SALVATION ABROAD

328 Pages·2005·3.02 MB·English

by  Gregory Michaelidis

ABSTRACT

Title of Dissertation: SALVATION ABROAD: MACEDONIAN
MIGRATION TO NORTH AMERICA AND
THE MAKING OF MODERN MACEDONIA,
1870-1970

Gregory Michaelidis, Doctor of Philosophy, 2005

Dissertation Directed By: Professor Gary Gerstle, Chair,
Department of History

This dissertation explores the establishment of Macedonian diaspora communities in
North America, and the concurrent development of Macedonian national identity,
between 1870 and 1970. Taking a transnational approach to cultural history, it ultimately
finds a reciprocal relationship between Macedonian migration and identity by focusing
on key nationalist leaders and organizations, as well as the crucial points of
transformation in the evolution of Macedonian national identity. By blurring the
boundary between Canada and the United States – as did many migrants from Macedonia
who saw the two countries as “Upper” and “Lower” America – this study emphasizes
migration rather than settlement in order to unveil nationalism’s religious, cultural and
political components. The dissertation, therefore, is grounded not in the cement of a
single national narrative, but in the cultural products that result from passages – physical,
spiritual, and social – among nations.

As the nineteenth century ended, a climate of deprivation and violence compelled tens of
thousands of men from the Macedonian region to depart their troubled corner of the
Balkans and find economic salvation abroad. Like their fellow villagers, most of the
migrants considered themselves to be geographically Macedonian but culturally
Bulgarian. Almost none identified with a nationality in the modern sense. This study
argues, however, that more than simply fulfilling an economic mission abroad, the
migrant men, and later their families, capitalized on the freedoms North America offered
to forge a broader “salvation” that fundamentally changed their national and ethnic
worldview. Put another way, migration catalyzed a process in which the migrants
became, simply, “Macedonians.”

Far from leaving behind the political and cultural battles of their homeland, the migrant
communities formed political, cultural, and religious organizations that sought to
influence the policies of both their host and home countries. But defining the new
Macedonian nation proved a contentious issue. As the migrant communities cleaved into
left- and right-leaning factions during the middle and latter years of the twentieth century,
the nature of Macedonian identity, which, I argue, was intimately connected to notions of
Macedonian cultural history, became a fiercely contested subject, and remains so today.
SALVATION ABROAD: MACEDONIAN MIGRATION TO NORTH AMERICA
AND THE MAKING OF MODERN MACEDONIA, 1870-1970

By

Gregory Michaelidis

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the
University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
2005

Advisory Committee:
Professor Gary Gerstle, Chair
Professor James B. Gilbert
Professor John R. Lampe
Asst. Professor Lisa Mar
Professor Martin Heisler
© Copyright by
Gregory Michaelidis
2005
For Stoyan
ii
Acknowledgements
My committee has been supportive of this project at all stages. Professor Gary Gerstle
deserves special thanks not only for his stewardship of the study, but for his uncommon
patience during my lesser moments of clarity. Though the analysis and conclusions – and
any errors – are my own, a keen reader will find evidence of his thinking on immigration
and nationality throughout. Several archivists made my task easier: Lillian Petroff,
Multicultural Historical Society of Ontario; Heather Muir, University of Minnesota
Immigration History Research Center; Peter Filardo, New York University Tamiment
Library; and Svetlana Usprkova, State Archives of the Republic of Macedonia. Others
offered ideas and comments on early drafts, including Keith Brown, Anastasia
Karakasidou, Audrey Singer, Marvin Moehle, Mark Opashinov, Spiro Kotsopolous, Marc
Favreau, David Sicilia, Madeline Zilfi, Martin Sletzinger, James Lindsay, Robert
Szymczak, and Michael Frisch. James Saunders and Steve Pliakes generously opened
their homes and papers to me. Grants from the University of Maryland Department of
History, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars – Eastern European Studies
Program, South East Europe Studies Association, and Euro-Balkan Institute made it
possible for me to complete my research and try out my ideas with eager audiences. I am
especially grateful for the research assistance provided by Ana Mukoska of the Euro-
Balkan Institute, and the research and formatting help of Angelica Arreola and Amy
Smith. Though many friends and family members tolerated me over the last few years,
my wife, Tamara, surely – and lovingly – endured the most. She will never know how
much credit she deserves for helping me see it through.
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Contents
Acknowledgements............................................................................................................iii
Contents.............................................................................................................................iv
List of Figures....................................................................................................................vi
Chapter 1: Diasporic Dilemma: A Case Study in Modern Macedonian Nationalism...1
On Macedonia and Macedonian Nationalism.............................................................................................7
On Nationalists and Transnationalists.......................................................................................................17
Framing the Question: Migration and Macedonian Identity.....................................................................25
Chapter 2: The Birth of Macedonia, 1870-1903.........................................................29
A New Age of Nationalism: Macedonia at a Turning Point......................................................................32
Glimpse of the New World: The West Brings Politics and Religion East................................................38
A Contest for Spirits and Minds: The Rise of Bulgarian Orthodoxy........................................................41
Multiple and Malleable: Identities in the Macedonian Region..................................................................49
Articulating Ethnicity: Describing an Emergent Nationality....................................................................53
Revolutionary Nationalism: Intellectuals Taking Up Arms......................................................................61
Conclusion: Internationalizing the Macedonian Moment.........................................................................70
Chapter 3: Sojourning in “Upper and “Lower” America, 1903-1918.........................76
The Pečalbari: Migrant Disorientation in the New World........................................................................78
The First “Americanauts” – Portraits of Foto Tomev and Stoyan Christowe...........................................84
Counting Macedonians and Bulgarians in Upper and Lower America.....................................................92
Migration and National Identity: Finding Salvation, Facing New Questions............................................97
Race and Class in Upper and Lower America.........................................................................................101
Men at Work: Migration and Gender in the New World.........................................................................105
The Boarding House................................................................................................................................108
Ethnic Self-Reliance: The Mercantile House..........................................................................................114
Work and the Politics of Labor...............................................................................................................117
Sojourning and Settling: Building Social and Religious Organizations in the New World..............................121
Religious Communities...........................................................................................................................124
Conclusion - Settlement, Migration, and Identity...................................................................................127
Chapter 4: Diasporic Visions of a Conservative Macedonia, 1918-1930.................130
The International Meets the National: Global Politics and the New Macedonian Moment..............................130
The Balkan Wars: “Appalling things are going on here”........................................................................133
The Great War and Its Aftermath............................................................................................................139
Framing the Political Debate: The Post-Versailles Response.................................................................145
Seeking Order From Chaos: The Macedonian Political Organization....................................................151
Defining Success: The MPO’s Strengths and Weaknesses.....................................................................160
Ink By The Barrel: The MPO and the Power of the Press.......................................................................164
A Mounting Macedonianism: The Pinnacle of MPO Influence..............................................................171
A Turning Point for the Macedonian Movement: Nonviolence or Insurrection?.............................................173
Conclusion: An Emerging Popular Identity............................................................................................175
Chapter 5: Imagining and Creating a Socialist Macedonia, 1919-1951....................178
Elements of a Political Clash: Right Versus Left in Europe and North America....................................181
Irreconcilable Differences: Two Routes to Macedonian Independence..................................................185
Shifting Left: George Pirinsky and the New Macedonian Ideal..............................................................188
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The Left’s Enemies: Countering Macedonian “Fascists”........................................................................194
Pirinsky’s View of Macedonia’s Future..................................................................................................197
The Impact of a Leftist Macedonian Nationalism...................................................................................201
The Yugoslav Project: (Re)Constructing a Macedonian Nation.............................................................208
Bureaucracy and Transnational Nation-Building....................................................................................210
Sanctioning the Macedonian Language...................................................................................................214
Writing a New Macedonian History........................................................................................................218
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................224
Chapter 6: Macedonians United, Abroad and at Home, 1948-1970.........................227
The Greek Civil War’s Dividends: Refugees, Migrants, and Nationalists..............................................228
Gathering the Children: The Making of a Human Tragedy.....................................................................231
New Settlement Patterns, New Tensions.................................................................................................234
The Matiča: Connecting the “Old World” With the “New”....................................................................240
Competing Voices for the Macedonian Mantle.......................................................................................246
The United Macedonians.........................................................................................................................248
The UM’s Political and National Vision.................................................................................................254
National Identity and the Macedonian Orthodox Church........................................................................260
Extension of the Macedonian Orthodox Church to the Diaspora............................................................269
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................279
Epilogue: Macedonian Identity in Many Forms..........................................................282
An Acknowledged Identity.....................................................................................................................282
An Independent Entity.............................................................................................................................286
An Insecure Identity................................................................................................................................290
A Transnational Identity..........................................................................................................................293
Postscript.................................................................................................................................................295
Abbreviations..................................................................................................................297
Selected Bibliography.....................................................................................................298

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List of Figures

Figure 1. Symbol of VMRO-DPMNE 4
Figure 2. Macedonian flag in use from1992-1995
featuring 16-point Vergina sun 4
Figure 3. Changes in Turkey in Europe, 1856 to 1878 31
Figure 4. St. Naum of Ohrid 44
Figure 5. Krste Misirkov 57
Figure 6. Goče Delchev 63
Figure 7. IMRO symbol 63
Figure 8. Macedonian Boarding House, 1917 87
Figure 9. Toronto boarding house, 1911 110
Figure 10. Consecration of St. Cyril and Methody Macedono-Bulgarian
Orthodox Church, Toronto, May 24, 1911 126
Figure 11. Macedonian region before and after Balkan Wars 135
Figure 12. Macedonian nationalist map, 1918 147
Figure 13. Toronto production of “Macedonian Bloody Wedding” 158
Figure 14. George Pirinsky, 1948 191
Figure 15. Refugees from the Greek Civil War, 1948 233
Figure 16. Statue of the deča begalči in Skopje, Macedonia 233
Figure 17. MPO logo 258
Figure 18. UM logo 258
Figure 19. Bishop Kiril, Macedonian Orthodox Church 268
Figure 20. Illinden celebration in Toronto, 1968 271
Figure 21. Modern Macedonian nationalist map 284

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Chapter 1: Diasporic Dilemma: A Case Study in Modern Macedonian
Nationalism

The tenth annual ethnic festival at Sts. Cyril and Methody Macedonian Orthodox
Church near Buffalo, New York, mostly resembled the previous nine. A lively
atmosphere prevailed over three days of eating, drinking, and Macedonian folk dancing
during the summer of 2000. Under the tents, middle-age men discussed politics and the
sluggish Western New York economy - specifically the auto industry and, especially,
Ford Motors, where many Macedonians worked. Some who read the Macedonian
newspapers or expatriate journals, or who recently had visited Macedonia, debated
current events in stari kraj, or the Old Country: Greek protests over use of the
Macedonian name, the recent elections for president and prime minister, and
controversial efforts by Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian population to build an Albanian-
language university. Others talked about sports and ignored politics altogether.
Affiliating with the Macedonian Church, or being a friend or family member of someone
who did, brought most people to the festival; the traditional barbecue, packaged to-go for
under ten dollars, brought many of the rest.1
At the festival, elderly men generally sat with their sons and other men. Women,
especially those born abroad, typically segregated themselves from men in social settings.
The food preparation was segregated by sex as well. In the church hall’s newly-

1 Members of the Buffalo Macedonian community, like all Macedonian Orthodox Church communities,
regard Macedonians to be a distinct ethnic group with its roots in the Macedonian region that today extends
into the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Greece, and Bulgaria. Most, but not all, consider Macedonians to
be descendents of the Slavic tribes that arrived in the Balkans in the sixth century. While not numerous in
Buffalo, others who define themselves as Macedonians - but who consider themselves to be ethnically
Greek - reject the right of the first group to use the appellation “Macedonian.” I discuss the development of
these, and other, Macedonian identities in coming chapters.
1