Unknown and little known fighters from the Gevgelija area in the Macedonian Struggle
Abstract
During the period of Ottoman rule, Gevgelija was in the vilayet of Thessaloniki and was the seat of the sub-district of Gevgelija, which included 57 villages. It experienced considerable economic and intellectual development at the end of the 19th century, and this is why the Greeks of Gevgelija began to prepare for the struggle against the Bulgarians well before 1903.
The first victims of the Macedonian Struggle in the Gevgelija area included Hadzizafiris, the notables Yeoryios Vafopoulos and Hristos Tsitsos, and Dr Dimitrios Kyvernidis.
When the Greek consulate in Thessaloniki took over the organisation of the Macedonian Struggle in 1903, an officer named Panayotis Klitos under took to organise the Gevgelija area. Other officers active here were Yeoryios Kakoulidis, Hristos Pradounas, Loukas Papaloukas, Dimitrios Kakkavos, Hristos Karapanos, and Konstandinos Mazaraki-Ainian. At the same time and earlier, armed bands of local captains were active in the area and around the River Axios, making a substantial contribution to the defence of the Greek population.
Many teachers who were natives of the area fought for the national idea in Gevgelija, as did many others who had been appointed to work there.
Apart from the inhabitants of Gevgelija, who were fighting for the survival of the Greek people, many inhabitants of the wider area —from Axiou- poli, Arhangelos, Bogdantsi, Graitsisti, Idomeni, Evzoni, Kastaneri, Lagadia, Livadia, Mouin, Negortsi, Parditsa, Skra, Smokvitsa, Stoyakovo, and Tria Elata— made a notable contribution to the Macedonian Struggle.
Unfortunately, Gevgelija and the N part of its district never became Greek. It was awarded to Serbia by the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913.
Article Details
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Ζέλλιου-Μαστροκώστα Ε. (1998). Unknown and little known fighters from the Gevgelija area in the Macedonian Struggle. Makedonika, 31(1), 121–134. https://doi.org/10.12681/makedonika.116
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