Lemnian immigrants in the 1950s and 1960s

The Lemnians chose the path of emigration very early on because most of them were landless, working on wealthy landowners' homesteads as cooks or herders and there was no prospect of a better life. In the past, they mainly chose Egypt or Asia Minor, but since the early 20th century and especially since the 1950s, they have turned to overseas destinations such as Australia and America, but also to nearby Africa. In the 1950s, thousands of Lemnians emigrated. This phenomenon was typical of the time, as many Greeks were bidding farewell to their homeland in search of a better future in foreign countries. The ships the “Patris” and the “Bretagne” were filled with such people, suitcases and dreams.

In 1960 a huge wave of migrants were led to Munich station to work as ‘invited guest workers’, “Gastarbeiter”, crammed into trains and humming Kazantzidis' songs, always hoping to make a success of it and return home quickly. The villages of Limnos were deserted, the cotton fields left fallow,  houses were closed, their shutters boarded up and everything was left in a state of abandonment. For many, the journey back home, even for a short time, took forever to happen. They were not there to close the eyes of their loved ones. The price of nostalgia was disproportionate to the ‘good life’ that most had secured through hard work and deprivation. Limnos and the Lemnians paid dearly for the ‘dream’ of a new homeland.