GOCE DELČEV (1872-1903)
:: THE CHILDHOOD & EARLY YOUNGNESS ::...
Goce Delčev (or Delchev), was born on February 4th year 1872 in Kukuš, Aegean Macedonia (today it's renamed into Kilkis). He was from patriotic Macedonian family, who gave more revolutionaries. His Father was Nikola Delčev and his mother Sultana Delčeva. He finished the primary school in the native place Kukuš. Later he worked temporary in his father's restaurant and in a small market place. Then he sign in the Male Secondary School in Solun (Thessaloniki). He lived in boarding school. He was wonderful and excellent student. He read a lot of books with socialistic, revolutionary and philosophic contents. He was a member of the Secret School Revolutionary Membership.
In the summer 1891 he went in the military school in the Bulgarian capital, Sophia. In the period of three years spent in the military school, he read a lot of books with socialist and revolutionary content. In September 1894, he was expelled from his school activities. Actually, he finished his studies, with a diploma, but without the right of being an officer.
:: THE REVOLUTIONARY ART OF GOCE DELČEV ::...
Goce Delčev was a patriot, who wanted, spend and gave his life to the national-liberation struggle for independence of Macedonia. In the spring 1894 he went to work as an teacher in Štip, where Dame Gruev was already one. At here he immediately became member of the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization and took part in the activity if spreading the organization network in the Macedonian cities. In those places Delčev created healthy and strong bases of the Macedonian Organization, created routes and puncts for transport of weapons. munitions and literature. By crossing from one to another place he established everywhere local committees of the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization.
In the autumn in 1896, Goce Delčev moved to Banjsko, near Razlog, (Pirin part of Macedonia-Bulgaria), where he worked again as a teacher. Here he didn't stop with the revolutionary work. His teacher's work was just a mask to all of that. While he was in Štip and later in Banjsko, after the school work he was the organizing of the revolutionary work. Leaving the school rooms, he always was travel in the neighboring cities, where he had to put new members of the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. And after a long period the Organization started to visit the villages. The Sunday's schools for addults, the churches and monastery yards were perfect spots for spreading the network of the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization.
Thanks to Goce, the membership of the organization started to grow up fast. By this activities the feeling of being a one nation - the Macedonian, could be felt of every heart of every Macedonian, and that is time to get the more centuries occupier, the Turks out of here. In the spring of the year 1895, Goce made crosses to the bigger and well known Macedonian cities in that period, like Veles, Solun, Kukuš, Dojran, Strumica, Radoviš and in all of the villages near them.
In those places, Delčev established local committees of the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization and added more new members to the organization. One of the most important is the work of Goce Delčev in the next summer 1896, when in Solun was the congress of the organization. Together with Gorče Pertov they worked on the Constitution and Laws of the organization. Later the organization renames to Secret Macedonian-Odrin Revolutionary Organization (SMORO). In the constitution contained by 19 articles in for heads, can be followed the political programme of the Macedonian liberation art. The organization is internal Macedonian including and Odrin which wasn't still liberated from the Ottoman Turks, which is only one and will be leading with operations for liberation. Building the principle of souverenity and independence of the organization higher this organization was proclaimed as an political autonomy of Macedonia and Odrin. In that sense by the article 1st, SMORO had work to unite all in one, the unsatisfied population of Macedonia and Odrin, without matter of nationality, to start a revolution and the start with a liberation, as in Greece (in 1821) and Serbia (in 1878).
In the period of 1896-1901, Goce Delčev joined by Gorče Pertov, was presenter of SMORO in Bulgaria. Target of this diplomatic mission on the both founders of the Organization, in Bulgaria was to protect the Macedonian Liberal War from the vrhovistic committee in Sophia and from the conquering routes of the Bulgarians. From the year of 1897 until his death, Delčev made again a several crosses in Macedonia and repeated them. This period in the historic science is known as "The big route of Goce Delčev in 1901/1902 in central, western and southern Macedonia, starting from Radoviš, then to the Tikveš region, in Prilep, Bitola, and finishing in Lerin (Florina) and Kostur (Kastoria). At the beginning of the year 1903, Delčev with his army crossed the regions of Serez and Strumica. In April the same year he had a trip to Solun, with a simple target, to tell Dame Gruev not to start the uprising soon because they are not ready yet. Because nobody even tried to listen to him, disappointed he went back to take part in the congress of Serez, and probably extradited by someone, was killed by the Turks in the village of Banica, near Serez (Aegean Macedonia-Greece), on May 4th 1903.
On way like this the life of the biggest Macedonian revolutionary hero from this period stops, on age of 31. All of his life he spent to the liberation war for free Macedonia. In his honor a lot of streets and public objects are carrying his name GOCE DELČEV. He was a very smart and educated man. His message how he recognizes the world is very important and of great meaning for his activities:
"The world, I understand as a field for cultural competition between the nations."
