page_title: World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia
section_title: Bulgarian actions in 1943
hierarchical_section_title: World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia / 1943 / Bulgarian actions in 1943
caption_attribution_description: English: Meeteng of the IMRO chieftain Peter Lesev by local soldiers in Vardar Macedonia, after the annexation of the region from Bulgaria. Български: Посрещане на войводата от ВМРО Петър Лесев от местни войници във Вардарска Македония след анексирането на региона от България.
context_page_description: World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia started with the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. Under the pressure of the Yugoslav Partisan movement, part of the Macedonian communists began in October 1941 a political and military campaign to resist the occupation of Vardar Macedonia. Officially, the area was called then Vardar Banovina, because the very name Macedonia was prohibited in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was occupied mostly by Bulgarian, but also by German, Italian, and Albanian forces.
  Initially it was no organised resistance because the majority of the Macedonian Slavs were pro-Bulgarian oriented. It started to grow only in 1943 with the capitulation of Italy and the Soviet victories over Nazi Germany. The role of the Bulgarian communists, which avoided organizing mass armed resistance, was also a key factor. Their influence over the Macedonian Party organization remained dominant until 1943, when it became obvious that Germany and Bulgaria would be defeated.
  At that time Tito's special emissary Svetozar Vukmanović arrived in Macedonia. Vukmanović had to activate the struggle and give it a new ethnic Macedonian facade.
context_section_description: Bulgaria managed to save its entire 48,000-strong Jewish population during World War II from deportation to Nazi concentration camps, but under German pressure those Jews from their newly annexed territories without Bulgarian citizenship were deported, such as those from Vardar Macedonia and Western Thrace. The Bulgarian government was responsible for the roundup and deportation of over 7,000 Jews in Skopje and Bitola.
  The Bulgarian authorities created a special Gendarmerie force which received almost unlimited power to pursue the Communist partisans in the whole kingdom. The gendarmes became notorious for carrying out atrocities against captured partisans and their supporters. Harsh rule by the occupying forces and a number of Allied victories showing that the Axis might lose the war encouraged more Macedonians to support the Communist Partisan resistance movement of Josip Broz Tito.
  Many former IMRO members assisted the Bulgarian authorities in fighting Tempo's partisans.  With the help of the Bulgarian government and former IMRO members, several pro-Bulgarian paramilitary detachments (Uhrana) were organized in occupied Greek Macedonia in 1943. These were led by Bulgarian officers originally from Greek Macedonia and charged with protecting the local population in the zones under German and Italian control. Around this time Ivan Mihailov of IMRO had plans which envisaged the creation of a Macedonian state under German control. He was a follower of the idea of a united Macedonian state with a dominant Bulgarian element. It was anticipated by the Germans that members of IMRO would form the core of the armed forces of a future Independent Macedonia led by Ivan Mihailov.
caption: Greeting of the former IMRO chieftain Peter Lesev by recruits of Bulgarian Army, after his appointment as a governor of Kratovo Municipality in 1943.[68] Macedonian recruits formed up to 60% of the soldiers in Bulgarian Army in Vardar Macedonia.
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