FREE CHILDREN OF THE GREEK CIVIL WAR: REFUGEES AND THE POLITICS OF MEMORY PDF Loring M. Danforth,Riki Van Boeschoten | 336 pages | 02 Dec 2011 | The University of Chicago Press | 9780226135991 | English | Chicago, IL, United States Children of the Greek Civil War : Loring M. Danforth : During and after the Greek Civil War of —, members and or supporters of the defeated Communist forces fled Greece as political refugees. These included tens of thousands of child refugees who had been forcefully evacuated by the KKE. After the invading Axis powers were defeated, fighting promptly broke out between the Democratic Army of Greece 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. The DSE recruited heavily amongst the community of Macedonia. It has been estimated that byfrom 40 to 60 per cent of the rank and file of the DSE was composed of Slav Macedonians, Children of the Greek Civil War: Refugees and the Politics of Memory [4] or from 11,—14, of the KKE's fighting force. By the spring of the communist forces controlled much of the Greek rural areas but had yet to achieve significant support in the cities. 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 Children of the Greek Civil War: Refugees and the Politics of Memory these children were from Macedonian families. By the areas controlled by the Provisional Government had been reduced to rural Greek 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 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. 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. By the beginning ofincreased American aid for the National Army, the Tito-Stalin splitrecruiting problems for DSE, as well as major defeats in the islands and in Peloponnese, helped destabilize the position of the DSE. 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. The KKE claims that the total number of political refugees was 55, [15] an estimated 28,—32, children were evacuated during the Greek Civil War. In the same period 1, had been burnt down and 1, had been looted and 13, people had been resettled by force. On March 4,"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 scores of children had already died from malnutrition, disease and injuries. The partisan carers often young women and men had to help and support the children as they fled the Civil War. Thousands of Macedonian, Greek, and Aromanian children were evacuated from the areas under communist control. Many of these children were spread throughout the Eastern Bloc by there were 5, children in Romania, 4, in Czechoslovakia, 3, in Poland, 2, in Hungary and had been evacuated to Bulgaria. 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. By early 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 Greece 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 Children of the Greek Civil War: Refugees and the Politics of Memory 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. Thousands more left for Australia, the United States and Canada. It was common for mothers to lose contact with their children and never to see them again. In 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, the legal act M was issued which allowed the Greek government to confiscate the property of those who were stripped of their citizenship. Many Slav Macedonians had sided with the KKE which in had expressed its intent to "fight for the national self-determination of the repressed Slav Macedonians ethnic group " [30] and after the KKE passed a resolution at its Fifth Plenum on 31 January in which "after the KKE victory, the Slav-Macedonians would find their national restoration within a united Greek state". Over 10, children went to 87 schools, Macedonian language newspapers were printed and theaters opened. As the Governmental forces approached these Children of the Greek Civil War: Refugees and the Politics of Memory were either shut down or destroyed. After the Provisional Government in announced that all children were to leave the DSE controlled areas Children of the Greek Civil War: Refugees and the Politics of Memory Greece many Slav-Macedonians left the war zone. Some sources estimate that tens of thousands of Slav-Macedonians left Greece in the ensuing period. 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 Greece had been evacuated to Tashkent in the Soviet Unionwhile others were sent to PolandHungary and Romania. A commune of ex-communist partisans had been established in village of Buljkes in VojvodinaYugoslavia. 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, homes were prepared for the children in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. 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. Half of all the refugees from the Greek Civil War were sent to Yugoslavia. Many of the Children of the Greek Civil War: Refugees and the Politics of Memory 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 while many were settled in the Socialist Children of the Greek Civil War: Refugees and the Politics of Memory Province of Vojvodinawhere Slav-Macedonians still constitute a minority today. The Yugoslav branch of the Red Cross was able to settle 11, 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, children. The remaining 9, were placed with families in 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 Children of the Greek Civil War: Refugees and the Politics of Memory reversed and many ethnic Macedonians from Yugoslavia entered Greece with the hope of aiding the National Liberation Front. 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 Greek Macedonia were primarily settled in deserted villages and areas across the Republic of Macedonia. A large proportion went to the Tetovo and Gostivar areas. Large enclaves of refugees and their descendants can be found in the suburbs of Topansko Pole and Avtokomanda in Skopje. They joined mainstream Macedonian society, with most being highly educated. Most have never returned to Greece. Some estimates put the number of refugees and their descendants at over 50, people.