From: epetraki@.stern.nyu.edu (Emmanuel Petrakis)
Newsgroups: alt.news.macedonia
Subject: The Bulgarian occupation of Northern Greece (1941-44) and the government in Skopje
Date: 24 Jan 93 06:00:03 GMT
Organization: NYU Stern School of Business

The following is the first of a series of postings on the
Bulgarian occupation of Greece during World War II, that took
place from April 1941 until October 1944.  Although Bulgaria
could not invade Greece by itself, with the help of Germany it
almost succeeded in annexing most of Northern Greece.  This
should be a reminder to all of the people who claim that the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia poses no threat to Greece.



I believe these series of postings are very relevant to any
discussion on the current problems between Greece and the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, since many of the members of the
armed bandits that terrorized the Greek countryside during that
period, fought with the communists during the Greek civil war. 
The same bandits escaped to Tito's Yugoslavia after the
democratically elected Greek government prevailed in 1949 and
many assumed prominent positions within the communist party.  



These people and their children are now looking for any
opportunity that would allow them to realize their dream of an
independent Slavic Macedonia.  Many of them cannot return to
Greece, because they will be prosecuted for war crimes.  They
were members of the communist party and are now members of the
government in Skopje and of the political parties, including, of
course, VMRO.  The total number of slavophone communists that
fled northern Greece in 1949 and their descendants that now live
in the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, is estimated to be
100,000.  I hope this series of postings will make some people
understand the fears many Greeks have about the government in
Skopje.  Finally, I am posting these because I believe that any
discussions on Alexander and the Byzantines are irrelevant and
do not address the real issue.





THE MACEDONIAN QUESTION DURING WORLD WAR II



World War II caused the resurface of the minority problems in
Europe.  In the Balkans, the Macedonian Question became current
once more.  The Third Reich used the annexation of (Greek)
Macedonia as a bait to lure Yugoslavia and Bulgaria to the Axis
in 1940.



It is widely known that throughout the years between World War I
and II, Bulgaria had plans for the Macedonian lands of
Yugoslavia and Greece.  On the other hand, in the government
circles in Belgrade there were thoughts of gaining access to the
Aegean.



In the meantime, the Germans negotiated with the Bulgarian
government of Bogdan Filov.  Utilizing intelligently their offer
for Macedonian and Thracian land, Germany did not find any
problems in attracting Bulgaria to its side.  In contrast to
Yugoslavia, the government in Sofia had the support of the
public opinion and the political parties, since this offer of
returning "lost" lands ("lost" to Greece during the Balkan wars)
was very popular.



The secret agreement between Germany and Bulgaria came to
realization before the conquest of Greece was completed.  On
April 18, 1941, the Bulgarian Army crossed the border and took
control over the Germans in Eastern Macedonia (between rivers
Strimon and Nestos) and Western Thrace with the exception of the
area in the Nome of Evros.  That area, along the Greek-Turkish
border that remained under German control.



In a first level there was an attempt to consolidate the
Bulgarian authority in the lands occupied by the Bulgarian Army.
 Bulgarian settlers, including refugees from the exchange of
populations in the 1920s, settled in urban and rural areas,
attracted by very favorable economic motives provided by the
Bulgarian government.  At the same time, the Bulgarian
authorities put a plan into action forcing the Greek population
to leave these areas.  The initial fight took massive
proportions after the mass executions, rapes and destruction in
the village of Doxato and the city of Drama in September 1941. 
According to the Bulgarians, these actions were  the result of
certain incidents of armed resistance by the occupied Greek
population.  Such was the ferocity of the destruction of the
Greek Macedonian population in the Bulgarian-controlled areas,
that many believed that the incidents of armed resistance that
caused this were a Bulgarian provocation to provide an excuse
for the massive ethnic cleansing performed by the Bulgarian
regime.



The situation in Eastern Macedonia had immediate effects
throughout the rest of Macedonia.  The possibility of extending
the Bulgarian occupation in Central and Western Macedonia could
not be ruled out.  As a matter of fact, this rumor was
perpetuated by Bulgarian Army officers themselves who had been
stationed in German garrisons in Thessaloniki and throughout the
region.  The grave uncertainty among the population regarding
their future was caused by rampant rumors on the annexation of
Macedonia to Bulgaria and/or the creation of a Bulgarian-
Macedonian nation.



The Bulgarian attempts to proselytize the population became very
systematic with the founding of the "Bulgarian Club" in
Thessaloniki.  In a period when hunger killed thousands of
Greeks in the urban centers and made living problematic even in
rural areas, the "Club" exploited human suffering by offering
free food vouchers to all that declared themselves as
"Bulgarians."  At the same time, Bulgarian officers stationed
with German garrisons throughout Macedonia started to arm the
Bulgarian (Slavic) minority, resurrecting in other words the
Bulgarian terrorists organizations of turn of the century. 
These new "comitadjis / terrorists" ran wild in the rural areas
and were particularly vicious against the slavophones of Greek
consciousness who refused the Bulgarian overtures.



Even though it is very difficult to estimate the exact impact of
the Bulgarian policy, it is true that there developed
significant Bulgarian support in the rural areas of Western
Macedonia.  This may have been either the result of force, or
persuasion or need.   EAM documents ( EAM = the Greek Communist
resistance forces) in 1943 estimated that there 3,000 armed
bandits in the Kastoria region, while SNOF documents ( SNOF =
Slavomacedonian Popular Liberating Front) report that until
1944, a large number of slavophones in the rural areas believed
that only Bulgaria could achieve their dream of an independent
Macedonia.



Surprisingly, the rate of arming the slavophone population
increased in 1944, especially in the area of the Nomes of
Florina, Pella and Kilkis.  The organization that supported and
armed the armed bandits was known as "Ochrana" and took active
part, along German and Bulgarian units, in systematic ethnic
cleansing against the resistance forces and Greek villages.



The resurgence of the Bulgarian attempts during the last year of
occupation (1944) in the German controlled areas of Greek
Macedonia, was not unrelated to previous attempts that took
place in 1943.  During that year, the Bulgarian government,
having succeeded to a large extent in its attempts to drive away
the Greek population from Eastern Macedonia and Western Thrace,
attempted to bring into effect a law that would annex these
territories to Bulgaria.  At the same time, it increased its
pressure on Germany to expand its zone of control to the west of
river Strimon.  During that time, massive demonstrations
(250,000 in Athens, 100,000 in Thessaloniki) took place
throughout Greece that included all social classes and political
parties, including the collaborating government, in protest of
the Bulgarian actions.   It was clear that the fate of Macedonia
was of great concern to the population and, as a result, the
Germans did not allow the Bulgarians to legitimize the
annexation of Greek territory.



(to be continued)





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