In spite of it, Golden Dawn lawmaker Ioannis Lagos asked the Education and Interior ministers why state institutions and schools commemorate the remembrance day, which is marked on Jan. 27 each year — the day in 1945 when the Soviet forces liberated the Auschwitz death camp. What is more, the party’s member Michaloliakos, called Hitler “a great personality of history” and said that the Holocaust never happened. He also denied supporting Nazi tenets, but Mein Kamp is on display at party headquarters, stated Greek reporter Andy Dabilis.

Several times, when walking in Syntagma trying to protect myself from gas, fire and fear, I refused to utter a question that continued to linger in my mind: how long will it take for these people to turn into haters? I was ashamed of myself, as racial hate is something I could not imagine possible in Greece, but times are changing; Golden Dawn emphasis on biological racism and violent street tactics seem to please part of the Greek population.

British historian Mark Mazower must have felt a similar emotion when he visited the American College of Greece on the 26th of February and stated:”Greeks must not underestimate the threat of Golden Dawn if they accept it as a legitimate, mainstream political movement.”

An expert on Greece and the Balkans, who teaches history at Columbia University, he argued: “There is commonality of approach,” speaking of Golden dawn and the Nationalist socialist (Nazi) party of the 1930s. “Unfortunately the Greek state does not seem to realize the urgency of the situation,” he concluded.

It might be worthy recalling how Golden Dawn swept into the Greek parliament in last year’s elections, campaigning on an anti-austerity, anti-immigrant platform that preyed on the fears of Greeks who have seen the country flooded with immigrants amid a terrible recession. However, as expected, Golden Dawn officials deny any Nazi, or Fascist affiliation, saying they are Greek nationalists as any far right-wing party would do.

Recently, articles on several Greek and International newspapers reported that Golden Dawn party has been actively indoctrinating students aged 6-10 on matters of ‘national awareness.’ Golden dawn admitted that more than 20 children took part in a tutorial at the party’s offices on Feb. 23, and were shown educational videos, taught the virtues of the Christian faith and Greek Orthodox Church.

Some church leaders have openly supported the party. On the contrary, teachers at a primary school in the Athens suburb of Nea Philadelphia accused Golden Dawn of trying to interfere in their work. It seems there are elements of truth: one of the party’s MPs asked the Education Ministry to investigate on an art project assigned to children at the school which was titled ‘Refugees Facing Migration.’

Where is Greece going?

Intimidation, attacks against immigrants, indoctrination, exaltation of nationalism, all signs of social fear; which is translating the inability to face the reality of a country that is changing while facing a cruel economic recession.

The game has been witnessed again, and again: a handful group of fanatics brings a rotten philosophy to a country and the government underestimates it, people find even some sympathy for those men who might bring back work, and social order. As a result, nobody stops them. What follows, and it always does as an old play, has assumed different names depending on the occasion and the country: Fascism, Nazism, and more, as many have been those who took power hiding behind the golden rays of nationalism.

The step from nationalism to a totalitarian state, which is able to impose civic laws discriminating entire groups of the population, is an easy one. It is generally called by a state of emergency, which then translates into a state of exception able to justify even the physical elimination of its citizens, when not fitting into the state’s vision of the future.

I simply ask here: Are the Greeks ready for a state of such kind? Are they able to accept the denial of the democratic principles, and forget their own history? A history that involves also migration, and longing for the lost motherland; let us not forget the number of Greek immigrants, whose work and presence enrich today so many European countries.

I might represent a minority, but I refuse to believe that what Golden Dawn envisioned for Greece represents the Greek population, certainly not the one who has grandfathers who died fighting the Italian Fascists, and then the Nazis; or fathers and mothers who were tortured by the Colonels in the 1970s.