Nonfiction for Social Change

Written on the Knee

A Diary from the Greek-Italian Front of WWII

Diary by Dr. Thedore Electris
Edited and translated by Helen Electrie Lindsay
Introduction by Louis de Bernières

During the Greek-Italian conflict of World War II, Dr. Theodore Electris, newly married and idealistic, was called up to the Greek-Italian front in the remote mountains of Albania. Homesick, hungry and desperately missing his young wife, Chrysoula, he kept an intimate journal to preserve his experiences for her.

Translated by his daughter, Helen Electrie Lindsay, Electris’ entries and letters come together in Written on the Knee. Fully illustrated and accompanied by supporting reference material, the collection serves as both an authentic historical document of Greek involvement in WWII and a story of love, separation and family ties threatened and strengthened by war.

Often overlooked in the scope of WWII, Greece’s six-month conflict with Mussolini’s forces played a pivotal role in the war’s outcome. The small country’s fierce resistance against the Italians delayed Hitler’s move into the Soviet Union, which many historians believe turned the war in favor of the Allies.

From Dr. Electris’ first entry to his last, Written on the Knee captures the true story of love and war during a crucial time in modern history.

“In these pages the warm heart of a dead man beats again, his passions are re-lived, his pleasures, hardships and irritations unfold for us as if they were in the present. Such is the immediacy of the writing that it is not at all hard for us to feel that we know the doctor, and share his experiences.”
— Louis de Bernières, from his introduction

“I loved Written on the Knee, but of course I love anything Greek. What is special about it for me is that I was seven years old when the war began, and I remember vividly how closely my parents followed events in northern Greece, particularly since my papou and yaya on my mother's side were from Epirus. But this book offers a dimension I never knew. It explains the strategic and political importance of the Greek involvement in World War II through the personal love story contained within a fascinating diary, which brings the struggle and sacrifice of the Greek people to life.”
— Governor Michael Dukakis

Helen Electrie Lindsay was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. She graduated from Anatolia College in Thessaloniki and came to the United States on a Fulbright scholarship to study physics. She worked for Dayton Hudson and as an engineering product manager at MTS Systems in the Twin Cities. She is married with two children and lives in Wayzata, Minnesota.