History · Archive · Photos

History, Archive & Photos

The chronicle of the Cretans’ self-organisation in Europe — from the first migrants of the 1960s to the Pancretan Association of Europe — together with the Association’s archival documents and photographic archive.

Wreath-laying at a 1933–1945 memorial, a commemoration for the Battle of Crete — Wreath-laying in memory of the Battle of Crete.

The record of the historical journey of the Cretan associations and their federation rests on the testimonies of the first Cretan migrants in Germany, Belgium and the other countries of Europe. As the Association’s history puts it: «There will be Cretan associations and their federation for as long as there are Cretans in Europe.»

1955–1973

The migration

With the bilateral labour agreement between Greece and West Germany (30 March 1960), trains and the ship «Kolokotronis» carried migrants to the factories of Europe — within the Greek waves, roughly 30,000 Cretans, chiefly to Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. On 17 April 1965 the association «Παγκρήτια Ένωση Γερμανίας Ο Μίνωας» was founded in Munich, the first Cretan association and the first Greek regional-heritage organisation on the continent. Rüsselsheim (1967), Wiesbaden and Aachen (1973) followed.

1974–1980

The founding of the Association

On 1 December 1974 the Ομοσπονδία Κρητικών Συλλόγων Γερμανίας (Federation of Cretan Associations of Germany) was founded as the second-tier coordinating body of all the associations, with Dimitrios Kantilierakis as its first president. In the same period associations were founded in Berlin, Nuremberg, Cologne (Feb. 1974), Düsseldorf (Feb. 1974), Mannheim–Ludwigshafen (1975), Krefeld (1976), Frankfurt (1978), Stuttgart and Augsburg.

1981–1995

Congresses & diaspora

Greece became the 10th member of the EEC (1981). There followed the 1st World Congress of Cretans Abroad (Rethymno, 1983) and the 1st Pan-European Congress of Cretans Abroad (1986), organised by the Association together with the Orthodox Academy of Crete. In 1992 the Cretan association of Luxembourg was founded; in 1995, in Mannheim, a new statute was adopted and the Association took part in the founding of the SAE (World Council of Hellenes Abroad).

1996–2005

A new identity

In 1997 the Association honoured Nikos Kazantzakis and Giannis Epitropakis was elected president. In 2001 it took part in the great Minoan exhibition in Karlsruhe, seen by 160,000 visitors, and in 2003 in the founding of the World Council of Cretans (PSK) at Arsani Monastery. On 30 October 2005, in Frankfurt, it was renamed the Pancretan Association of Europe, with the Abduction of Europa as its symbol.

2006–2016

Expansion across Europe

The Cretan association of Stockholm was founded (2006) and joined the Association (2007), which now reached as far as Scandinavia. Events were organised for the 100th anniversary of the union of Crete with Greece (Ludwigshafen, 2013, with more than 700 compatriots) and for the 400th anniversary of the death of El Greco (2014). The youth wing KRINE-POE was also formed.

2016–present

A new generation

In 2019 the Association marked 45 years of life and activity. On 26 October 2019 Eftychia Olofson-Saviolaki was elected — the first woman to lead a second-tier regional-heritage federation — succeeding Giannis Epitropakis after 23 years in the presidency.

Past Presidents

Those who carried the torch.

1974–1981
Δημήτριος Καντηλιεράκης First president · Honorary President
1980s
Γιώργος Κουργιεράκης Honorary President
mid-1990s
Στέλιος Νύκταρης Honorary President
1997–2019
Γιάννης Επιτροπάκης 23 years in the presidency · Honorary President
2019–
Ευτυχία Όλοφσον-Σαβιολάκη The first woman president