The Greek Civil War, "a trap from which no one could escape", undoubtedly had a catalytic impact on the political life of the country and left strong traces in collective memory. It created unprecedented divisions, institutionalized political polarization, and caused powerful ideological entrenchments that hindered scientific research and, above all, the development of social consciousness that it entails. However, today, this traumatic period has definitively shifted from the field of politics to the field of historiography, and scientific research - some aspects of which are included in this collective volume - no longer aims to seek culprits and assign blame, but to study fundamental issues that marked the evolution of Greek society. That is why the chronological determination, which was deemed necessary to include in the title of the book (February 1945 - August 1949), was considered necessary to focus the research effort on that critical period of the 1940s, which has been less studied to this day and which differentiates the Greek experience from the chronological developments of other European countries.

This edition was based on announcements presented at the scientific conference "The Greek Civil War: from Varkiza to Grammos", jointly organized by the Graduate Program in Political Science and Sociology of the University of Athens, the Department of Political Science and History of Panteion University, and the Department of History of Ionian University, in collaboration with the Society for the Rescue of Historical Archives (EDIA). The conference took place at the "Sakis Karagiorgas" amphitheater of Panteion University, between October 20-23, 1999, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the civil war.

The texts included are:
- Filippos Iliou, "The path to the Civil War: from armed involvement to armed rupture"
- John O. Iatrides, "The international framework of the Greek Civil War"
- Giorgos Stathakis, "The economy during the Civil War"
- Thanasis Sfikas, "The 'peaceful' dimension of the Greek Civil War: peace initiatives and possibilities of compromise, 1954-1949"
- Grigoris Psallidas, "The KKE-ELAS and the 'Third Factor' of European socialists, 1945-1947"
- Nikos Kotaridis, Nikos Sideris, "Civil War: ideological and political stakes"
- Tasoula Verbenioti, "The female fighters of the Democratic Army of Greece"
- Ioanna Papathanasiou, "'The weapon of subversion': verbal warfare or political reconstruction?"
- Li Sarafi, "The 'white terrorism' as a lever for crushing the resistance spirit: the case of the Trikala prefecture in 1945"
- Nasi Balta, "Back then, you couldn't even say your name with a catchy tune: testimonies about the Civil War in a village in Pylia"
- Stathis N. Kalyvas, "Forms, dimensions, and practices of violence in the Civil War (1943-1949): a first approach"
- Nikos Marantzidis, "Ethnic dimensions of the Civil War: the case of the Turkish-speaking Pontic captains of Macedonia"
- Iakovos D. Michailidis, "'Monarch-fascists' and Slavomacedonian fighters: ideological and other vendettas in Macedonia during the Civil War"
- Vasilis K.

Gounaris, "Eamovoulgaroi' and Macedonomachoi: ideological and other vendettas in the Macedonia of the Civil War"
- Vasiliki Lazou, "On the wall of Xiriottisa: condemned to death by the Extraordinary Military Court of Lamia, 1946-1950"
- Hagen Fleischer, "Narrow gate of the 'Free World': restrictions on free movement to and from post-civil war Greece"
- Liana Theodoratou, "The politics of silence in post-war Greek poetry"