Greek and Slavic Macedonian Emigrants in the Postwar Period: The Example of Political Refugees in Czechoslovakia
Abstract
The Macedonian question was a key concern during the Greek Civil War, especially during its final phase (1946-1949). This article is based on research using primary archival material from the National Archive in Prague (Czech Republic) and on the bilingual émigré newspaper Agonistis - Borec.
The first part of the article summarizes the contradictory approach to the Macedonian question by the Communist Party of Greece during different phases of the Civil War. Next, it examines the demographic structure of the Greek and Slavic Macedonian refugees, who had, after the defeat of the Greek communists, found asylum in the Soviet Union and its satellites, focusing on the example of political refugees in Czechoslovakia.
After this, it focuses on the impact that important political events of this period, particularly the de-Stalinization and the removal of Nikos Zachariadis from the leadership of the KKE, had on the relations between Greek refugees and Slavic Macedonian refugees, mainly in the light of the establishment of the "Ilinden" organization, the education of refugee children, and the prospect of their repatriation.