When we think of Bulgaria in WW2 we think of a country that
allied itself with the Axis powers but didn't take part in the Axis invasions,
nor persecuted its Jewish population. Yet, the Bulgarian army did occupy a part of Greece which
they annexed. How was life in Bulgarian-occupied Greece? I'm here in Drama, Greece in front of a
monument which commemorated the Drama Uprising, one of the tragedies in Greece's WW2 history.
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To understand why Bulgaria annexed a part of Greece in the first place,
we need to look at Bulgaria's role early 20th century. See, the country was involved in three
wars: the First and Second Balkan War and the First World War. During the First Balkan War
Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro teamed up against the Ottoman Empire and proclaimed victory.
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria,
dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War,
fought against Serbia, Romania, Greece, Montenegro and the Ottoman Empire. Bulgaria
lost. During WW1 Bulgaria allied itself with the Central Powers. It once again led to defeat:
“No word had more magic for the Bulgarian people than “Macedonia.” This rugged and barren territory
in what is today southern Yugoslavia [note: this book was published in 1975] and northern Greece
was a principal reason for Bulgaria’s involvement in two unsuccessful wars—the Second Balkan War and
the First World War—and was a major factor in Bulgarian politics during the 1920’s and early
1930’s, when political groups were killing each other in the streets of Sofia over it.”
Bulgaria joined the Axis Powers early March 1941. The following month on 6 April Germany invaded
both Yugoslavia and Greece. Both invasions I covered in the past, see the description
for the links on just that. Although Germany launched its invasions from Bulgaria, Bulgaria
itself didn't join the invasions. Yet, they did take part in the occupation of parts of
the two countries. And this occupation started almost right after the Germans had marched in.
The Bulgarian occupation zone in Greece was the present-day region of East Macedonia and Thrace
with the exception of Greek-Turkish border which due to its strategic value remained
under German control. When you would compare the Bulgarian occupation of Greece with the
one of Yugoslavia (the region referred to as Vardar Macedonia) Bulgarian rule
in Greece was much harsher. In the Yugoslav region there lived mostly Slavic people who
had a connection with the Bulgarians who were Slavic themselves. Yet, in the Greek area
there obviously lived mostly Greeks who viewed Bulgarian rule as a foreign occupation. During
the first months of the occupation the Bulgarians did make an effort to gain support of the Greek
population in their zone. It started with a huge propaganda campaign were Bulgarian school was
established an food was given to Greek children. It became clear however that this approach
was unsuccessful. There Bulgaria resorted to more drastic measures. Greek schools were closed
and Greek clergymen were replaced with Bulgarian priests. The Greek language was repressed. The
Bulgarian authorities encouraged Bulgarian families to settle in the zone providing land
and houses. Bulgaria looked longingly toward Salonika and western Macedonia,
which were under German and Italian control “The authorities also confiscated Greek
business property and gave it to Bulgarian colonists. In the town of Kavalla, for example,
over seven hundred shops and other enterprises were expropriated. Large numbers of Greeks
were expelled, and others were deprived of the right to work by a license system that banned
the practice of a trade or profession without the express permission of the occupation government.”
In May 1941 the Bulgarians officially annexed the region. Germany raised no objection of they were
busy planning Operation Barbarossa. And the Germans were happy to assign territories to
Bulgaria, rather than to Italy because Bulgaria would provide Germany with minerals while
Italy would need them for its own war industry. Towards the end of September 1941 the Communist
Party of Greece (KKE) staged an uprising against the Bulgarian authorities. This revolt became
known as the Drama Uprising because it took place here in this city and in the surrounding villages.
Here a crowd attacked the city hall killing four Bulgarian policemen. In Doxato 20 of them were
massacred and in many others towns and villages armed Greeks clashed with Bulgarian police units.
The Bulgarians responded quickly. Bulgarian troops moved into Drama arresting all men
between 18-45. Over 3,000 were executed. In the countryside who villages was massacred
and an estimated 15,000 Greeks were killed in the following weeks. As a result many Greeks
left the Bulgarian occupation zone to live under German rule. All in all 100,000 Greeks
were expelled to the other zones of occupation. The exodus of Greeks and influx of Bulgarians
changed the ethnic composition of the region. The appearance of Greek partisans in western
Macedonia persuaded the Italian and German authorities to allow the formation of Slav
security batallions led by Bulgarian officers. When Germany became short of manpower because
of the situation on the Eastern Front they requested the Bulgarians to take
over parts of Serbia. Bulgarian units helped to fight Greek resistance in the German zone.
During the first years a famine claimed many lives in Greece. I wasn't able to find out
how the people in the Bulgarian zone were affected but I did read Bulgaria occupied
Greece’s largest wheat-growing area and refused to hand over food ot the Germans and Italians,
so I assume things weren't as bad as in the other zones regarding the foodstuffs
but feel free to correct me in the comments. In September 1943 Italy surrendered and and new
pro-Axis Italian puppet government was installed by the Germans: the Republic of Salò. The Germans
urged its other Axis allies to recognize this Italian rump state. The Axis countries
were hesitant. By that time king Boris III of Bulgaria had died under suspicious circumstances.
Bulgarian prime minister Bogdan Filov, who was pro-German, remained adament and said:
“We have to remain loyal to Germany to the end, because we will have need of it,
even if it is bolshevized, and because a small government has to preserve its honor; the
Italians not only did not gain anything but now are even held in contempt by the Anglo-Americans.
The matter may come to an unconditional surrender, but it is necessary to be honorable.”
Bulgaria was an Axis Power but didn't take part in the German invasion of the USSR. When
September 1944 came around the USSR did declare war on Bulgaria. Shortly after a pro-Soviet
coup in Bulgaria took place. The next month peace was achieving with the USSR and with that Bulgaria
switched allegiances and declared war on Germany. It was also around that time that Germany started
to evacuate from Greece. The Bulgarian army remained in Greece as the country hoped to
keep the territories after the war in order to have an outlet to the Aegean Sea. Great Britain
was against this and because Greece fell into the so-called 'western sphere of influence' Bulgaria
withdrew from Greece. Power was handed over to the Greek communist resistance movement: the ELAS.
As I have many Greek people watching this content: do you have ancestors that witnessed the Bulgarian
occupation during WW2? And what do you know about their experiences? Lemme know in the comments.