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The Bulgarians in Yugoslav Macedonia (WWII)

[From the book “Nationalism and

Communism in Macedonia) by

Evangelos Kofos, Institute for Balka

Studies, pages 108-110]

On April 17, 1941, Bulgarian troops

were permitted to enter Southern

Yugoslavia and take over large

regions of Yugoslav Macedonia for 

"administrative purposes." As was th

case with Greek Eastern Macedonia

and Thrace, the Bulgarians acted on

the assumption that the c'New Land

had been definitely annexed to the

Bulgarian Fatherland. Their 

 jurisdiction was extended to the whole of Yugoslav Macedonia except the Upper Vardar above Skopje and the north-western

district around Tetovo, Gostivar and Kieevo which were allotted to the Italians.[1]

Contrary to Greek Macedonia, the Bulgarians were received here, on the whole, by a friendly population. Historical ties

uniting the Slav populations on both sides of the frontier, and Bulgarian propaganda which had not ceased during the

inter-war years, had kept alive the pro-Bulgarian feelings of the inhabitants .

s.

The Slavonic inhabitants greets the arrival of th

Bulgarian orchestra in Skopje. The sign in the

 back reads:"United BulgariaSalutes"

From the first days of the occupation, the Bulgarian Government set out a carefully studied plan which, it was hoped, would

induce the inhabitants of the region to demand the formal annexation of Yugoslav Macedonia to Bulgaria.. [2] A major education

 program was initiated whereby Bulgarian elementary and secondary schools staffed with teachers from Bulgaria were established

in almost all towns and even villages. A Bulgarian university—The King Boris University—was opened in Skopje. Admin-

istratively, the Bulga rians attempted to consolidate their control by reallocating certain districts to form a new province including

 parts of Bulgarian Macedonia. The July 1942 Citizenship Law, which in Greek Macedonia became the pseudo-legal basis for the

eviction of thousands of Greeks from their homes, was used here as a pretext to compel many Serbs

to flee to Serbia. [3]

The Bulgarian authorities made no secret of their cooperation with the Bulgaro-Macedonian nationalists, especially the

followers of the I.M.R.O., many of whom had joined special Bulgarian armed units to assist in the policing of the region .

[4] The task of forming these units was assigned to General Ivan Marinov who accepted in his staff two I.M.R.O. liaison officers

named Grupcev and Nastev. [5] At the same time, a Bulgarian nationalist organization named cOpstestvena-Cila," was entrusted

with the task of preparing the ground for the eventual, gradual integration into Bulgaria of the districts not included in the

Bulgarian zone of occupation. Political committees of this organization were set up in Tetovo, Gostivar, Kicevo, and Debar [6]

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However, despite the fact that all the prerequisites for the success of the Bulgarian objectives existed, it became increasingly

evident that the native population was daily becoming disillusioned with the Bulgarians. A variety of reasons could be cited for th

unexpected development. The most important was, apparently, the fact that the Slav peasants were surprised by the misconduct o

the Bulgarian soldiers, who, far from acting as liberators, were frequently involved in situations very common in an army enterin

a foreign country. The Bulgarian authorities tried to correct the situation, but the first bad impressions remained. Then came stern

reprisals by the Bulgarian occupation authorities, sometimes against innocent peasants, for murders of Bulgarian soldiers and

officers committed by communist partisans. In April 1942, the communists attempted an uprising in the Monastir-Prilep district

which was put down by the Bulgarian Army and Gendarmerie executing twelve local communists. The population reacted with

mass demonstrations causing the death of the Bulgarian Gendarmerie commander and 15 gendarmes. In turn, the Bulgarians

executed many villagers, men and women. [7]

Rather than project the elements held in common, these developments tended to stress those dividing the inhabitants of Yugoslav

Macedonia from the Bulgarians. The strong regionalist spirit revolted against the lordly attitude of the Bulgarian authorities, a fac

 properly exploited by the communists, as will be seen in a subsequent chapter. The Bulgarians were, thus, engaged in a chain

reaction, since reprisals against the partisans drove the native Slavs even farther away from Sofia and into the arms of the

communists who were fighting under the slogan for a "Macedonian state" within Yugoslavia.

The last attempt by nationalist Bulgarians to win over Macedonia came when the Germans were preparing to withdraw from the

Balkans. Ivan Mihailov, chief of the I.M.R.O. who had maintained friendly relations with the Nazis, attempted to establish an

autonomous Macedonian state [8]

But history had outrun him and rendered his plan outdated. Now the initiative had definitely passed to the communists who began

to exhibit their lively interest in the potentialities of Macedonian politics.

Notes

[1]- Barker, op. cit., p. 78.

[2]- "Filov's Diary," Otetsestven Front, op. cit.

[3]-Barker, op. cit., p. 79.

[4]- "The trial of the I.M.R.O. followers in Sofia, August, 1946," Glas (Belgrade), August 19, 1946.

[5]- Secret Report, GFM, A/24317/2/1949.

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[6]- Ibid.

[7]- "Monthly Confidential Report of the [Greek] Ministry of Interior," May 1942. In GFM Archives.

[8]-Makedonska Tribuna, (Indianapolis, U.S.A.), organ of Mihailov's (I.M.R.O.) followers in the United States, wrote in Februar

22, 1951 that in the closing months of the German occupation, Mihailov had many talks with Bulgarian officials in Yugoslav

Macedonia. In his talks he tried to convince them of the wrong policy they pursued trying to annex Yugoslav Macedonia to

Bulgaria. Mihailov argued that the best course was first to adopt an autonomous status for Macedonia. Bramos, [First Edition], op

cit., p. 136.