George Antonopoulos
Interviewer(s):
Effrosyni Rantou
Project:
Greek Canadian Stories
INTERVIEW LOCATION:
Toronto, ON
LANGUAGE:
Greek
DATE:
November 13, 2023

Interview Summary:

George Antonopoulos was born in 1933 in Kamari, Messinia. He spent his childhood where he experienced the Second World War before moving to Athens during the Civil War to work. After serving in the Army, he started his own business and eventually migrated to Canada as a tourist in 1970. In Toronto, he worked in the leather trade and became active in the Greek community, participating in the Pan-Messinian Association and PASOK. He describes his associational and volunteer activities, highlighting the solidarity among Greeks and the various donations that reach back home from the Greeks of the diaspora.

Interview Details
Categories and Themes
Content
Media
Date and Location
November 13, 2023
Toronto, ON
Interviewee(s)
George Antonopoulos
Interviewer(s)
Effrosyni Rantou
Languages
Greek
Reference ID
GICREF025
Project
Greek Canadian Stories
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Categories
Associational Life
Historical Events
Migration
Tags
Junta
Decades Referenced
1940s
1950s
1960s
Locations Referenced
Athens, Corinth, Xanthi, Toronto
Occupation(s)
Leathersmith
Parents Occupation(s)
Farmers
Names Referenced
Andreas Papandreou

[00:00:12] His childhood and moving to Athens

[00:05:03] His school years and the war years

[00:11:45] Instances with the Germans in Kamari

[00:16:42]Becoming an arkwright in Athens and the Civil War

[00:22:50]Servicing the Army and starting his own business

[00:25:22]Migrating to Canada as a tourist in 1970

[00:28:50] Working with leather and his impression of Canada

[00:35:14] Participating in the 1965 July events in Athens

[00:37:01] The Pan-Messinian and other associations

[00:53:56]Greeks on the Danforth

[00:58:55]His involvement with PASOK in Toronto

[01:06:57] The encyclopedia from Greece and the GCT

[01:13:00] Volunteering and relations with other Greeks

[01:17:18] Pan-Messinian Association donations to Greece

[01:21:00] Solidarity between Greeks

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