Aegean Macedonia

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This article is about the term "Aegean Macedonia", for the region in Greece, see Macedonia (Greece).

Aegean Macedonia is a term sometimes used to refer to the region of Macedonia in Greece in the context of the great region of Macedonia. The origins of the term are unknown,^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]} and the term can be considered offensive.

The origin of the geographical terminology is arguable. A similar term was used in 1944 to describe a unit fighting in the Second World War called the "First Aegean Macedonian Brigade" [link], although there is no evidence that this is the first usage of the term "Aegean Macedonia".

During the Greek Civil War, the Greek Ministry of Press and Information published a book entitled I Enandion tis Ellados Epivoulis ("Designs on Greece"), which consists of translated documents and speeches, many from Yugolsav officials on Macedonia. It reports Josip Broz Tito using the term Aegean Macedonia on the 11th October, 1945 in the build up to the Greek Civil War. The book quotes Yugoslav sources and claims that the “new term, Aegean Macedonia”, (also “Pirin Macedonia”), was introduced as part of the Yugoslav offensive against Greece, laying claim to Greek Macedonia.

Writing in 1953, Lazar Mojsov seems surprised that the Greeks find the term "Aegean Macedonia" insulting, and uses it frequently, noting that "...Politis (former Greek minister of external affairs) didn't miss the opportunity to attack even the very term "Aegean Macedonia", stating that it was "coined by the communist propagandists" (Лазо Мојсов, Околу прашањето на македонското национално малцинство во Грција, ИНИ, Скопје, 1954).

The term is currently used by many scholars, along with the sister terms Vardar Macedonia (describing the part of Macedonia in which the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia inhabits) and Pirin Macedonia (describing the part of Macedonia in which the Blagoevgrad province of Bulgaria inhabits). The term is used more frequently by Macedonian Slavs and can have irredentist connotations, in relation to the concept of United Macedonia.

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