Elpida Karamandi
Encyclopedia
Florina
Florina is a town and municipality in mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. It is also the Metropolitan seat for the region. It lies in the central part of Florina peripheral unit, of which it is the capital. Florina belongs to the periphery of West...
, Aegean Macedonia
Aegean Macedonia
Aegean Macedonia is a term that refers to the Greek region of Macedonia. It is currently mainly used in the Republic of Macedonia, including in the irredentist context of a United Macedonia. The term is also used in Bulgaria as the more common synonym for Greek Macedonia, without the connotations...
. Her mother emigrates to Vardar Macedonia
Vardar Macedonia
Vardar Macedonia is an area in the north of the Macedonia . The borders of the area are those of the Republic of Macedonia. It covers an area of...
(then part of kingdome of Yugoslavia) in Bitola
Bitola
Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...
, to her relatives and there marries for the second time.
Elpida grew up and was educated in Bitola and later continued her studies in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, where she joined with the progressive and youth movement, became a member of SKOJ
Skoj
Skoj is a cider-based soft drink, manufactured by the Swedish Skoj Beverage Group. Skoj is the Swedish word for fun.Skoj is 15 percent fruit juice sweetened with sugar...
from 1939. When the war began, she was in Bitola. In those days with a few friends, Elpida lead the attempts to start a the resistance against the enemy in the city, spreading the idea for the national freedom movement between the women and youth.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
police and she was arrested. When she was released Elpida goes in illegality and even more works in mobilizing and resistance against the occupiers.
In April 1942 she left Bitola and went to the First Bitola
Bitola
Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...
Partisan detachment. On 3 May 1942, the detachment is surrounded by the Bulgarian police. Heavily wounded, Elpida Karamandi is captured, and later dies in Bulgarian captivity.