surveillance was an attempt to maintain control of what ASIO interpreted as a fluid and highly volatile situation.

The Greek community was one of the best-organised and most active immigrant groups in Australia after the war. As“aliens”, Greek immigrants attracted the attention of ASIO irrespective of their political affiliation, though to different degrees. They kept ASIO busy from 1945 to the early 1970s, the issue escalating through the Cold War and the assimilationist period.

What do these activities reveal about the role of secrecy and the creation of a“social map of knowledge” (to use historian Asif Siddiqi 's term) about cultural groups entering Australia at this time?

In a democracy, surveillance and secrecy serve different purposes than in other regimes and political structures. But it can have similar outcomes in prosecuting individuals based on their political allegiances. It would take a new policy and radically different government to sweep aside assimilation in the 1970s, ushering in a language that spoke not of“New Australians” and“aliens”, but of“multiculturalism” and“cultural diversity”.

With that would come an openness to political activism from Greek organisations, without state surveillance or the secret collection of information.

Yet other aspects of this period could not be so easily left aside. The White Australia policy may have formally ended in 1973, but the injustice that formed the cornerstone of the policy remains an open wound. The politics of race and ethnic identity continue to intersect in 21st-century Australia.

This is an edited extract from Fault Lines: Australia's Unequal Past – edited by Seumas Spark and Christina Twomey (Monash University Publishing).

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