In 1917 Greece joined the Allies in fighting against Germany and Bulgaria in the first world war. On the Macedonian Front (also known as the Salonica Front), they fought side by side with the British and French. On arriving in Monastir during this period of war, this is what one soldier had to say :
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"It was night when we entered Monastir and night when we left .... The inhabitants - the town is populated by Greeks - walk about furtively .... and dwell bellow ground in their basements .... The people here got wind instantly of the arrival of fellow Greeks .... They kissed our hands, carressed our riflles, patted our helmets .... and wept calmly beneath the moonlight. "Can it be true? Are you really Greeks? Greeks from Greece? Our brothers?" . They explained that during all their years of slavery they had been waiting for us, dreaming about us .... "please, brethren, never let us fall into the hands of the Serbs again. They've oppressed us horribly, just because we are Greek".
One old man told me, "They lash us with whips if they hear the Greek language spoken among us. They don't even allow us to celbrate mass in Greek. All our churches have been closed, and our wonderful schools as well. Our women, all our women, have been dishonored, the city turned into one huge brothel. The women have to submit; otherwise their bread ration is suspended. And no one is allowed to save himself by leaving the city. The Serbs have barricaded every way out, and they shoot to kill".
Source: "Life in the Tomb" by Stratis Myrivilis
"It was night when we entered Monastir and night when we left .... The inhabitants - the town is populated by Greeks - walk about furtively .... and dwell bellow ground in their basements .... The people here got wind instantly of the arrival of fellow Greeks .... They kissed our hands, carressed our riflles, patted our helmets .... and wept calmly beneath the moonlight. "Can it be true? Are you really Greeks? Greeks from Greece? Our brothers?" . They explained that during all their years of slavery they had been waiting for us, dreaming about us .... "please, brethren, never let us fall into the hands of the Serbs again. They've oppressed us horribly, just because we are Greek".
One old man told me, "They lash us with whips if they hear the Greek language spoken among us. They don't even allow us to celbrate mass in Greek. All our churches have been closed, and our wonderful schools as well. Our women, all our women, have been dishonored, the city turned into one huge brothel. The women have to submit; otherwise their bread ration is suspended. And no one is allowed to save himself by leaving the city. The Serbs have barricaded every way out, and they shoot to kill".
Source: "Life in the Tomb" by Stratis Myrivilis
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This firsthand eyewitness account gives a picture as to the violent assimilationist policies adopted by the Slavs in order to erase the Greek presence in Monastir and Macedonia in general. Not suprisingly, the book "Life in the Tomb" was banned in Greece for 30 years, for it showed the Greek state abandoning Greeks for the sake of realpolitik.
This firsthand eyewitness account gives a picture as to the violent assimilationist policies adopted by the Slavs in order to erase the Greek presence in Monastir and Macedonia in general. Not suprisingly, the book "Life in the Tomb" was banned in Greece for 30 years, for it showed the Greek state abandoning Greeks for the sake of realpolitik.
And thus the Greeks of Bitola (Monastiri) were left to their fate. Slowly but surley those that were lucky manged to escape and keep their Greek (and in most cases Greek-Vlach) surnames and identity, finding refuge in Greece.
Those left behind had their surnames changed and forced to become Slavs. With the creation of the new Yugoslavia after the Second World War, the new Slav ideology was "Macedonism". All inhabitants were now to be be "Makedonki" whether they liked it or not under the brutal totalitarian regime of Tito.
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From : web site "Monastirion"
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