George II (Greek: , Gergios II; 19 July [O.S.: 7 July] 1890 1 April 1947) was King of Greece from September 1922 to March 1924 and from November 1935 to his death in April 1947.
The eldest son of King Constantine I and Sophia of Prussia, George followed his father into exile in 1917 following the National Schism, while his younger brother Alexander was installed as king. Constantine was restored to the throne in 1920 but was forced to abdicate two years later in the aftermath of the Greco-Turkish War. George acceded to the Greek throne, but after a failed royalist coup in October 1923 he was exiled to Romania. Greece was proclaimed a republic in March 1924 and George was formally deposed and stripped of Greek nationality. He remained in exile until the Greek monarchy was restored in 1935, upon which he resumed his royal duties. The king supported Ioannis Metaxas's 1936 self-coup, which established the authoritarian, nationalist and anti-communist 4th of August Regime.
Greece was overrun following a German invasion in April 1941, forcing George into his third exile. He left for Crete and then Egypt before settling in London, where he headed the Greek government-in-exile. George returned to Greece after the war after a 1946 plebiscite preserved the monarchy. He died of arteriosclerosis in April 1947 at the age of 56. Having no children, he was succeeded by his younger brother, Paul.
Archbishop Damaskinos Papandreou (3 March 1891 – 20 May 1949) was the archbishop of Athens and All Greece from 1941 until his death. He was also the regent of Greece between the pull-out of the German occupation force in 1944 and the return of King George II to Greece in 1946. His rule was between the liberation of Greece from the German occupation during World War II and the Greek Civil War.
1945Oct, 17
Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens becomes Prime Minister of Greece between the pull-out of the German occupation force in 1944 and the return of King Georgios II to Greece.
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Events on 1945
- 23Feb
History of Poland (1939-45)
World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań. The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces. - 25Feb
Turkey
World War II: Turkey declares war on Germany. - 9Mar
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
World War II: The first nocturnal incendiary attack on Tokyo inflicts damage comparable to that inflicted on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki five months later. - 6Aug
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
World War II: Hiroshima, Japan is devastated when the atomic bomb "Little Boy" is dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay. Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning. - 30Aug
Douglas MacArthur
The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Douglas MacArthur lands at Atsugi Air Force Base.