Giorgos Garbis

From Athens Indymedia
June 26, 2025

The anarchist publisher, bookseller, and translator of "Free Press" publications, Giorgos Garbis, passed away on Wednesday, June 25th, in the afternoon.

The death of George Garbis, founder of the anarchist publisher "Free Press," marks the end of the historical era of a generation of Greek anarchists who had an enormous contribution.

George Garbis, born in 1947, joined the anarchist movement in May 1968, influenced by the events in France.

In November 1973, he participated in the Polytechnic University uprising, while in the half century after the Revolution, from 1975 onwards, with the establishment of the publishing house and bookstore "Free Press" in Exarchia, with the multitude of books that were published, generations and generations of anarchists and anti-authoritarians were nurtured and "raised".

The first book he published was "The 'Paris Commune of 1871 and the Idea of ​​the State' by Mikhail Bakunin in his own translation, (he often used pseudonyms as a translator).

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of titles followed that nurtured an entire current of libertarian thought in Greece, especially in the 1970s and 1980s, when similar ventures were still in their infancy, including great authors and books that would have been difficult to publish by more commercial publishing houses.

Libertarian communism, anarchism in its various forms, the situationists, autonomy, social ecology, and new social movements found their bibliophile "home" there.

The Free Press publications were, together with the International Library, the magazine "Ideodromio" and the publications of Leonidas Christakis and the short-lived Octopus Press of Theos Romvos, points of reference, not only for an entire political space, but for every restless spirit.

The death of George Garbis marks the end of the historical era of a generation of Greek anarchists, with an enormous contribution to the revolutionary cause, not only at the domestic level, but also with a significant influence on international movement.

"I became a publisher because I wanted to publish books that promoted the cause of freedom," he said in an interview with the blog eleftheriahtipota in 2013.

An idea that he implemented immediately after the change of government by founding the historic bookstore and publications Eleftheros Typos, one of those that literally "opened the eyes" of a new generation thirsty for ideas beyond both the "ancient rust" of the right, the "spiritual child" of which was the April junta that had just fallen, and the dogmatic rigidity of the traditional left.

There, in the bookstore he owned at 17 Zoodochou Pigis, I, as an enthusiastic teenager, had done my first alternative readings with his encouragement and guidance that shaped me to a great extent – ​​Bakunin’s “God and the State”, Murray Bookchin’s “Spontaneity and Organization”, Guy Debord’s “The Society of the Spectacle”, George Orwell’s “The Tribute to Honor in Catalonia”, Jacques Mesrine’s “The Death Instinct” were among the first books I remember leafing through. It was the second “headquarters” of the publishing house (the store on Kiafas Street had preceded it) before they ended up on the pedestrian street of Valtetsi.

George Garbis is unfortunately no longer with us, he left yesterday at the age of 78, having suffered greatly in recent years from a serious health problem. The first book he published was "The "Paris Commune of 1871 and the Idea of ​​the State" by Mikhail Bakunin in his own translation (he often used pseudonyms as a translator). Hundreds, perhaps thousands of titles followed that nurtured an entire current of libertarian thought in Greece, especially in the 70s and 80s when similar projects were still in their infancy, among them great authors and books that would hardly have been published by more commercial publishing houses. Libertarian communism, anarchism in its various forms, the situationists, autonomy, social ecology, the new social movements found their bibliophile "home" there. The Free Press publications were, together with the International Library, the magazine "Ideodromio" and the publications of Leonidas Christakis and the short-lived Octopus Press of Theos Romvos, points of reference not only for an entire political space but for every restless spirit.

A man with deep theoretical training and ideological formation but always flexible and open-minded, George Garbis was present at the events at the Polytechnic University in November 1973 and was actively involved in politics, especially in the first post-democratic years (later, having experienced many disappointments, he limited himself to his publishing work), while in the early 1980s he published the magazine "Anarchos", one of the most important anti-authoritarian publications to be published in Greece.

Influenced by May '68 and its impact in London (as well as globally) where he lived for some years, he had never caught, as he boasted, either the Stalinist or the nihilist "germ". He was distinguished by his kindness, selflessness and ethics, he never sold "berries", nor did he play the "anarcho-daddy". "Freedom means having open horizons and defining your own destiny", he said and made it a practice and a way of life. Furthermore, he helped people and alternative publishing efforts in any way he could, he willingly gave a platform to new authors, there were periods when he gave away more books than he sold, he also avoided publicity and never liked social media - he rarely spoke in public, even though he had much more and more substantial things to say than many chatty publicists. Good luck to him, he will certainly be missed but he left behind a great legacy.

G. Meriziotis

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For Mr. Garbis
by Kostas

Sir...In every sense of the word...Educated, courageous, simple and full. Dobros.

I met him very late...Through his interview on the Eleftheriakos channel.

George's words are incredible, so alive, so timely. And he gives solutions to what we think about.

He gives answers with a terrible simplicity that is nevertheless true because this man is real.

I regretted not meeting him earlier in my life. One Thursday I passed by and met him up close.

Of course, I also bought 2-3 books that he himself had translated. What I wanted to say is that people like George have the answers to our questions. If we listen to him, we will get a lot. For me, George lives through his work and his books are a legacy for the long-suffering anarchist / leftist movement.

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Goodbye George
by Anarchists of New Smyrna

What can anyone say about Garbis... Personally, we were little kids when we first entered Garbis' bookstore, in this literal temple of anarchist (and not only) food for thought and nurturing for anarchist views and practices. He always helped you understand what you wanted to get, he embraced everyone with love and humor, especially the little kids who at that time were thirsty to read and see what he did to us and what he didn't. It is unnecessary to mention his contribution to the field. We don't believe that there is anyone else in this country with such knowledge. A founder of laying the right foundations for those who wanted to deal with the field and a gentleman with a capital K. Morality, honesty, solidarity, concepts that are slowly tending to disappear from society in general as All those old school people are slowly "leaving".

Have a nice trip, George Garbis. We thank you for everything.

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I Remember
by George Meriziotis

I remember in the mid-1980s, we young people, having created the Anarcho-Communist nucleus of Ano Liosia and without knowing us well, he would give us anarchist books and magazines on deposit to sell at a small table that we would set up at the Constantine and Helen festival that was held in Liosia.

Watch the interview with Sr. Garbis in Eleftheriakos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqoNpmynZRE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=536I-UshI1c

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I remember too.
by Anestios

In the early 90s, as a student in Thrace, I was going down to Crete to my parents' house for the holidays, and I couldn't wait to get to the intermediate stop in Athens, to find my friend who was studying there and go to Zoodochou Pigis (that's where the bookstore was at the time) and get some books to read. I had noted down the ones I wanted from the previous visit, I remember the longing to go in, find them, load them into my backpack and off I went to read.

A couple of years later, we formed the "Anarchist Student Cell" in Komotini where we were studying, all in all 2 people initially, 5 at our best, so we went to "Eleftheros Typos" and asked them for books to make available to us so that we could set up a table in the city and in the student club. A good time, exactly as comrade Meriziotis writes above about the Ano Liosion cell! It should be noted that this was an era without mobile phones, without internet, etc., to hell with us, that is, he wouldn't be able to find us if we "hung" him with money, childish things, but he didn't hesitate for a moment to give us whatever we chose. And the books we got weren't few.

A couple of years later (1997), some of us went to Chiapas. I remember returning to Athens with some material in Spanish for possible translation-publication, and my first thought was to go to "Eleftheros Tipo" to tell Garbis, maybe we could put some kind of publication in front of us. It seems like yesterday, I remember, I enter the bookstore, he was then about the same age as I am now (...), he was reading the CNT newspaper with his glasses down on his nose. I tell him "so-and-so, yesterday I came from Chiapas and..." - he stops, puts down the newspaper, says - I remember it distinctly - "Oh!" and we get into the relevant conversation. Willing to help, to run it, yes, yes... regardless of the fact that in the end, for completely different reasons, the effort was not successful. Sincere interest...

Just a little while ago, that friend I mentioned earlier, me and some friends in a group, we were wondering what had happened to him, the bookstore, the publishing house. It had been years since we heard anything, seen a book, we don't even live in Athens, we were wondering what had happened...

...We learned the day before yesterday.

MR (in all capital letters, not just the K...), COMRADE George Garbis, we will always remember and honor you. And these are not formal words...

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It hurt.
by the memories

Child of the 00's, Anarchy - Exarchia, Free Press - the stairs of your basement, we went down and the world of rebellion opened up - Thank you for the CATECHISM OF THE REVOLUTIONARY that others did not dare to publish, the DEATH INSTINCT, the theory that cut like a knife through our flesh and youth

I remember you and I am so grateful, thank you very much for your enormous contribution, for your willingness to speak to us, the kids at that time, with a true desire to be close to anarchism.

Mentor and we apprentice magicians in the steppe of the social!!

I wish I could hug my memories!!

FIRE IN THE MIND - ICE IN THE HEART

CHAOS - VIOLENCE - ANARCHY - FISTS ON THE KNIFE

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A request
by Kostas

Today, Monday, I passed by the bookstore where we greeted each other.

Then I went to Politia and Janos to find the rest of your books that I had said I would get soon.

I got one. "What a Revolutionary Should Know" by Victor Serge.

It's a great thing to be able to nurture human dignity and a cinematic mindset.

You did it too, George. You did it with everyone you spoke to, either directly or through your books.

I wanted to tell people who didn't know George that he has the answers they're looking for.

In an era when everything is easily offered, he shows you the right path.

When we last met, I asked you, "I would like a political/political dictionary written by you, it would be a treasure," and you replied, smiling, just like in the Eleftheriakos interview, "This takes time as it is a great effort."

I have a heartfelt request to the indymedia board of directors....After a long time I see people interacting on indymedia writing about Mr. George Garmis with such warmth and admiration.

Since 2008, I've had to see something similar...

As a beacon for the future that people like George MUST be heard so that they warm our hearts. If you can, make this topic a permanent link so that younger comrades can learn about it.

George has so much to tell us, not so much about the past but about our immediate future.

"Nikos V. Alexiou" or Giorgos Garbis ALWAYS PRESENT

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Garbis
by Former

He had the intellectual dignity to publish books of all anarchist tendencies, even those he openly disagreed with. Because he truly wanted to address each person individually so that he/she could decide with his/her own conscience what suited him/her and what did not.

In this sense, he was not a militant publisher, like others who have published remarkable books but who serve a specific political "line" or trend in the field.

Another characteristic of his was his aversion to the anarchist fathers and personalities in general, most of whom, quite coincidentally (?), had previously served on the left. In my opinion, he was right to point out that such people brought behaviors, structures and attitudes that did not fit into theoretical anarchy (and which ultimately led to this peculiar movement in the Greek space that always, unfortunately for me but fortunately for others, carried a significant communist legacy).

Finally, Garbis had the temperament of a scholar rather than an activist, which for me shows a nobility of soul and purity of character.

A final salute to the man who, with the wealth of books he published, opened new horizons for us, who led our youthful thinking along utopian paths, who ultimately shaped, to a greater or lesser extent, the kind of people we became in our lives.

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A farewell to Giorgos Garbis of the historic "Free Press"
by Anarchist Initiative of Saints Anargyroi-Kamaterou

On Wednesday, June 25, the emblematic publisher and translator of "Eleftheros Tipos" Giorgos Garbis passed away at the age of 78, leaving behind a huge contribution to the anarchist movement and libertarian revolutionary thought, which will be remembered and will be a landmark of theoretical and historical knowledge for decades.

George Garbis was a vital part of the process of the rebirth of the anarchist movement in Greece in the late 1970s. Influenced by the May 1968 uprising, he participated five years later in the events of the Polytechnic uprising and has since contributed consistently for decades to the dissemination of anarchist ideas, through his enormous publishing output. Together with other anarchist publishers of the Polytechnic era, such as Christos Konstantinidis of the also historic "International Library", George Garbis is included in the ranks of the most important representatives of anarchism during the first years of the post-colonial period, functioning as a crucial ideological and political supporter in the still newly established politically anarchist "space".

Although ideologically shaped by the multitude of influences that are regenerating anarchism after many decades of absence from Greece – influences that are also reflected in the multifaceted editorial corpus of Eleftheros Tipos -, the majority of the titles that dominate among the hundreds that circulate under the legendary bird-emblem of the publications of George Garbis, are the classic anarchist works of the great revolutionaries of the 19th and 20th centuries. To this day, “Eleftheros Tipos” maintains the primacy of anarchist publications in terms of volume and richness of editorial activity, illuminating the revolutionary discourses of Bakunin, Kropotkin, Malatesta and many others to the general public and keeping alive the constitutional foundations of anarchism in the face of the darkness of counter-revolution and the “end of ideologies and grand narratives”.

Thanks to the enormous contribution of George Garbis, the anarchist texts that composed the libertarian revolutionary worldview and the vision for anarchy and libertarian communism, as well as a multitude of texts that "save" historically and historiographically the great revolutionary stasis of our movement, will continue to contribute from generation to generation to the transmission of libertarian and anarchist revolutionary ideas, making knowledge a weapon in the struggle for the victory of the revolutionary cause.

We collectively wish good strength to the family, friends and thousands of patrons of the small basement on Valtetsiou Street.

Goodbye Nikos Alexiou

A movement without memory is a movement without perspective.

INITIATIVE OF ANARCHIST SAINTS OF ANARGYROS - KAMATEROS
protaanka.espivblogs.net

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We say goodbye to our comrade George
by Assembly of Occupied Refugees (SY.KA.PRO)

Tomorrow, Thursday, 03/07, we say goodbye to our beloved neighbor, friend and member of our community, Mr. George, who we lost on Thursday, 26/6. Born in '44, he carried deeply engraved on him all those experiences of his generation. He lived in those conditions that stigmatize people from below, whose narratives are part of the collective memory and legacy. Although his memory had begun to betray him in recent years, these experiences remained indelibly written. With stubbornness and endurance, despite the hardships, Mr. George lived with dignity and simplicity, but also with receptivity to care, without selfishness. His own resistance was not to give up and to fight for life, with a deep awareness of his class position, always with humor and without complacency. We will remember him with love and his stubbornness will accompany us in our resistance.

The ceremony will take place tomorrow at 10:00 at the Schistos municipal cemetery, church of Agios Gerasimos.

Have a nice trip, Mr. George.

"Next to their eyes they have a tree of kindness, between their eyebrows a hawk of strength, and a mule of anger in their hearts that cannot bear injustice."

G. Ritsos

Assembly of Occupied Refugees (SY.KA.PRO)
sykaprosquat.noblogs.org

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