PART TWO - Macedonians in the Greek Civil War - Part 02

movement. Vangel was given an ultimatum to either surrender his son within a given time period or be arrested himself. On September 29, 1946 a group of soldiers set fire to Vangel’s house and burned it down with everything in it. Vangel had no choice but to flee.

The village Tsrna Reka, Gumenidzhe Region, was raided on October 1, 1946 and many villagers were arrested and taken to Gumenidzhe prison.

A headquarters for a military unit and a gendarme station were established in the village Lumnita in Gumenidzhe Region immediately after the Varkiza Agreement was signed. The villagers had no right to leave the village, go to market, or even go out to work in their fields without permission from the police. Eight people were arrested in November 1946. Included among them were Dimosteni Meshi and Toma Pifa. During the month of November 1946 the gendarme and military unit were attacked by partisans. More than 100 houses were burned down during the skirmish, forcing many villagers to flee. Some fled to Yugoslavia and others fled to the town Boimitsa.

On May 8, 1945, English and Greek soldiers conducted a raid in the village Radomir in Andzhivardar Region and arrested a large number of villagers. They took the villagers outside of the village near the river and severely tortured them. Included among those arrested were Atanas Kapasuzov, Risto Kozarov, Bozhin Stamenkovski and Sotir Zhupov.

In July 1945 English and Greek soldiers raided the village Tsrna Reka in Gumenidzhe Region. While searching the mountains looking for partisans, the soldiers came across four villagers, Mino Chatkov, Risto Zharov, Giorgi Durchov and Ivan Popov, who at the time were carrying wooden beams back to the village on their ox-cart. The soldiers arrested the men, took them to the village and locked them up in one of the village taverns where they subjected them to terrible torture. After causing some havoc in the village the soldiers took the prisoners and left for Gumendzhe. The village Tsrna Reka was again attacked in October 1945. The Greek soldiers arrested Giorgi and Atanas Tanev and paraded them all through the village only because they had gone to market in Gumendzhe. They

stripped Giorgi naked and, in front of the entire village, beat him until he passed out. The same day the Greek soldiers also beat young Lisa Durcheva.

The village Evzoni in Kukush Region was surrounded and invaded by English and Greek government troops in April 1945. After the village was searched several people were arrested and imprisoned. Included among those imprisoned were Georgi and Mitko Bezirov, Pariz Tolev, Risto Ristachev and Risto Delidzhakov.

In October 1946, after the village Karpi in Gumenidzhe Region was blockaded, the government soldiers fired into the crowd wounding Maria Nasteva. They later cut off Vangel Boinov’s hands.

The terror in Voden Region was no less terrifying than that of other regions. The so-called “civilized” Greeks showed their true colours here by the way they acted against the defenseless civilian population. We will only mention a few examples of the kind of terror perpetrated in Voden Region because we do not have a lot of information on the atrocities committed here.

The village Sarakinovo was blockaded in the month of May 1946. After the barbaric government troops pillaged the village and beat everyone who crossed their path, they began to attack the women. This is what refugees Gitsa Terzieva and Tina Manolcheva from the village Sarakinovo had to say: “On top of everything terrible that they did to us, they trampled on our honour… we were forced to flee to Yugoslavia…” Old lady Nusha Manolcheva, also a refugee from the village Sarakinov, said the terror was too much to bear and she was forced to become a refugee in her old age. The village Sarakinovo was also blockaded and pillaged by the Greek army in August 1946. The soldiers forced the villagers to load the loot on horseback and take it to Sobotsko. All those who led the horses were then imprisoned. Vane Manolchev, husband of Nusha Manolcheva, died that day from excessive beating. And even though the Greek government had mobilized Stoian Kraiov’s son (from the village Sarakinovo) into the Greek army, it was no reason not to beat Stoian. They simply asked Stoian, “Where is your son?” but could not care less what the answer was. And even though Stoian insisted

that his son was fighting on their side, they still beat him and forced him to become a refugee.

The village Volkoianovo was repeatedly blockaded and pillaged by units of the Greek Army and the gendarme, led by officers Bafas and Talaganis.

The village Oshin was blockaded and pillaged on July 6, 1946, during which time 5 villagers were arrested and beaten. They were Iorgo Ioani, Denis Mora, Dino Murdzhov, Boshana Samara and Vasil Samara. Iorgo Ioani died from being severely beaten.

In January 1946 the village Krontselevo was blockaded by a company of gendarmes led by officer Komainous. The villagers were gathered together in the school for a trial. Many people were beaten including Efthimia Atanasova and her sister-in-law Gitsa Atanasova. Included among the many refugee survivors from the village Krontselevo who experienced the white terror were Sava Dimitrova-Stoianova and Lena Ristova-Georgieva. They described what the Monarcho-Fascists did to the people with much disgust.

On April 15, 1945 a group of 40 armed Greek soldiers, including three Englishmen, surrounded the village Strupino in Voden Region and fired several bursts of machinegun fire to frighten the people. The moment the village was being blockaded, 55 year-old Risto Kacharov came out of his house. When the approaching soldiers saw him they fired bursts of gunfire and heavily wounded him. The soldiers spent the entire day conducting searches and terrorizing the people. In the evening they took eight villagers with them as prisoners and retreated to the village Pozharsko. To avoid being arrested and tortured, this prompted a group of young people, who participated in the resistance, to flee to Yugoslavia. They became refugees on April 17, 1945. Refugee Eleftheria Hristova-Chapova, who remained in the village until the end of 1946, experienced much greater suffering. The next story was told by Petre Katsarovski from the village Pozharsko who witnessed the whole thing while plowing his field: “It was a day in August 1946 when a group of 15 Greek gendarmes were patrolling the area near the villages Gorno and Dolno Pozharsko. Not far from the village was 17 year-old Kolio Mitrev Iantsev looking after his cattle. A group of armed gendarmes

came closer and yelled at him to ‘raise his arms!’ Kolio did as he was asked and waited for them to search and arrest him when one of the gendarmes yelled ‘Run or they will kill you!’ Frightened, young Kolio ran and the gendarmes fired several bursts of gunfire. The child fell down and died instantly.” The same day the same group of gendarmes arrested 20 year-old Giorgi Ristov Katsarov of Gorno Pozharsko, who at the time was working in his field. On their way to Sobotsko they executed him.

This is what Lena Dimova Krsteva from the village Gorno Pozharsko had to say about her experience with the Greek government troops: “The gendarmes came from Sobotsko on Krstovden (Holy Cross Day) in 1946 and blockaded our village. As soon as they came they began to pillage the houses and beat the people because they were anti-fascists. My 19 year-old son Traiko was returning home from work when he was arrested and later taken to Sobotsko. The next day I took my youngest child and went to Sobotsko to look for Traiko and to find out why he had been arrested. On the way there we ran into Hristo Vetskov, the mayor of our municipality, who told me that ‘my boy was killed’ and that ‘I should be concerned with saving the living’. We did not return home after that, we fled for the mountains and headed straight for the Yugoslav border.” Lena Krsteva was not alone that day. Many others also crossed the Yugoslav border both from Gorno and Dolno Pozharsko as well as from Tresino and other Voden Region villages.

Kamena Hristova-Trpkova’s fate, from the village Dolno Pozharsko, was no better. She became a widow in the month of September 1946. Like every other morning, one morning in September her husband took a walk to the river that flowed near their house to wash his face. That particular morning the village happened to be blockaded by the Greek gendarmes. He was immediately arrested and mercilessly beaten until he died. Frightened by the experience, Kamena fled her home and became a refugee.

Lena Kostadinova-Kiravakova from the village Piperia, along with her entire family, became a refugee because she could not endure the terror perpetrated by the Greek authorities. She was jailed for 10 days in Sobotsko jail during the summer in 1945 where she became a mute from being excessively abused.

In May 1945 Kiriako Mariuzani, from the village Bahovo, Karadzhovo Region, was brutally murdered by a government armed, civilian unit of former collaborators. Kiriako at the time was working in his field.

George Zhoglevski, from the village Zhervi, left his family with 6 young children and fled to Yugoslavia because he was not sure about his own life. The authorities wanted to arrest him because he was a participant in the anti-fascist resistance movement. On October 25 his house was looted and his wife and elderly father were severely tortured. The same day 10 women were arrested in the village Zhervi.

Terror in Lerin Region

In June 1945 two armed gendarmes and the spy Miltiadis Dounoukas broke into Vane Rusevski’s house in the village Papadia and tortured Vane, Vane’s daughter Lefteria and daughter-in-law Katina. Before leaving the torturers threatened to come back again, and if they didn’t find Vane’s son the entire family would be arrested and jailed. Because of this Vane’s entire family was forced to leave its home and native hearth and flee across the border.

On February 18, 1946 a group of five Greek gendarmes “visited” the village Dolno Kotori and made several arrests. Included among those arrested were Sultana Naumova, Katerina Papa Dimitriou, Dumitroula Stefanidi, Krsta Velianova, Mite Velianov, Tanas Papadimitriou, Ilia Nedin and Dimitrias Nedin. After they took the prisoners to the rural municipality building they subjected them to torture all night. The next day they transferred them to a prison in Lerin.

The village Besfina, in Prespa Region, was blocked repeatedly by the Greek gendarmes and the villages were regularly harassed. Sixteen year-old Todora Kotsovska went insane from being beaten badly. She was arrested and taken to the gendarme station in the village Breznitsa. Five youths were arrested in Besfina in June 1946 and taken to the gendarme station in Breznitsa where they were subjected to severe torture. Young Spiro Karov died from the ordeal.

The people could not endure the torture and terror, as a result many fled across the border to Yugoslavia. Included among those who fled were Ristana Skenderova and Stavroitsa Dukovska. Before that both women were arrested and taken to prison in Lerin. Andon Grzdanov also from Besfina, who with his family fled to Yugoslavia in July 1946, said the following about the terror in his village: “When the gendarmes established a headquarters in the village Besfina, they prohibited the people from moving in or out of the village. They were not even allowed to go to work. The farm animals in the barns outside of the village had to be brought into the village in order to be looked after. The villagers were detained and harassed until July 27, 1946. A little later they arrested young Slavka Angelova and took her to jail in the village German. They also arrested Hristo Klkovski, Vangel Traikov and Vasil Cholamov and took them to the jail in Lerin. Also arrested and taken to prison were Donevitsa Dukova, Stavrovitsa and 14 year-old Lambro Dukovski. During one of its searches outside of the village the Greek gendarmes wounded young Vane Grozdanovski while he was looking after his flock of sheep.”

As soon as the Greek authorities set foot in Prespa Region, they arrested and imprisoned 10 people from the village Bukovik. Included among those arrested and imprisoned were Pando Ristovski, his son Risto, Vasil Sekulovski, Traiko Delevski, Ilia Popov and Ilia Georgiev.

Nikola Steriov from the village Orovnik was executed for no reason.

On July 20, 1945 a Greek gendarme init blockaded the village Papli. After the entire village population was gathered in the village school, all the gendarmes could find were old men, old women and very young children. Being furious at not being able to find the people they were looking for, they beat the old men and loaded the old women onto trucks and took them to prison where they tortured them and released them two days later.

On March 31, 1946, the day of the parliamentary elections in Greece, a group of gendarmes from the Breznitsa station and a group of soldiers blockaded the village Rulia and threatened to arrest people if they did not vote. Because many of the villagers protested, the next day April 1, 1946, the village was again raided

and 15 people were arrested and taken to prison in Lerin. Included among those arrested and taken to prison were Ilia Serbinov, Ilia Toshev, Mitre Iovanov, Done Lazarov, Velian Karadakov, Spiro Serbinov, Mitre Tachkov, Lazo Rachkov and Apostol Trendafilov. On July 15, 1946 those arrested were Todor Tsvetkov, Kiro Kostovski, Lena Karafilova, Sofia Ramovska, Zora Markovska and Lozana Trendafilova. After they were arrested they were tortured in front of all the villagers. Included among those tortured were 85 year-old Kiro Kostovski and Lozana Trendafilova.

In July 1945 the Greek authorities arrested 10 people from the village Shtrkovo, Prespa Region. Included among those arrested were Bozhin Kostovski and his family, Pando Kostovski and Alexo Georgiev.

During the summer of 1945 a Greek gendarme blockaded the village Grazhdano, Prespa Region, and besides harassing the people inside the village the gendarmes fired their machine guns at the people working in the fields, wounding Atanas Ristevski.

The village German, in Prespa Region, has long been a thorn in the eyes of the Greek authorities. German was the largest village in Prespa Region and the most patriotic Macedonian place in the region, which has been difficult for the Greeks to break. As soon as the Greek authorities arrived, in the spring of 1945, they immediately established a gendarme station and a unit of soldiers in German. They were placed there to break the spirit of the people so that it would make it easier for the Greeks to master Prespa. Without losing any time, the moment the new forces were stationed they began to intimidate and terrorize the population. They ordered the people to display Greek flags in their homes. This, of course, was another intimidation tactic and an excuse to mistreat people. No one was immune to their terror regardless of age or sex. Naturally there were many who did not want to display the Greek flag and those “who did not display it properly”. The Greeks had a solution for all of that “beat everyone on sight…” In time they arrested and jailed more than 100 people. Included among those arrested and jailed were German Stoichevski, Kosta Gogarov, Kosta Doichinovski, Naum Koichevski and Mara Madzheva. In addition to arresting people, the Greek soldiers burned down several houses and 150

barns and cottages. As they had in other villages, here too they prohibited people from traveling in and out of the village. This caused great difficulty for some not being able to go to work and not being able to look after livestock outside of the village.

When Karafil Kirovski from the village Kladorabi spoke about his plight and why he and his family became refugees, he also told us that he and his family were arrested and tortured for a week. His son, in the meantime, was kept in prison for five months.

Dola Kostova-Dzhingova and Velika Aleksova-Kostova, from the village Krushoradi, were arrested in October 1946. After that they were imprisoned and tortured in the village Ofchareni. After they were released they had no choice but to flee to Yugoslavia. Included among the people from the village Krushodari who were arrested were Apostol Chekrev, Pandil Vesov, Krste Bashov, Giorgi Bashov and Boris Kostanchev. Greek lieutenant Theodoros Veneatos and the village teacher for Setna, Militiadis Dounoukos, were among the most notorious culprits for terrorizing and tormenting the local population.

Forty Monarcho-Fascist soldiers, led by officer Dalis, blockaded and looted the village Aitos in the spring of 1945. In the process 60 people were arrested, mostly elderly, women and children, and taken to the jail in Sorovich. The same day the soldiers burned down 3 houses belonging to Stefan Difov, Kolio Mirinov and Metodia Zula. From the many arrested, Doncho Naov and Mihailo Boshkov were tortured and their bodies were cut with razor blades before they were taken to jail. This information was given to us by refugee Menka Sotirova-Chontova.

With the arrival of the Monarcho-Fascists in the village Nevoleni many people were arrested and tortured. Included among those arrested and tortured were Filip Tanev-Dimitrov and his wife, Gorgi Hadziev, Chuila Iushtikova, Spiro Shtruimov, Ilia Stanichev, Georgi Bibev, Atanas Bibev, Vane Zhalev and Stoiadin Panov.

In the month of June 1945 the Greek army and gendarmes blockaded the village Banitsa several times, looking to arrest prominent anti-fascists. At the same time they conducted searches

and looted many houses. During all of this, for no reason at all, they killed forty year-old Pando Miailov and wounded Alekso Stoianov. Because of this many Banitsa residents fled Banitsa and became refugees.

Terror in Kailari Region

The evildoer and collaborator Kolaras and his unit were especially known in Kailari and Kostur Regions. They were responsible for burning down Zagorichani, Bobishta, Mokreni and other villages. On September 18, 1944, when the Germans were still in Greek occupied Macedonia, Kolaras and his armed unit blockaded Kailari, immediately gathered the population and asked the Greeks to separate themselves from the Macedonians. After they were separated, the Macedonians were lined up and Kolaras began to harass them, asking them to hand over their weapons and stop helping the partisans. They then pulled Ilia Kodzha, Kolio Paskov and Kiro Paskov from the lineup and severely tortured them in public. After the Varkiza Agreement was signed the Monarcho-Fascists came to Greek occupied Macedonia and immediately began to hunt down the Macedonian and Greek democratic people. Many Macedonians were arrested in May 1945, included among them were Iani Velianov, Pop Hari Karavelchev and Leonid Babaloku.

In October 1944 Kolaras’s unit entered the village Dorutovo and arrested and executed Trendafil Ivanov and severely tortured and beheaded his brother Boris Ivanov. The same day Kolaras’s evildoers killed Tredafil’s son Andrea. The evildoers then broke into houses and, besides looting them, destroyed everything inside. They then burned down 14 houses. The population was so frightened that it fled to the mountains and did not return until the village was liberated by the National Liberation Army. Unfortunately the peace in Dorutovo lasted only a short time. In the spring of 1945 Kolaras and his evildoers appeared on the scene again. On May 10, 1945 the village was once again blockaded by the collaborators and 13 people were arrested and taken to jail.

In March 1945 Dolaris, from the village Galatia, a member of Kolaras’s counter-bands, and his unit of evildoers attacked the village Rakita, gathered all the villagers and demanded that they

collect and give him 150 gold Napoleons (French gold coins). If they did not deliver he threatened to call on Kolaras and his entire band to come and destroy the village. Frightened, the villagers gathered a large sum of money and gave it to him, which unfortunately did not help their situation. In May 1945 a number of Englishmen on motor vehicles, accompanied by officers from the Kailari gendarme, came to the village. They were the same officers who had come during the occupation. Many villagers were arrested that day and sent to the prison in Larissa. Included among those who were arrested and sent to prison were Stefan Chukov, Giorgi Ianev, Dimitar Kirov, Leonida Korovanov, Simo Mutsarov and Dimitar Mutsarov. In August 1945 the village was again blockaded by Dolaris and Kolaras’s units and a number of gendarmes. After they plundered the village they arrested Nikola Matkarov, Vangel Monchov, Iordan Mitov, Giorgi Boikov, Stavro Kurkitov, Krum Pop Dimitrov and Giorgi Venkov. The prisoners were taken to the prison in Kozheni. After that the Monarcho-Fascists established a gendarme station in the village and put in charge a well-known Gestapo sympathizer named Manolis Karabelas. This Gestapo sympathizer committed major crimes in the village including harassing and tormenting Evgenia Gaitanova, Nevena Ilieva-Atanasova, Anthula Radenkova, Trpa Lazarova,Tola Lazarova and many other women.

After a gendarme station was established in Rakita in June 1946, many young people were arrested and tortured all throughout Kailari Region. Seventy-five young people from Rakita, one hundred and twenty young people from Palior and so on. Included among the people arrested were young people from the villages Embore, Donitsa, Koboi, Perdika, and Nalban. Mincho Minchev from the village Nalban was killed while working in his field. Mincho was president of NOO (People’s Liberation Organization) during the occupation.

Terror in Kostur Region

The village Aposkep was twice blockaded in May 1945, said refugee Boiana Anastasova-Shantanova. “The entire village population was assembled in the centre of the village. While some of the authorities were harassing the people others were plundering

our houses. After they finished plundering us they arrested many villagers. Included among those arrested were Nikola Pop Janov, Mito Vlaov, Stefan Miliov, Tode Bubev, Stefan Bubev, Trifun Bubev, Dimitar Shalevski, Ilia Shalevski, Tanas Kalaidziev and Andon Iakimov. After they were subjected to torture they were taken to jail in Kostur where they were subjected to more torture. They cut the women’s hair very short. Included among the women who were arrested were Evangelia Zakova and Vena Pop Dimitrova.”

A group of Monarcho-Fascists invaded the village Grache during the night of April 28, 1945 and robbed several houses. Grache was again invaded and blockaded on May 25, 1945. The entire village population was assembled in the village centre and subjected to severe torture. Beaten severely were Sofia Kirchova and Kanza Velovska.

Similarly, the village Drenichevo was also plundered on August 28, 1945 by an armed Monarcho-Fascist group during which time they killed Pavle Dutovski while he was working in his field.

On May 4, 1945 the village Dobrolishta was blockaded by an armed gang led by Anton Amanatidis. After looting the village many men and women were tortured including Angelina Petrovska, Kaliopa Novacheva and Labria Gubienova.

Refugee Maki Tomovska, from the village Sveta Nedela, told us that the reason she left her village was terror and the uncertainty of the fate of the Macedonian people in that region. On May 5, 1945 the village was blockaded and robbed by an armed gang. Two villagers were arrested. Sidera Sokolova and a number of other women were tortured. According to Maki, included among the perpetrators who committed this act were collaborators Anastasis Stamboulidis and Antonis Anastasidis from the village Sveta Nedela.

The population in the town Rupishta also suffered from the Greek terror. Rupishta was raided on April 19, 1945 and about 50 of its residents, those who had participated in the resistance movement, were arrested. Included among those arrested were Dimitar Marovski, Leonid Dzhuvara, Iorgo Malovski and Nikola Uzunovski.

They were first taken to the prison in Kostur and then to the “Pavlos Melas” camp in Solun. Besides that, these culprits completely demolished the premises of the organizations EAM and AKE. Martula Ververi, who at the time was present at the EAM premises, was taken and beaten to unconsciousness. Included among the protagonists of the terror committed in Rupishta were Giorgi Mitrushis, Vassilis Sokolo, Nikos Maridis and Kendros Steilis.

On April 27, 1945 the village Pesiak was blocked and its residents harassed, beaten and tortured. Included among those who died from torture was Tome Dimovski. Dimitar Kolevski was beaten so badly that he, for a long time, was unable to get out of bed. At the same the same culprits blockaded the village Markoveni and, in the same manner, tortured Hristo Manolevski to unconsciousness.

The village Setoma was twice plundered by armed counter-bands and military units, once on May 10, 1945 and then again on June 20 of the same year. Zoitsa Lazarova was among those severely beaten.

The village Tiolishta was raided on June 21, 1945, during which time the entire population was gathered together in the village centre and subjected to torture. Included among those who died from torture was Vasilka Pop Panaiotova. Katina Deleva was thrown from a balcony and suffered a broken leg. After tormenting the villagers the culprits plundered the houses, took two women with them and withdrew. The women taken were Anastasia Grezhova and Sofia Kostadinova. Included among the culprits who participated in committing the terror acts in Tiolishta were the wives of Nikolas Kolaras and Andreas Papadopoulos. The villages east of Lake Kostur and Kailari Region were also ravaged in the same manner. Included among the people who were arrested in the village Komunichevo were Samara Stefanova-Vlaova and Stefo Duevski. Gligor Pop Atanasov was severely tortured and died in Kostur prison a few days later. Dimitar Duevski died in the village while being tortured.

“A Greek military unit blockaded the village Zhupanishta on June 16, 1945, gathered all the people together in the village centre and began to harass them, especially the women, demanding that they tell them who had fled the village. Because the people did not want

to disclose the names of the men who had fled, the soldiers began to beat everyone at random. Many men and women were arrested that day and many houses were robbed. All those arrested were taken to the prison in Kostur. Included among those beaten, arrested and taken to prison were Leftera Bezova, Kostadina Lazareva, 80 year-old Haida Hristova-Vlahova, Tuvare Shishkov, Vasil Mangov, Pavle Telachkin, Kolio Koliovski, Mito Shopov, Petre Zhelin, Aleko Shishkovski, Kolio Boikin and Iordan Deliov. When I saw these men doing this to our people,” said refugee Dimitrula Lazareva, “the next day on June 17, 1945 I left the village and fled to Yugoslavia.”

When the village Lobanitsa was blockaded for the first time in the summer of 1945, the people were gathered together and subjected to harassment. Many were tortured including Pida Lazareva, Pandevitsa Mizova and Iani Markovski.

The village Dupiak was attacked by a group of armed gendarmes in September 1945, during which time 7 young people were arrested and imprisoned. Included among those arrested and imprisoned were Gligor Panov and Atanas Tozi. These two young men were subjected to severe torture in order to reveal the names of the members belonging to democratic organizations in the village. Also subjected to harassment and torture were Evgenia Pachova and her only son who later died from the ordeal.

On September 9, 1945 Kolaras’s armed gang killed 15 year old Krsto Mandzharov from the village Prekopana, while he was working in his field. Liakopoulos’s armed gang severely beat Boris Butchkov, Foti Karadakov, Kuzo Klekov and Iani Lioliov then took the men to prison in Lerin.

“Aided by Kolaras and Papadopoulos’s gangs, the village Vishina was blockaded by a Greek gendarme unit on September 10, 1946. After many houses were looted and the population harassed, a number of houses and barns were burned down. Included among those who lost their houses were Gligor Pulev, Nikola Likov, Anastas Pandov, Kosta Sholev, Stoian Pop Dimitrov and Iani Andreev. Included among those who were severely beaten were Paraskeva Andreva, Kaliopa Sholeva and Elena Duleva. Eight villagers were arrested and taken to the jail in Kozheni. Included

among those arrested and taken to jail were Aleko Punkov, Petre Adzhiev, Aleko Tresinov, Pando Chapov, Hristaki Durov, Pando Kalkov, Kosta Kalkov and Vasil Gerginov. Kolaras and Papadopoulos’s gangs were also responsible for many crimes committed in other nearby villages, including Blatsa, Chereshnitsa and Tiolishta,” said refugee Viktoria Panaiotova.

A gendarme station was established in the village Konomlati (Kolomnati) which took extreme measures to harass and terrorize the population. The people there lived in constant fear. During the winter in 1946, the Monarcho-Fascists burned down 10 houses and 40 barns and arrested and jailed many people.

A number of armed civilians from the villages Sveta Nedela and Osheni invaded the village D’mbeni in March 1945 and stole 300 sheep. During the night these same armed civilians killed villagers Elena Mushki and her daughter Leftera, just outside the village. On March 25, 1946 the gendarmes arrested and took to the gendarme station (located inside the village) Hristo Trpovski, Tsilo Skivinski, Spaso Karamanov, Naso Kondov, Tsilo Ralev, Lazo Lamburov, Marko Vivkov, Mito Pachkov and others. In July 1946 Dimitar Blahov was brutally tortured to death and his body set on fire while he was looking after the village cattle outside of the village. That crime was perpetrated by the Greek army detachment stationed in the village Gabresh. A number of people were arrested and taken to prison to the island Krf (Corfu) in July 1946. Included among those arrested and taken to prison were Olga Trpovska, wife of Lazo Trpovski, a known and prominent anti-fascist revolutionary in Aegean (Greek occupied) Macedonia, who died in 1943, Donka Kalkova, Slava Mangova, Sofa Grbova, Nusha Kenkova, Filio Ralev, Marko Vivkov, Stavro Nolkov and Pavle Kalkovski. Kolio Chochov died while being tortured. Arrested at the same time and taken to the village Konomlati were Tsilio Rizov, Krste Shekrov, Giorgi Balev, Risto Zhurchev and Andriko Kenkov. Summoned to the gendarme station in D’mbeni and tortured in June 1946, among others, were Grka Raleva, Tsveta Raleva, Dimana Trpovska, Sofa Nolkova, Lena Vivkova, Zoia Siderova, Lena Pachkova and Lina Chonkova.

The village Gabresh in Kostur Region was raided in the spring in 1946 by units of the Greek army. The villagers were gathered in the middle of the village, in the lower neighbourhood, and subjected to torture. All the men were forced to kneel in a semicircle with their arms raised skywards. The soldiers then selected several men from the semicircle and began to beat them with specially made sticks cut from a large oak tree that grew in the village cemetery. Included among the most tortured people during this blockade were Lefter Bitovski, Vancho Skenderovski and Giorgi Sholdovski, who was beaten to unconsciousness.

Included among those arrested in the village Gabresh on June 6 were Lena Makrieva, Stoia Diklova, Pando Robovski, Risto Robovski and Todor Robovski. These people were taken to the gendarme station in Konomlati and subjected to physical torture. Some were released a day later, the rest were kept in prison until the end of the Greek Civil War.

A short time later Vancho Kizevski was arrested. He was not tried or taken to prison. He was brutally beaten to near death inside the Greek army headquarters. When they were certain that he was going to die they summoned his family to take him away. He died immediately afterwards.

The following table provides incomplete data from a survey conducted by NOF regarding the white terror perpetrated against the people in Greek occupied Macedonia in the period from April 1945 to May 1947. This information was included in the report released by Mihail Keramitchiev, President of NOF, to the top NOF leadership during the May 20, 1947 NOF Conference.

(Region) Lerin Kostur Enidzhe Voden Vardar

1. Arrested 596 3,000 810 2,050 2. Sentenced 320 1,500 430 1,950 3. Convicted 285 1,200 430 1,300 4. Interned 122 500 115 550 5. Killed (no charges) 56 90 48 74 6. Tortured 1,369 10,000 1,080 1,080

7. Frantically beaten 5 5 8. Completely burned villages - 6 9. Burned houses 110 968 10. Robbed villages 10 60 11. Robbed houses 215 1,000 12. Forcibly evacuated villages - 10 13. Forcibly evacuated population 300 4,500

1 2

- - - 813 10 – 100 38

10 25

1,190 7,818

White terror was widespread; there was no peace anywhere, not on the road and not in the fields. No one was immune; there was no honour and dignity in life anywhere. The biggest terror makers of them all were the government authorities, extending all the way up to the top government officials who exercised state power.

The terror waged against the democratic forces after the Varkiza Agreement was signed was particularly fierce in Greek occupied Macedonia; it was a kind of terror not experienced since Macedonia had been invaded, occupied and partitioned in 1912, 1913. It was far worse than the terror experienced during the German, Italian and Bulgarian occupation and during the Greek Civil War. There was not a single Macedonian city, town, village, or home that was not affected. There was no Macedonian family that was not tortured and that did not suffer. Examples of the terror conducted during the period from 1945 to 1946 have shown that:

First, it shows the kind of situation the Macedonian people found themselves in after the German occupiers were ousted and after the February 1945 Varkiza Agreement was signed, which opened the way for the old Greek regime to return to Greece. A situation was created for the Macedonian people to either leave their homes or resist and fight back for their survival. This explains why the Macedonian people did what they had to do and the reason for the development of NOF in Greek occupied Macedonia.

Second, the UN Inquiry Commission, which surveyed the Balkans and Greece in early 1947, was well-acquainted with this situation but remained indifferent to the Macedonian suffering. The Greek

Monarcho-Fascists saw this as support and encouragement by the International Community to continue doing what they were doing; furiously terrorizing, torturing and jailing people in the dry Greek islands, especially the Macedonians, in an effort to drive them out and extinguish their existence. The Greeks, as a result, have committed acts that have defied the most basic human rights since human rights came into existence. As a result, thousands of Macedonians found themselves, homeless, exiled, dead, or rotting in the inhumane Greek jails and prison camps where thousands more met their tragic end.