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Ethnic Macedonian refugees from the Greek Civil War refers to the exodus of ethnic Macedonians who were evacuated and/or fled the Greek Civil War in the years 1945 to 1949. The bulk of these were Refugee children, ([Деца бегалци] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)) whose parents were fighting with the Democratic Army of Greece and the Communist Party of Greece. Of the estimated 100,000 ethnic Macedonians who left Greece it is estimated that between 28,000 and 32,000 children were evacuated from the Civil War.^[1] ^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]. Many partisans and other Ethnic Macedonians were also expelled or fled following the collapse of the Democratic Army of Greece.

Background

Pro-communist sentiment had been brewing in Greece since the First World War and increased during the repressive Metaxas regime. During the Second World War many people in Greek Macedonia joined or sympathized with the Communist Party of Greece. Among the Greek majority were also ethnic Macedonians, Aromanians, Bulgarians and Turks. An armed wing was soon formed it was called the National Liberation Front (Greece), this was followed by an ethnic Macedonian organisation the Slavic-Macedonian National Liberation Front (SNOF) (Macedonian: Славјано Македонски Народно Ослободителен Фронт (СНОФ), Latinic: Slavjano Мakedonski Narodno Osloboditelen Front (SNOF)) which fought for the Communist Party of Greece. This organisation operated from 1943 to 1945. Other people also joined the Greek People's Liberation Army or collaborative pro-axis organisations such as Ohrana. The National Liberation Front (Greece) with the help of the Communist Party of Greece had helped to expell the German invaders. By 1945 the Second World War had ended and Greece was in open civil war. It has been estimated that after the end of the Second World War over 40,000 people fled from Greece to Yugoslavia.

Civil War

Many Aegean Macedonians joined the struggle on the side of the Greek Communist Party and a succesor organisation to SNOF was founded. The National Liberation Front was founded by Ethnic Macedonians. 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 heavily recruited Ethnic Macedonians from the Greek region of Macedonia. It has been estimated that out of DSE's 20,000 fighters, 14,000 were Slavic Macedonians from Greek Macedonia.^[6] Given their important role in the battle^[7], 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 Slavic Macedonians would find their national restoration within a united greek state.^[8]. Although the Ethnic Macedonians had made a critical contribution to the war effort of KKE^[9] their contribution was not enough to turn the tide.

The tide turns

By the spring of 1947 the communist forces controlled much of the Greek countryside but had yet to achieve significant cupport in the cities. Many people believed that socialism was the only option for them and did not wish to live under a non-communist Greece. Many people began to leave Greece and take their children with them, This process included both Greeks and Ethnic Macedonians. Eventually many people began to flee from Greece or were expelled by the ensuing DSE. By 1948 the pro-Tito forces in the National Liberation Front had fled to Yugoslavia despite this Ethnic Macedonians continued to make up over 30% of the KKE's fighting force. ^[5] In the ensuing aftermath the ELAS began to consolidate its control on Greek Macedonia. 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 Babčor in the Kastoria region which was eliminated by US bombers in 1948 thus displacing hundreds of people.^[10] Towards the end of 1947, DSE made an appeal to the governments of the people's republics in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to offer refuge, or at least on a temporary basis, to the children from increasingly exposed areas of Aegean Macedonia ^[11].

Harassment and seizure of citizenship and property

Over the course of the war thousands of Aegean Macedonians had were killed, imprisoned or had their land confiscated.^[12] The headquartes 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 Macedonians had been resettled by force.^[13]In 1947 the legal act L-2 was issued. This meant that all people who had fought against the Greek government and 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. ^[14]^[15]

Deca Begalci

Children Refugees fleeing across the border

On March 4th 1948, "Radio Free Greece" announced that all children under the age of 15 would be evacuated from areas under communist control. 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. By 1948 scores of children had already died from malnutrition, dieasease and injuries. ^[16]It is estimated that 8,000 children left the Kastoria area in the ensuing weeks. ^[10] Thousands of Greek, Ethnic Macedonian and Aromanian children were evacuated from the Areas under communist control. They are now known as the Decata Begalci ([Децата бегалци] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)) or the Refugee Children^[17]. It is estimated that from 28,000 children to 32,000 children were evacuated in the years 1948 and 1949.^[18]^[19] Exceptions were made for children under the age of three who stayed with their mothers while the rest should be evacuated. Many of these children were spread throughout the countries of the Eastern Bloc by 1950 there were 5,132 children in Romania, 4,148 in Czechoslovakia, 3,590 in Poland, 2,859 in Hungary, 2,660 in Bulgaria and 2,000 had been evacuated to Bulgaria.^[20]^[21]

Evacuations following the Communist defeat

By early 1949 the situation for the communists had become dire. The exodus of Macedonians from Aegean Macedonia continued in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Greek Civil War ^[22]. 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. Most of these were partisans and communist fighters. They were stirred on by the hope of fighting for the Greek Communist Party in other parts of the balkans. Many others were refugees whose homes and buisness' had been destroyed by the fighting. Others still were expelled by the Government forces. Thousands fled across the border before the Greek government re-established control in former Communist held teritory.

Thousands of refugees began to flee across the Eastern Bloc. Many ended up in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and across the Eastern Bloc. Thousands left for Australia, the United States and Canada ^[23]. This largely increased the size of the Macedonian diaspora and sent the Child Refugees across the world. This process seperated many families permanently with brothers and sisters often seperated from each other. It was common for mothers to lose contact with their children and never to see them again.^[10] The most visible effect of the Civil War was the mass emigration. ^[24]

Establishment of the Refugees overseas

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 hopsitals were set up for the children. Most were placed in the Socialist Rpeublic of Macedonia. Over 2,000 homes were prepared for the children and many were placed into foster care rather than into orphanages and evacuation camps. Across the Eastern Bloc the Ethnic Macedonian refugees were tought the newly codified Macedonian language and the host countries language, many often learned Russian.

A large evacuation camp was established in the Romanian town of Tulgheş. It was here that many of the younger children were reunited with their parents^[10]. This group of children would go on to form the recognised minority group of Macedonians in Romania. 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^[25].

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.

Human Rights Issues

References

^ [1]
^ Minahan, James (2000). One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 440. ISBN 0313309841. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Danforth, Loring M. (1997). The Macedonian Conflict. Princeton University Press. p. 54. ISBN 0691043566. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Shea, John (1997). Macedonia and Greece: The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation. MrFarland. p. 116. ISBN 0786402288. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ ^a ^b Simpson, Neil (1994). Macedonia Its Disputed History. Victoria: Aristoc Press. p. 92. ISBN 0646204629. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) Cite error: The named reference "autogenerated1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ Ζαούσης Αλέξανδρος. Η Τραγική αναμέτρηση, 1945-1949 – Ο μύθος και η αλήθεια (ISBN 9607213432).
^ 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.
^ 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)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Peter,Hill. (1989) The Macedonians in Australia, Hesperian Press, Carlisle, page 32 Cite error: The named reference "autogenerated5" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ Frucht, Richard (2000). Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 599. ISBN 1576078000. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Danforth, Loring M. (1997). The Macedonian Conflict. Princeton University Press. p. 54. ISBN 0691043566. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Shea, John (1997). Macedonia and Greece: The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation. MrFarland. p. 116. ISBN 0786402288. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Shea, John (1997). Macedonia and Greece: The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation. MrFarland. p. 117. ISBN 0786402288. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Poulton, Hugh (2000). Who are the Macedonians?. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 167. ISBN 1850655340. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Frucht, Richard (2000). Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 599. ISBN 1576078000. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Brown, Keith (2003). The Past in Question: Modern Macedonia and the Uncertainties of Nation. Princeton University Press. p. 271. ISBN 0691099952. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Minority Rights Group, Minorities in the Balkans, p. 31
^ Frucht, Richard (2000). Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 599. ISBN 1576078000. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ 1996 figures
^ Frucht, Richard (2000). Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 599. ISBN 1576078000. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Petroff, Lilian (1995). Sojourners and Settlers: The Macedonian Community in Toronto to 1940. University of Toronto Press. p. 180. ISBN 0802072402. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Jupp, James (2001). The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins. Cambridge University Press. p. 574. ISBN 0521807891. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Cowan, Jane K. (2000). Macedonia: The Politics of Identity and Difference. Pluto Press. p. 37. ISBN 0745315895.
^ Poulton, Hugh (2000). Who are the Macedonians?. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 167. ISBN 1850655340. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[1] [1]

[2] Minahan, James (2000). One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 440. ISBN 0313309841. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[3] Danforth, Loring M. (1997). The Macedonian Conflict. Princeton University Press. p. 54. ISBN 0691043566. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[4] Shea, John (1997). Macedonia and Greece: The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation. MrFarland. p. 116. ISBN 0786402288. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[autogenerated1-5] Simpson, Neil (1994). Macedonia Its Disputed History. Victoria: Aristoc Press. p. 92. ISBN 0646204629. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) Cite error: The named reference "autogenerated1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

[6] Ζαούσης Αλέξανδρος. Η Τραγική αναμέτρηση, 1945-1949 – Ο μύθος και η αλήθεια (ISBN 9607213432).

[7] 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.

[8] KKE Official documents,vol 8

[9] "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)

[autogenerated5-10] Peter,Hill. (1989) The Macedonians in Australia, Hesperian Press, Carlisle, page 32 Cite error: The named reference "autogenerated5" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

[11] Frucht, Richard (2000). Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 599. ISBN 1576078000. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[12] Danforth, Loring M. (1997). The Macedonian Conflict. Princeton University Press. p. 54. ISBN 0691043566. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[13] Shea, John (1997). Macedonia and Greece: The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation. MrFarland. p. 116. ISBN 0786402288. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[14] Shea, John (1997). Macedonia and Greece: The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation. MrFarland. p. 117. ISBN 0786402288. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[15] Poulton, Hugh (2000). Who are the Macedonians?. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 167. ISBN 1850655340. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[16] Frucht, Richard (2000). Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 599. ISBN 1576078000. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[17] Brown, Keith (2003). The Past in Question: Modern Macedonia and the Uncertainties of Nation. Princeton University Press. p. 271. ISBN 0691099952. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[18] Minority Rights Group, Minorities in the Balkans, p. 31

[19] Frucht, Richard (2000). Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 599. ISBN 1576078000. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[20] 1996 figures

[21] Frucht, Richard (2000). Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 599. ISBN 1576078000. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[22] Petroff, Lilian (1995). Sojourners and Settlers: The Macedonian Community in Toronto to 1940. University of Toronto Press. p. 180. ISBN 0802072402. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[23] Jupp, James (2001). The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins. Cambridge University Press. p. 574. ISBN 0521807891. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[24] Cowan, Jane K. (2000). Macedonia: The Politics of Identity and Difference. Pluto Press. p. 37. ISBN 0745315895.

[25] Poulton, Hugh (2000). Who are the Macedonians?. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 167. ISBN 1850655340. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

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