MINORITIES IN GREECE AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR

MINORITIES IN GREECE AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR

The Macedonian population

Following the Varkiza agreement, the Macedonian people were accused of “committing treasonous acts against the Greeks” and were subjected to “white terror”, regardless of whether they participated in “rebel” activities or whether they participated in the Macedonian ethnic movement. The terror was so extreme and unbearable that it forced the Macedonian people to actively resist. On the initiative of the CPM/CPY and with the support from the Yugoslav authorities, the People’s Liberation Front (NOF) was created and the first NOF armed units were formed.

After the Tito-Zahariadis agreements and after the CPG-NOF settlement (1946), NOF was subordinate to the CPG and the Macedonian people began to participate in the Greek Civil War. Of the 30,000 DAG partisans that participated in the war more than 15,000 were Macedonians. After the Macedonian people’s rights were recognized by DAG’s statutory act number 5, 87 Macedonian schools with 10,000 students were opened in Aegean (Greek occupied) Macedonia. Two courses to train Macedonian teachers in teaching the Macedonian language were also offered (one in the village German and the other in the village Zhelevo). Newspapers in the Macedonian language were also published (“Borets”, “Pobeda”, “Nova Makedonka”, etc.).

Following the CPG decision to recognize the Macedonian people’s right to self-determination, taken during the CPG’s Fifth Plenum, held in January 1949, the Greek government began to intensify its policy of repression against the civilian Macedonian population and against captured DAG soldiers in particular. All DAG soldiers (Macedonians or Greeks) who were brought before the court and who supported the CPG’s policy in relation to the Macedonian question, were sentenced to death. Crimes committed by the Greek military against the civilian population in the villages B’mboki and Zagorichani, Kostur Region will remain unforgotten. Nine people (seven women and two men) were brutally killed in the village

B’mboki, and 16 people (thirteen women and three men) were killed in the village Zagorichani.

DAG’s defeat (August 1949) had severe ethnic, political and economic consequences for the Macedonian people. Almost 30,000 Macedonians, including 28,000 Macedonian and some Greek children, were forced to seek salvation in Eastern European countries. With this, the Greek state carried out its third forced migration of the Macedonian people out of Greek occupied Macedonia. Another 20,000 Macedonians were killed during the Greek Civil War and many Macedonian villages were destroyed. Entire regions in Kostur, Lerin and Voden Region were devastated.

The Greek Civil War seriously affected the status of the Macedonian people. After the third forced migration process, the minority character of the Macedonian population was further consolidated. This seriously influenced the linguistic status of the Macedonian national language from being a primary (native) language (period 1913-1950) to being a secondary language for a part of the Macedonian population.

At the same time, the Greek language was changing its status. From a foreign (secondary) language (period 1913-1950) it obtained the status of a primary language for part of the Macedonian population. With the entry of the Greek language into the Macedonian family and with it the transfer of the Greek national, political and cultural traditions, the process of the Macedonian people’s assimilation into the Greek fold was gradual but surely succeeding.

After the Greek Civil War ended, the remaining Macedonian population (160,000) was again subjected to denationalization and assimilation. Macedonians were forced to give collective oaths that they would be loyal to the Greek state and that in the future they would speak only Greek, the language in which the Holy Gospel of our Christ was written. In 1953 the Greek state passed a law to colonize the area near the northern border in order to break the Macedonian ethnic compactness in Kostur, Lerin and Voden Regions. The same year, a law was passed to confiscate the properties of those Greek citizens who participated in the so-called “bandit war” (Greek Civil War).

Within the framework of Greek national reconciliation, in 1982, a law to repatriate Greek civil war political refugees was adopted. But only those who were “Greek by birth” qualified. By this law Macedonians were excluded. Greek diplomatic representatives in eastern European countries made sure this law was strictly applied.

After 1990 Greece decided to ease its grip a little on the Macedonian people and allowed Macedonian villagers to speak their mother tongue more freely. Macedonian folk music groups were also formed and began to add Macedonian lyrics to the Macedonian folk songs that they sang at festivals and other events like the ones in the village Ovcharani.

Some Macedonians began to form pro-Macedonian organizations like “VINOZHITO” (Rainbow party - “Macedonian Movement for Balkan Prosperity”). These organizations continued the ethno-linguistic tradition of SNOF and NOF. Some Macedonian organizations began to publish Macedonian newspapers like “Moglena”, “Zora”, “Nova Zora” and “Loza”. Some of these editions were printed in both Macedonian and Greek. In 2006 the Macedonian primer “Abecedar” was printed in Solun. In 2008 a “Modern Greek-Macedonian Dictionary” was also printed in Solun. In 2001, Archimandrite Nikodimos Tsarknias consecrated the first Macedonian Orthodox Church, “Sv. Zlata Meglenska” in S’botsko, Meglen Region which offered liturgy in the Macedonian language. VINOZHITO, the Rainbow party, also opened an office in Lerin, in 1995, with a sign written in both Greek and Macedonian letters that said: “Rainbow-Lerin Committee”.

Greek nationalism reacted to the ethnic Macedonian processes with lawsuits launched against the leaders of the Macedonian organizations, boycotting economic activities and expelling people from the civil service. In 1995, led by the Lerin mayor, Greek nationalists attacked the Rainbow office, removed the bilingual sign “Rainbow-Lerin Committee” and burned the furniture and books. The municipal office in Lerin refused to register the “House of Macedonian Culture” on the grounds that a non-existent Macedonian nation was being fabricated and posed a direct threat to peace and public order. At the same time, some of the Rainbow

leaders were charged with “causing and spreading hatred among the citizens”.

The Turkish population

The Turkish population’s rights are respected as provided by the Lausanne peace treaty. Besides its guaranteed religious freedoms, the Turkish population’s education in its native language in Western Thrace is also guaranteed. There are elementary schools and high schools operating locally and a two-year course for Muslims is offered at the Pedagogical Academy in Solun.

The Turkish people in Greece also have their own publishing houses and educational and cultural organizations such as the “Muslim Union”, the “Muslim Organization of the Teachers of Western Thrace”, “Union of Muslim Youth”, etc. Up until 1989, the Turkish minority voted for the two mainstream Greek political parties: New Democracy and PASOK, but after that it gradually began to express its own political identity. In the 1990 parliamentary elections, the Turkish people came up with their own independent list of candidates. One basic unresolved issue the Turkish people have with the Greek state relates to their ethnic identity – not being recognized as Turks. The Turkish people are Muslim by faith but Turks by ethnicity. The Greek authorities refuse to recognize them as Turks and persistently refer to them as “Muslims”. The Western Thrace Turks seek to be recognized as ethnic Turks (like they feel and call themselves) and receive the status of an ethnic Turkish minority. They don’t want to be called a “Muslim minority”.

The Vlach population

Up to this day the Vlach population in Greece is not recognized as a separate ethnic group and is considered to be “pure Greek”. The Vlachs themselves, however, have tendencies to affirm their Vlach ethnic identity. The “All-Greek Alliance of Vlachs” was formed in Greece which strived to promote the Vlach identity but the Greek state, in various ways, has prevented the ethnic appearance of the Vlachs. In 1997, Sotiris Bletas, a Vlach from Negovan, was prosecuted because he said that there existed a Vlach ethnic minority and a Vlach language in Greece.

The Bulgaromohamedan (Pomak) population

The Greek state has implemented a Byzantine type policy with respect to the Bulgaromohamedans. Greece does not recognize the Bulgaromahamedan identity or the Bulgarian “Muslims”. The Greek authorities believe that they are simply “Islamized Christians” who aspire to create “a shameful ethnic identity”. In Greece a “Greek-Pomak Dictionary” is published which is a function of Greek politics in relation to the Bulgaromohamedans.

The Albanian and Roma population

After the Second World War, the Albanian as well as the Macedonian people were accused of “committing treasonous acts against the Greeks”. Much of the Albanian population living in Chameria was expelled to Albania. The Roma in Greece number about 300,000 people. They are mainly Orthodox Christians, with a small part being Muslims (Sunni). The Roma live mainly in the major cities such as Athens, Solun, Piraeus, etc., and are not integrated into Greek society.

GREEK CULTURE - (19th-20th century)

The Greek Language dispute

After Greece became an independent state and fell under the influence of the “Megali Idea” (Greater Greece) Greek culture was influenced by elements of conservatism and romanticism. This was particularly expressed in relation to the language issue. There was a dilemma as to which language to use as the official language of the state: the “Catharavousa” (an ancient dead Attic language) or the “Dimitoki” (the so-called “Greek language” spoken by ordinary “Greek people”). But even though most people preferred the Dimotiki, the Catharevousa was imposed on them (until the 1970’s).

Many Greek intellectuals openly advocated and strived for the application of the Dimotiki language, i.e. a living folk language. A serious step forward towards the affirmation of the Dimotiki was made by philologist and writer Ianis Psiharis when, in 1872, he printed his book “The Journey” in the Dimotiki language. At the beginning of the 20th century supporters of the Dimotiki organized themselves into societies. The more active societies were the “National Language”, “Educational Circle” and “Student Association”. At the same time educational programs were developed for the primary, secondary and higher education institutions. After the Athens University (1837), the National Polytechnic (“Metsovion”, 1917), the Faculty of Agriculture (1920), the Faculty of Commerce, the Solun University (1925) and the Pandion Higher Education School (1927) were created. During the 20th century, in addition to primary and secondary education, the network for higher education was also expanded. New universities were established in Crete (Heraklion), Thessaly (Volos) and Thrace (Komotini). The “historical rivalry” between Catharevousa and Dimotiki ended on January 1, 1977, when the Dimotiki officially became the national language of Greece.

Greek historiography

Greek historiography has been especially affirmed and strongly influenced by the “Megali Idea” (Greater Greece) and by the romantic idea that the modern Greeks were direct descendents of the

ancient people who lived in the Greek peninsula more that two millennia ago. This thesis however was challenged by Falmerayer, a German scholar. Falmerayer asserted that the Greek people had no right to claim direct descent from the ancient Hellenes. But Greek historiography has done its best to prove that there is historical Greek continuity (Antiquity, Byzantium and modernity). The theory of historical continuity has been affirmed by Konstantinos Paparigopoulos in his 5-volume “History of the Greek people from antiquity to today”. More historical works were published during the second half of the 20th century. In 1970, the Greek Academy published the multifaceted historical work “History of the Greek nation”. Archaeology paid special attention to this especially after archaeologist M. Andronikos discovered Philip II’s tomb, which gained worldwide attention.

Greek literature

Greek literature has also been seriously affirmed especially with poetry. In the period from the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, poets Kostas Palamas (“The Twelve Poems of the Gypsy”), Angelos Sikalianos, Konstantinos Kavafis and Kostas Varnalis contributed heavily to Greek literature. Greek poetry achieved its zenith with the works of Georgios Seferis (Nobel Prize for Literature, 1964) and Odiseas Elitis (Nobel Prize, 1979). In addition to Seferis and Elitis, other leading Greek poets such as Ianis Ritsos (winner of the “Golden Wreath” of poetry in Struga) and Kostas Varnalis became internationally renowned for their works. The works of the last four above-mentioned poets has been translated into many languages. Greek prose, which did not reach the same height as poetry, was entrusted to G. Xenopoulos (“Rich and Poor”) and K. Hadzhopoulos (“Love of the village”). After publishing the novels “Alexis Zorbas”, “Captain Mihalis” and others, Nikos Kazandzakis picked up Greek prose at a world level.

Greek theatre

Greek theatre has been rich, diverse and popular with such theatres as “The Theatrical House”, “The Royal Theatre” (1901), “The New Stage” (1901), the “Kotopuli”, the “Proodos” (1907) and the “National Theatre” (1930). Theatrical activity was expanded during

the 20th century. After the war new theatre houses were opened in Athens, Piraeus and Solun. The ancient theatres in Delphi and Epidaurus were also opened during this period, which presented the works of ancient giants.

Greek cinematography

Greek cinematography took its first steps at the beginning of the 20th century. The first feature film “Golfo” by K. Bahtaris was filmed in 1915 and the film with sound “The Shepherd’s Lover” was featured in 1932. Greek cinematography rose to new heights during the 20th century with films such as “The Young Maiden in Black”, “The Last Lie”, and “Electra”, created by talented directors such as M. Kakoianis and N. Kondouros, which also crossed the Greek borders. The film “Electra” received an award at the Cannes International Festival (1962), and the film “The Little Aphrodites” created by N. Kondouros received the “Golden Bear award” at the Berlin International Film Festival (1962).

Greek Music

The most popular music in the 19th century was the Opera. The most prominent author of the opera was Spiros Samaras with the works “War of the war”, “The Cretan”, and “Princess Asason”. Other authors of classical music were D. Mitropoulos (“Sister Beatrice”) and M. Kolomiris (The Chief Master”). Legendary opera singer Maria Kalas also left a strong imprint of opera music in Greece and abroad during the 20th century. Affirmations in the field of ballet were made by N. Skalkotas with the works “Sea” and “Autumn Landscape”. The city music “Rebekiko” was especially enjoyed during 20th century. The main musical instrument used was the Buzuki, brought to Greece by Asia Minor colonists from Izmir (Smyrna). This music spread all throughout Greece from Piraeus to Athens to Solun.

The most popular music in the 20th century in Greece was “Elafro” and “Rebekiko”. Rebekiko’s popularity grew thanks to top music talents like M. Hadzidakis and M. Theodorakis. The first albums entertaining the music world appeared in the 1960s. M. Hadzidakis and M. Theodorakis created a new musical style (“Laiko”), which

sat somewhere between the “Rebekiko” and the “Elafro”. The musical creations of these two composers received international recognition. M. Hadzidakis received an Oscar for the film “Never on Sunday”, while M. Theodorakis gained worldwide fame for the music in the movie “Zorba”.

Greek art and paintings

All European artistic trends were represented in Greek paintings. Many young Greek artists studied in Western Europe and brought Western art experiences to Greece. The top painters in Greece were K. Maleas and K. Parthenis. The top sculptors were I. Halepas and A. Aparthis. The “Academy of Art” also played an important role in the development of Greek art.

Affirmation and development of Greek culture in the 20th century was mainly due to the fact that the Greek state paid increasing attention to its development. Melina Mercuri, then Minister of Culture, played a special role in this respect. The economic crisis that hit Greece at the beginning of the 21st century, however, has negatively affected the fate of Greek culture.