Independent Republic of Macedonia

Bulgaria officially joined the Axis powers on March 1, 1941, but did not take an active part in the invasion of Yugoslavia and most of the invasion of Greece . The Yugoslav government surrendered on April 17, 1941, and the Greek government surrendered on April 30, 1941. Before the Greek government capitulated, on April 20, the Bulgarian army entered Greece and Yugoslavia with the goal of reaching the Aegean Sea in Thrace and Eastern Macedonia . The Bulgarians occupied most of the modern Republic of Northern Macedonia , as well as parts of Southern Serbia and Northern Greece . Unlike Germany and Italy, Bulgaria officially annexed the occupied areas on May 14, 1941. ^[8] However, the Germans regarded this annexation as inconclusive and approved only the limited sovereignty of Bulgaria in the occupied territories. ^[9]

At that time, pro-Bulgarian sentiments still prevailed among the local population and there was hardly a Macedonian national identity. ^{[10] [11] [12] [13] [14]} Because of this, initially the Bulgarians were perceived as liberators. ^[15] Thus, Macedonia was the only region where the Yugoslav communist leader Josip Broz Tito was unable to develop a strong guerrilla movement until the fall of 1943.

In the summer of 1943, the strategic offensive of Germany was stopped for the first time in the Battle of Kursk , and the Soviet Army succeeded in its first successful strategic summer offensives. In late July, after Italy lost many campaigns during the Allied invasion, Mussolini was arrested by King Victor Emmanuel III and was detained on the island of Ponza. The situation for the Axis powers became critical. As a result, in early August 1943, Ivan Mikhailov left Zagreb for Germany, where he was invited to visit Hitler’s main headquarters. Here he talked with Adolf Hitler and other senior leaders of Germany. The content of the conversations is almost unknown. In addition, negotiations were held in Sofia between senior SS officials and members of the VMRO Central Committee.

On August 14, 1943, a few days before his death, Tsar Boris III also met with Adolf Hitler in Germany. During the negotiations, Hitler proved the need to create autonomous Macedonia within the framework of the Bulgarian kingdom, headed by Mikhailov. ^[16] Boris III agreed with this proposal. Hitler also urged Boris III to declare war on the Soviet Union and to transfer most of the Bulgarian army to the eastern and Italian fronts. To this end, VMRO militias were invited to take on the functions of the Bulgarian army in the newly liberated lands in Greece and Yugoslavia. After the death of Boris, these plans failed. However, it was obvious that Ivan Mikhailov had broader plans that included the creation of an independent Macedonian state under German control. VMRO has also begun to actively organize Bulgarian militias in the former Italian and German occupation zones in Greece . Bulgaria was worried about Mikhailov’s activities because she was afraid that his plan to create an “Independent Macedonia” could be successful. Bulgaria was worried about this activity because she was afraid that the plan to create an Independent Macedonia could be successful. Trying to take control of it, Bulgaria reversed the death sentence of Mikhailov, and he was asked to return to the country and take a leadership position in Macedonia, but he rejected this offer.

Meanwhile, the Bulgarians, who equipped the new provinces with corrupt officials from Bulgaria itself, began to lose public confidence. This process accelerated after the death of the king, which coincided with the surrender of Italy and Soviet victories over Nazi Germany in the summer of 1943. Based on this, the Yugoslav communists, who recognized the Macedonian nation, were able to organize serious armed resistance against the Bulgarian forces in the autumn of 1943. ^[17] Many former right-wing activists of the VMRO assisted the authorities in the fight against Tito's partisans. ^[18]

In August 1944, the Soviet Army was approaching the Balkans. At the same time, the Yugoslav partisans , who used the slogan “foruming a united Macedonia, ” intensified their activities in Macedonia. As a result, the Anti-Fascist Assembly for the Liberation of Macedonia announced the creation of independent Macedonia on August 2, 1944. The state was proclaimed in the Bulgarian occupation zone of Yugoslavia. ^{[19] [20]} On August 23, Romania withdrew from the Axis powers, declared war on Germany, and gave passage to Soviet troops to advance to Bulgaria. At that time, Bulgaria made an attempt to conclude a sedentary peace, abandoning the alliance with Nazi Germany, and declared neutrality on August 26. However, secret negotiations with the allies in Cairo, from the standpoint of preserving the annexed territories of Greece and Yugoslavia, failed because Bulgaria “had no arguments for the dispute”. ^[21]

At that time, the partisans moved to western Macedonia, which was under German control, as part of the Albanian puppet state. Using the situation, the Nazis sent a plenipotentiary representative to meet with Ivan Mikhailov, the leader of VMRO. Mikhailov was in Zagreb as an adviser to Ante Pavelic , where he insisted on the formation of volunteer units that would operate in the current Greek province of Macedonia under the command of the SS . ^[22] He, like most right-wingers, was oriented towards supporting Bulgaria and did not support the existence of communist Yugoslavia. ^[23] The Germans were under increasing pressure and, using the latest resources, tried to create a Macedonian puppet state. ^[21] This was the only alternative to staying with Bulgaria, which crossed sides. ^[22] In the evening of September 3, Mikhailov was sent to Sofia for negotiations with the Bulgarian authorities and his comrades. When the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria on September 5, Mikhailov was rushed from Sofia to Skopje.

Here, contacts were established with another VMRO leader, Hristo Tatarchev , who was offered the post of president of the alleged state. ^[24] Negotiations were also conducted with the Macedonian partisans through the mediation of the Bulgarian Minister of the Interior, Alexander Stanishev . ^[25] Despite all this, Mikhailov arrived too late, so all negotiations failed. The next day, September 6, Mikhailov rejected the plan due to the inability to receive support from Germany. Failure led to the withdrawal of German troops from Greece on the same day, and Mikhailov and his wife were also evacuated from Skopje. Bulgaria immediately began preparations for the withdrawal of troops from the former Yugoslavia, and on September 8, the Bulgarians went over to the side of the Soviet Union . As a result, the 5th Bulgarian army was surrounded by German divisions, but broke through to the old borders of Bulgaria. ^[26]

However, on the same day, September 8, nationalists from the VMRO declared independence; ^[27] They saw the future of independent Macedonia as a protectorate of the Third Reich. The official language was to become Bulgarian. ^[28] However, the self-proclaimed state was left "virtually defenseless" after the withdrawal of German troops. ^[29]

The German command in Skopje did not support the "independent" Macedonian state, since their forces were withdrawn from the region. In this chaos, the newly created "Macedonian Committees" were used as local police services. They included such people as Vasil Hadzhikimov, Stefan Stefanov, Spiro Kitinchev , Dimitar Guzelov and Dimitar Chkatrov, all of them were active activists of IMRO, the Macedonian secret youth revolutionary organization and the Bulgarian Action Committee . ^[30] Between them, in early October 1944, three Bulgarian armies, led by the new Bulgarian pro-Soviet government, ^[31] returned to occupied Yugoslavia with the Red Army . ^{[32] [33]} Bulgarian troops entered Yugoslavia on the basis of an agreement between Josip Broz Tito and the leader of the Bulgarian partisans, Dobri Terpeshev , signed on October 5 in Romania, the city of Craiova , with the mediation of the USSR. ^[34]

Despite some difficulties in cooperation between the two forces, the Bulgarians worked together with the Yugoslav partisans in Macedonia and were able to delay the withdrawal of German troops through the region for ten to twelve days. By mid-November, all German formations were withdrawn to the west and north, and the partisans established military and administrative control over the region. ^[35] However, under the political pressure of the partisans, after the liberation of Vardar Macedonia, the second and fourth Bulgarian armies were forced to retreat to the old borders of Bulgaria in late November. ASNOM began to function in December, shortly after the retreat of Germany. The national consciousness of the Macedonians by that time was already stronger than in 1941, but some researchers argue that even then it was doubtful whether the Macedonians considered themselves to be a people separate from the Bulgarians. ^[36] Subsequently, in order to erase the remaining Bulgarian sentiments, the new communist authorities persecuted right-wing nationalists on charges of " great Bulgarian chauvinism ." ^[37] Their next task was also to break up all the pro-Bulgarian organizations that opposed the idea of ​​Yugoslavia. Thus, even some left-wing politicians were imprisoned and accused of being oriented towards supporting Bulgaria. Realizing that he has very little support, Mikhailov fled, first moving from Croatia to Austria , and then to Spain and, finally, to Italy , where he lived until his death in 1990.

• Macedonian question
• Great Macedonia
• Independent Macedonia
• Autonomy for the regions of Macedonia and Adrianople
• Bulgaria in World War II
• Macedonia during the People's Liberation War of Yugoslavia