The digital version of the 2024 exhibition The Break ’74. From Dictatorship to Democracy, to celebrate the end of the military dictatorship in Greece, is now available online at this link.
The exhibition was organised by our Content Provider Γενικά Αρχεία του Κράτους, General State Archives of Greece, through a collaboration with the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), and the National Library of Greece. The exhibition was conceived as part of the national commemorations marking fifty years since the Metapolitefsi, the political transition that restored democracy in Greece.
Understanding the significance of 1974 requires looking beyond the moment of transition itself. The exhibition therefore adopts a chronological and analytical approach, beginning with the seven-year dictatorship of the Colonels. Its first section examines the regime’s different phases and internal transformations, while the second focuses on the early period of the Metapolitefsi. Particular attention is given to the first months after the fall of the Junta, when key institutional foundations were laid, alongside the vibrant and multifaceted cultural developments that accompanied political change.
The digital version expands with additional material contributed by all three partner institutions, including rare audiovisual documents from ERT, previously unseen archival material from the General State Archives, and sources drawn from the history of books and the press held by the National Library of Greece. Together, these resources form the basis of an open-access digital platform designed to present the political, social, and cultural history of the period in a clear, multimedia, and interdisciplinary way. The platform sheds light not only on the formative years of the Metapolitefsi but also on the darker and still underexplored years of the dictatorship that preceded it. Everything is accessible in English, too
As part of this broader initiative, the National Library of Greece has also produced a series of podcasts connected to the exhibition, offering further context and reflection on the themes explored - the series is available here:

