Popular Civil Guard

The Popular Civil Guard (Greek: Λαϊκή Πολιτοφυλακή, ΛΠ) was the security force of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) during the Greek Civil War (1946–49). It was the police counterpart of the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE), KKE's military force.

The Popular Civil Guard included both men and women; all of them were volunteers and ideologically dedicated to the Communist Party, a situation different from that of the DSE, which engaged in forced recruitment, especially in the last stages of the Civil War.

In June 1948, the KKE leadership published a booklet to be studied by the civil guards, "Lessons of Popular Civil Guard" (Μαθήματα Λαϊκής Πολιτοφυλακής), where it was empasized that the Popular Civil Guard was a security force "of a new type", different from the Greek Gendarmerie and the Cities Police of the Greek government, whose aim was to serve the people.

Initially the Popular Civil Guard was commanded by Stephanos Papayannis, a former Captain of the Greek Army who had joined the Communist Party during World War II, and had fought in the Greek Resistance against the Nazis; later however, Vasilis Bartziotas, a Communist Party cadre took command.

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