Vanco Mihajlov’s bloody house

Vanco Mihailov in world history remains remembered as a supporter of fascism, associate of the Ustasha organization and Nazi Germany, but also as an ordering and indirect perpetrator of numerous political killings of Macedonian activists. Dimo Hadzi Dimov (prominent fighter for independent Macedonia and associate of Goce Delchev), as well as Todor Panica (supporter of Jane Sandanski, one of the organizers of the People’s Federal Party and one of the founders of VMRO United) was killed on his order. But in modern history, an insufficiently known event remains on May 18, 1925 in the Pirin village of Dabnica

From the historical archives: The crime in the Pirin village of Dabnica on May 18, 1925

Following the murder of Todor Alexandrov and the bloody Gornoljuma assassinations in 1924 in the Pirin part of Macedonia, a crisis in the Macedonian revolutionary movement caused the leading Macedonian activists, and VMRO was divided into two organizations VMRO (Autonomist). Following the murder of Alexandrov, his secretary Vanco Mihajlov and VMRO Central Committee member Aleksandar Protogerov have undertaken activities to take over the revolutionary organization. Immediately after Alexandrov’s murder, vigorous measures were taken to mobilize membership and establish control over the armed forces that were used to liquidate the ideal supporters.
For the bloody events that followed, Marcel Walter points out: « Under the pretext of revenge for Todor Alexandrov’s murder… A Bartholomean night is organized in Upper Sumaya and the entire Petrich district. 160 Macedonian revolutionaries were killed, including the most active workers. Jovkov, Stojo Hadziev, Slavcho Kovachev and others.
Bozidar Nastev (Macedonian translator, university professor and former dean of the Faculty of Philology in Skopje) writes about this bloody condition, according to which VMRO « put himself in the service of the Bulgarian court and his aspirations for the creation of Sanstefan Bulgaria and was a special form of terrorist.
Vanco Mihailov also took action against Todor Panica supporters in the Pirin part of Macedonia. Hence Mihailov took a great deal of action in April 1925. The organization’s local detachment, led by Jordan Gjurkov and Georgi Nastev, dragged over 300 people and three months, from April to June, undergoing bloody reprisals in the eyes of local state, administrative and military authorities.

According to Zoran Todorovski, the number of victims of this bloody action was from 50 death sentences, according to Mihailov’s confession, to 165, according to B. I saw, based on a personally conducted survey in Neurokopian. As a result of the fierce Inquisition, 200 people died and more were interned outside the borders of the Pirin part of Macedonia, confirmed by a confidential letter signed by the Republic of Macedonia. Dejanov, a pseudonym of Vanco Mihajlov, from July 10, 1927.
The bloody event in the village of Dabnica wide in the Bulgarian public and caused an open reaction to Macedonian immigrants in Bulgaria. The bloody act was also condemned by Alexander Protogerov himself. Protesting against Mihailov’s arbitrariness in executing the population of Neurokopian without his knowledge, he demanded that the death sentences confirm the Central Committee, not Mihailov.
Among those killed were Georgi Papalezov, Nikola, st. Uzev from Thunder, Nikola Todorov, Yves. Donkov, Georgi Jonev, Stojan Pandurov, Dimitar Angelov Mutafchiev, Stojan Popivanov and others. A few years later, eyewitnesses confirmed that the location of the mass grave was near the village of Shvostjane, Neurokopko. The bodies of the executives were found in an unmarked tomb in the area of ​​Kavak Dere, in the field of a peasant, where the excavation determined the number of about 30 human troupes.
Vanco Mihailov justified his actions with the words: « Every revolutionary movement, and every legal party is taking measures and sanctions against those members who do not respect the rules of conduct. Similar measures take all states and social communities, especially in times of war;
But because of the bloody murders, Vanco Mihailov in Macedonian historical science remains remembered as the darkest person in the history of the Macedonian revolutionary movement, as the person who liquidated the most prominent Macedonian national activists.

Arnaut house from Dabnica

The penalties and trials were carried out in the so -called. The Arnaut House, which was one of the few rebirth houses that were preserved in the village. The house was on two floors, with an inner yard, which was fenced off by a high stone wall with a massive door. There was a lime oven in the yard as well as a brick oven. On the first floor were stables, and on the second floor the living rooms. Due to the bloody events of 1925, she became known as the bloody house. In 1974 the Bulgarian state partially restored it, and in 1980 it was fully restored and converted into a museum. After 1989, the museum was closed and the house destroyed. With the closure of the museum, as well as the demolition of the house, Bulgarian society has allowed Vanco Mihailov’s character and work to be relativized in modern history. D.