The President of the Republic Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos at the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle

The President was welcomed by the President of the Board of Directors of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle Foundation, Mr. Nikolaos Margaropoulos, the General Secretary of the Board of Directors and Associate Professor of UOM, Mrs. Stavroula Mavrogeni, the Businessman and member of the Board of Directors, Mr. Athanasios Koukakis, the Professor of AUTH and member of the Board, Mr. Paraskevas Savvaidis, as well as the Director of the Museum, Mrs. Fani Tsatsaia.

In his address to the President of the Republic, the President of the Foundation, Mr. Nikolaos Margaropoulos, stressed that “The visit of the President of the Republic, on the occasion of the anniversary of the liberation of our city, is a great honor for the Foundation of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle. Today’s anniversary, inextricably linked to the events of the First Balkan War, constitutes a unique opportunity to reflect on those historical events, which brought the nation one step closer to its national integration, as well as the decisive role played by Greece’s alliances in the course of its history. However, the successful outcome of the Balkan Wars for the Greek arms, as well as the liberation of Macedonia, cannot be understood and comprehended in isolation from the Macedonian Struggle that preceded it and the events of the period 1903-1908.

The Foundation of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle, aware of its responsibility and guided by the principle that under certain conditions history can be, according to Cicero, Magistra vitae (teacher of life), seeks to keep the memory of the Macedonian Struggle alive both with its educational programmes and with the research and publishing work of the Centre for the Research of Macedonian History and Documentation. A goal that has been achieved in the thirty-seven years of the museum’s existence thanks to the unreserved support of the Greek state and on the occasion of today’s visit, the museum expresses its gratitude to the Presidency of the Hellenic Republic for its unstinting support for the work of the museum throughout its life, as well as the wish that this cooperation will continue”.

In his response, the President of the Republic said among other things:

“You are doing something very important. Because as the years go by, unfortunately, we let history often remain on the dark side of memory and especially of consciousness. And this is a big mistake. We must not forget that you are the custodians of the Historical Memory of the Macedonian Struggle. And we Greeks must not forget that the Macedonian Struggle was the “seed” that fertilized the “womb” of that history, which gave birth to the historical truth of the First and Second Balkan War, especially the First Balkan War. Without this historical truth, without this “birth”, our Macedonia could not have the historical perspective that belongs to it today. And it is something that I will emphasize tomorrow at the Society for Macedonian Studies. Thanks to you, thanks to the Society, one thing is a fact: that, at least, the authenticity of Macedonia, as far as its History and Culture are concerned, the Macedonia of Alexander and Philip, this Macedonia cannot be disputed by anyone as far as its Hellenicity is concerned. This is a fact which now concerns the international community, which is obliged to recognise it and has recognised it. This is the truth. Is that enough for us? No, because with history we must strive to see to the end the last grain of its truth. But when we have recognized the core of truth, this is extremely important for our Land, our People, our Nation and our History.”

Afterwards, the President of the Republic was given a commemorative gift engraved with the Museum’s emblematic building and was given a guided tour of the historical exhibition “The Cartographic Histories of Macedonia at the beginning of the 20th century” by the curator of the exhibition, Professor Paraskevas Savvaidis.

The event was honored with the presence of the Minister of Macedonia and Thrace, Mr. Theodoros Karaoglou, the Mayor of Thessaloniki, Mr. Konstantinos Zervas, the Members of Parliament, Mr. Kostas Gioulekas, Mr. Stavros Kalafatis, Mr. Dimitris Kouvelas, Mr. Stratos Simopoulos, representatives of the Armed Forces, members of the Board of Directors of the Association of Friends of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle and representatives of the press.