Деца Бегалци од Егејска Македонија во Југославија

Children Refugees from Aegean Macedonia in Yugoslavia (Деца Бегалци од Егејска Македонија во Југославија) by Mišo Kitanoski and Gjorgji Donevski is a historical monograph that documents the fate of thousands of Macedonian children uprooted during the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). The book examines the organized evacuation of over 28,000 children, most of them Macedonians, who were separated from their families and relocated to Yugoslavia and other Eastern European countries.

Using archival documents, testimonies, and personal memories, the authors describe the children’s journey, their settlement in numerous children’s homes and shelters across Yugoslavia (Serbia, Vojvodina, Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia), and the role of teachers, caretakers, and humanitarian organizations, especially the Red Cross. The book also highlights the cultural and educational efforts to preserve the Macedonian language and identity, despite political pressures and propaganda.

Ultimately, the work portrays this mass displacement as both a humanitarian rescue and a traumatic chapter of ethnic cleansing, leaving lasting scars on the refugee children who grew up far from their homeland. It serves as a historical record and a reminder of the suffering and resilience of these “children without childhood.”