Refugees of the Greek Civil War
During and after the
Greek Civil War
After the invading
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
Many people fled due to the collapse of the DSE, it has also been claimed that many Slav Macedonians fled to avoid possible persecution by the advancing National Army.
Refugee children
On March 4, 1948, the communist "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.[10] It is estimated that 8,000 children were taken from the Kastoria area in the ensuing weeks.[9] 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
The official Greek position was that these children had been forcibly taken from their parents 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
The term "political refugee" has been vague and in some cases misleading in the case of the Greek Civil War, and includes different categories of people. It is difficult to determine the number of people who left Greece because of "justified fear of persecution on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, social class or political beliefs" as the 1951 Geneva Convention provides for the determination of a refugee. Many people left voluntarilly and others were forced to follow the guerrillas in Eastern Europe.[24]
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
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.[25] 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.[9] The most visible effect of the Civil War was the mass emigration.[26]
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.[27] This effectively had exiled the defeated KKE and its supporters who had left Greece.
Exodus of Slav-Macedonians from Greece
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The Exodus of Slav Macedonians from Greece[13] (Macedonian: Егзодус на Македонци од Грција, Egzodus na Makedonci od Grcija) refers to the thousands of Slav Macedonians who were evacuated, fled or expelled during the Greek Civil War in the years 1945 to 1949, many of whom fled to avoid persecution.[2][11][12] 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 Slav Macedonians had sided with the KKE which in 1934 had expressed its intent to "fight for the national self-determination of the repressed Slav Macedonians (ethnic group)"[28] and after the KKE passed a resolution at its Fifth Plenum on 31 January 1949 in which "after the KKE victory, the Slav-Macedonians would find their national restoration within a united Greek state".[7] 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 Slav-Macedonians had joined the struggle with NOF, alongside them Aromanians from the Kastoria region were also prominent in the ranks of NOF. Under the NOF, Slav-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.[29] 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 Slav-Macedonian villages were also included.
After the Provisional Government in 1948 announced that all children were to leave the DSE controlled areas of Greece many Slav-Macedonians left the war zone. Some sources estimate that tens of thousands of Slav-Macedonians left Greece in the ensuing period. The exodus of Slav-Macedonians from Greek Macedonia continued in the aftermath of the Greek Civil War.[30] Most of the refugees were evacuated to the Eastern Bloc, after which many returned to the Socialist Republic of Macedonia.
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
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 Macedonia
Most of the post-World War Two refugees sent to Yugoslavia went to the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. 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 ethnic 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 urban centers 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 Slav-Macedonian speakers, who remain in the Republic of Macedonia to this day.
The refugees from
Vojvodina
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 country's language; many often learned Russian.
Soviet Union
After the collapse of the
Poland
Another large group of refugees, numbering at least 12,300,
Czechoslovakia
The first refugee children to come to Czechoslovakia 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.[citation needed] 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.[37] The former Greek refugees were later recognized as a national minority by the Government of the Czech Republic.[citation needed]
Bulgaria
Although the
Romania
A large evacuation camp was established in the Romanian town of
Hungary
A large group of refugees was also evacuated to
German Democratic Republic
It has been estimated that around 1,200 child refugees found their way to East Germany.[34] At the time it was claimed that all of these children were "Greek" but no distinction was made regarding the ethnicity of the children.[34] There were also ethnically Macedonian and Albanian children who had also been sent to the country.[34] Unlike the rest of Eastern Europe the Macedonian language was not taught to the children in Germany, since the majority were Greek Macedonians. Mostly, the Greek children would end up returning to Greece.
Refugees 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.[40] 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 War.
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".[41] 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.[42] 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.[43] Although since 1998 there have been no new reported cases of this occurring.[44]
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 ethnic Macedonians 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.[45][46]
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 Slav Macedonians 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 1952–1958.[26] 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 Macedonian refugees who claimed that their ethnicity was not Greek.[45][47]
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.
Initiatives and organization
The ex-partisans and refugee children have established institutions for refugee issues and the exodus of Slav Macedonians from Greece and in order to lobby the Greek government to allow their return to Greece and restoration of their human rights. Eight major "Deca Begalci" organizations have been set up by the Refugee Children and exiled Slav Macedonians.[49] They have traditionally been orientated towards the ethnic Macedonian refugees, as most of the ethnic Greek refugees have rejoined mainstream Greek society.
The World Reunion of Refugee Children
The most notable event organized by ethnic Macedonian refugee children is the "Reunion 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 reunion 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 attended the event.[citation needed]
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 Macedonian 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.[50]
The second world reunion was planned with the help of the
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.[37] It has worked closely with The Association of the Macedonians from the Aegean Part of Macedonia. Its main aims were to lobby the Greek government in returning citizenship, and allowing visas for re-entry into Greece by the exiled Refugee Children; it was established in 1979 and helped organize the first World Reunion held by the refugees, which was held in Skopje. Chapters of ARCAM were soon established in Toronto, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Skopje, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.[37]
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.[48]
List of notable refugees
- SNOF
- Kostas Axelos (1924–2010) – philosopher
- Dimitar Dimitrov(1937-) – professor, philosopher, politician and writer
- Charilaos Florakis (1914–2005) – Brigadier General of DSE, General Secretary of KKE since 1970, returned later in Greece
- Risto Kirjazovski (1927–2008) – historian, scientist and publisher
- Petros Kokkalis, doctor
- Jagnula Kunovska (1943-) – jurist, politician and painter from Kastoria
- Paskal Mitrevski (1912–1978) – Former president of the National Liberation Front
- Dimitrios Partsalidis (1905–1980) – Member of the CC of KKE, returned later
- Ljubka Rondova(1936–2016) – folk singer
- Alexandros Rosios, returned later
- Blagoj Shklifov(1935–2003) – phonologist and dialectologist
- Andreas Tsipas (Andreja Čipov) (1904–1956) – communist leader
- Andreas Tzimas
- Markos Vafiadis(1906–1992) – Military Chief of DSE Supreme HQ, president of the Provisional Government, returned later
- professor emeritus
- Iannis Xenakis (1922–2001) – composer and architect
- Nikolaos Zachariadis(1903–1973) – General secretary of the Greek Communist Party
- Martha (1946-) and Tena (1948-) Elefteriadu – popular Czech duo singers
See also
- Greek Civil War
- National Liberation Front (Macedonia)
- Slavic speakers of Greek Macedonia
- Greek Communist Party
- Democratic Army of Greece
References
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- ^ ISBN 0-691-04356-6.
- ISBN 978-0-521-00479-4. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
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- ^ ISBN 0-646-20462-9.
- ^ Speech presented by Nikos Zachariadis at the Second Congress of the NOF (National Liberation Front of the ethnic Macedonians from Greek Macedonia), published in Σαράντα Χρόνια του ΚΚΕ 1918–1958, Athens, 1958, p. 575.
- ^ a b KKE Official documents,vol 8
- ^ "Incompatible Allies: Greek Communism and Macedonian Nationalism in the Civil War in Greece, 1943–1949. Andrew Rossos", The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 69, No. 1 (Mar., 1997) (p. 42)
- ^ ISBN 0-85905-142-0.
- ^ ISBN 1-57607-800-0.
- ^ a b John S. Koliopoulos. Plundered Loyalties: World War II and Civil War in Greek West Macedonia. Foreword by C. M. Woodhouse. New York: New York University Press. 1999. p. 304. 0814747302
- ^ ISBN 0-521-85409-1.
- ^ ISBN 1-85973-138-4.
- ^ 3rd KKE congress 10–14 October 1950: Situation and problems of the political refugees in People's Republics pages 263–311 (3η Συνδιάσκεψη του Κόμματος (10–14 October 1950. Βλέπε: "III Συνδιάσκεψη του ΚΚΕ, εισηγήσεις, λόγοι, αποφάσεις – Μόνο για εσωκομματική χρήση – Εισήγηση Β. Μπαρτζιώτα: Η κατάσταση και τα προβλήματα των πολιτικών προσφύγων στις Λαϊκές Δημοκρατίες", σελ. 263 – 311") Quote: "Total number of political refugees : 55,881 (23,028 men, 14,956 women and 17,596 children, 368 unknown or not accounted)"
- ^ Simpson, Neil (1994). Macedonia Its Disputed History. p. 92.
- ^ "Macedonians in Greece". Retrieved 27 October 2015.
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- ^ report of General consultant of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia addressed to foreign ministry of Greece Doc 47 15-7-1951 SMIR, ΡΑ, Grcka, 1951, f-30, d-21,410429, (έκθεση του γενικού προξενείου της Γιουγκοσλαβίας στη Θεσσαλονίκη SMIR, ΡΑ, Grcka, 1951, f-30, d-21,410429, Γενικό Προξενείο της Ομόσπονδης Λαϊκής Δημοκρατίας της Γιουγκοσλαβίας προς Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών, Αρ. Εγγρ. 47, Θεσσαλονίκη 15.7.1951. (translated and published by Spiros Sfetas . ΛΓ΄, Θεσσαλονίκη 2001–2002 by the Macedonian Studies ) Quote: "According to the report of General consultant of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia the total number of Macedonian refugees who came from Greece between the years 1941–1951 is 28,595. From 1941 till 1944 500 found refuge in Yugoslav Macedonia, in 1944 4,000 people, in 1945 5,000 , in 1946 8,000, in 1947 6,000, in 1948 3,000, in 1949 2,000, in 1950 80, and in 1951 15 people. About 4,000 left Yugoslavia and moved to other Socialist countries (and very few went also to western countries). So in 1951 at Yugoslavia were 24,595 refugees from Greek Macedonia. 19,000 lived in Yugoslav Macedonia, 4,000 in Serbia (mainly in Gakovo-Krusevlje) and 1595 in other Yugoslav republics."
- ISBN 1-56432-132-0.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link - ^ Current Intelligence bulletin, pg.3, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79T00975A001000200001-7.pdf
- ISBN 978-0-8179-4881-8.
- ISBN 1-57181-308-X.
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- ^ Antoniou Giorgos, Kalyvas Stathis (eds.), The political refugees of the Civil War, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, 2015, pp. 8, 9 (Αντωνίου Γιώργος, Καλύβας Στάθης (επιμ.), Οι πολιτικοί πρόσφυγες του Εμφυλίου Πολέμου, Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας, Θεσσαλονίκη, 2015) ISBN 978-618—81891-6-4. In Greek.
- ^ ISBN 0-521-80789-1.
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- ISBN 9780786402281. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- ISBN 0-8020-7240-2.
- ISBN 1-85285-179-1.)
{{cite book}}
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- ^ Ristović, Milan (1997) Експеримент Буљкес: «грчка република» у Југославији 1945–1949 [Experiment Buljkes: The "Greek republic" in Yugoslavia 1945–1949]. Годишњак за друштвену историју IV, св. 2–3, стр. 179–201.
- ^ a b c d Troebst, Stefan (2004). Evacuation to a Cold Country: Child Refugees from the LPP Greek Civil War in the German Democratic Republic, 1949–1989. Toronto: Carfax Publishing. p. 3.
- ^ "Przemiany demograficzne społeczności greckiej na Ziemi Lubuskiej w latach 1953–1998". Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ISBN 1-56324-282-6.
- ^ a b c TJ-Hosting. "MHRMI – Macedonian Human Rights Movement International". Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ^ Marinov, Tchavdar (2004). Aegean Macedonians and the Bulgarian Identity Politics. Oxford: St Antony's College, Oxford. p. 5.
- ^ Marinov, Tchavdar (2004). Aegean Macedonians and the Bulgarian Identity Politics. Oxford: St Antony's College, Oxford. p. 7.
- ISBN 0-8020-7240-2.
- ^ "Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Greece". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ^ "Greece". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ^ "Greece". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ^ "Greece". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ^ ISBN 1-56432-132-0.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link - ^ Council of Europe – Discriminatory laws against Macedonian political refugees from Greece
- ^ Council of Europe: Discriminatory laws against Macedonian political refugees from Greece
- ^ a b "Press Release". Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ^ Georgi Donevski Visits the Macedonian Community in Toronto
- ^ Daskalovski, Židas (1999). Elite Transformation and Democratic Transition in Macedonia and Slovenia, Balkanologie, Vol. III, n° 1. Université de Budapest. pp. Vol. III, juillet 1999, page 20.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ TJ-Hosting. "MHRMI – Macedonian Human Rights Movement International". Retrieved 27 October 2015.
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)