Mangov Vangel
Vangel Mangov was born in the village Zhupanishta - Kostursko in 1912.
In 1926 he completed his primary school education and later continued
his high school studies at the Kostur high school and then later at
the one at Cotil. As a high school student he was under the influence
of the communist youth organization and because of his revolutionary
ideas, he was expelled from the high school.
He actively participated in the pre-election campaign for the parliamentary
elections in 1933 and 1936. He passionately disseminated CPG's policies.
Because of this activity he was arrested and sentenced to four months
imprisonment.
In 1939 at the time of the Metaxas dictatorship Vangel was again arrested,
brutally tortured and sentenced to nine months imprisonment.
After his release from jail, he joined the battle against the Italian
fascists and when the front disbanded he threw himself wholeheartedly
into preparations for the national liberation struggle. He worked actively
in collecting weapons and organizing the population into EAM and the
national struggle. In 1942 he is arrested by the occupying forces and
sentenced to 11 months jail. His female comrade was also thrown into
jail along with her little baby, who died as a result of the hardship
it endured.
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After his release from jail Vangel worked tirelessly in various parts
of the revolutionary movement - as a leader of political organizations,
as a commissar in the ELAS unit. He was a passionate propagandist and
educated the Macedonian population about the danger of the Bulgarian
fascist propaganda that sought to pit the Macedonians against the Greeks
in a war of brother against brother. Spreading the CPG propaganda for
unity between the Macedonian and Greek people he exposed the motivation
of the occupying forces to divide the people. The Macedonian people
massively joined the battle under the flag of EAM-ELAS for the liberation
of both the Greek and Macedonian people. The results of a united battle
could be seen in the heat of battle. In many Macedonian villages, the
first Macedonian schools were opened, Macedonian theatre groups were
formed and the people felt liberated. After liberation, they put in
place measures to form the first Macedonian language teacher course
in Kostur and elsewhere. But the liberation did not last long. New occupiers
arrived - the English and then after them, the American imperialists.
Vangel was followed and persecuted. In 1946 the fascist forces offered
a monetary reward of 25 million drachmas for him to be killed. But again,
he was among the first to join for battle.
In 1946, he was commissar of the partisan unit and later worked in
the political organizations in Kostur. In the army and in the political
organizations, he developed an impressive record of activity. To complete
his missions, he moved around readily, even behind enemy lines. One
day, 26 March 1947, he was heading to the Sliveni monastery where the
enemy army was. After being betrayed he was arrested by the army. But
without losing any time he threw himself from a cliff into the river
Bistrica and tried to swim away to save himself. But one bullet hit
him and he died shortly after. The next day, the Sliveni villagers found
his body at the edge of the river. Policemen took him by truck to the
police cells at Chetirok and there they cut off his head. They put it
in a box and gave it to a small boy to carry - Paskal from Chetirok
- to Kostur.
Vangel Mangov dedicated all of his efforts and his life to the liberation
of the people and died a hero of the people.
From: For Sacred National Freedom: Portraits Of Fallen Freedom
Fighters
© 2009
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For Sacred National Freedom: Portraits Of Fallen Freedom Fighters