Serbian - Hellenic Brotherhood
First World War
The first direct contact between the two peoples occurred during the First World War, when, at the beginning of 1916, over 150,000 Serbian soldiers and civilians were evacuated to the Greek island of Corfu. Contrary to the position of the Greek government, which was against the entry of the Serbian army into its territory, due to which the Entente forces were forced to occupy the island that was part of the territory of then neutral Greece, the inhabitants of Corfu, deeply shaken by the suffering of Serbian soldiers and civilians, established very close relations. with its new neighbors.
The close relations between the Greek and Serbian people on the island manifested themselves in several ways. The Serbian government was stationed at the Bela Venezia Hotel in Corfu. Church of St. Archangel, st. Trinity and St. Nikola was temporarily ceded to Serbs for religious purposes. Sports competitions and cultural events were held daily in Corfu, such as theater performances and concerts in which Serbian competitors and performers participated. The municipal authorities of Corfu gave the printing house to the Serbs for use. Thanks to modern printing machines provided by the French, "Srpske novine" soon began to appear in Corfu.
Many Serbs have decided to settle permanently on the island, and a large number of mixed marriages have taken place. All three daughters of the owner of the "White Venice" hotel, Mr. Ioannis Gazis, married Serbs. It is interesting to point out that the middle daughter of August married the future prime minister of the Yugoslav government, Milan Stojadinović. The wife of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Aleksandar Cincar-Marković, was also from Corfu.
The "Serbian House", which still exists in Corfu and which houses the museum "Serbs in Corfu 1916-1918" and the honorary consulate of the Republic of Serbia, also testifies to the friendly relationship between the Serbian and Greek people, which developed during this period.
However, the friendly relationship between the two peoples did not change the attitude of the Greek government, which refused to allow the transfer of the Serbian army by land to the Thessaloniki front.
Interesting facts about Greek-Serbian friendship
Although almost every tourist who goes on holiday from Serbia to Greece feels like at home, but every Greek from Serbia also has many fond memories, history records that there are still those members of both nations who are not so kind to each other.
Joke aside, there are a large number of stories, not to mention legends, which mostly refer to the most sensitive topic - love, and that developed between Greek women and Serbian warriors who survived the Albanian Golgotha and the breakthrough of the Thessaloniki front.
One of the most impressive ones can still be heard in Vrnjačka Banja, and it is related to the attraction of this place, which is known as the Bridge of Love. That story says that a teacher named Nada, just before the beginning of the First World War, fell in love with an officer whose name was Relja. According to the older residents of Vrnjačka Banja who are familiar with this story, the two of them met right on this bridge, planning a wedding and their future life together.
But ... The war came, Relja went to defend his homeland, Nada stayed to wait for him and hope ... They say that she would stand on today's Bridge of Love for a long time, waiting for the man she loves to return. Years passed, and the only thing she found out was that Relja married a Greek woman and forgot Nada and the promise given. Soon Nada left this world, but she remained a legend of unrequited love, which still lives today. Precisely out of a desire not to lose their love, like this teacher once upon a time, the victorious people of Vrnjačka Banja came up with the idea to hang padlocks on the fence of the bridge on which they write the name of their loved one, and symbolically throw the keys into the diminutive Vrnjačka river. have made a kind of attraction.
On the other hand, in our brotherly Greece, there is a "Greek teacher Nada", who was a native of the island of Corfu. They say that she loved one Serb and he loved her, but when he recovered, they started to break through the Thessaloniki front. He went to defend his homeland, leaving his girlfriend, and legend has it that he never returned. The story goes on to say that, mourning for her beloved, she sang a song, which in a strange way became a symbol of friendship between our two peoples, and which was masterfully sung by the Greek artist, George Dalaras. Although this is just a legend, because the song "Mi mou thimonis matia mou" was actually written in a completely different way, it is certainly inspired by some real event.
