author
Léon Maccas
1892–1972
A Greek diplomat and statesman who also wrote in French, he brought politics, war, and international affairs straight onto the page. His books carry the urgency of someone who had seen Europe’s crises from close range.
1 Audiobook
German Barbarism: A Neutral's Indictment
by Léon Maccas
About the author
Born in Athens in 1892, Léon Maccas was a Greek diplomat, politician, and writer who published several works in French. Sources describe him as trained in law, a volunteer in the Greek army in the years before the First World War, and later a press-services director at the Greek Embassy in Paris before entering a long parliamentary and ministerial career.
Alongside his public service, he wrote books shaped by the tensions of his time. His best-known works include Les cruautés allemandes and the English-language German Barbarism: A Neutral's Indictment, books that reflect the political and moral arguments stirred up by the First World War. He also wrote on Greek history and Hellenism, showing a strong interest in national identity and international politics.
Maccas served repeatedly as a deputy and minister in Greece, and later also represented Greece in European parliamentary institutions. He died in Athens in 1971. Some library records list his dates as 1892–1972, but major biographical sources consulted here give his death as July 2, 1971, so that date is the safer one to use.