Unlike the Russian Federation, and other former republics of the USSR and the European Union, in Bulgaria on the ninth of May they celebrate not Victory Day, but Europe Day, practically not honoring those tens of thousands of their compatriots who died in the fight against fascism in the last year of the war. This article describes the dramatic and controversial participation of Bulgaria in World War II.
Alliance with the Third Reich
It is common knowledge that Bulgaria in World War II supported the Nazi Reich. Cooperation between the Bulgarian government and Germany began in the 30s of the last century. Then the Germans systematically armed the Bulgarian army. The Nazis also began to re-equip the Bulgarian ports of Burgas and Varna to accommodate their Navy. Already in the winter of 1940-1941, a specialized group of the Luftwaffe headed to Bulgaria, the main task of which was to prepare Bulgarian airfields for German aircraft to land on them. Simultaneously with this processthe construction of new modern airfields began. Over time, a special transport service was founded in Sofia and 25 transport communications facilities were built, which were taken under guard by German soldiers, although they put on the uniform of Bulgarian military personnel.
Contradictory aspect of cooperation
At the very beginning of 1941, the Fuhrer was counting on the capture of Yugoslavia and Greece, and in order to implement these plans, he simply needed to have Bulgarian territory under control as a springboard for the invasion. It is this fact that modern Bulgarian historians present as a dilemma that confronted Tsar Boris III. He had two options: either subject the country to war, or voluntarily let the Nazi armies in. Therefore, Bulgaria in the Second World War actually became a victim of the provocative policy of the Third Reich.
Bulgaria and the Berlin Pact
As you know, the Bulgarian Tsar Boris had diplomatic flexibility, so he chose a voluntary alliance. In the spring of 1941, Bulgaria signed the Berlin Pact, which was also called "Berlin-Rome-Tokyo". A month later, German troops passed through the country and invaded Greece and Yugoslavia, while the Bulgarian army also took part in the expansion. Thus, Bulgaria entered the Second World War. For this, Hitler rewarded her with parts of Macedonia, Northern Greece and Serbia. Naturally, this was fiction. Thus, by the end of April 1941, the territory of the Bulgarian state had increased by almost one and a half times, and BorisIII announced the creation of "Great Bulgaria" and the unification of all the people in a single state, again fictitious. Of course, all social and economic processes were controlled from Berlin.
Being an ally of Nazi Germany, Bulgaria was not hostile to many countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, there were even diplomatic relations with the USSR. So, the Bulgarian capital contained embassies of all sides of the confrontation, so Sofia was called the "capital of espionage" during the war years.
Entering the war
After the attack of fascist Germany on the USSR, on June 22, 1941, Adolf Hitler insistently demanded that the Bulgarian Tsar send military units to the Eastern Theater of War. But the prudent Boris, fearing unrest in society, refused such demands. That is, Bulgaria practically did not fight against the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Officially, Bulgaria entered the hostilities in mid-December 1941, when, according to Nazi requirements, it declared war on the Anti-Hitler coalition. Boris III allowed the Germans to use all the economic resources of the country, and also took discriminatory measures against the Bulgarian Jews, who lived in the country in great numbers. These actions were terrible in their consequences.
Anti-fascist resistance
In 1941-1943, Bulgarian anti-fascists and socialists entered into a fierce struggle in the German rear, and organized a resistance movement. In 1942, the Patriotic Front of Antifascist Resistance was formed. And the offensive of the RedThe armies on the Eastern Front were even more inspired by the anti-fascist movement. In 1943, the Workers' Party of Bulgaria created an insurgent army, the number of which was constantly growing, and by the end of the war there were 30,000 partisans. Bulgaria in World War II, as a state, was an ally of the Reich, but many Bulgarians did not recognize this vile alliance.
Attempts to interrupt the Bulgarian-German alliance
When the German Reich began to suffer the first defeats on the Eastern Front, the Bulgarian Tsar began to attempt to break the shameful alliance with A. Hitler, but in August 1943, after a diplomatic meeting with the Fuhrer, he suddenly died. Meanwhile, the Bulgarian government council, which ruled on behalf of the son of Boris III - Simeon, only began to follow the pro-German course, showing the most "pretty" policy towards the anti-human regime.
Ineffective neutrality
The victory of the Soviet troops at Stalingrad and their subsequent offensives, which brought Germany many military defeats, as well as the bombardment of Sofia by the US and British air forces, caused a government coup in July 1944. The new authorities made attempts to bring peace to the Bulgarian lands, asked for peace from the USSR and the allies. At the end of August 1944, the authorities announced the complete neutrality of Bulgaria and issued an ultimatum to the German troops to leave the country. But all attempts came to naught. Germany did not comply with any demands, and peace negotiations failed. The new government went toresignation. On September 2, 1944, a new government was formed, which worked for only a few days, as Soviet troops crossed the Bulgarian border.
Since Bulgaria had the status of an ally of the Third Reich during the Second World War, the Soviet Union declared war on it on September 5, 1944, and already on September 8, the Red Army entered the country. An interesting fact is that on that very day, Bulgaria declared war on Nazi Germany, and found itself in a state of hostilities both against the former allies and against the anti-Hitler coalition. But the very next day, another coup d'etat took place in the country, as a result of which the Fatherland Front came to power, and at the end of October 1944 an armistice was signed in Moscow.
Bulgaria's participation in the war against Germany
In the early autumn of 1944, 3 combat-ready armies were formed in Bulgaria, with a total number of about 500 thousand people. The first military clashes between the Nazis and the Bulgarian troops were in Serbia, where supporters of the German regime fought against Hitler, his former allies - the Bulgarians.
Within a month, the troops were able to get the first military successes, they quickly occupied Macedonia and some regions of Serbia. After the first Bulgarian army (about 140 thousand people) was transferred to the region of Hungary, where in March 1945, together with the Red Army, it took part in fierce battles near Lake Balaton, where German tank units made a confident attempt at counter-offensiveaction.
Thus, Bulgaria in the Second World War took a controversial and waiting position, for which one can condemn, but also encourage. Moreover, the inhabitants of the country organized significant anti-fascist resistance. And Bulgaria after the Second World War became an ally of the USSR.
