CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO

THE CHILDREN’S HOMES AND SHELTERS IN YUGOSLAVIA

- People’s Republic of Macedonia - 12 - People’s Republic of Serbia - 2 - Autonomous Province of Voivodina - 13 - People’s Republic of Croatia - 6 - People’s Republic of Slovenia - 8

FORTY ONE SHELTERS AND HOMES

The Yugoslav government, the Yugoslav Red Cross and the humanitarian national boards of the various Yugoslav republics all showed great care in accepting the refugee children from Aegean Macedonia. All Yugoslav republics, with the exception of Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, opened children’s homes and shelters for the children. Unlike the older shelters that operated only for a short time, these shelters operated until mid-1960. The children’s homes in the republics were under the jurisdiction of the Yugoslav Red Cross Central Committee and under the republic Red Cross Committees, assisted by various appropriate ministries.

Children’s homes (boarding schools), shelters, homes for various apprentice programs, etc., for the refugee children from Aegean (Greek occupied) Macedonia were opened in Yugoslavia in the following locations:

People’s Republic of Macedonia: - Valandovo, Bitola, Strumitsa, Kumanovo, Tetovo, Ohrid, Petrovats, Struga, Resen, Prilep, Veles and Skopje.

People’s Republic of Serbia: - Belgrade and Bogovogja.

Autonomous Province of Voivodina: - Banat Plamdishte, Kovilj, Sajlovo, Bela Tsrkva, Krushevlje, Strazha, Gakovo, Novi Sad, Churuk, Bulkes, Panchevo, Shid and Vrsats.

People’s Republic of Croatia: - Gerovo, Osijek, Zagreb, Rovinj, Malinska and Tsrikvenitsa.

People’s Republic of Slovenia: - Borl, Okroglo, Dutovlje, Stara Gora, Kranj, Shend Vid, Mekinje and Shishka.

From what we know: in 1948 12 Yugoslav Red Cross children’s homes were opened in the Autonomous Province of Voivodina, Slovenia and Croatia, accommodating about 2,000 children. But from the available data we see that 41 shelters and children’s home existed and operated in Yugoslavia from 1949 onward as follows: 12 in the People’s Republic of Macedonia, 15 in the People’s Republic of Serbia and in the Autonomous Province of Voivodina, 6 in the People’s Republic of Croatia and 8 in the People’s Republic of Slovenia.