Page 30 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 11(2) (2023)

and especially what legacy is that of the crossing
of Greek refugees in Eastern Europe in general,
and in the specific case of Těchonín in partic-
ular? From this arises the central research ques-
tion of the present paper: What are the trajecto-
ries of memorialisation, or even heritageisation,
of this movement of the Greek minority in to-
day’s Czech Republic? And, consequently, what
could be the forms of formal recognition that
ought to be attributed to it in commemorative
monuments?

30 State of the Art on the Issue
Anthropological work on refugees from the
studia universitatis hereditati, letnik 11 (2023), številka 2 / volume 11 (2023), number 2
Greek Civil War in Northern Macedonia, Hun- ti
gary, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria (Monova
2002; Fokasz 2013; Sarikoudi 2014; Kokkinou
2019) respectively, and historical work (Lam-
batos 2001; Daskalov 2008; Tsekou 2010; Tsivos ta
2019; Semczyszyn 2016) on refugees in Tash-

Figure 2: The tobacco factory, in Hungarian
Dohánygyár, where some of the refugees were received
when they arrived in Budapest (photo: Kokkinou, 2021) di

stripped of their nationality - to nationals, for-
eigners or minorities.
To cross then conjugates the social and po-
litical space of refugees in time, that of the past
and that of the present, where, in particular, to
cross, which has since passed, has left few traces here
and claims to be recognized.
It is this pasted crossing, which leaves few
traces that is also indicated by the commemo-
rative plaques on the former living quarters of
the refugees, installed by those refugees who re-
mained still in the countries of reception. What
lasting legacy does the minority of Greek refu-
gees in eastern Europe, and more particularly in
Czechoslovakia, have the right to claim in this
condition of crossing sited between presence and Figure 3: A commemorative plaque placed by the ref-
absence? ugees on the front wall of Dohánygyár which states (in
These plaques, which are not ‘relict physi- Greek): ‘In memory of all the Greek refugees who found studiauniversitatis
cal survival from the past’ (Tunbridge and Ash- from 1949 to 1966 in this place a new homeland and a
worth 1996,1), affirm the crossing of the Greek in peaceful and happier life’; placed in 2003 by the Greek
Hungary. How can we speak of a lasting legacy, community in Hungary (photo: Kokkinou, 2021)