Refugees of the Greek Civil War
Encyclopedia
Political refugees of the Greek Civil War
were members or sympathisers of the defeated communist forces who fled Greece during or in the aftermath of the Civil War of 1946–1949. The collapse of the Democratic Army of Greece
(DSE) and the evacuation of the Communist Party of Greece
(KKE) to Tashkent
in 1949 led thousands of people to leave the country. It has been estimated that by 1949 over 100,000 people had left Greece, including tens of thousands of child refugees who had been evacuated by the KKE in an organised campaign. The war wrought widespread devastation right across Greece and particularly in the regions of Macedonia
and Epirus
, causing many people to continue to leave the country even after it had ended.
(DSE) and the Greek Government which had returned from Exile. Many people chose to return their allegiances as to what they regarded as the rightful government of Greece. Soon the Greek Civil War had broken out between the two opposing sides. Many peasants, leftists, socialists, Ethnic Macedonians and communists joined the struggle on the side of the KKE and the DSE. Backing from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
and the Socialist People's Republic of Albania helped the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) to continue their struggle. The DSE recruited heavily amongst the Slavophone community of Macedonia. It has been estimated that by 1949, from 40 to 60 per cent of the rank and file of the DSE was composed of Slav Macedonians, or from 11,000 - 14,000 of the KKE's fighting force. Given their important role in the battle, the KKE changed its policy towards them. At the fifth Plenum of KKE on January 31, 1949, a resolution was passed declaring that after KKE's victory, the Slav Macedonians would find their "national restoration" within a united Greek state. Although they had made a critical contribution to the KKE war effort, their contribution was not enough to turn the tide.
By the spring of 1947 the communist forces controlled much of the Greek rural areas but had yet to achieve significant support in the cities. At the same time, many Greek prisons were full of ELAS Partisans, EAM
members and other pro-communist citizens. Thousands of people had been executed by firing squads on claims that they had committed atrocities against the Greek state. After the defeat of DSE in Peloponnese a new wave of terror spread across areas controlled by the Government of Athens. The Provisional Government, with its headquarters on Mount Vitse, soon decided to evacuate all children from the ages of 2 to 14 from all areas controlled by the Provisional Government, most of these children were from Slav Macedonian families. By 1948 the areas controlled by the Provisional Government had been reduced to rural Macedonia and Epirus. Soon many injured partisans and elderly people along with the child refugees had been evacuated to People's Republic of Albania. After 1948 the Yugoslavian Government decided to close the Yugoslav-Greek border, this in turn led many pro-Tito forces in the National Liberation Front to flee to Yugoslavia. Despite this Slav Macedonians continued to fight in the ranks of DSE. By 1948, Slav Macedonians comprised over 30% of the DSE's fighting force according to some estimates, but these estimates have been disputed by the KKE. In the ensuing aftermath, the National Army began to consolidate its control in areas previously controlled by the Provisional Government. Many villages were destroyed in the fighting and the displaced villagers often fled the country through Albania and onto Yugoslavia. One case is the village of Pimenikon (Babčor) in the Kastoria
region which was eliminated by US
bombers in 1948, displacing hundreds of people. By this time DSE effectively controlled parts of Northern Greece, along with areas of Macedonia where Slav Macedonians represented a clear majority, along with a large tract of Epirus., By the beginning of 1949, increased American aid for the National Army, the Tito-Stalin split
, recruiting problems for DSE as well as the major defeat in the islands
and in Peloponnese, helped to destabilise the position of DSE.
Many people fled due the collapse of the DSE, it has also been claimed that many Macedonians of Slavic ethnicity fled to avoid possible persecution by the advancing National Army. A term used to describe the experience of the ethnic Macedonians who left Greece as a result of the Civil War is the Exodus of Macedonians from Greece, particularly in the Republic of Macedonia
and the ethnic Macedonian diaspora
. The KKE
claims that the total number of political refugees was 55,881, an estimated 28,000 - 32,000 children were evacuated during the Greek Civil War. A 1951 document from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia states that the total number of Slav-Macedonians that left Greece during the Civil War was 28,595 whereas some ethnic Macedonian sources put the number of refugees at over 213,000.
Over the course of the war thousands of Communists were killed, imprisoned or had their land confiscated. The headquarters of the Democratic Army in Greece reported that from mid-1945 to May 20, 1947, in Western Macedonia alone, 13,259 were tortured, 3,215 were imprisoned and 268 were executed without trial. In the same period 1,891 had been burnt down and 1,553 had been looted and 13,553 people had been resettled by force. Of the many Slavomacedonians who were imprisoned many would often form their own groups within the prisons. It is claimed that the Greek Prison Camps were located on the islands of Ikaria and Makronisos
, the Averof jail near Athens
and the jails in Thessaloniki
and Larisa.
On March 4, 1948, "Radio Free Greece" announced that all children under the age of 15 would be evacuated from areas under control of the Provisional Government. The older women were instructed to take the children across the border to Yugoslavia and Albania, while the younger women took to the hills with the partisans. Widows of dead partisans soon became surrogate mothers for the children and assisted them in their journey to the Eastern Bloc. Many people also had their children evacuated By 1948 scores of children had already died from malnutrition, disease and injuries. It is estimated that 8,000 children left the Kastoria area in the ensuing weeks. The children were sorted into groups and made way for the Albanian border. The partisan carers (often young women and men) had to help and support the children as they fled the Civil War.
Thousands of Greek, ethnic Macedonian and Aromanian children were evacuated from the Areas under communist control. Although a United Nations
Special Committee on the Balkans (UNSCOB) report confirms that villages with an ethnic Macedonian population were far more willing to let their children be evacuated. They are now known as Децата Бегалци (Decata Begalci) "the Refugee Children" in the Republic of Macedonia
and the ethnic Macedonian diaspora
. It is estimated that from 28,000 children to 32,000 children were evacuated in the years 1948 and 1949. According to some sources, the majority of the children sent to the Eastern Bloc had an Ethnic Macedonian origin and spoke their native Slav vernacular, but this is disputed by official KKE documents and statements made by political refugees in the years after the evacuation. Exceptions were made for children under the age of two or three who stayed with their mothers while the rest should be evacuated. Many of these children were spread throughout the Eastern Bloc by 1950 there were 5,132 children in Romania, 4,148 in Czechoslovakia, 3,590 in Poland, 2,859 in Hungary and 672 had been evacuated to Bulgaria.
The official Greek position was that these children had been forcibly taken by the Communists to be brought up under a socialist system. The abduction of children is referred to by Greek historians and politicians as the Paedomazoma an allusion to the Ottoman Devşirme.
from other parts of the World. Many others were refugees whose homes and businesses had been destroyed by the civil war fighting. Others still were expelled by the Government forces for their collaboration with the Bulgarian Ohrana during the war. Thousands fled across the border before the Greek government was able to re-established control in former Communist held territory.
Thousands of refugees began to flee across the Eastern Bloc. Many ended up in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and across the Eastern Bloc. Thousands more left for Australia, the United States and Canada. This process separated many families permanently with brothers and sisters often separated from each other. It was common for mothers to lose contact with their children and never to see them again. The most visible effect of the Civil War was the mass emigration.
who were evacuated, fled or expelled during the Greek Civil War
in the years 1945 to 1949, many of whom fled to avoid persecution. Although these refugees have been classed as political refugees there have been claims that they were also targeted due to their ethnic and cultural identities. Many Slavomacedonians had sided with the KKE which in 1934 had expressed its intent to "fight for the national self-determination of the repressed Slavomacedonians (ethnic group)" and after the KKE passed a resolution at its Fifth Plenum on 31 January 1949 in which "after the KKE victory, the Slavic Macedonians would find their national restoration within a united Greek state". The ethnic Macedonians fought alongside the DSE under their own military wing, the National Liberation Front (Macedonia) (NOF). From its foundation until its merger with the DSE, the NOF had fought alongside the Greek Communist Party. By 1946 thousands of Slavomacedonians had joined the struggle with NOF, alongside them Aromanians
from the Kastoria region were also prominent in the ranks of NOF. Under the NOF, Slavic Macedonian culture was allowed to flourish in Greece. Over 10,000 children went to 87 schools, Macedonian language newspapers were printed and theaters opened. As the Governmental forces approached these facilities were either shut down or destroyed. Many people feared oppression and the loss of their rights under the rule of the Greek government, which in turn caused many people to flee Greece. By 1948, DSE and the Provisional Government, effectively only controlled areas of Northern Greece that Slavomacedonians villages were also included.
After the Provisional Government in 1948 announced that all children were to leave the DSE controlled areas of Greece many Slavomacedonians left the war zone. Some sources estimate that tens of thousands of Slavomacedonians left Greece in the ensuing period. The exodus of Slavomacedonians from Greek Macedonia continued in the aftermath of the Greek Civil War . Most of the refugees were evacuated to the Eastern Bloc, after which many returned to the Socialist Republic of Macedonia
.
had been evacuated to Tashkent
in the Soviet Union
, while others were sent to Poland
, Hungary
and Romania
. A commune of ex-communist partisans had been established in village of Buljkes
in Vojvodina
, Yugoslavia. It was in Tashkent that the Headquarters of the Greek Communist Party were reestablished. Special preparations were made for the defeated army and accommodation and supplies were readied.
Many of the refugee children were placed in Evacuation camps across Europe. They often ended up in places from Poland, Bulgaria and the Soviet Union. The largest group was to end up in Yugoslavia. Here special evacuation camps and Red Cross field hospitals were set up for the children. Most were placed in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. Over 2,000 homes were prepared for the children in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. and many were placed into foster care rather than into orphanages and evacuation camps. Across the Eastern Bloc the refugees were often educated in three and often four languages; Greek, the newly codified Macedonian language, the host countries language and Russian.
while many were settled in the Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina
, where Macedonians still constitute a minority today. The Yugoslav branch of the Red Cross was able to settle 11,000 children across Yugoslavia. Throughout Yugoslavia room was made in specially designed homes by the Red Cross for the refugees. The ten children's homes held approximately 2,000 children. The remaining 9,000 were placed with families in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. The largest group of refugees including 25,000 Macedonians moved to Yugoslavia.
. This was for obvious reasons such as the short distance between the borders of Greece and Yugoslavia. Soon the flow of people reversed and many Slav Macedonians from Yugoslavia entered Greece with the hope of aiding the National Liberation Front. The largest group of refugee children from the Greek Civil War was to end up in the People's Republic of Macedonia. Upon crossing the Yugoslav border many children were sent to villages such as Ljubojno
and Brajčino
before being relocated to larger centres such as Skopje and Bitola. These were joined by thousands more refugees, partisans and expellees until the border with Yugoslavia was closed. From then on refugees had to enter the country via Albania. The majority of these refugee children were Greek Slavic speakers, who remain in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to this day.
The Aegean Macedonian refugees were primarily settled in deserted villages and areas across Macedonia. A large proportion went to the Tetovo
and Gostivar
areas. Another large group was to settle in Bitola
and the surrounding areas, while refugee camps were established in Kumanovo
and Strumica
. Large enclaves of Greek refugees and their descendants can be found in the suburbs of Topankso Pole and Avtokamanda in Skopje
. They eventually joined mainstream Yugoslav Macedonian society, with most being highly educated. Although most have never returned to Greece they are still proud of their unique Greek-Slavic identity. Many continue speaking Greek and their native Slavic dialects. The Republic of Macedonia has been the centre of Slav-Macedonian refugees from the Greek Civil War. Some estimates put the number of refugees and their descendants at over 50,000 people.
became the host to one of the largest refugee populations across the Eastern Bloc. In Vojvodina a special ex-German camp was set up for the refugees, Buljkes
. Most of these refugees were ELAS members and the so called "Greek Commune" was established. Although many were Greeks, it is known that a large proportion of the "Greeks" were in fact Slav Macedonians. The first group of refugees to come to Buljkes was from Kumanovo on May 25, 1945. The group included 1454 refugees, mainly partisans. By June 1945 another group of 2,702 refugees had been transferred to Vojvodina. In the spring of 1946 a group of Aegean Macedonian refugees numbering around 250 people had left the camp. Many more had left the commune for neighbouring villages which left the commune primarily Greek populated. It was here that the Greek newspaper Foni tou Boulkes, was published alongside children's books and the paper of the Communist party of Greece. A primary school was established and the commune began to print its own currency. Eventually the camp was shut down and the villagers were transferred. Other camps were established in Bela Crkva
, Plandište
, Vršac
, Ečka
and Šid
while the villages of Gakovo
and Kruševlje
were repopulated by refugees. By 1946 the total population of Buljkes had reached 4,023 people. Of the remaining Macedonians in Vojvodina at this time many left for the Czechoslovakia or were resettled in the People's Republic of Macedonia.
and Alma Ata. In 1982 the Greek government enabled an Amnesty Law, this caused many "Greeks by genus" to return to Greece in the subsequent period.
thousands of partisans were evacuated to Tashkent
and Alma Ata in Central Asia. An estimated 11,980 Partisans were evacuated to the Soviet Union of which 8,573 were males and 3,407 were females. Many of the ethnic Greek partisans remained in the Soviet Union, while most of the ethnic Macedonian partisans would migrate to Yugoslav Macedonia
in the 1960s and 1970s. After the amnesty law of 1980 many Greeks returned to Greece.
area in Poland. This group included both Greeks and Slavomacedonians. On 25 October a group of Greek refugee children originally sent to Romania were relocated to Poland, a proportion of these found their way to Lądek-Zdrój
. Another camp had been established in Krościenko
. Facilities in Poland were well staffed and modern with assistance from the Red Cross. Many of these remained in the Lower Silesia
area while a large proportion was eventually spread across Southern and Central Poland, soon concentrations of refugees sprung up in Gdańsk
and Zgorzelec
. Many Greeks decided to return to Greece after the 1982 Amnesty Law allowed their return, whereas a large proportion of Slavomacedonians ended up leaving Poland, for the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. A book about the Slavomacedonian Children in Poland was published in Skopje in 1987. Another book, "The Political refugees from Greece in Poland 1948 - 1975" has also been published. In 1989 the "Association of Macedonians in Poland" was founded in order to lobby the Greek government to allow the free return of civil war refugee children to Greece.
were at first quarantined, bathed and placed into an old German camp. Here the refugee children were given food and shelter as they were sorted into age groups. Surrogate mothers from Greek Macedonia were assigned to the younger children while the older children were placed into school. The Czech teachers who were trained in psychology did their best to train the children. In Czechoslovakia they were taught Czech, Greek, Macedonian and Russian. Friction between the Greek and ethnic Macedonian children led to the relocation of the Greek children. Eventually the children were joined by older Partisans and ex-communist members. By 1950 and estimated 4,000 males, 3,475 females and 4,148 children had been evacuated to Czechoslovakia. By 1960 both Greek and Macedonian communities had been established. Unlike in other communist states the majority of the refugees had chosen to remain in Czechoslovakia. Much of the Greek population left in the 1980s to return to Greece. In the early 1990s a branch of the Association of Refugee Children from the Aegean part of Macedonia was founded in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia. The former Greek refugees were recognised as a national minority
by the Government of the Czech Republic.
. It was here that many of the younger children were reunited with their parents. It is thought that 5,132 children were evacuated to Romania along with 1,981 men and 1,939 women. Of all the children evacuated to the Eastern bloc the largest number were evacuated to Romania. Special provisions were established for the children. They were taught in the Russian, Greek and Macedonian languages along Romanian. Many of the Greek refugee children returned to Greece after the Amnesty Law released in 1982, while the Macedonian refugee children went on to become an officially recognised minority group.
in the years 1946-1949. This included 2,161 males, 2,233 females and 2,859 children. The first group of approximately 2,000 children was evacuated to Hungary and placed into military barracks. Another group of 1,200 partisans was transferred from Buljkes
to Hungary. An initial refugee camp had been established in the Hungarian village of Fehervarcsurgo
. Authorities soon split the groups by the village of origin. They were then "adopted" by the Hungarian community. A Greek village was founded in central Hungary and was named Beloiannisz
, after the Greek Communist Fighter, Nikos Beloyannis
. They were sent across the country but still received support from the Red Cross and an education in Hungarian, Macedonian, Greek and Russian. Many chose to leave Hungary in search of relatives and family. Others chose to relocate themselves to the Socialist Republic of Macedonia while many ethnic Greeks left returned to Greece after 1982.
.
In 1982 the Greek government enabled an Amnesty Law. Law 400/76 permitted the return and repatriation of the political refugees who had left Greece during the Greek Civil War. However, the ministerial decree stated that those free to return were “all Greeks by genus who during the Civil War of 1946-1949 and because of it have fled abroad as political refugees”. This excluded many people who were not “Greeks by genus” such as the Bulgarians and Slavomacedonians who had fled Greece following the Civil War. Those who identified themselves as something other than “Greek by genus” were not included in the law and were unable to resume their citizenship or property.
However, one could define himself as a "Slavophone Greek" and than he would be considered as a “Greek by genus”.
Law 1540/85 of April 10, 1985 stated that political refugees could regain property taken by the Greek government as long as they were “Greek by genus”. This excluded many people who were not "Greek by genus", namely the Slavomacedonian refugees who claimed that their ethnicity was not Greek. .
had little or no difficulty when entering Greece. The Greek Helsinki Monitor has called on the Greek government to stop using articles of the Citizenship code to deprive, "non-ethnic Greeks", of their citizenship.
The First International Reunion of Child Refugees of Aegean Macedonia took place in Skopje between 30 June and 3 July. At the reunion the Association of Child Refugees from Greek Macedonia adopted a resolution urging the Greek government to allow Slavomacedonian political refugees who left Greece after the Greek Civil War to return to Greece. In addition a large rally was held in Juna 1988 by the refugees who were forced to leave Greece in 1948. This was repeated again on August 10, 1988, the 75th anniversary of the Partition of Macedonia
.
The second world reunion was planned with the help of the Rainbow Party
which has been involved in coordinating the event and reuniting many people with relatives which are still living in Greece. The World Reunion of 1998 involved a visit to the Republic of Greece organised by the Aegean Macedonians
living in Greece. The World Congress lasted in Skopje from 15 July to the 18th. A historic trip was scheduled for the Greek city of Edessa
on the 19th. Although 30 people were barred entry from Greece despite having Canadian citizenship, allegedly due to their Ethnic Macedonian identity and involvement in Macedonian diaspora organisations.
Other groups founded by the Refugee Children include the Association of the Expelled Macedonians “Aegean”, the Association of the Refugee Children - Republic of Macedonia and the Organization of the Macedonian Descendants from the Aegean Part of Macedonia - Bitola.
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
were members or sympathisers of the defeated communist forces who fled Greece during or in the aftermath of the Civil War of 1946–1949. The collapse of the Democratic Army of Greece
Democratic Army of Greece
This article is based on a translation of an article from the Greek Wikipedia.The Democratic Army of Greece , often simply abbreviated to its initials DSE , was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War, 1946–1949...
(DSE) and the evacuation of the Communist Party of Greece
Communist Party of Greece
Founded in 1918, the Communist Party of Greece , better known by its acronym, ΚΚΕ , is the oldest party on the Greek political scene.- Foundation :...
(KKE) to Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
in 1949 led thousands of people to leave the country. It has been estimated that by 1949 over 100,000 people had left Greece, including tens of thousands of child refugees who had been evacuated by the KKE in an organised campaign. The war wrought widespread devastation right across Greece and particularly in the regions of Macedonia
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
and Epirus
Epirus (periphery)
Epirus , formally the Epirus Region , is a geographical and administrative region in northwestern Greece. It borders the regions of West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, West Greece to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and the country of Albania to the north. The...
, causing many people to continue to leave the country even after it had ended.
Greek Civil War
After the invading Axis powers were defeated fighting broke out between the Democratic Army of GreeceDemocratic Army of Greece
This article is based on a translation of an article from the Greek Wikipedia.The Democratic Army of Greece , often simply abbreviated to its initials DSE , was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War, 1946–1949...
(DSE) and the Greek Government which had returned from Exile. Many people chose to return their allegiances as to what they regarded as the rightful government of Greece. Soon the Greek Civil War had broken out between the two opposing sides. Many peasants, leftists, socialists, Ethnic Macedonians and communists joined the struggle on the side of the KKE and the DSE. Backing from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
and the Socialist People's Republic of Albania helped the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) to continue their struggle. The DSE recruited heavily amongst the Slavophone community of Macedonia. It has been estimated that by 1949, from 40 to 60 per cent of the rank and file of the DSE was composed of Slav Macedonians, or from 11,000 - 14,000 of the KKE's fighting force. Given their important role in the battle, the KKE changed its policy towards them. At the fifth Plenum of KKE on January 31, 1949, a resolution was passed declaring that after KKE's victory, the Slav Macedonians would find their "national restoration" within a united Greek state. Although they had made a critical contribution to the KKE war effort, their contribution was not enough to turn the tide.
By the spring of 1947 the communist forces controlled much of the Greek rural areas but had yet to achieve significant support in the cities. At the same time, many Greek prisons were full of ELAS Partisans, EAM
National Liberation Front
National Liberation Front may refer to:* National Liberation Front for South Vietnam * National Liberation Front * People's Liberation Front , sometimes referred to as the National Liberation Front...
members and other pro-communist citizens. Thousands of people had been executed by firing squads on claims that they had committed atrocities against the Greek state. After the defeat of DSE in Peloponnese a new wave of terror spread across areas controlled by the Government of Athens. The Provisional Government, with its headquarters on Mount Vitse, soon decided to evacuate all children from the ages of 2 to 14 from all areas controlled by the Provisional Government, most of these children were from Slav Macedonian families. By 1948 the areas controlled by the Provisional Government had been reduced to rural Macedonia and Epirus. Soon many injured partisans and elderly people along with the child refugees had been evacuated to People's Republic of Albania. After 1948 the Yugoslavian Government decided to close the Yugoslav-Greek border, this in turn led many pro-Tito forces in the National Liberation Front to flee to Yugoslavia. Despite this Slav Macedonians continued to fight in the ranks of DSE. By 1948, Slav Macedonians comprised over 30% of the DSE's fighting force according to some estimates, but these estimates have been disputed by the KKE. In the ensuing aftermath, the National Army began to consolidate its control in areas previously controlled by the Provisional Government. Many villages were destroyed in the fighting and the displaced villagers often fled the country through Albania and onto Yugoslavia. One case is the village of Pimenikon (Babčor) in the Kastoria
Kastoria
Kastoria is a city in northern Greece in the periphery of West Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria peripheral unit. It is situated on a promontory on the western shore of Lake Orestiada, in a valley surrounded by limestone mountains...
region which was eliminated by US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bombers in 1948, displacing hundreds of people. By this time DSE effectively controlled parts of Northern Greece, along with areas of Macedonia where Slav Macedonians represented a clear majority, along with a large tract of Epirus., By the beginning of 1949, increased American aid for the National Army, the Tito-Stalin split
Tito-Stalin Split
The Tito–Stalin Split was a conflict between the leaders of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which resulted in Yugoslavia's expulsion from the Communist Information Bureau in 1948...
, recruiting problems for DSE as well as the major defeat in the islands
Aegean Islands
The Aegean Islands are the group of islands in the Aegean Sea, with mainland Greece to the west and north and Turkey to the east; the island of Crete delimits the sea to the south, those of Rhodes, Karpathos and Kasos to the southeast...
and in Peloponnese, helped to destabilise the position of DSE.
Many people fled due the collapse of the DSE, it has also been claimed that many Macedonians of Slavic ethnicity fled to avoid possible persecution by the advancing National Army. A term used to describe the experience of the ethnic Macedonians who left Greece as a result of the Civil War is the Exodus of Macedonians from Greece, particularly in the Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
and the ethnic Macedonian diaspora
Macedonian diaspora
The Macedonian diaspora consists of ethnic Macedonian emigrants and their descendants in countries such as Australia, Italy, Germany, Canada, the United States and others. It is a result of historical and modern day emigration. It is claimed that the diaspora numbers over a million people...
. The KKE
Communist Party of Greece
Founded in 1918, the Communist Party of Greece , better known by its acronym, ΚΚΕ , is the oldest party on the Greek political scene.- Foundation :...
claims that the total number of political refugees was 55,881, an estimated 28,000 - 32,000 children were evacuated during the Greek Civil War. A 1951 document from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia states that the total number of Slav-Macedonians that left Greece during the Civil War was 28,595 whereas some ethnic Macedonian sources put the number of refugees at over 213,000.
Over the course of the war thousands of Communists were killed, imprisoned or had their land confiscated. The headquarters of the Democratic Army in Greece reported that from mid-1945 to May 20, 1947, in Western Macedonia alone, 13,259 were tortured, 3,215 were imprisoned and 268 were executed without trial. In the same period 1,891 had been burnt down and 1,553 had been looted and 13,553 people had been resettled by force. Of the many Slavomacedonians who were imprisoned many would often form their own groups within the prisons. It is claimed that the Greek Prison Camps were located on the islands of Ikaria and Makronisos
Makronisos
Makronisos is an island in the Aegean sea, in Greece and is located close to the coast of Attica, facing the port of Lavrio. It has an elongated shape and its terrain is arid and rocky. In ancient times the island was called Helena. It is part of the prefecture of the Cyclades but it is not part...
, the Averof jail near Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and the jails in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
and Larisa.
Refugee Children
Thousands of Greek, ethnic Macedonian and Aromanian children were evacuated from the Areas under communist control. Although a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Special Committee on the Balkans (UNSCOB) report confirms that villages with an ethnic Macedonian population were far more willing to let their children be evacuated. They are now known as Децата Бегалци (Decata Begalci) "the Refugee Children" in the Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
and the ethnic Macedonian diaspora
Macedonian diaspora
The Macedonian diaspora consists of ethnic Macedonian emigrants and their descendants in countries such as Australia, Italy, Germany, Canada, the United States and others. It is a result of historical and modern day emigration. It is claimed that the diaspora numbers over a million people...
. It is estimated that from 28,000 children to 32,000 children were evacuated in the years 1948 and 1949. According to some sources, the majority of the children sent to the Eastern Bloc had an Ethnic Macedonian origin and spoke their native Slav vernacular, but this is disputed by official KKE documents and statements made by political refugees in the years after the evacuation. Exceptions were made for children under the age of two or three who stayed with their mothers while the rest should be evacuated. Many of these children were spread throughout the Eastern Bloc by 1950 there were 5,132 children in Romania, 4,148 in Czechoslovakia, 3,590 in Poland, 2,859 in Hungary and 672 had been evacuated to Bulgaria.
The official Greek position was that these children had been forcibly taken by the Communists to be brought up under a socialist system. The abduction of children is referred to by Greek historians and politicians as the Paedomazoma an allusion to the Ottoman Devşirme.
Evacuations following the Communist defeat
By early 1949 the situation for the communists had become dire. The Greek-Yugoslav border was closed and daily groups of refugees were fleeing across the Albanian border. From here they would disperse into the rest of the Eastern Bloc. Many of the partisans did not survive the ensuing journey with many perishing. They were stirred on by the hope of fighting for the Greek Communist Party and the Democratic Army of GreeceDemocratic Army of Greece
This article is based on a translation of an article from the Greek Wikipedia.The Democratic Army of Greece , often simply abbreviated to its initials DSE , was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War, 1946–1949...
from other parts of the World. Many others were refugees whose homes and businesses had been destroyed by the civil war fighting. Others still were expelled by the Government forces for their collaboration with the Bulgarian Ohrana during the war. Thousands fled across the border before the Greek government was able to re-established control in former Communist held territory.
Thousands of refugees began to flee across the Eastern Bloc. Many ended up in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and across the Eastern Bloc. Thousands more left for Australia, the United States and Canada. This process separated many families permanently with brothers and sisters often separated from each other. It was common for mothers to lose contact with their children and never to see them again. The most visible effect of the Civil War was the mass emigration.
Exile from Greece
In 1947 the legal act L-2 was issued. This meant that all people who had fought against the Greek government during the Greek Civil War and had left Greece would have their citizenship confiscated and were banned from returning to the country. On January 20, 1948 the legal act M was issued which allowed the Greek government to confiscate the property of those who were stripped of their citizenship. This effectively had exiled the defeated KKE and its supporters who had left Greece.Exodus of Macedonians from Greece
The Exodus of Macedonians from Greece refers to the thousands of MacedoniansMacedonians (ethnic group)
The Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs: "... the term Slavomacedonian was introduced and was accepted by the community itself, which at the time had a much more widespread non-Greek Macedonian ethnic consciousness...
who were evacuated, fled or expelled during the Greek Civil War
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
in the years 1945 to 1949, many of whom fled to avoid persecution. Although these refugees have been classed as political refugees there have been claims that they were also targeted due to their ethnic and cultural identities. Many Slavomacedonians had sided with the KKE which in 1934 had expressed its intent to "fight for the national self-determination of the repressed Slavomacedonians (ethnic group)" and after the KKE passed a resolution at its Fifth Plenum on 31 January 1949 in which "after the KKE victory, the Slavic Macedonians would find their national restoration within a united Greek state". The ethnic Macedonians fought alongside the DSE under their own military wing, the National Liberation Front (Macedonia) (NOF). From its foundation until its merger with the DSE, the NOF had fought alongside the Greek Communist Party. By 1946 thousands of Slavomacedonians had joined the struggle with NOF, alongside them Aromanians
Aromanians
Aromanians are a Latin people native throughout the southern Balkans, especially in northern Greece, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and as an emigrant community in Serbia and Romania . An older term is Macedo-Romanians...
from the Kastoria region were also prominent in the ranks of NOF. Under the NOF, Slavic Macedonian culture was allowed to flourish in Greece. Over 10,000 children went to 87 schools, Macedonian language newspapers were printed and theaters opened. As the Governmental forces approached these facilities were either shut down or destroyed. Many people feared oppression and the loss of their rights under the rule of the Greek government, which in turn caused many people to flee Greece. By 1948, DSE and the Provisional Government, effectively only controlled areas of Northern Greece that Slavomacedonians villages were also included.
After the Provisional Government in 1948 announced that all children were to leave the DSE controlled areas of Greece many Slavomacedonians left the war zone. Some sources estimate that tens of thousands of Slavomacedonians left Greece in the ensuing period. The exodus of Slavomacedonians from Greek Macedonia continued in the aftermath of the Greek Civil War . Most of the refugees were evacuated to the Eastern Bloc, after which many returned to the Socialist Republic of Macedonia
Socialist Republic of Macedonia
The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
.
Establishment of refugees overseas
After the Communist defeat the majority of communists fled to Albania before making their way to the rest of the Eastern Bloc. The majority of the remaining partisans in the Democratic Army of GreeceDemocratic Army of Greece
This article is based on a translation of an article from the Greek Wikipedia.The Democratic Army of Greece , often simply abbreviated to its initials DSE , was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War, 1946–1949...
had been evacuated to Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, while others were sent to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. A commune of ex-communist partisans had been established in village of Buljkes
Maglic
Maglič is a medieval fortress in Ibar gorge 20 km south from Kraljevo in Serbia. It is placed atop a hill around which the Ibar River makes a curve, about 100 m above river level. The fortress protected the only caravan road that connected the Morava Valley and Kosovo polje...
in Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
, Yugoslavia. It was in Tashkent that the Headquarters of the Greek Communist Party were reestablished. Special preparations were made for the defeated army and accommodation and supplies were readied.
Many of the refugee children were placed in Evacuation camps across Europe. They often ended up in places from Poland, Bulgaria and the Soviet Union. The largest group was to end up in Yugoslavia. Here special evacuation camps and Red Cross field hospitals were set up for the children. Most were placed in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. Over 2,000 homes were prepared for the children in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. and many were placed into foster care rather than into orphanages and evacuation camps. Across the Eastern Bloc the refugees were often educated in three and often four languages; Greek, the newly codified Macedonian language, the host countries language and Russian.
Yugoslavia
Half of all the refugees from the Greek Civil War were sent to Yugoslavia. Many of the early refugees entered Yugoslavia directly while later refugees had to pass through Albania after the border was closed. The majority of the refugees were settled in the Socialist Republic of MacedoniaSocialist Republic of Macedonia
The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
while many were settled in the Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina
Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina
Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina , also known shortly as SAP Vojvodina , was one of the two socialist autonomous provinces of the Socialist Republic of Serbia from 1963 to 1990 and one of the federal units of the Socialist Federal...
, where Macedonians still constitute a minority today. The Yugoslav branch of the Red Cross was able to settle 11,000 children across Yugoslavia. Throughout Yugoslavia room was made in specially designed homes by the Red Cross for the refugees. The ten children's homes held approximately 2,000 children. The remaining 9,000 were placed with families in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. The largest group of refugees including 25,000 Macedonians moved to Yugoslavia.
Socialist Republic of Macedonia
Most of the post-World War Two refugees sent to Yugoslavia went to the Socialist Republic of MacedoniaSocialist Republic of Macedonia
The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
. This was for obvious reasons such as the short distance between the borders of Greece and Yugoslavia. Soon the flow of people reversed and many Slav Macedonians from Yugoslavia entered Greece with the hope of aiding the National Liberation Front. The largest group of refugee children from the Greek Civil War was to end up in the People's Republic of Macedonia. Upon crossing the Yugoslav border many children were sent to villages such as Ljubojno
Ljubojno
Ljubojno is a village located in the region of Prespa in the Republic of Macedonia. Ljubojno is situated some 2 km from Prespa lake with elevation of 920 m above sea level. The population of Ljubojno is 186.-Religious objects:...
and Brajčino
Brajcino
Brajčino is a village in the Resen Municipality of Macedonia. It is situated from Lake Prespa at the foot of Baba Mountain. The village is located a few miles from Greece...
before being relocated to larger centres such as Skopje and Bitola. These were joined by thousands more refugees, partisans and expellees until the border with Yugoslavia was closed. From then on refugees had to enter the country via Albania. The majority of these refugee children were Greek Slavic speakers, who remain in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to this day.
The Aegean Macedonian refugees were primarily settled in deserted villages and areas across Macedonia. A large proportion went to the Tetovo
Tetovo
Tetovo is a city in the northwestern part of Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River.The city covers an area of at above sea level, with a population of 86,580 citizens in the municipality. Tetovo is home to the State University of Tetovo and South East...
and Gostivar
Gostivar
Gostivar , is a city in the Republic of Macedonia, located in the upper Polog valley region. It is one of the largest municipalities in the country with a population of 81,042, and the town also covers . Gostivar has good road and railway connections with the other cities in the region, such as...
areas. Another large group was to settle 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...
and the surrounding areas, while refugee camps were established in Kumanovo
Kumanovo
Kumanovo is a city in the Republic of Macedonia and is the seat of Kumanovo Municipality which is the largest municipality in the country. Municipal institutions include a city council, mayor and other administrative bodies.-Name:...
and Strumica
Strumica
Strumica is the largest city in eastern Macedonia, near the Novo Selo-Petrich border crossing with Bulgaria. About 100,000 people live in the region surrounding the city. The city is named after the Strumica River which runs through it...
. Large enclaves of Greek refugees and their descendants can be found in the suburbs of Topankso Pole and Avtokamanda in Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
. They eventually joined mainstream Yugoslav Macedonian society, with most being highly educated. Although most have never returned to Greece they are still proud of their unique Greek-Slavic identity. Many continue speaking Greek and their native Slavic dialects. The Republic of Macedonia has been the centre of Slav-Macedonian refugees from the Greek Civil War. Some estimates put the number of refugees and their descendants at over 50,000 people.
Vojvodina
VojvodinaVojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
became the host to one of the largest refugee populations across the Eastern Bloc. In Vojvodina a special ex-German camp was set up for the refugees, Buljkes
Maglic
Maglič is a medieval fortress in Ibar gorge 20 km south from Kraljevo in Serbia. It is placed atop a hill around which the Ibar River makes a curve, about 100 m above river level. The fortress protected the only caravan road that connected the Morava Valley and Kosovo polje...
. Most of these refugees were ELAS members and the so called "Greek Commune" was established. Although many were Greeks, it is known that a large proportion of the "Greeks" were in fact Slav Macedonians. The first group of refugees to come to Buljkes was from Kumanovo on May 25, 1945. The group included 1454 refugees, mainly partisans. By June 1945 another group of 2,702 refugees had been transferred to Vojvodina. In the spring of 1946 a group of Aegean Macedonian refugees numbering around 250 people had left the camp. Many more had left the commune for neighbouring villages which left the commune primarily Greek populated. It was here that the Greek newspaper Foni tou Boulkes, was published alongside children's books and the paper of the Communist party of Greece. A primary school was established and the commune began to print its own currency. Eventually the camp was shut down and the villagers were transferred. Other camps were established in Bela Crkva
Bela Crkva (Vojvodina)
Bela Crkva is a town and municipality in the South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 10,638, while the Bela Crkva municipality has 20,275 inhabitants....
, Plandište
Plandište
Plandište is a village and municipality in South Banat District of Vojvodina, Serbia. The village has a population of 4,248, while Plandište municipality has 13,355 inhabitants...
, Vršac
Vršac
Vršac is a town and municipality located in Serbia. In 2002 the town's total population was 36,623, while Vršac municipality had 54,369 inhabitants. Vršac is located in the Banat region, in the Vojvodina province of Serbia. It is part of the South Banat District.-Name:The name Vršac is of Serbian...
, Ečka
Ecka
Ečka is a village located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the autonomous province of Vojvodina...
and Šid
Šid
Šid is a town and municipality in the Srem District of Vojvodina, Serbia. Šid town has a population of 16,301, and Šid municipality 38,921.-Name:...
while the villages of Gakovo
Gakovo
Gakovo is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Sombor municipality, in the West Bačka District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population is 2,201 .-Name:...
and Kruševlje
Kruševlje
Kruševlje is a small settlement in Serbia. It is situated in the Sombor municipality, West Bačka District, Vojvodina province. It is mostly populated by Serbs.-Name:...
were repopulated by refugees. By 1946 the total population of Buljkes had reached 4,023 people. Of the remaining Macedonians in Vojvodina at this time many left for the Czechoslovakia or were resettled in the People's Republic of Macedonia.
Eastern Bloc
Wherever the evacuees found themselves across the Eastern bloc special provisions were made for them. Across the Eastern Bloc the ethnic Macedonian refugees were taught the newly codified Macedonian language and the host countries language, many often learned Russian. A large proportion of the child refugees eventually found foster parents in the host country while many of the others were eventually transported back to Yugoslavia especially from 1955 when Yugoslavia made efforts to attract the child refugees. By the 1970s hundreds of refugees had returned to the Socialist Republic of Macedonia from the Soviet Union. Most notably from the clusters of refugees in TashkentTashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
and Alma Ata. In 1982 the Greek government enabled an Amnesty Law, this caused many "Greeks by genus" to return to Greece in the subsequent period.
Soviet Union
After the collapse of the Democratic Army of GreeceDemocratic Army of Greece
This article is based on a translation of an article from the Greek Wikipedia.The Democratic Army of Greece , often simply abbreviated to its initials DSE , was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War, 1946–1949...
thousands of partisans were evacuated to Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
and Alma Ata in Central Asia. An estimated 11,980 Partisans were evacuated to the Soviet Union of which 8,573 were males and 3,407 were females. Many of the ethnic Greek partisans remained in the Soviet Union, while most of the ethnic Macedonian partisans would migrate to Yugoslav Macedonia
Socialist Republic of Macedonia
The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
in the 1960s and 1970s. After the amnesty law of 1980 many Greeks returned to Greece.
Poland
Another large group of Refugees of around 10,000 found their way to the Lower SilesiaLower Silesia
Lower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast.Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of the medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy from 1526...
area in Poland. This group included both Greeks and Slavomacedonians. On 25 October a group of Greek refugee children originally sent to Romania were relocated to Poland, a proportion of these found their way to Lądek-Zdrój
Ladek-Zdrój
Lądek-Zdrój is a town in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Lądek-Zdrój, close to the Czech border....
. Another camp had been established in Krościenko
Kroscienko
Krościenko can refer to three villages in Poland:*Krościenko nad Dunajcem*Krościenko Wyżne*Krościenko, Bieszczady County in Subcarpathian Voivodeship...
. Facilities in Poland were well staffed and modern with assistance from the Red Cross. Many of these remained in the Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast.Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of the medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy from 1526...
area while a large proportion was eventually spread across Southern and Central Poland, soon concentrations of refugees sprung up in Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
and Zgorzelec
Zgorzelec
Zgorzelec is a town in south-western Poland with 33,278 inhabitants . It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship . It is the seat of Zgorzelec County, and also of the smaller district of Gmina Zgorzelec...
. Many Greeks decided to return to Greece after the 1982 Amnesty Law allowed their return, whereas a large proportion of Slavomacedonians ended up leaving Poland, for the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. A book about the Slavomacedonian Children in Poland was published in Skopje in 1987. Another book, "The Political refugees from Greece in Poland 1948 - 1975" has also been published. In 1989 the "Association of Macedonians in Poland" was founded in order to lobby the Greek government to allow the free return of civil war refugee children to Greece.
Czechoslovakia
The first refugee children to come to CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
were at first quarantined, bathed and placed into an old German camp. Here the refugee children were given food and shelter as they were sorted into age groups. Surrogate mothers from Greek Macedonia were assigned to the younger children while the older children were placed into school. The Czech teachers who were trained in psychology did their best to train the children. In Czechoslovakia they were taught Czech, Greek, Macedonian and Russian. Friction between the Greek and ethnic Macedonian children led to the relocation of the Greek children. Eventually the children were joined by older Partisans and ex-communist members. By 1950 and estimated 4,000 males, 3,475 females and 4,148 children had been evacuated to Czechoslovakia. By 1960 both Greek and Macedonian communities had been established. Unlike in other communist states the majority of the refugees had chosen to remain in Czechoslovakia. Much of the Greek population left in the 1980s to return to Greece. In the early 1990s a branch of the Association of Refugee Children from the Aegean part of Macedonia was founded in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia. The former Greek refugees were recognised as a national minority
Greeks in the Czech Republic
There is a small community of Greeks in the Czech Republic. Roughly 12,000 Greek citizens who fled from the 1946-1949 Greek Civil War were admitted to Czechoslovakia; they consisted of people of both Greek and Macedonian ethnicity, as well as other ethnic groups.-Migration history:The admission of...
by the Government of the Czech Republic.
Bulgaria
Although the People's Republic of Bulgaria originally accepted few refugees, government policy changed and the Bulgarian government actively sought out Aegean Macedonian refugees. It is estimated that approximately 2,500 children were sent to Bulgaria and 3,000 partisans fled there in the closing period of the war. There had been a larger flow of refugees into Bulgarian as the Bulgarian Army pulled out of the Drama-Serres region in 1944. A large proportion of Slavic speakers emigrated there. The "Slavic Committee" in Sofia helped to attract refugees that had settled in other parts of the Eastern Bloc. According to a political report in 1962 the number of political emigrants from Greece numbered at 6,529. Unlike the other countries in the Eastern Bloc there were no specific organisations founded to deal with specific issues relating to the child refugees, this caused many to cooperate with the "Association of Refugee Children from the Aegean part of Macedonia", an association based in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. Eventually many of these migrants relocated to the Republic of Macedonia with many being integrated into mainstream Bulgarian society.Romania
A large evacuation camp was established in the Romanian town of TulgheşTulghes
Tulgheş is a commune in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in eastern Transylvania. The commune is composed of four villages: Hagota , Pintic , Recea and Tulgheş.- Demography :...
. It was here that many of the younger children were reunited with their parents. It is thought that 5,132 children were evacuated to Romania along with 1,981 men and 1,939 women. Of all the children evacuated to the Eastern bloc the largest number were evacuated to Romania. Special provisions were established for the children. They were taught in the Russian, Greek and Macedonian languages along Romanian. Many of the Greek refugee children returned to Greece after the Amnesty Law released in 1982, while the Macedonian refugee children went on to become an officially recognised minority group.
Hungary
A large group of refugees was also evacuated to the People's Republic of HungaryPeople's Republic of Hungary
The People's Republic of Hungary or Hungarian People's Republic was the official state name of Hungary from 1949 to 1989 during its Communist period under the guidance of the Soviet Union. The state remained in existence until 1989 when opposition forces consolidated in forcing the regime to...
in the years 1946-1949. This included 2,161 males, 2,233 females and 2,859 children. The first group of approximately 2,000 children was evacuated to Hungary and placed into military barracks. Another group of 1,200 partisans was transferred from Buljkes
Maglic
Maglič is a medieval fortress in Ibar gorge 20 km south from Kraljevo in Serbia. It is placed atop a hill around which the Ibar River makes a curve, about 100 m above river level. The fortress protected the only caravan road that connected the Morava Valley and Kosovo polje...
to Hungary. An initial refugee camp had been established in the Hungarian village of Fehervarcsurgo
Fehérvárcsurgó
Fehérvárcsurgó is a village in Fejér county, Hungary.- External links :*...
. Authorities soon split the groups by the village of origin. They were then "adopted" by the Hungarian community. A Greek village was founded in central Hungary and was named Beloiannisz
Beloiannisz
Beloiannisz is a village in Fejér county, Hungary. It was founded by Communist Greek refugees who left Greece after the civil war, and was named after Nikos Beloyannis .-Location:...
, after the Greek Communist Fighter, Nikos Beloyannis
Nikos Beloyannis
Nikos Beloyannis was a Greek resistance leader and leading cadre of the Greek Communist Party. He was born in Amalias in 1915...
. They were sent across the country but still received support from the Red Cross and an education in Hungarian, Macedonian, Greek and Russian. Many chose to leave Hungary in search of relatives and family. Others chose to relocate themselves to the Socialist Republic of Macedonia while many ethnic Greeks left returned to Greece after 1982.
German Democratic Republic
It has been estimated that around 1,200 child refugees found their way to East Germany. At the time it was claimed that all of these children were "Greek" but no distinction was made regarding the ethnicity of the children. There were also ethnically Macedonian and Albanian children who had also been sent to the country. Unlike the rest of Eastern Europe the Macedonian language was not taught to the children in Germany. Most the Greek children would end up returning to GreeceRefugees in the West
A large proportion of the adults who had left Europe ended up in the United States, Canada and Australia. Thousands would go on to establish themselves in the hope of returning to Europe. The 1950s witnessed the arrival of over 2,000 refugee children in Canada alone. Thousands of refugees had settled themselves in European cities such as London and Paris in the hope of continuing the struggle of the DSE.Aftermath
The removal of a large proportion of the population from Greek Macedonia dramatically changed the social and political landscape of the region. Depopulation, repatriation, discrimination and repopulation would all become issues to be resolved in the period following the Greek Civil WarGreek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
.
Loss of Citizenship
In 1947 those who had fought the government or who had fled Greece had their citizenship stripped from them. Many of them were barred from re-entering Greece on a permanent or temporary basis. This meant that the exiles and refugees were unable to return to the land of their birth. Many of the refugees remained in Eastern Europe or left for the West. Citizenship was stripped from the evacuees without the fair hearing to an independent tribunal and other internationally accepted protocols for the seizure of citizenship such as legal representation and the opportunity to defend oneself. This process of seizing citizenship had "historically been used against people identifying as ethnic Macedonians". Despite it applying to all citizens regardless of ethnicity. It has been enforced, in all but one case, only against citizens who identified themselves as members of the "Macedonian" minority. Dual citizens who are stripped of Greek citizenship under Article 20 of the citizenship code are sometimes prevented from entering Greece using the passport of their second nationality. Although since 1998 there have been no new reported cases of this occurring.In 1982 the Greek government enabled an Amnesty Law. Law 400/76 permitted the return and repatriation of the political refugees who had left Greece during the Greek Civil War. However, the ministerial decree stated that those free to return were “all Greeks by genus who during the Civil War of 1946-1949 and because of it have fled abroad as political refugees”. This excluded many people who were not “Greeks by genus” such as the Bulgarians and Slavomacedonians who had fled Greece following the Civil War. Those who identified themselves as something other than “Greek by genus” were not included in the law and were unable to resume their citizenship or property.
However, one could define himself as a "Slavophone Greek" and than he would be considered as a “Greek by genus”.
Depopulation and loss of property
One major effect of the Macedonian exodus from Northern Greece was the effect of depopulation on the region of Greek Macedonia. This was most markedly felt in the Florina, Kastoria, Kozani and Edessa areas where the Communist party was popular and where the largest concentrations of Slavomacedonians could be found. Many of these depopulated and devastated villages and confiscated properties were given to people from outside of the area. Vlachs and Greeks were given property in the resettlement programme conducted by the Greek Government from the period 1952-58. Many properties were confiscated from those persons who had fled the war and had their citizenship subsequently stripped from them.Law 1540/85 of April 10, 1985 stated that political refugees could regain property taken by the Greek government as long as they were “Greek by genus”. This excluded many people who were not "Greek by genus", namely the Slavomacedonian refugees who claimed that their ethnicity was not Greek. .
Denial of re-entry to Greece
Many people who had fled the country were also denied visa for re-entry into Greece. The refugees planned on attending weddings, funerals and other events but were denied access to Greece. These measures were even extended to Australian and Canadian citizens, many of whom have been barred from entering Greece. There have been claims that exiles who left Greece were prevented from re-entering Greece wen other nationals from the Republic of MacedoniaRepublic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
had little or no difficulty when entering Greece. The Greek Helsinki Monitor has called on the Greek government to stop using articles of the Citizenship code to deprive, "non-ethnic Greeks", of their citizenship.
Initiatives and Organization
The ex-partisans and refugee children have established organisations and institutions concerning refugee issues and the exodus of Macedonians from Greece and in order to lobby the Greek government to allow their return to Greece and restoration of their Human Rights. There are eight major "Deca Begalci" organisations which have been set up by the Refugee Children and exiled Macedonians. These organisations have traditionally been orientated by the ethnic Macedonia refugees, as most of the ethnic Greek refugees have rejoined mainstream Greek society.The World Re-Union of Refugee Children
The most notable event organised by the Greek Slavomacedonians refugee children is the Re-union of the refugee children or the World Congress of the Refugee Children. The first World Congress of the Refugee Children was held in July, 1988 in the city of Skopje. The second re-union was held in 1998 and the third was in 2003. The most recent and fourth World Congress of the refugee children from Greek Macedonia began on the 18th of July, 2008. This event gathers child refugees from all over the world. Many participants from Romania, Canada, Poland, the Czech Republic, Australia, the United States and Vojvodina attend the event.The First International Reunion of Child Refugees of Aegean Macedonia took place in Skopje between 30 June and 3 July. At the reunion the Association of Child Refugees from Greek Macedonia adopted a resolution urging the Greek government to allow Slavomacedonian political refugees who left Greece after the Greek Civil War to return to Greece. In addition a large rally was held in Juna 1988 by the refugees who were forced to leave Greece in 1948. This was repeated again on August 10, 1988, the 75th anniversary of the Partition of Macedonia
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
.
The second world reunion was planned with the help of the Rainbow Party
Rainbow (political party)
The Rainbow is a political party in Greece, and a member of the European Free Alliance. It is known for its activism amongst what it regards as the Ethnic Macedonian minority in Greece and their descendants abroad...
which has been involved in coordinating the event and reuniting many people with relatives which are still living in Greece. The World Reunion of 1998 involved a visit to the Republic of Greece organised by the Aegean Macedonians
Aegean Macedonians
Slavic speakers are a linguistic minority population in the northern Greek region of Macedonia who are mostly concentrated in certain parts of the peripheries of West and Central Macedonia, adjacent to the territory of the Republic of Macedonia. A smaller group exists in East Macedonia adjacent to...
living in Greece. The World Congress lasted in Skopje from 15 July to the 18th. A historic trip was scheduled for the Greek city of Edessa
Edessa, Greece
Edessa , is a city in northern Greece and the capital of the Pella regional unit, in the Central Macedonia region of Greece. It was also the capital of the defunct province of the same name.-Name:...
on the 19th. Although 30 people were barred entry from Greece despite having Canadian citizenship, allegedly due to their Ethnic Macedonian identity and involvement in Macedonian diaspora organisations.
Other groups
The Association of Refugee Children from the Aegean part of Macedonia (ARCAM) was founded by the refugee children in 1979 with the intention of reuniting all the former child refugees living throughout the whole world. It has worked closely with The Association of the Macedonians from the Aegean Part of Macedonia. The organisation's main aims were to lobby the Greek government in returning citizenship and allowing visas for re-entry into Greece by the exiled Refugee Children. The organisation was established in 1979 and helped to organise the first World Reunion held by the refugee's was held in Skopje. Chapters of ARCAM were soon established in Toronto, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Skopje, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.Other groups founded by the Refugee Children include the Association of the Expelled Macedonians “Aegean”, the Association of the Refugee Children - Republic of Macedonia and the Organization of the Macedonian Descendants from the Aegean Part of Macedonia - Bitola.
List of notable refugees
- Georgi AjanovskiGeorgi AjanovskiGeorgi Ajanovski , is a prominent Aegean Macedonian journalist. He was evacuated from Greece as a child as one of the many political refugees of the Greek Civil War.-Biography:...
(1940 - ) - journalist and children's writer - Vangel Ajanovski-Oče (1909–1996) - member of the National Liberation Front (Macedonia) and leader of SNOF
- Dimitar DimitrovDimitar Dimitrov (Republic of Macedonia)Dimitar Dimitrov, born 1937 in Tsakoni , Pella Prefecture, Greece, is an ethnic Macedonian philosopher, writer, journalist, and diplomat who was formerly the country's Minister of Culture and Minister of Education....
(1937 - ) - professor, philosopher, politician and writer - Charilaos FlorakisCharilaos FlorakisCharilaos Florakis was a leader of the Communist Party of Greece .Florakis was born on 20 July 1914 in the village of Paliozoglopi, located near Agrafa in the Itamos municipality, prefecture of Karditsa, Greece. He joined KKE, in 1941...
(1914–2005) - Brigadier General of DSE, General Secretary of KKE since 1970 - Risto KirjazovskiRisto KirjazovskiDr. Risto Kirjazovski was an Ethnic Macedonian historian, scientist and publisher. He fought as a Partisan in the NOF, and also participated in the Greek Civil War...
, (1927–2008) - historian, scientist and publisher - Jagnula KunovskaJagnula KunovskaJagnula Kunovska , is a prominent Macedonian jurist, politician and artist.-Biography:She was born in the Greek city of Kastoria in 1943. She is the granddaughter of the Kastorian voivode, Nikola Dobrolitski. She was evacuated to the city of Tetovo in the People's Republic of Macedonia in 1948 as...
, (1943 - ) - jurist, politician and painter from Kastoria - Paskal MitrevskiPaskal MitrevskiPaskal Mitrevski , also known as Paskal Mitrovski or Paschalis Mitropoulos, was a Greek-born partisan from the Greek province of Macedonia and former President of the Macedonian National Liberation Front....
, (1912–1978) - Former president of the National Liberation Front - Dimitrios PartsalidisDimitrios PartsalidisDimitrios "Mitsos" Partsalidis was a Greek communist politician.- Biography :He was a Pontic Greek born in Trabzon, Trabzon Province...
(1905–1980) - Member of the CC oh CPG - Ljubka Rondova, (1936 - ) - folk singer
- Blagoj ShklifovBlagoj Shklifov- Biography :Blagoy Shklifov was born in Vitsi municipality, Kastoria Prefecture, Greece in 1935.In 1948, at the end of the Greek Civil War, he left his burned village and after a short stay in Socialist Republic of Macedonia went to Hungary, with many refugees from Greek Macedonia. In 1964, he...
, (1935–2003) - phonologist and dialectologist - Andreas TsipasAndreas TsipasAndreas Tsipas, , , was a Greek Communist leader during the World War II and Greek Civil War....
, (Andreja Čipov) (1904–1956) - communist leader - Markos VafiadisMarkos VafiadisMarkos Vafiadis ]], Ottoman Empire, 1906 – Athens, Greece, February 23, 1992) was a leading figure of the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War.-Pre-war life:...
(1906–1992) - Military Chief of DSE Supreme HQ, president of the Provisional Government - Ilios YannakakisIlios YannakakisIlios Yannakakis is a French historian and political scientist of Greek descent, professor emeritus of the University of Lille III....
(1931 - ) - a French historian and politologist, professor emeritus - Nikolaos ZachariadisNikolaos ZachariadisNikolaos Zachariadis was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece from 1931 to 1956.-Early life:Born in Adrianopole in 1903, the son of an employee of the Ottoman tobacco monopoly. He worked as a seaman on the Black Sea, where he came under the influence of the Bolshevik Revolution...
(1903–1973) - General secretary of the Greek Communist Party
See also
- Greek Civil WarGreek Civil WarThe Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...
- National Liberation Front (Macedonia)
- Slavic speakers of Greek MacedoniaSlavic speakers of Greek MacedoniaSlavic speakers are a linguistic minority population in the northern Greek region of Macedonia who are mostly concentrated in certain parts of the peripheries of West and Central Macedonia, adjacent to the territory of the Republic of Macedonia. A smaller group exists in East Macedonia adjacent to...
- Greek Communist Party
- Democratic Army of GreeceDemocratic Army of GreeceThis article is based on a translation of an article from the Greek Wikipedia.The Democratic Army of Greece , often simply abbreviated to its initials DSE , was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War, 1946–1949...
External links
- Dangerous Citizens Online, the online version of Neni Panourgiá's Dangerous Citizens: The Greek Left and the Terror of the State (ISBN 978-0823229680)