Aris Anagnos was born in Greece. During WWII, he escaped to the Middle East and joined the exiled Greek army which fought on the side of the allies. He joined a mutiny of Greek forces who sympathized with the Greek Resistance Movement. They demanded a free plebiscite to unseat the imposed King. After the war, he came to study at UCLA. Aris has been active in human rights, civil liberties, and the peace movement. He served on the Board of Director of the ACLU, was President of the American for Democratic Action, and co-founded the Humanitarian Law Project. Aris was active in the peace and solidarity movement against the U.S. backed wars in Central America and donated money for humanitarian projects in both Nicaragua and El Salvador. In 1988, he established the Peace Center in Los Angeles.