BANITSA FROM 1945 TO THE END OF THE GREEK CIVIL WAR IN 1949 - Part 01

BANITSA FROM 1945 TO THE END OF THE GREEK CIVIL WAR IN 1949

Conditions after the Treaty of Varkiza

Fromthe liberation ofthe country in the autumn of1944 untilApril 1945, all organizations (CPG, SOF, AFZ, EPON) and other executive bodies of the National Liberation Boardin Banitsa were functioning and completed their assignments in the renewal and rebuilding of the country.

The people of Banitsa began to feel anxious and worried after the bloody events in Athens and Piraeus in December 1944, because a large number of them were ELAS members and had took part in its actions throughout the country. They were concerned about their relatives, near and far. There was also justifiably a fear of wider military action across the country. The clashes had been of such a nature that they had far-reaching consequences, and these were between ELAS and the occupying British Allied forces stationed throughout the region.

The population anxiously kept track of events and of all the concessions by the CPG leadership when they concluded three agreements with the government in exile in the period of 1944 to 1945: the Lebanon Agreement, the treaty in Caserta, Italy, and the Varkiza Agreement in Greece. People didn’t believe that the CPG had betrayed their movement and forfeited the gains of the National Liberation Front and the revolution, as ELAS had been the master of the situation throughout the country and was supported by the majority of its people.

The Greek right wing, which had the legitimate government of Greece in its control after the signing of Treaty of Varkiza, was aware that its rule was not secure. Its control depended on how well it could stifle the democratic movement in Greece and consolidate power. The right wingers had to consider the recent parliamentary elections and plebiscite on the monarchy (for or against the King). The bourgeoisie was aware that during the war a massively popular movement had developed against fascism and its domestic collaborators, and they could not dare to have free parliamentary elections until they made sure that conditions would be in place to satisfy their side and to secure the legitimacy to govern.

In order to accomplish that end, the movement of EAM needed to be suppressed and they needed to solidify and consolidate their new powers,to create theirown stateand administrative structures,their own armed military and police forces. Having no-one to rely on, they re-activated the occupation’s collaborators and domestic traitors, and allowed them to continue waging terror against the people and the democratic movement in order to intimidate the population and to gain supporters for the government. This terror was especially carried out against the Macedonian people.

To carry out the above-mentioned measures, the bourgeoisie had the full material, moral and military support of the British occupying forces. The organizing of the Greek army and police was entrusted to the British officer staff.

Disarming ELAS Units

In accordance with the negotiated agreement and signing of the Treaty of Varkiza, on 12 February 1945, an immediate demobilization of ELAS soldiers began and the disarmament was completed by 15 March 1945. All members of ELAS who were from Banitsa returned home.

At the initiative of the secretary of the CPG’s regional committee for Lerin District, in order to conceal a quantity of weapons handed in by fighters and from the ELAS arms cache in Lerin, the municipal committee in Banitsa was tasked with organizing the transport and storage of these weapons in the underground tunnels of Banitsa’s coalmine. Under the leadership of the committee secretary, Blazhe Zabrtski and members of the Party, the following people, with their harnessed wagons,were involved:GligorKjosev, SlaveNedelkov, Dine Shisharev, Slave Kostov, Dine Kochev, Kitse Popov, Dzole Kalpakov, Dzole Lakov, Metodi Apchev, Gjorgi Mangov, Kole Depin, Gligor Perov and others. Twenty trucks with weapons of all kinds were transferred from storage in Lerin and hidden in the coalmine in Banitsa. This included about 200,000 rounds of rifle ammunition handed over to the Party in the village of Krushoradi which were transported by Tole Petkov and Kosta Dzengo. They also stored five truckloads of machine oil. During 1945 and 1946, these weapons were distributed to the fighters of the DAG.

Besidesthefearofthearmedterroristgroupsthatgrippedtheentire country, legal terrorism by the authorities themselves now began, which grew with the consolidation of power from the centre to other parts of the country. In the beginning of 1945 the number of arrested, imprisoned, and interned fighters was growing by the day (Ed. Note: this was part of what historians call the ‘White Terror’). It was actually a one-sided civil war, since the people were unarmed and could not oppose the armed gangs. Protests by EAM’s central committee to the command of the Allied Forces and the government did not help; on the contrary, they were the ones who encouraged and supported the terror. The people started to protest in large numbers in all towns and cities. The organization of these protest meetings was under control of the EAM organization and their representatives spoke at them.

Large Demonstration Held in Lerin

On 15 March 1945, a massive protest meeting was organized and held in Lerin, with over 15,000 people from Lerin District attending.

People from Banitsa were there in large numbers. The British Army and the gendarmes were tipped off about the meeting and blocked all the roads with barricades, thus not allowing the protestors to enter the town.

The protestors armed themselves with sticks, poles, stakes and rocks from the gardens in the suburbs of Lerin and at a given signal, entered the town over the enemy’s barricades while the British army did not dare to open fire nor let the gendarmes do so. The protestors set off towards Emonia Square in front of the Hotel Balkania. Over 15,000 people chanted in unison: “We too are children of Mother Earth, and we too have the right to live.” Certain chants could be heard: “We want a people’s government, human rights, free and democratic governance, a tranquil and peaceful life, without terrorism from war criminals and collaborators of the occupying forces, who must face the judgment of the people.” There were other calls for the withdrawal of British troops: Long live the CPG, long live EAM.”

The meeting was opened by the president of the regional National Liberation Board and mayor, Micho Velikin of Banitsa, who gave the keynote speech. Other representatives of EAM spoke as well including Stavre Kochev of Banitsa and the president of SOF for Aegean Macedonia and Rigas. The secretary Tanos Furkiotis spoke in the name of the CPG.

All of the speakers condemned the terrorism, violence and rioting and called on the government to stop them. They demanded the liberation of political cadres and sympathizers of CPG, EAM, SOF and other innocent people who had been arrested. The perpetrators of the terror were to accept full responsibility, and democracy was to be established. The police, army and security units were to be cleansed of all those who collaborated with the occupying forces and of all pro-fascist members of the Metaxas regime. They shouted out slogans, “Long live the CPG, EAM, SOF!”, “Down with Reactionary Government!”, Allied armies out of the country!”, and others.

Allied Military Command, gauging the mood of the masses, feared that the protesters might head towards Lerin Prison, where several war

criminals and collaborators of the occupying forces were imprisoned. It was a prison guarded by units of ELAS National Militia.

Therefore, they sent their own units to block the prison, disarmed the members of the National Militia, imprisoned them along with the criminals and the put the prison under control of the gendarmes. Later on, the National Militia members were taken to court, tried by Government court martial and sent off to concentration camps on deserted islands in the Aegean Sea, according to Ilija Kostovski of the village of Bukovikj, Lerin District. Clearly, no further comment is necessary.

In the afternoon hours the demonstrations ended and people returned to their homes.

After this demonstration an even greater wave of terror began. Armed gangs, the police force, special security forces units and other groups and individuals mistreated the unarmed population, in their homes, in the fields, just anywhere, attacking, beating, robbing, raping, and setting houses on fire. This was especially true for the Macedonian population, where all means were used in order to exterminate them. They were referred to as “paleovulgari and ohrana”.48 A large number of people were arrested and without trial, sent to the Aegean Sea death camps.

The population of Banitsa was kept aware of the wave of terror in the country through the news press of the Party and democratic organizations, as well as through personal contacts with other villages in and around Lerin. They feared and expected that the same things wouldhappeninBanitsa.However,upuntilthebeginningofMay1945, not one of them dared to come into Banitsa, until the monarcho-fascists took over control and solidified their power. Up until that time all activities of the organizations were carried out peacefully.

48Ohrana were Bulgarian fascists.

On the occasion of the Greek National Holiday, 25 March, celebrating the liberation from the Ottoman Empire, a large parade and meeting was held in Banitsa at which speeches were given by the Mitse Laev, president of the National Liberation Board, Nine Vasev, president of the SOF local committee, and Dimitar Kochevski, representing the CPG. All three spoke of the meaning of this holiday, about the revolution and the National Liberation War from 1941–1944. They condemned the current terrorism and called on the government take measures to stop it, as well as for the democratization of the country and the formation of a people’s democratic government with participation of all democratic parties that took part in National Liberation War.

Blazhe Zabrtski, secretary of the CPG for Banitsa (after the 9th Plenum of CPG Central Committee of 5–10 April 1945 in Athens), after receiving instructions, informed all political activists to go underground and seek refuge in neighbouring countries within the socialist brotherhood, in order to avoid being arrested. Only those who were not much compromised could stay in the field. This also applied to the staff of all other socio-political organizations.

The secretary called a meeting of the local CPG, and on the agenda was the process for executing the aforementioned directive, and the decision as to who was to remain on the ground in Banitsa, and who was to leave for the neighbouring countries. Accordingly, the following people were to go to Yugoslavia: Blazhe Zabrtski, secretary of the local council of the CPG; Mitse Laev, president, National Liberation Board; Dine Robev, socio-political instructor for Banitsa’s regional committee of the CPG; Risto Vasev, socio-political instructor for the regional committee of the CPG in Banitsa; Mitse Nedelkov, socio-political activist and regional instructor of the CPG; Pavle Mangov, socio-political activist, Risto Vasev; socio-political activist and instructor for the regional committee of the CPG in Banitsa; Kitse Apchev, socio-political worker and instructor for the regional committee of the CPG in Banitsa; State Boglev, socio-political activist; and Sofika Dzugomanova, socio-political activist and instructor for the AFZ in Banitsa.

At the meeting, a new secretary of the Party was elected—Dzole Rapov, its former vice-secretary. Stavro Pavlev was elected as deputy, and, Pavle Malinov was elected as a third member.

All of the above-mentioned activists went to Bitola, and later on, by order of the CPG, some of them went to Bulkes (the Greek communist village station in northern Yugoslavia). Of the Banitsa staff, members of the regional leaderships of Lerin District organizations who remained in the field included: Micho Velikin, Stavre Kochev, Vangel Kujchev, Todor Kochevski-Viktor, Dimitar Kochevski, and others.

Terror in Banitsa in 1945

The people’s fears came true. At the beginning of May 1945, at Easter, a large detachment of gendarmes arrived in the village and blockaded it. The populace was in the midst of celebrating with the musical groups of Krishe Pandev and Krishe Janchev in the village centre, and at the sight of the police, started to disperse and head home. The gendarmes stopped them from leaving and surrounded them from all sides. They ordered the musicians to play the Greek Anthem and ordered everyone to dance the Imperial Dance. The people remained calm and nobody wanted to dance this oro. The gendarmes started dragging people by their jackets to dance, cursing them with insults such as paleovulgari, autonomists, etc. The population forcibly broke through the cordon of gendarmes and headed home. A general search was then conducted of all houses, with the police mistreating and robbing the population. By that evening, the gendarmes had stationed themselves in the village’s military barracks and stayed there for good.

In the second half of May 1945, 160 court summonses arrived in Banitsa, with the charges that those people cited supported an independent Macedonia and were therefore undermining the state order of Greece. Panic occurred among the people because most of the summonses were for leading citizens and participants in National Liberation Movement, and most of them were either hiding in the mountains around Banitsa or had crossed the border into neighbouring

countries. Only forty people appeared before the court. They were accused ofbeing autonomists,and theiractionsundermining state order. Theyall defended themselves, and some even hired lawyers who argued that it was all just fabrications and provocations, aimed at the Macedonian people order to harass them and ultimately exterminate them. Out of the forty people accused, seventeen were sentenced to long prison sentences without being proven guilty, and immediately sent to prison camps on deserted islands in the Aegean Sea. The seventeen were: Risto Popalev, Nune Vasev, Dore Malinov, Leko Abov, Kitse Janchev, Makile Mangov, Blazhe Krsten, Kole Tanev, Boris Dutsev, Dine Shisharev, Krishe Kochev, Ilo Rebetkin, Filip Nedelkov, Boris Babulov (military invalid from the Greco-Turkish war 1919–1922), Krishe Robev, Tsile Janev and Ilo Abov.

The people, fearful of new arrests and trials, started leaving the village,and around 200 people moved to Yugoslavia. Completefamilies left, and this was a tragedy for Banitsa. Some villagers, fearing reprisals by monarcho-fascists, did not sleep at home, but instead slept in the fields or up in the mountains.

Of the seventeen people sentenced, Dore Malinov and Filip Nedelkov were sent to Agios (Aja) Strati, the rest to other Aegean Sea camps. In the camp, Dore Malinov succumbed to his wounds from beating and torture by the prison guards. The veteran revolutionary, Filip Nedelkov, was also beaten and tortured by the prison guards, and after being tortured almost to the point of death, was released and sent back to the village. Medical attention and home care could not help him, and two weeks later, he succumbed to his wounds. He died surrounded by his family.

Due to this wave of persecution and the issuance of an arrest warrant, Lazo Rapov, secretary of Banitsa’s local CPG council, went underground and crossed into Yugoslavia. Committee member and deputy secretary Pavle Malinov was elected as his replacement, and a third member elected, Krishe Mitse Rapov, who continued the Party’s activities totally underground.

Of the Banitsa staff, members of the regional governing bodies of CPG, EAM and EPON Vangel Kujchev, Dimitar Kochevski, Stavre Kochev, and Todor Kochevski-Viktor continued their field activities underground despite the wave of terror.49

Formation of the Agricultural Party of Greece

Due to the adverse conditions for CPG activity, the Lerin regional CPG committee ordered all party members to join the Agricultural Party, to carry out its political activity within its ranks in addition to the activities of the EAM organization, and to establish a branch of the Agricultural Party in each village. In April 1945, a constitutive meeting was held in Banitsa, and a five-member board was elected: Krishe Robev, Krishe Janchev, Gjorgi Dzugomanov, Slave Kostov and Metodi Gaskov (also known as Mangov).

According to Gjorgi Dzugomanov, a meeting was held in the Lerin-area village of Nokazi, of delegates from all village and town organizations and under the leadership of the Lerin District CPG. Regional council member Vorijas attended, along with two others whose names Gjorgi Dzugomanov could not remember. He and Slave Kostov, regional council members of the Agricultural Party, were the delegates from Banitsa. At the meeting, tactics and methods were developed for CPG members within this organization and outside of it, between the people and the army.

Formation of Partisan Groups and Units

In the beginning of May 1944, after the victory over fascism, the First Aegean-Macedonian Assault Brigade was dismissed and all the

49Dore Malinov was a great-uncle of Evan Mallin, who says he was actually lucky to escape arrest. “Nito eden shamar jadi jas” (I did not eat even one blow). Pavle Malinov’s children and grand-children reside in Toronto now.

fighters entered the Eighth Corps of KNOJ (People’s Defence Corps of Yugoslavia).

Soon after the formation of the brigade in 1944, a conference was held in Bitola with delegates from all parts of Aegean Macedonia. A political body of twenty-nine members was elected, headed by a political commission of ten members which had the task of continuing the activity of the SOF and connecting with the CPG in order to resolve the dispute over Macedonian national question and recognition of the legitimate rights of the Macedonian people for self-determination.

The political commission, in one of its sessions held in April 1945, reviewed the political and military situation in Greece, especially in Aegean Macedonia, and concluded that the situation in this part of the country was extremely worrying. Terrorism and ethnic cleansing were causing massive emigration ofpeaceful Macedonians into neighbouring socialist countries50 while at the same time, the resistance of the remaining progressive citizenry was increasing.

In order to protect the populace from the terrorism of the monarcho-fascists and their marauding bands, the villagers established village guards and armed detachments to deal with defence and timely reporting in case of danger.

The political commission, with the aim of organizing the population for self-protection and the defence of the legitimate rights of Macedonians, united the existing organizations of SOF from the time of the People’s Liberation Army 1941–1944, all of which were quite broken and demoralised due to the new situation on the ground. On 25 April1945,itdecided to formneworganization underthe name ofNOF: National Liberation Front of Aegean Macedonia, which should be considered a continuation of the work of SNOF. NOF arose not only as an organization and organizer of the struggle of the Macedonian people against the nationalist and classist enemy embodied in the ruling Athens regime in Greece, but also as an antithesis of the opportunistic and

50Ed.note: This is a long-established form of ethnic cleansing.

mistaken policy of the CPG leadership regarding the Macedonian national question. NOF, with its aims and activities, enjoyed great authority in Aegean Macedonia.

At this time, new people were appointed to form branch divisions of NOF and help unite the population. These were Risto Kolentsev, Vera Foteva Boleva, Gjorgi Turundjev, Tane Naumovski, Micho Velikin, Todor Kochevski-Viktor, and others. Risto Kolentsev and Lefter Olevski were assigned to unite the armed groups and individuals into partisan units under the leadership of NOF. From the disbanded First Aegean Assault Brigade, a large number of soldiers volunteered to return to Aegean Macedonia to fight for their legitimate rights. In the first organized military unit of NOF, around 100 combatants joined, under the command of Lefter Olevski and Risto Kolentsev. A large number of the combatants were from Banitsa: Gjorgi Alushev, Blazhe Tashev, Dine Tashev, Dine Nedin, Ruse Dzugomanov, Petse Alushev, Lazo Veljanov, Gjorgi Abov, Lazo Gjergev, Lazo Lakov, Vancho Katin, Blazhe Toshev, Kocho Hrisafov, Ilo Mangov, Lazo Kalpakov, Ilo Natse Mangov, and others.

Among them, the following Banitsa residents went into the field as political and military leaders: Lefter Olevski, battalion commander; Micho Velikin, Ipsilantis Brigade political commissar carrying the rank of lieutenant colonel and president of the Lerin District National Liberation Board; Todor Kochevski-Viktor, instructor of EPON for Lerin; and Vangel Kujchev, commander of the national militia in the General Staff of ELAS.

Micho Velikin founded the first partisan base in the location of Rakijata in the vicinity of Banitsa. It had only one radio.51 Micho Velikin, with other politically active people from Banitsa, Stavre Kochev, Vangel Kujchev, Todor Kochevski-Viktor, all members of the Lerin regional leadership, started to organize the people’s resistance

51 Ed. note: My uncle Gele Krishe Kochev was a guardian of the radio. Evan Mallin at one time hid the radio under straw in a cart to deliver it back to the partisans.

against the terrorism of the monarcho-fascists and other armed military formations and individuals helping the allied forces stationed in Lerin.

Such militia activity of NOF in the Lerin and Kostur Districts was contrary to the decisions of the 11th Plenum of the CPG Central Committee held from 5 to 10 April 1945 in Athens, when Aris Voluhiotis was convicted of such activity, namely, refusing to surrender weapons, and who along with 100 partisans had continued the guerrilla struggle for liberation. Zahariadis called this action cowardice and desertion and said that the Party mustn’t allow any of its members to continue the armed struggle; the actions would be condemned and measures taken. And that’s how it was. Aris Valuhiotis was found dead June 25, 1945 on Pindus Mountain. At this 11th Plenum, they also criticized both the Macedonian leadership of the CPG of Greece and the actions of NOF, which were obstructed.

In July 1945, another Plenum of the CPG Central Committee was held, in which Zahariadis gave a report analyzing the reasons for the failure of ELAS, mainly justifying the political line of the party and attributing the mistakes to individuals and to the external factors of British imperialism. From then on, the Party opposed an armed struggle against the monarcho-fascists and instead espoused a political struggle—what a mistake.

The Varkiza agreement had been signed on 12 February 1945, and by July, when this Plenum was held, 10,000 former members and supporters of ELAS and CPG members were in prison, and thousands of armed men were in hiding in the mountains across the country or were in the neighbouring socialist countries trying to avoid arrest by the monarcho-fascists who had issued warrants for their capture. During this period, the former pro-fascist government was brutally restored. A large number of police and governmental forces were deployed, who were not selective about the ways and means of achieving power for their people, mobilizing all suspicious and hated people, collaborators of the occupying forces and pro-fascists, bloody with the blood of the people without regard to ethnicity and religious belief. They accepted into their fold all fleeing war criminals and traitors from the

neighbouring socialist countries (Drazhichevtsi, Lotikjevtsi, Domobrani supporters andBalist supporters) whomanagedtoescape arrestand trial as war criminals in their own countries. During July 1945, in a skirmish in the vicinity of the village of Kotori, Lerin District, Stavre Kochev, a political instructor for EAM in Lerin District, was wounded and transferred to the hospital in Bitola for treatment.

In August 1945, by order and influence of the CPG, the political cadres Dimitar Kochevski and Vangel Kujchev of Banitsa, along with others of the region, left for Bulkes, Vojvodina (in Yugoslavia), and embraced the views of the Communist Party of Greece.

The Activity of the Youth Organization EPON in Banitsa

The activities of EPON in the beginning of 1945 proceeded under normal circumstances until the end of April 1945. Banitsa’s youth did the spring planting as volunteers and helped all the households that did not have available workers or oxen. A sense of unity and solidarity could be felt in Banitsa.

During this period the leaders of the organization were the following: Mitse Dzugomanov, president, with members Gele Krishe Kochev, Pavle Tanev, Lena Krishe Robeva, Gele Apchev, Pavle Apchev and Pavle Dimitrov.

With the arrival of police now stationed in Banitsa and the arrest of politically active persons, the youth wing felt uneasy. Members of the youth group were also placed under arrest and of the 160 court summonses, alargenumber werefor members of theyouthwing. EPON started to stagnate and to reduce its activities. A large number of young people escaped to Yugoslavia, and others went into the mountains and startedanarmedresistanceagainst theterrorismof themonarcho-fascist government, and later on joined the partisan units of NOF under the leadership of Lefter Olevski.

Forming NOF in Banitsa

In the beginning of May 1945, after the return of politically-active Macedonians from the neighbouring socialist countries, Banitsa was among the first villages in which the NOF organization was formed. Much of the former leadership of SOF, because of the persecution, was dispersed into the neighbouring countries, in monarcho-fascist prisons, or hiding in the mountains. The entire population responded to the invitation to establish the NOF organization in Banitsa. At the meeting, the goals and the tasks of the organization were set out and accepted. At the end, an election was held for the NOF’s local board, with Blazhe Krsten, president, and Risto Vasev, Natse Vasev, Pavle Dzugomanov and Petse Tanev as members.

Taking into consideration the political and military situation, NOF worked under very harsh conditions. However, in spite of this, it displayed great activity and served as a template for organizing the Macedonian population for struggle against the monarcho-fascist government, self-defence, and the struggle for and protection of the legitimaterights of thepeople. Banitsa’s examplewasfollowedby other villages of Lerin District. In the period of May to August 1945, active branches of NOF were formed in all villages around Lerin.

According to Tone Lulov, in May 1945, a meeting of the political wing of the party of Lerin was held in the village of Lagen, Lerin District, under the leadership of the secretary of the CPG’s regional committee, Todor Eftimjadis, at which the following people of Banitsa were also present: Vangel Kujchev, Kitse Kochev, Micho Velikin, Dimitar Kochevski, Tone Lulov, Sofika Petkova and Natse Janchev.

At the meeting, the political and military situation of the country was reviewed, with a focus on the Lerin region. Activities in the field and the growth of the movement were discussed. A new division of the responsibilities was made for the political party’s activists. Vangel Kujchev became responsible for the renewal and connection of the organization to the CPG; Sofika Petkova became responsible for AFZ

and its instructor; Micho Velikin became responsible for ETA, People’s Aid.

Due to the poor working conditions on the ground (the repression by the monarcho-fascists), all those elected refused to work there. It was decided that they should go to Bulkes in Yugoslavia. Tone Lulov and Natse Janchev remained in the field locally.

Tone Lulov was offered the responsibility for the renewal and liaising with CPG for Lerin District, but he refused since the conditions were not favourable. However, he remained an instructor in the Banitsa area. On 30 June 1945, while moving through the Banitsa area near Miresh, or Gladno Pole (just west of the village), he was ambushed and sustained two wounds to his leg. The monarcho-fascists captured him, tortured himand transferred himto prison in Lerin. He received medical care for his injuries only from the other prisoners; the authorities did not even look at him. He was released, along with all other detainees, in August 1945, following a general amnesty granted by the Sophoulis government to all arrested ELAS members and political activists of the CPG, EAM, and others. However, this was just an illusion, as the wave of terror and repression immediately resumed with even greater intensity, and most of the detainees were returned to their cells.

The Monarcho-fascists Take Control of the Coalmine

With the restoration of the monarcho-fascist government in Lerin region in May 1945, the former proprietor of the mine, Lefterios Palis, was immediately re-installed. Palis forbade any unsanctioned coal mining in the Banitsa area. Together with the police, he conducted house-to-house searches, and wherever he found coal he filed criminal charges with the Lerin District Public Prosecutor’s Office, charging theft of his property. There were over 200 people from Banitsa summoned to court who did not attend; most of them had fled to the Socialist Republic of Macedonia or had gone up into the mountains.

Because of Lefterios Palis’ intense persecution of the miners, the NOF organization issued an order for his liquidation. A group of partisans led by Lefter Olevski and Risto Kolentsev was successful in completing the task. Palis opened fire, and the group responded with gunfire and hand grenades, killing him and his granddaughter Athena, who was at home. Likewise, by decision of the NOF, Dimko, the security guard of the mine, was also killed. He had treated the villagers rudely, not allowing them to draw water from mine’s pumps. He had been previously warned not to mistreat them, but had continued to menace unprotected villagers by pointing a rifle at them.

After the execution of Palis, in September 1945 the monarcho-fascists began a general offensive to clear the Lerin area of partisans and their sympathizers. Over 10,000 soldiers and policemen participated in widespread terrorism of the villages, and in the mountains, there were casualties on both sides clashes between the partisans and the enemy. Defeated partisan groups, townspeople and villagers who found themselves under attack were forced to flee to the SRM (Socialist Republic of Macedonia).

In one of these actions, at the Banitsa-area site called Aero, a monarcho-fascist group led by the Greek Micho Mihaili, son-in-law of a Banitsa resident, was ambushed and wounded by a partisan group led by Gjorgi Tutundjov. The monarcho-fascists gave a great deal of aid to their fighters, which helped them survive. Every day, they would walk through the village, shooting at villagers, carrying hundreds of them to the police station for interrogation and beating, harassing and killing people under suspicious circumstances both inside the prisons and outside of them.

The partisan detachments continued their activities and actions in the Lerin region.

Celebration of the Anniversary of the Victory of Greece over Italy

On 28 October 1945, a parade took place in Banitsa, organized by the monarcho-fascists in honour of the anniversary of the victory of Greece over Italy. They asked the local population to participate in it, and underduressand coercion,about100 youth and 50 minerstook part. Mitse Dzugomanov, president of the youth wing of EPON, on marching by the grandstand on which all of the tyrants stood, raised his arm made the international proletarian salute with his fist. The young people marching behind followed his cue and did the same. The applause from the grandstand immediately stopped, and on that same day, persecution against the young people began. At the police station, the youths explained that they had been in a state of exultation when they made the proletarian salute; they were unaware of any negative implications of the salute, and that it did not symbolize aggression and malevolence. Despite torture and beatings, they did not betray the action’s organizer. The residents of the neighbouring villages were amazed by these young people of Banitsa.

Seventh Congress of the CPG

The Seventh Congress of the Communist Party of Greece was held inearlyOctober 1945inAthens, tenyears after theprevious one. During the intervening time, the CPG had operated according to the strategies and tactics adopted by the Sixth Congress for leading the National Liberation Army during the years of 1941–1945, which proved to be erroneous. They had been changed on a case-by-case basis by the Central Committee or the Politburo of the CPG without coherence and a clear strategy or tactics, with decisions usually made by a small group of members or individuals, decisions that were disastrous and retaliated against the combatants despite their massive participation in the National Liberation Movement during the course of the National Liberation War. The CPG lost the war because of erroneous policy and the short-sightedness of the Party’s leadership.

This congress confirmed a program for a people’s democracy, adopted at the 12th Plenum of the CPG Central Committee of June 1945 which stated: “power must belong to a united alliance of the workers, peasants, civil servants, liberal professions, and the middle and lower classes of the bourgeoisie”. It was established that the realization of this program’s tasks and goals was blocked by the armed intervention of foreign military forces in Greece, who handed over power to domestic traitors in the interests of the Greek people. Once they came into power, they started to mistreat pro-democracy Greeks. Generally, there was no criticism of those members of the CPG leadership who had led the country to an vulnerable economic and, above all, military position and left the people at the mercy of the pro-fascist elements, turning the 100 percent victory of ELAS into a defeat. This congress could still have influenced the country because the pro-fascist enemy was not yet well organized in the government. That is to say, the CPG could have called the people to a general uprising against the domestic and foreign aggressors, and with its political and military power, it could have negotiated and dictated conditions.

The congress should have been a turning point, and should have corrected its errors to date. It should have thrown out and punished its inadequate leaders who had permitted the return of the government-in-exile and the British. They needed to establish new strategies and tactics for the continued struggle for the liberation of the country. The CPG did not have the power to do so or was misled by the reports of some members of the Politburo.

Delegates to the congress sought to stop the wave of terror by the right-wing elements of the country. They sought a gradual withdrawal of the foreign enemy and a cessation of their public support for the terrorists, who with their blessing, were continuing to restore a fascist government.

Mass Rallies and Protests in the Country

The year 1945 ended with a massive demonstration held in Athens on 25 December with over 150,000 citizens of the capital city. Comrade Xantos, deputy secretary to Zahariadis, spoke on behalf of the CPG. He called for the withdrawal of the foreign occupation forces from Greece. Among other things, he also said “We won’t threaten anybody when talking about the monarcho-fascist terror. However, if the government cannot provide us with security, we will provide our own mass self-defence.” What short-sightedness, wanting to achieve a political solution with appeals, instead of using the revolutionary fervour of the population and striking back against force with force, under the slogan once uttered by a Greek revolutionary about the defence of Athens: “Molon lave!—Come and get it!”

Large protests continued in the beginning of January 1946, a continuation of the one in Athens. Widespread energy and support of the CPG could be felt. Mass labour protests, strikes and demonstrations demanded a withdrawal of the allied occupying forces and a halt to the terrorism and lawlessness of the organization called the ‘Black Front’. They demanded normal conditions for the democratic development of the country as well as a peaceful life; political demands that the CPG should have made.

On 7 January 1946, there were again protests and strikes in Athens and Piraeus, which spread across the country into every town. The police were forcibly dispersing workers and shooting at them, as was the case in Solun where many workers were injured. Meanwhile, the CPG leadership was in parliamentary opposition demanding a peaceful return to power—a big mistake. In the Aegean part of Macedonia, small partisan groups and squads were actively protecting the population, since many others had gone into the neighbouring countries.

The winter of 1945/1946 was extremely cold, with a lot of snow, creating difficult conditions for the partisans’ activities. The monarcho-fascists did not give the population any rest, conducting raids in the villages and up in the mountains. In one of the partisan groups that was

active on the mountain Radush in the vicinity of Banitsa was Boris Lazo Dimanin of Banitsa. During February 1946, this unit spent several days battling the monarcho-fascists, staying day and night on the snowy and icyterrain. Boris Dimanindeveloped frostbite.He wastransferred to the partisanhospital inthevillageof Prekopana, but didnot survive. Hewas buried with full honours in Prekopana. He left behind a wife and two small children.

The CPG Calls for an Uprising and an Election Boycott

At the Seventh Congress of the CPG, resolutions were passed for peaceful action and to resolve the question of CPG’s participation, through representatives, in government. However, at the beginning of 1946, it was clear that the government did not respect the agreement and was terrorizing and arresting the progressives, sending them to the deserted Greek islands.

The Politburo of the CPG Central Committee issued a proclamation to all former ELAS soldiers and to the population as a whole, to rise up and join a country-wide armed rebellion, to take up arms against the terrorism of government forces. The proclamation also called on the progressive population to boycott the elections scheduled by the provisional government for 31 March 1946.

In accordance with the appeal, the population did not take part in the elections, especially in the Aegean part of Macedonia, despite the drastic measures and threats that were made. On election day, special units of the government carried out mass arrests of democratic-leaning individuals in every village and town, and also arrested those of their own ranks who were disobedient.

A Large Demonstration in Lerin

As a sign of protest, the CPG Regional Committee for Lerin District organized a mass protest rally in Lerin on 24 March 1946, with the participation of the population of all the villages. Four thousand people listened to speeches from members of the regional committees of the CPG, EAM and NOF. The speakers called on the citizens to boycott the election of 31 March 1946, under the slogan: “No One Must Vote!” Those present accepted the call with applause, shouting out anti-fascist slogans. They called on the government to live up to the signed agreements, to prevent terrorism, disband terrorist organizations, and to oust all collaborators of the occupation and domestic traitors among them. They called for the formation of a provisional democratic government in order to conduct a fair and democratic general election of parliamentary representatives, under conditions favourable for the free expression of the people’s will.

During March 1946, the leaders of NOFin Aegean Macedonia sent a memorandum to the Greek government, demanding an end to the terrorism and violence, along with the release of those imprisoned.

In the Banitsa region, there were active partisan groups under the command of Vangel Kujchev and Lefter Olevski, but they were poorly armed. In March 1946, they received a quantity of arms from Banitsa’s local NOF committee that had been hidden in the coalmines. They armed the Banitsa partisans and others who were in service in the area of the Radushka Mountain. Some of these people joined the partisan detachments, and some continued to act individually, carrying out disorganized and self-initiated sabotage actions. The regional command of NOF passed a resolution that everyone should either join the partisan units or hand over their weapons and move to the neighbouring socialist countries. And that is what happened. Those who did not want to be partisans gave up their weapons, which were collected by Gjorgi Turundzov. These people were then sent to Bitola. Later, in the autumn of 1946, they voluntarily returned and entered the ranks of the Macedonian partisan units.

Elections in Banitsa

In the general elections of 31 March 1946, only 20% of the citizens in the Lerin region cast ballots, and that is according to the official election reports. The other 80% heeded the proclamation of the CPG and did not go out to vote.

In Banitsa, out of 614 registered voters, only sixty-six cast ballots, that is, 10% of those on the voters’ list. Of those, only twenty-two were villagers, with the rest being civil servants or teachers posted to the village. Despite their intimidation and threats, the authorities did not succeed. Among the twenty-two Banicheni who cast votes was the family of Mitse Katin, who had turned away from ELAS because of the execution of his son Ilo Katin. In the spring of 1944, Ilo Katin had been arrested by the partisans for treason and personal profiteering, and after a hearing, was sentenced to death. This family cast some of the votes; other families had household members employed by the municipal government, predisposing them to go out and vote; other voters had Greek sons-in-law in the police.

It should be mentioned that from the government forces stationed in the barracks, an entire battalion was arrested and imprisoned right before the elections, because the government considered them to be democratically inclined and representing a certain danger. This happened across the entire country.

A new wave of Persecution in Banitsa

Because of the boycott of the Greek elections, a law was passed the day after the elections, declaring the CPG illegal and prohibiting its political activities. A stronger campaign of terrorism began, especially against the Macedonian citizens. Banitsa was blockaded many times between 1 April and 22 May 1946 with sixty people arrested and thrown into the Lerin prison, where they were beaten and tortured to within an inch of their lives.

The following were arrested: Kole Tanev, Nune Tanev, Dine Shisharev, Slave Nedelkov, Kitse Apchev, Krishe Kochev52, Pavle Malinov, Makile Mangov, Ilo Abov, Dore Vasil Malinov, Mitse Mangov, Petse Tanev, Boris Babulov, an invalid veteran of the Greco-Turkish war, Leko Abov, Krishe Gajrev, Risto Popalev, Pavle Apchev, Krishe Pavlev, Slave Katin, Krishe Katin, Stojan Kotronov and others.