PART OF THE MONOGRAPH “GOJKO JAKOVLEVSKI” BY SLAVE KATIN
Goyko Yakovleski’s first destina tion in Germany from Belgrade to West Germany was the city of Munich. It lies on the plateaus in Upper Bavaria, about 50 km north of the northern border of the Alps, at an altitude of about 500 m. Munich is known for the large open square named after the pillar, which is in the center of the square near the Old and New Town House (Rathaus). Munich is the capital of the German federal state of Ba varia. The town lies on the Isar River, north of the Bavarian Alps. It is the third largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg.
Upon arriving in Munich on August 5, 1961, Goyko Yakovleski switched to the Kam train, in the Bavarian Forest, where he had to specialize within a maximum of three months. In that part of Germany the wood industry is extremely well organized and highly developed. Here he performed his practical work, for which he received free accommodation, food and a certain amount of money.
So, he first completed his specialization, that is, the task for which he was sent to Germany, for which he obtained a certifi cate, after which he sent all the documents to the Faculty of Forestry in Skopje. Bavaria, where Goyko started his spe cialization is one of the two most southern federal states in Germany, and its capital is Munich. It has international borders with Austria and the Czech Republic. Its neigh boring German states are Baden-Württem berg, Hesse, Thuringia and Saxony. The two major rivers, Danube and Main Rivers, flow through Bavaria. The Bavarian Alps with their highest peak in Germany – Zugspice define the border with Austria. The major cities in Bavaria are Munich, Nuremberg, Augsburg, Regensburg, Würzburg, Ingol stadt, Heurst and Erlengen.
In Kam, Bavarian forest, where he spe cialized, he socialized and went out fre quently with his fellow Germans, they went to nearby dancing clubs. He spent interest ing time, and he improved his knowledge of the German language through his acquaint ances. Within the “Forest Economy” they were housed in the so-called “colpighaus”, a kind of dormitory where they slept in large rooms with several students who were also trainees. After completing his specialization, Goyko went to Munich where he applied to the Forestry Institute. There he was inter ested in the possibilities of finding a suita ble job for him because he wanted to stay for some time while his residence documents were valid. They accepted him with great pleasure and gave him scientific, profession al work. He started a job that was very inter esting to him. Based on the tree specimen, logs, he calculated how the tree evolved or grew, according to the annual rings, and based on that log, he calculated the growth of one whole region of a forest.
The job for which he received 2.5 DEM per hour was very satisfying to him. After a while, he was interested if he could retake some exams or repeat a year in order to ob tain the appropriate degree as a “forestry engineer” right here in Munich. He was told that even if he graduated from the facul ty, he would not be able to use his diploma because the forest in Germany was state owned and only German citizens could work. So he gave up that idea.
Bavaria
He talks in details about Munich’s beau ties and how the Germans are very practical and well organized. He says that specializa tion in Germany has given him new insights, a new view of the world. About Munich Goyko, among other things will say:
“When I was walking down the Munich streets and boulevards, I was stunned, feel ing like I was on another planet. I was think ing, what a difference between what I saw in Sofia compared to Munich. Until then, I thought that Sofia was the most beautiful city in the world, with beautiful parks, flow ers, clean streets, and most of all I liked the streets with the yellow stones around the monument of the Emperor Liberator placed nearby the National Assembly, the Russian church, palace, mausoleum of Georgi Dimi trov and cathedral “Alexander Nevsky” and more …
When he left the Munich Institute, he be gan to think about what to do. Whether to return to Yugoslavia or to stay in emigration. Walking along the streets and boulevards of Munich, like Leopoldstrasse, Bannofstrasse, Stachus, Schillerstrasse, Hauptbahnhof, he felt like being stunned. He walked around thinking about what to do? To return to his native land, where he will have an average income, be a forest engineer, or stay in a foreign land and start all over again. The fortune seeking was no strange to his an cestors. They had a long tradition, grandfa ther Petko, his great-grandfather Manoil, his great-uncle Ilko… went and made for life in Istanbul; Yane in Chicago, USA, Yorde in Sofia, Bulgaria. And he also went to Sofia at the age of seven, where he stayed for thir teen years.
In a short period of time in Munich he walked through the city and visited St. Pe ter’s Church, the oldest church in the city center, near the Marien Platz. It was built in Roman architectural style and housed the monks before the official founding of the city in 1158. Nearby is the “Church of the Holy Spirit” built in Gothic style, which in 1724 was built into a Baroque style and it is turned toward the most famous market in Munich.
The Church of the Holy Mother of God is the most famous building in the center of Munich and serves as the cathedral church of the Munich-Franciscan Archbishopric. Close to this church is St. Michael’s Church, which is the largest Renaissance church north of the Alps, while the Teatinerkirche is a basilica from the late Italian Baroque and has had a huge impact on southern Ger man Baroque architecture.
At that time in Munich Goyko met many people who came from former Yugoslavia, Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Montenegrins and Macedonians, whose number was small. Germany was in need of manpower after the Second World War. There were also many immigrants, political refugees, bitter op ponents of Tito’s “brotherhood and unity”, so-called Ustashas, Chetniks, Vanchomi hailists, Ballists, and refugees from Bulgar ia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania. Thus, Munich was colorful, mixed with people from all European and Balkan countries and nations.
During his stay in Munich, many things became clear to Goyko, such as the unnatu ral military pact of 1954 between Yugoslavia, Turkey and monarcho-fascist Greece that was directly aimed against the interests of the Macedonian people. In Munich he met many democratically educated and non-ex tremist patriots who fought with democrat ic means for democratization of Yugoslavia.
According to Goyko, at that time, all those who were not supporters of Tito’s pol icy were labeled as “Ustash”, “Chetnik”, while the Macedonians were labeled as “Vanchom ihailists”. Many of them were involved in the battle for a better democratic future within the “South Slav Democratic Union”, which included Montenegrins, Serbs, Bosnian Croats, Slovenians, Bulgarians … They were promising to help him with filing asylum documents, to which he agreed and became a “secretary”, that is, the so-called secretary of the Macedonian section. They assisted him, helped him and advised him that he should first register at the refugee camp in Zirndorf nearby Nuremberg and that he should then begin the whole procedure of examination and inspection.
At that time, only those who had previ ously been persecuted and imprisoned for political and religious reasons could stay and live in Germany. Goyko in Munich also started working at a construction company that also gave him an apartment, clean and well-heated. Therefore, it was difficult for him to decide on his future and place of resi dence. He was hesitant whether to return to Macedonia or to stay in Germany and begin a new life abroad, as an immigrant. He has been thinking for a long time, weighing the advantages and disadvantages. However, after many sleepless nights when he had to make his decision, in calculations he made facts and intuitions prevailed and he decid ed to stay in Germany.
. To be continue
By SLAVE KATIN
