Greeks in Serbia

The Greek community in Serbia numbers around 15,000 people. The number of Greeks in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, is unknown. Many Greeks added the Slavic ending "ski" or "ev" to their surnames to have better chance to pursue a career in the SFR Yugoslavia.

=World War I

Several Vlachophone Greek families (from the Macedonian region) were held captives by the Bulgarians in 1916 in Bulgarian-occupied Pozarevac (In Serbia) and stayed until 1918 when the Bulgarian front was breached and they returned to Greece. They worked at the Serbs vineyards and in the homes of the jewish merchant families. However, a number of Greeks remained in Pozarevac, who were involved chiefly in commerce and in hotel enterprises, and with great success at that. Some of them became renowned, rich and eminent citizens of the city. Especially as owners of kafeneia (coffee shops), hotels. They gave Greek names to their kafeneia, such as “Itia” (willow tree) or “Kleousa” (weeping willow), “Ta Dyo Lefka Peristeria” (The Two White Doves), or “Kasine”. The Greeks and Serbs were Orthodox Christians, and consequently their co-habitation was very good. Very frequently, and early on, weddings between Serbs and Greeks. With the passage of time, the second and third generations of the Greek settlers lost the Greek language, mainly because the Greeks were not living isolated or in groups, but very quickly assimilated into the wider Serbian society.

World War II

In may 1945, 4,650 Greek refugees, mostly male members of ELAS, settled in the Maglic village with the help of Yugoslav government. From 1945 to 1948, it was a sui generis case of Greek extraterritorial jurisdiction. The Yugoslav conflict with informbiro saw the Greek community divided between loyalty to Yugoslavia and the Comintern, and those who supported the latter left the country. The remaining 800 also emigrated to Greek Macedonia eventually, with only a few remaining.

Following the Kosovo independence

The Greek minority living in Serbia have turned to Greece to not recognize the unilateral secession in Kosovo by the Kosovo Albanians. They stated that the independence of Kosovo would endanger the stability in the Balkans and weaken the traditional Serbian-Greek relations.

...We, Greeks in Serbia, feel concern over the fact that the Greek government has remained silent regarding the self-proclamation of the fake state of Kosovo... We appeal to Greece to not destroy everything honorable and good - which it has done until now by supporting a devoted friend and ally in this region.

The appeal adds that a wrong decision in the matter by the Greek government would "ruin what has taken a long time to build between the two countries".

See also

• Greek people
• Greek diaspora
• Serbian-Greek friendship

External links

• Bilateral relations between Greece and Serbia
• Greek embassy in Serbia