Introduction - Part 07

law was to be lifted and people were to be given amnesty for all political crimes. When news of the Varkiza agreement reached Greek occupied Macedonia people were shocked and felt as if they were just sold out to their enemies. There was nothing in the agreement about rights for the Macedonians. This was pure and simple capitulation to a weak enemy which defies logic yet Nikos Zahariadis the CPG’s general secretary called it a victory for the resistance and for the GNLF and CPG. Those assurances were echoed yet again by Zahariadis a year later at the Varkiza first anniversary when he said the agreement was the most reasonable decision. During the second general assembly of the CPG’s Central Committee, which took place on February 2nd, 1946, Zahariadis in his own leadership speech stated: “…this day marks the first anniversary since the signing of the Varkiza Agreement in which included are our aims and objectives that will take Greece on its way to a peaceful democratic evolution, which will unite the people and let them exercise their free expression in the free elections so that our state can take the road to tranquility and reconstruction. That was our inclination and our aim then. That inclination was correct. Without any doubt today we will have to say it one more time, because it absolutely answers to the democratic and national interests. The signing of the Varkiza Agreement was the right step which could have been taken under those circumstances.” (Andonovski, Hristo. Vistinata za Egejska Makedonija. Skopje: Misla, 1971, page 149) A year later the CPG top leadership was still blind to what was really going on and continued to operate under the kind of illusion that everything was going great. Even after power was snatched from its hands it failed to comprehend that it had voluntarily capitulated to the Right. If we consider the fact that Greece came under British influence and Britain, particularly Churchill who hated communism with a passion, did not want a communist Greece then we have to wonder what were the top Leftist leaders really thinking about? They were well aware that they were not going to receive help from the USSR and the British did not want a communist Greece so they were left with two choices, surrender or fight. It seems they chose to surrender in a way that was not so obvious to everyone. This surrender came in the form of the Varkiza Agreement. Unfortunately, from the point of view of the British, even after surrendering NLAG, Greece would remain communist and would gain that privilege through the democratic process of voting communist. Something more had to be done. We can continue to believe that the Leftists in Greece, who by the way were very popular with the people at a grass roots level and would have

won a majority at the polls, were really stupid or we can look for a more probable reason for what was really going on. There are historians and authors out there who offer their perspective on things but most are apologists for the Greek side and none has shown any interest in investigating or reporting the Macedonian side as the Macedonians saw it. They can call it as they like but the reader must remember a of couple things. One, the minority Rightists most of whom collaborated with the German and Italian occupiers won the war with Britain’s help and as the saying goes, the winners write history. Two, the reader is entitled to know both sides of the story and the Macedonian side is yet to be written. While the British and later the Americans tried to stem the tide of communism in Greece by any means possible, the Greek government sought its opportunity to silence the Macedonian people once and for all. The Varkiza Agreement initiated what became known on the political left as the White Terror. Rather than prosecuting collaborators, the Greek Justice Minister and the police, together with right wing anticommunist bands, ignored the political amnesty offered by the Varkiza Agreement and continued the collaborationist struggle against the resistance fighters and supporters suspected of having leftist connections. Wartime heroes were executed for killing collaborators and judges and tax collectors of the Political Committee for National Liberation went to jail for unauthorized representation of the Greek government, etc. Right-wing death squads and paramilitary groups embarked on a campaign of terror and assassination against Leftists and suspected Leftists. Janis Petsopulos, a member of the central committee of the CPG, described the Varkiza agreement as “a capitulation without conditions which earned the high leadership the right to free movement and ability to bear arms while it surrendered the defenseless resistance fighters to the hands of the ultra-nationalists”. The newly established Greek National Guard was dominated by right-wing officers, who with British assistance began to reconstruct the gendarmerie, which between June 1945 and September 1946 grew from 9,000 to 28,569 men and became increasingly militarized and unpopular with the Greek public. In May 1945 Captain Pat Evans reported from Lerin on “a general lack of confidence ...a number of people have been remarking in cafés and other public places: ‘There is no State’. ‘The Communists did at any rate make things run, whatever else they may have done.’ ‘The present Government is useless’!” (Mazower, Mark, “After the War was Over Reconstructing the Family, Nation, and State in Greece, 1943-1960”, 2000, Princeton University Press. Pages 11 and 12) From the summer of 1945 onward, the Greek government initiated anti-Leftist policies in an attempt to control the Leftists. This was done with the aid of public security committees which the government filled with trusted appointees. Such policies were originally set up in 1924 which allowed the government to outlaw persons considered dangerous to public security. Together with special military tribunals, these committees contributed to the drastic increase of special courts set up to work outside the regular judicial system. In September 1946 the Greek government enacted a law designed to punish the families of army deserters. Imprisonment for political crimes was on the increase and as regular prisons became dangerously overcrowded, new systems of detention were being invented including detention centers, islands of deportation, concentration camps, etc. Incarcerating large number of democrats, male and female of all ages, dated back to before the Metaxas dictatorship, which involved the punishment of people not for their deeds but for their ideas, but the sheer number of those incarcerated during this period was far larger than at any time in the past, and easily dwarfed even the thousands jailed or detained under Metaxas.

There was a far greater number of women and even children detained during this period than ever before, necessitating the need for special women’s camps. In 1934, for example, there were approximately 130 women jailed in the Averoff Women’s Prison in Athens. By 1945 the number of prisoners had grown tenfold. “The strains upon the primitive infrastructure required to support such an expansion of the system of incarceration can be judged in the remarkable collection of photos taken by women inmates and recently published under the heading Gynaikes exoristes sta stratopeda tou emfyliou.” (Mazower, Mark, “After the War was Over Reconstructing the Family, Nation, and State in Greece, 1943-1960”, 2000, Princeton University Press. Page 14) The amount of violence used by the Greek government was also much greater than in the past. Even the death penalty was used against Leftists between 1945 and 1950 which overshadowed the violence perpetrated in all previous and subsequent periods. It is interesting to point out that while Greek governments in the immediate postwar period were disinclined to carry out death sentences against known and convicted collaborators and war criminals, such reservations were much less in evidence against the Leftists, especially after the 1946 elections. “And what did the Varkiza agreement provides us with?” writes Janis Petsopulos, “…in simple terms, it provided the top leadership with the right to safeguard its own immunity and amnesty while allowing Greece to take away our right of participation in the decisions made in Yalta (which by the way were designed to serve British politics in Greece). The Varkiza agreement allowed for the installation of the fascists in Greece and surrendered our fighters to the executioner and habitual criminal” (Andonovski, Hristo. Vistinata za Egejska Makedonija. Skopje: Misla, 1971, page 151) Aris Veluhiotis, commissar of the main headquarters of NLAG, along with about one hundred Partisans who had no faith in the Varzika agreement, detached themselves from the battalion and took to the mountains. The central committee of CPG naturally responded by calling Veluhiotis a “deserter” who on June 25th, 1945 was found dead on Mount Pind. Circumstances surrounding his death to this day have not been explained. Historians that support the Right, leave it to be understood that Veluhiotis was killed by people from the CPG, claiming that only they know his whereabouts and movements. In view of the disagreements between the various resistance leaders, the CPG purged Petsopulos, Orestis and Zaharias from the ranks of the party and took measures against the leadership of the Macedonian battalion by initiating a campaign of slanderous propaganda rivaling that of Gables. Macedonian leaders opposing the Varkiza agreement were automatically labeled “autonomists” and “sell outs to the Intelligence Service”. A flyer released in Voden on October 10th, 1944 referring to Veluhiotis’s splinter group puts it this way: “Those are autonomists and anarchists and with their own brand of adventurism are solely responsible for bringing hardship to the Slavo-Macedonians. They claim to be your protectors but far from it, they are provocateurs who by their actions have provoked the fascist elements to new and more brutal acts against you Slavo-Macedonians.” Anyone from the CPG or from the GNLF who spoke up in the defense of the splinter group was labeled a traitor. The CPG high leadership openly suggested to people who harboured such thoughts that they were better off going to jail then going to the mountains. In reference to Veluhiotis fleeing to the mountains, Zahariadis said “it was an attempt to pass with yesterday’s expired ticket”. Attempting to explain what happened, Zahariadis blamed it on a misunderstanding by putting it this way: “A large number of our membership had difficulty comprehending what it is that we are trying to do and where we want to go with the Varkiza Agreement. The confusion comes from a number of members who have a small difference of opinion.

Some, like Veluhiotis for example could be dangerous that is why the party had to take decisive action. Party members like him wanted to hold on to their guns and to continue the guerilla war.” (Quotes from Zahariadis’s speech from the CPG plenum of the central committee, July 1, 1945). After Varkiza the CPG leadership took the attitude that in a short time it would be able to develop a massive political fight in the cities and take over the leadership of various organizations and count on their support in future parliamentary elections. In other words the CPG was heavily counting on the masses to support it. This was a good strategy and worked with the working class syndicates, the farmers’ cooperatives and the skill organizations. Unfortunately the government was well aware of the CPG’s intentions and took counter measures. The government knew it could not win a majority vote through a political fight so with the help of the British and the Rightists it began to bolster its military capabilities. When the government was certain of its military strength it decapitated the workers’ movements by imprisoning its Leftist leaders and by forcefully replacing them with government appointees. But it did not stop there. Exploiting the situation that the resistance fighters were now disarmed and would take some time before they could re-organize and re-arm, the government re-armed the former collaborators, the same collaborators who collaborated with the German and Italian occupiers, and enlisted them in the gendarme and into newly formed National Guard battalions. These former collaborators were given unprecedented power to act as they pleased which unleashed an unbelievable terror campaign against the population. Between 1945 and early 1946 force was the rule of law in Greek occupied Macedonia where beatings and atrocities were committed daily against democratic citizens. Not only the jails but barns and stables everywhere were filled with people who supported the resistance movement. According to official statistics in 1945 there were 17,985 people jailed of whom 15,596 were jailed without a trial. Another 18,401 were accused of various crimes and 48,936 were accused of being members of GNLF and NLAG. About 80,000 people in total were pursued by the Greek government in 1945. The terror, as a means to break the Leftists, took frightening measures with each passing day. This is how the situation was described on July 5th, 1945: “After the December incident terror became the rule of law with the arming and unprecedented growth of the extreme Right. Every day life for the non-royal citizens became unbearable. This is a sad affair and the state cannot be without responsibility. The terrorist organizations of the far right most of which were armed by the Germans and cooperated with them, now cooperate with the government to extinguish the democratic spirit. It was the government that enlisted the skills and services of these terrorists and is allowing the atrocities to multiply daily. Therefore the government is responsible for the lockups, imprisonments, the raping of women, the hangings, the beatings and humiliations carried out against the free citizens. This represents a black spot on our civilization.” (Andonovski, Hristo. Vistinata za Egejska Makedonija. Skopje: Misla, 1971, page 155) Here is how the Regional Governor of Kozheni Region described the situation in a letter to the Minister of Internal Affairs: “From a standpoint of public order the district is finding itself in a savage situation. Disgusting things are happening; multiple hangings, known criminals are being freed from jails, etc. These acts are carried out by known collaborators of the Germans, under whose leadership they developed these blood thirsty skills.” (Andonovski, Hristo. Vistinata za Egejska Makedonija. Skopje: Misla, 1971, page 155) Unfortunately the government, in order to camouflage its own atrocities against the democratic people in Greece, accused the communists and other peaceful groups of murdering nationalists, of hiding arms, and of “surrendering Macedonia to the Slavs”.

After Varkiza terror in Greek occupied Macedonia rose to unprecedented levels and without opposition. Well known collaborators like the cut throat Mihalaras (Mihalis Papadopoulos) and Kolaras were unleashed on the innocent and unarmed Macedonian population. Kolaras, a well known collaborator who was working for the Germans during the occupation, was seen many times being driven in the same vehicle with the British Captain Evans. Evans was a British Mission representative responsible for the Vicho Region during the occupation. Kolaras was well known for his beastly methods of liquidating his victims. Kostas Papadopoulos, a Greek reservist second lieutenant, wearing a military uniform who during the occupation commanded an entire detachment of cut throat traitors was responsible for the death of over 500 patriots an activity he continued to pursue even after Varkiza. There is no doubt that the British not only knew about this but were party to it as the attacks on the Macedonian villages escalated and were turning into a tragedy. The National Guard was the first Greek army formed by the government after Varkiza and consisted exclusively of soldiers who had Greek nationalist persuasiveness. In Greek occupied Macedonia the National Guard in 1945 consisted of the following: Under the military command in Solun were battalions 115, 150, 163, 183 and 605. Under the military command in Ber were battalions 111, 103 and, 305. Under the military command in Seres were battalions 145 and 158. And under the military command in Drama were battalions 101, 147, 159 and 167. After the National Guard was trained by the British Mission and transformed into a regular army it conducted a series of raids on Macedonian villages in the mountains. These raids, which included killings, beatings and abuse of peaceful citizens, were conducted together with British military units during the period from February to September 1945 and were designed to terrorize CPG, GNLF and NLAG sympathizers. Like the National Guard, the first formations of the gendarme were also trained by the British Mission under General Charles Ujakam (sp?) a well known enemy of the communist ideology, well known from the time he was chief of the British military interventionist forces in the Soviet Union.

During the summer of 1945 the gendarme consisted of 27,000 men from which 14,000 were stationed in Greek occupied Macedonia. New “hunting units” were formed from the most ruthless of these men and together with the special units trained for “mountain operations” were sent to conduct a number of surprise and abrupt attacks against the Democratic Army of Greece (DAG). With the increase in terror perpetrated by the ultra-nationalist Rightist bands, many former resistance fighters fled their homes and villages for self-protection and began to form new bands in the mountains. By late 1946 it was evident that the country was facing civil war. These bands, most of which were remnants of NLAG, once again began to organize another form of resistance. This time resisting the Greek government forces which were determined to liquidate them. These rag tag forces became the Democratic Army of Greece, the postwar successor to NLAG, except that communist control was much tighter and the ideological stakes were less ambiguous. Initially DAG was very successful in fighting against the newly reformed “Greek National Army”. But British and later American assistance, combined with a policy of forcibly relocating tens of thousands of villages to starve out the guerillas and increasing Greek military sophistication, turned the tide. As the guerrilla struggle became something much closer to a conventional military conflict, the advantages enjoyed by the government army eventually proved decisive. In 1946 the democratic population in Greece once again rose up and took up arms to fight against oppression and with it stood the Macedonian population which had no other choice but to fight for its survival.

Terror in Greek occupied Macedonia

During the German and Italian occupation the Macedonian people in Greek occupied Macedonia, in spite of being occupied, enjoyed some freedoms including the ability to speak Macedonian, their mother tongue, which had been denied to them by the Greeks since Greece occupied Macedonia in 1912. By their participation and sacrifices in the resistance movement resulting in the eviction of the occupiers the Macedonian people felt they had earned their freedom and place in Greek society and were entitled to equal rights. Unfortunately as events unfolded Macedonians not only lost everything they had gained but now were about to lose even more. From the first day the Greek National Guard arrived in Macedonia it began an unprecedented terror campaign. The moment the National Guard entered the city of Voden it began firing live rounds at civilians killing 4 people. Just hearing the Macedonian language being spoken on the streets set the National Guard off on a shooting spree towards unarmed civilians. Such actions were unprecedented and more extreme than those of the Metaxas regime. Here is what Petsi, the secretary of the Voden Region Peoples’ Liberation Front (PLF), had to say; “People from the Security Services detained Kosta Chorlinov and jailed him for speaking Macedonian. Petar Sarakinliev was also detained the same day and accused of openly speaking Macedonian in public. Sarakinliev was held in jail for 24 hours and released. He was beaten close to death. The millers Trajo Sapundzhiev and Tanas Akrepov were detained in their gardens at L’got by the National Guard and accused of speaking Macedonian. In a rain of bullets, Atanas Akrepov managed to escape while Trajo Sapundzhiev was taken away and put in jail where he was subjected to brutal torture. He was released six days later a cripple.” (Andonovski, Hristo. Vistinata za Egejska Makedonija. Skopje: Misla, 1971, pages 157, 158) On July 25, 1945 the National Guard flag bearer pulled out his pistol and fired at children he heard praying out loud in the Macedonian language at the Kjuprija neighbourhood in Voden. Janis Perchemlis, Gerimdzhes and Fotiadis, well known collaborators and Fascists who spied for the Germans during the occupation, were seen pacing up and down the streets calling out loud “lists of those going to jail are already made”. In other words they were openly threatening the population with harm without naming names, clearly a terror tactic to frighten everyone. On July 10th, 1945 the Greek Gendarme located in the village Lukovtsi detained 4 girls from the same village. No reason was give. The girls were taken away to jail and placed under guard in the city of Sobotsko where they were subjected to torture. A few days later, 14 boys all under the age of fifteen were also detained in Lukovtsi and beaten to death. This was a tragedy not just for their parents but for the entire community. On August 15th, 1945 the Fascist Socrates Tumanidis and his band of cut throats invaded the village Lukovtsi, detained 10 people and took them to the village Dragomentsi where they subjected them to beastly torture. Tortured the worst was Nikola Markov who in addition to being badly beaten had to endure hot eggs placed under his armpits and salt poured on his wounds. On August 19th, 1945 the Greek Gendarme detained and jailed 25 people from the village Sarakinovo. A Greek Captain from the nearby army base, together with several soldiers, raped a young Macedonian woman in the village Tresino in front of her father-in-law. In a beastly manner, Jovan Dokov from the village Pozhartsko was ferociously beaten and while still conscious was buried alive. In the village Strupino 13 houses were burned down. One of those houses belonged to Tasho Bojchev, a Macedonian resistance fighter. Bojchev’s wife was killed and her body was thrown in the fire to burn. The same day Germanos Papadopoulos and his band of nationalists detained and killed 2 Macedonian boys. In the summer of 1945 a band of well known occupier collaborators from Drama Region appeared in Lerin Region.

Lead by the murderous Andon Chaush the band of nationalists took control of entire villages and sealed the doors of the Macedonian homes with wax so no one could get in or out. Macedonians were placed under house arrest overnight for at least 12 hours without an explanation. No one dared break the seal for fear of what might happen to them. Members of the National Guard roamed the streets during the nights and broke into the houses of those jailed and abused and raped their wives and daughters. In the village Setina, National Guardsmen raped the young wives of two brothers. Another young woman was then taken to the barracks and repeatedly raped overnight. The next morning she was taken and surrendered to her relatives, half dead. One particular woman from the village of Petoratsi was targeted, because of her activities in the United Panhellenic Organization of Youth, and raped. On July 6th, 1945 members of National Guard from the 165 battalion raped 4 women in the village Gornichovo because their husbands were serving in the Yugoslav army. Rapes and robberies were also committed in the villages Gorno Kleshtina, Elovo, Sorovich and Rudnik. On July 10th, 1945 Balkanski, in a report to the leadership of the PLF, stated that the National Guard had stolen 250 sheep from the village Eksisu, 2 herds of sheep, 6 oxen and 6 pigs from the village Zelenich and one herd of sheep from the village Mokreni. As the national election date in March 1946 approached terror and pressure on the Macedonian people increased dramatically. On March 5th, 1946 members of the National Guard jailed 10 people from the village Nered. They were all taken to court and without a shred of evidence, presented as members of the Greek National Liberation Front (GNLF) and of the National Liberation Army of Greece (NLAG). Similar events took place in the villages Neokazi, Popozhani, Boreshnitsa, and Sekulevo. On March 13th, 1946 10 people from the village Petoratsi were sued in the Lerin court and were given 10 to 15 year prison sentences for accusations of being GNLF and NLAG members. Among those sued were Bitko Mijalev, Lazo Damjanov, Naso Zhinzov and Vasil Popov. Another 18 people from the village Setine were also sued by the same court and handed 8 to 10 year prison sentences. These people were accused of various crimes by the teacher Miltiadis Dulukas who was a witness at their trials. Betrayed by Irini Mechkari a number of people were picked up by the Ofchareni Gendarmes at 9 pm on March 6th, 1946 and sent to jail. Among those jailed included were Dimo Kratev and Vane Alamchev from Krushoradi. In a separate incident on March 15th, 1946, the same Gendarme from Ofchareni, lead by collaborator and spy Janis Apostolidis, stormed into the village Krushoradi and abducted resistance fighters Petar Donevski, Pando Vesev, Spase Dzhodzhov and Gjorgij Majnov. The next day they were taken to Lerin and put in prison. More Macedonians were rounded up and taken before the courts in Lerin, even decent resistance fighters like Jordan Vitkov who was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour, Katerina Ts. Shabalova sentenced to 3 years imprisonment and Alekso Gashtarov, Sveto Charkev and Gjorgij Chakalov from the village Setina sentenced from 8 to 12 years imprisonment which prompted one to speak up and say “We are Macedonians and that is why it is not difficult that we must lie in prison. This is our tax for our freedom. The Macedonians are used to spending time in prison, but for us one day the sun will shine”. (Andonovski, Hristo. Vistinata za Egejska Makedonija. Skopje: Misla, 1971, page 161) While rounding up resistance fighters the Gendarme was also looking to recruit new informants. This was done by intimidation or by bribes. Fearful for their lives some could not take the pressure and succumbed to the will of their torturers while others were willing to sell their services for a price. Among those who succumbed were Gjorgij Bukovski, Metodi Mechkarov, and Spase Rumelov all from the village Krushoradi.

They became the new agitators for the nationalists and took on the role of spreading rumors and pitting neighbour against neighbour. They were also put in charge of dividing the relief aid donated by the United Nations Relief Agency. Unfortunately none of the relief aid was given to the

needy. Almost all of it was stolen by those in charge and sold in the black market. Terror was not restricted to Voden, Meglen and Lerin Regions alone; it was widespread throughout all of Macedonia but more prevalent in the Western Region. There was massive terror and persecution against the Macedonian people in Kostur Region since Varkiza, prompting the Regional Council of the GNLF to list some of them in the bulletin “News of the Day” on June 6th, 1945. On May 17th, 1945 a National Guard band from the village Inon (Tsakoni) attacked the village Polipotamos and severely beat most of the villagers. After beating him to near death, Zhivko Poptrajanov was taken to Kostur for interrogation. On May 19th, 1945 a band of around 200 armed nationalist bandits from the villages Shijaki, Chetirok and Gorno Paprechko attempted to enter the village Polipotamos in order to plunder it. The villagers however did not succumb to fear and fought back with sticks and stones as they met the gangsters before reaching their village. The village came out victorious with only a single casualty. Lazo Antonopoulos was wounded. On May 23rd, 1945 the same village was blockaded by the National Guard. This time guardsmen detained and beat many residents accusing them of being communists. Fifteen people were beaten to near death and the entire village was plundered and three flocks of sheep were stolen. On May 31st, 1945 Andreas Papadopoulos with a group of 15 residents from the village Zagorichani, armed with rifles and wearing military uniforms blockaded the Macedonian part of the village and summoned all the Macedonians. Some were tied to a post and severely beaten with whips as they were forced to run like horses around the post and humiliated. Mitse Popjovanov, the village mailman, was beaten so badly that his life hung by a thread. In May 1945 armed bands of nationalistic elements of Asia Minor settlers, who were settled in Macedonia by the Greek state in the 1920’s, attacked the village Brest and stole a flock of 1,200 sheep. They stole all the flocks of sheep from the village Dolno Papretsko and about 300 sheep from the village Setoma. When the people from the robbed villages went to the Regional Governor in Kostur to complain, he kicked them out of his office and told them “to go to hell”. In spite of GNLF numerous attempts to publicize the terror in an attempt to curb it, the ultra-nationalists continued to commit crimes unabated. On July 1st, 1945 Andreas Papadopoulos’s band of nationalists attacked the village Breshtani, summoned all residents and began to indiscriminately beat them. Many, including three women, fell unconscious from the beatings. Lazar Panduli’s wife was purposely undressed in public and while bare naked was raped by 4 of the bandits. Afterwards they carried her off and locked her in a room until they found a donkey and then as she rode the donkey she was paraded through the village and further humiliated. When she was returned to lockup, the man responsible for guarding her felt sorry for her and let her escape. On July 2nd, 1945 Andrea Papadopoulo’s nationalist band entered the village Tsakoni and committed all kinds of atrocities. Andon Sjula was badly beaten in an attempt to convert him to a turncoat so he could spy for them but they were unable to break him. He later died from the ordeal. Also badly beaten were Vasilis Suklidis, Naum Nartea, Andreas Stavridis and Petar Chocho. Other thefts reported at the time included 5 heads of large livestock stolen from the village Tikveni by the nationalist Pavle Sjagari. Other atrocities committed by the nationalists and the National Guard included the rape and execution of Dafina Valtova from the village Izglebi and the rape of 20 women from the village Gratsi. Unrestricted nationalist bands went on committing crimes in Kukush and Drama Regions, spreading rabid terror wherever they set foot. Terrible tortures were committed in the village Postol, Enidzhe-Vardar Region, resulting in the death of 70 year old Poliakov.

In Kukush Region a band of nationalists, lead by ex-German collaborator Kisabadzhak, indiscriminately rounded up and beat people, wounding 8. Andreas Georgiadis and Hristos Georgiadis were both wounded with a pistol blow to the head. It is unfortunate that these brutal acts were committed against innocent civilians and will remain a black spot in the history of Greece but what is most unfortunate is the behaviour of the Bulgaris and Sofulis governments during 1945-1946 which praised these atrocities as acts of heroism committed in the defense of Greece. Gumendzhisko Region is another place in the dark history of Greece where a long list of imprisonments, tortures, maltreatments and killings were committed against the Macedonian people. The following report entitled “Blockades, imprisonments and internments after Varkiza,” was prepared by Hristo Balkanov leader of the PLF for Gumendzhisko Region. (Andonovski, Hristo. Vistinata za Egejska Makedonija. Skopje: Misla, 1971, pages 163 - 165)

Imprisoned

On February 12th, 1945 18 citizens from the city Gumendzhe were jailed in Solun. Included among those jailed were Gjorgij Kostraki, Vangel Kostraki, Jovan Popnikov, Kostadin Korov, Trajko Kalinov, Hristo Michjorov, Hristo Hadzhigjoriov, Vangel Hr. Nichev, Dimitar Shaldev, Hristo Chjakov and others.

On March 18th, 1946 citizens Risto Kostarski, and Stamat Ljapa were sent to jail in Solun because they were accused of being under the influence of “Ohrana”, a Bulgarian sponsored organization that operated in Kostur Region. On March 8th, 1946 imprisoned were Petros Hadzhikarmenis, Janis Hadzhikarmenis, Kostas Hadzhikarmenis, Janakis Kostas, Dimitar Uzunov, Hristo Uzunov, Stamat Stamenov, Todor Vaskov and Gligor Tumbov from the villge Petgas. Among the 35 men and women interned from the village Kriva included were Vangel Janakev, Atanas Jankov, Jovan Ropkov, Tano Janakev, Jovan Mladev, Petar Hadzhikarmenis, Tano Tsegli, Hristo Sjagli, Gjorgij Janakov, Paskalina Mitrova, Anastas Karadzha, Elisabeta Gatsi, Katerina Stoju, Marika Pulka and others. From January to August 1946 more than 100 citizens from Gumendzhe alone were imprisoned including members of the Menchev family. From the village Barovitsa imprisoned were Jovan Chutra, Hristo Sjuli, Hristo Ajta, Gjorgij Kjosev, Jovan Gata, Katina Kuta, the entire Vangel Shoshov family, Paskalina Garti and Gjorgij Todorov Shoshov. From the village Karpi imprisoned were Gjorgij Tekni, Hristo Pejkov, Hristo Kirkov, Hristo Kjoska, Gjorgij Kjoska, Gjorgij Dzharov, Gjorgij Popnikolov, Atanas Betov, Maria Beta, Aneta Benova, Gjorgij Erov, Aneta Tumba, Dimitar Popjanov and Jovan Popjanov. From the village Mandelevo 16 people were imprisoned, from Isiklar 50, from Boemitsa 15 and from Gorgopik 50.

Raped

Four women were raped.

Killed

After receiving information from informant Hristo Petsi, British soldiers, in June 1945 went in pursuit of Petar Stamenitov from the village Pendalofos and had him killed in the chestnut grove above the village Kriva. On August 25th, 1945 army and Gendarme Greek nationalists killed Kosta Dzhina from the village Laka, Atanas Koroveshov from the village Smrdesh and Atanas Lubchev from the village Kastaneri. These individuals were executed in Krombi, Edindzhe-Vardar Region. On November 17th, 1945, upon their surrender by the collaborator Dimitar Dojara from the village Kastaneri, the National Guard executed Gjorgij Shashev from Kastaneri, Hristo G. Tartev, Trifun Ajta, Dimitar Parlapanov, Hristo Gatsov, Gjorgij Gulev, Petar Karamutev and Aleksandar Vasilev from Kriva, Gumendzhisko Region. The executions took place in the Sehovo area near the village Barovitsa. On August 14th, 1946 in the village Izvor executed were Hristo Sima and Vasilios Kustalidis. On August 15th, 1946 in Gumendzhe the nationalists and gendarmes killed Gjorgij Hadzhipopov, Dimitar Karadzha from Gumendzhe, Kosta Popjanov from Karpi, Lazo Projchev from Gomendzhe, Gjorgij Tampov from Kastaneri, Petad Dautis, Jovan Shahsov, Trifun Minov, and Tano Mitachov from Karpi. On September 16th, 1946 civilian nationalists aided by the Gendarme beat to death with sticks Janis Asaridis from Gerakona, Nikos Karamanlis and Janis Sideris from Aksiupolis.

Plundered and Burned

On September 20th, 1946 a detachment of gendarmes and bandits entered the village Barovitsa and burned the houses of brothers Trifun and Gjorgij Kuplev and took 2 mules, 300 goats, cheese, butter and everything of value they could find. They did the same to Hristo P. Kurlev’s house and to the houses and properties of Petar Ajta, Kosta Projchev, Tano Gatsev, Kosta Gatsev, Gjorgij Taratev, Jovan Kovachev, Hristo Cholakov and Gjorgij Poppetrov.

According to a report compiled by Petar Asprov, the Regional leader of the PLF for Prespa Region, on December 23rd, 1945 atrocities were also committed against the Macedonian people in Prespa Region. On October 5th, 1945 a group of National Guardsmen blockaded the village Shtrkovo and imprisoned 7 Macedonians, who after been beaten were sent to Lerin. Among the 7 beaten included were Joshe Grozdanov, Bozhin Kostov, Pando Kostov and Stavre Katielov. On October 10th, 1945 the village Rudari was blockaded and 15 people were taken and sent to the Lerin jail. Joshe Tsaklarovski and Mihail Mihailovski were beaten to a state of unconsciousness. Prespa Region remained under a state of terror from the moment Gizas and Sarandopoulos were appointed Police Chiefs in the villages Gjerman and Popli respectively, to the spring of 1947 when they were driven out by the Democratic Army of Greece (DAG). This perpetrated terror horrified the people and weighed very heavily on those who had just liberated Greece from the German, Italian and Bulgarian occupiers only to hand it to a more ferocious enemy determined to destroy them. The peace loving Macedonians who wanted nothing more than to live as equals with the Greeks now once again became a target of ultra-nationalism. But in spite of the reality on the ground Greek authorities, who at the time were in control, made every effort to downplay the situation. Printing presses and radio stations were busy misinforming the public by putting the blame north of Greece’s border. It was they that were causing the problem and putting Greece’s national integrity into jeopardy. The world however was wise to Greece and the best Greek reactionary propaganda could not stop the objective observers from expressing their own displeasure and repulsiveness regarding the atrocities committed by the pro-government nationalists and the organs of the government itself. A British officer, who at the time was stationed in Greece, on November 22nd, 1947 made the following remarks for the newspaper “New Statesmen and Nation”. In short he described the situation in Greece like this: “One week after the signing of the Varkiza agreement I witnessed the most horrific and antisocial behaviour committed by the newly formed National Guard made up from personnel from the former collaborators of the occupiers. Everyone who placed their faith in the word of the agreement (which the English had guaranteed) and did not leave in good time, were put in prison and mistreated. In an underground enclosure in the larger part of a kitchen in a small flat I saw 16 men, women and children. Two of the men were lying on the floor unconscious swimming in a pool of their own blood. Every prisoner had the right to go to the toilet only once in three hours and only for three minutes. An old man, because he was selling GNLF newspapers, was tied and beaten for an entire hour. None of the prisoners were informed as to why they were imprisoned. None of the prisoners were taken to court, sued and found guilty but were kept in prison for nine months. This was not an isolated situation during the time when not a single group of communists existed and not even a single leftist activity was taking place.” (Andonovski, Hristo. Vistinata za Egejska Makedonija. Skopje: Misla, 1971, pages 166 - 167) The newspaper “Daily Mirror” published an article written by a British soldier who personally had witnessed atrocities committed by the Greek Rightist forces. The article was illustrated with photographs showing people being tortured and beaten. There were photographs of mass slaughters and decapitations. There was even a photograph of a 16 year old decapitated girl. People’s decapitated heads were shown to be carried as trophies hung on the saddles of horses or propped up on spikes. The people who had suffered and died at the hands of these blood thirsty Greeks were Macedonians who had done nothing wrong except to have being born Macedonian. Connie (Koni Ziljakus (sp?)) wrote that the official Greek government and the military which was organized by General Charles Ujakam, (sp?)

a well known enemy of the communist ideology, well known from the time he was chief of the British military interventionist forces in the Soviet Union, were no better than the police and the gendarmes. “Four fifths of the forces in the official administration, in the courts and in the police are in the hands of these extremists. Surlas’s bands ruled the province and had established their own administration. They are well armed and do what they feel like.” (Andonovski, Hristo. Vistinata za Egejska Makedonija. Skopje: Misla, 1971, page 167) On December 12th, 1947, quoting British Colonel Shepard, the newspaper “New Democracy” wrote: “The backbone of the Royal Gendarme, making up Greece’s Security battalions today, consists mainly of German collaborators”. Richard Mayer from the American Overseas Information Agency reported from Athens that “a large part of the former gendarme which a while ago served the Germans is now using the lists left by the Germans to oppress doubtful personalities…” (Andonovski, Hristo. Vistinata za Egejska Makedonija. Skopje: Misla, 1971, page 167) During 1946 a Commission made up of British Labour Representatives (Solej, Tifanis and Dode (sp?)), visited Greece and examined the political situation in some detail. Upon their return to their own country, on July 17th, 1946 they announced that Greece is 90% Fascist, after which Laski, the former British President of the Labour party of Great Britain prophetically said: “The return of King George to Greece will convert this state into a second Spain…” (Andonovski, Hristo. Vistinata za Egejska Makedonija. Skopje: Misla, 1971, page 168).

Terror Continues in Greek occupied Macedonia