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. iii 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 iv 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 v 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 vi 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