Day of Macedonian Uprising in 1941

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Burial Mound of the Unbeaten is a World War II memorial in the Park of the Revolution in Prilep built in 1961 in honor to the martyrs and fallen Yugoslav partisans.
Celebration of the fest in Prilep.

The day of the Macedonian Uprising in 1941 is October 11 and a public holiday in North Macedonia.[1] According to the Macedonian historiography, the Macedonian uprising against fascism during World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia began on this day in 1941, lasting until late 1944.[2][3] Since the times of SFRY this was the national holiday in SR Macedonia and later in the then Republic of Macedonia it was proclaimed a public holiday too.

History

In April 1941, during the Second World War, the Axis powers invaded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, of which today North Macedonia was part. It encompassed most of the so-called Vardar Banovina,[4] because the very name Macedonia was prohibited in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.[5][6] On October 11, 1941, a group of Yugoslav Communists attacked several Bulgarian administration's objects in Prilep. These were 16 men,[7] who in the evening, divided into three groups, attacked as follows: the first group - the police station, the second - the prison, and the third group eavesdropped on the telephone conversations, through a device connected to the telephone line, near the police precinct. Making a quick and surprise attack, they opened fire on the post guard and the precinct. As a result of the attack, the watchman was wounded, and another policeman was killed. The attackers then ran away. Immediately after the end of the attack, the town was blocked for a search for them.[8] The attack didn't affect the public opinion, and its participants were quickly arrested. The activity of the local Communists didn't pose any significant challenge for the regime then.[9]

Celebration and symbolism

Every year on 11 October there are official ceremonies and public speeches, and celebrations on the occasion of the Day of Macedonian Uprising. There is an official award called 11 October, given out to Macedonian people who have contributed significantly to the national progress. The company FAS Sanos used to bear the name FAS "11. Oktobar" AD Skopje. Some primary schools in North Macedonia are named "11 October".[10]

Controversy

See also: Macedonian historiography and Fascism in Bulgaria

When Bulgarian Army entered the then-Yugoslav province of Vardar Banovina in April 1941, the Bulgarian soldiers were greeted by the locals as liberators, while pro-Bulgarian and anti-Serbian feelings among them prevailed.[11] After the Bulgarian takeover the local communists fell in the sphere of influence of the Bulgarian Communist Party. They refused to define the Bulgarian forces as occupiers.[12] Even the only victim of the attack on 11 October 1941, was a local man conscripted in the Bulgarian police.[13][14] In fact fascism in Bulgaria didn't become a mass movement during WWII,[15] and proved considerably less successful than in Romania, Hungary, Croatia or Serbia.[16] Initially there was no organized resistance in the area,[17] and it started to grow only in 1943 with the capitulation of Italy and the Soviet victories over Nazi Germany.[18][19] After the WWII the Yugoslav communists ignored this circumstance, due to the complicated relations between the two countries, related to the Macedonian issue.[20] Moreover, despite the Bulgarian army being the real force behind driving the Germans out of the area in 1944, the official Yugoslav and later Macedonian historiography, has played down its role by ethnopolitical reasons as well.[21][22][23][24][25] Macedonian identity which was formed after World War II is deeply rooted in the Yugoslav Partisans' activity, and the Bulgarians are considered a priory fascist occupiers.[26][27][28] The historical narrative in North Macedonia claims a victory of the local communists over the Bulgarian fascists. Thus, in Yugoslav times a large number of monuments have been erected honoring the communist guerrillas.[29]

Today this holiday is part of the historical dispute with Bulgaria, which claims there is manipulation of the historical events in North Macedonia.[30] Bulgaria denies any occupation and insists that during WWII its forces liberated twice the brethren in the west.[31] Sofia also insists that the two countries must "harmonize" school textbooks, as well as historic literature and "overcoming the hate speech" against Bulgaria.[32] On October 11, 2020, Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovatchev criticized Macedonian PM Zoran Zaev for celebrating 11 October, seeing it as an anti-Bulgarian provocation.[33] One month later, on November 17, 2020, Bulgaria effectively blocked the official beginning of EU accession talks with North Macedonia.[34] Several days later, in an interview with Bulgarian media, the Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev stated that Bulgaria was not a fascist occupier during WWII and that it was later involved in the liberation of present-day North Macedonia, as part of the anti-fascist front.[35] The interview resulted in sharp criticism from the Macedonian public,[36] while the opposition's leader Hristijan Mickoski accused Zaev of threatening Macedonian national identity.[37][38] The Macedonian journalist Dejan Azeski has confirmed that Zaev's interview was a political mistake, although it revealed the historical truth. According to Azeski, the Bulgarian military also took part in the liberation of present-day North Macedonia in the autumn of 1944, and this is the most difficult fact to be accepted by the Macedonian society today.[39][40]

See also

References

  1. ^ Discovering Macedonia, Macedonian Holidays – a Comprehensive Guide.
  2. ^ Macedonia is celebrating the 11th of October – The Day of the Antifascist Uprising. 11 October, 2017, META.mk.
  3. ^ Macedonian Encyclopedia. Skopje, Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 2009. ISBN 978-608-203-023-4, p. 311.
  4. ^ F. Rothenbacher, The Central and East European Population since 1850, Societies of Europe; Springer, 2016, ISBN 1137273909, p. 626.
  5. ^ Donald Bloxham, The Final Solution: A Genocide, OUP Oxford, 2009, ISBN 0199550336, p. 65.
  6. ^ Chris Kostov, Contested Ethnic Identity: The Case of Macedonian Immigrants in Toronto, Peter Lang, 2010, ISBN 3034301960, p. 76.
  7. ^ Љубен Георгиевски - Љупта, „Тарцан: монографија за Трајко Бошкоски-Тарцан–Илинденски“, Скопје, 1994, 200 стр.
  8. ^ Поверителна информация на областния полицейски началник в Битоля до директора на полицията в София за организационни, политически, обществени и др. прояви, за противодействие срещу чуждестранни пропаганди и разузнавания за периода май – декември 1941 г. Българското управление във Вардарска Македония (1941 – 1944) – Документален сборник (63). 1941-03-08. с. 184.
  9. ^ Dimitar Bechev (2019) Historical Dictionary of North Macedonia, Historical Dictionaries of Europe; Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 1538119625, p. 15.
  10. ^ "Регистар на основни училишта". data.gov.mk.
  11. ^ "Who are the Macedonians?" Hugh Poulton, Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1995, ISBN 978-1-85065-238-0, p. 101.
  12. ^ Hugh Poulton, Who are the Macedonians. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1995, ISBN 1-85065-238-4, p.102.
  13. ^ Македонизмът и съпротивата на Македония срещу него, Кост. Църнушанов, Унив. изд. "Св. Климент Охридски", София, 1992 г. стр. 206.
  14. ^ СТЕНОГРАФСКИ БЕЛЕШКИ Archived 2008-02-28 at the Wayback Machine Тринаесеттото продолжение на Четиринаесеттата седница на Собранието на Република Македонија, 17 January 2007.
  15. ^ Svetla Baloutzova (2011). Demography and Nation: Social Legislation and Population Policy in Bulgaria, Central European University Press, p. 97, ISBN 6155211922.
  16. ^ David D. Roberts (2016). Fascist Interactions: Proposals for a New Approach to Fascism and Its Era, 1919–1945. Berghahn Books, p. 252, ISBN 9781785331312.
  17. ^ "The Bulgarian occupation forces in the Serbian part of Macedonia were received as liberators and pro-Bulgarian feeling ran high in the early stages of the occupation. Neither the Communist position regarding a separate Macedonian nation nor the idea of a Yugoslav federation met with much response from the Slav population, which nurtured pro-Bulgarian sentiments. The local Communists, led by M. Satorov, splintered off from the Communist Party of Yugoslavia and joined the Bulgarian Labour Party (which was Communist), with the slogan "One state, one party". The subsequent dissatisfaction with the occupation authorities was due to social factors, rather than national ones. This was also why Tito's resistance movement in Yugoslav Macedonia failed to develop." For more see: Spyridon Sfetas, Autonomist Movements of the Slavophones in 1944: The Attitude of the Communist Party of Greece and the Protection of the Greek-Yugoslav Border. Balkan Studies 1995; 36 (2): pp. 297-317.
  18. ^ Bulgaria During the Second World War, Marshall Lee Miller, Stanford University Press, 1975, ISBN 0804708703, pp. 132–133.
  19. ^ Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia, Dimitar Bechev, Scarecrow Press, 2009, ISBN 0810862956 introduction Ixiii.
  20. ^ Valentina Georgieva, Sasha Konechni, Historical dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia, Scarecrow Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8108-3336-0, p. 223.
  21. ^ Until the Soviet-Yugoslav rift in 1948, a trilateral military-political alliance between the U.S.S.R, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria dominated the strategic situation in the Balkans. As a direct consequence of the Moscow talks, Tito met with a delegation from the Bulgarian government's Fatherland Front on October 5, 1944, in Krajova, and on the same day, concluded an agreement on the participation of the new battles on Yugoslav territory. The three armies took part in the Belgrade Operation, which was launched in late September 1944, and Yugoslav-Bulgarian relations flourished with the patronage of the Soviet Union. Southeastern Europe's fate was effectively secured. For more see: Norman Naimark, The Establishment Of Communist Regimes In Eastern Europe, 1944-1949, Routledge, 2018, ISBN 0429976216, p. 60.
  22. ^ By the end of November, almost all of Macedonia and Serbia had been liberated and cleansed of German units. The Bulgarian army is largely responsible for achieving this goal. A military contingent of more than 450,000 troops participated in the campaign. Even though the Bulgarian offensive was undertaken with the cooperation of the Yugoslav Liberation Army, as all observers at the time noted, the latter's forces were absolutely insufficient and without Bulgarian participation, defeating the enemy would have been impossible. Another thing noted at the time was the wholly upright behavior of Bulgarian troops in Macedonia and Serbia. After conquering a given territory, the army turned over control to the new administration that was being formed from the ranks of the Yugoslav opposition. In contradiction to preliminary expectations, it was found that on the whole the local population, especially in urban areas, calmly accepted the Bulgarian military presence in the region. This generally positive attitude was connected to the idea of a future federation between Yugoslavia and Bulgaria that was beginning to be promoted. For more see: Ivaylo Znepolski et al., Bulgaria under Communism, Routledge Histories of Central and Eastern Europe, Routledge, 2018, ISBN 1351244892.
  23. ^ Military realities, however, made this incident look very ironic indeed, for Skopje was liberated by Bulgarian forces, while the Macedonian Partisans remained in the surrounding hills, and came down only to celebrate their entrance to the city. Similar scenes occurred in many other towns of Macedonia and Serbia, pointing to the fact that, from a military perspective the Russians were right: the Bulgarian army was the only force capable of driving the Germans quickly from Yugoslavia. Needless to say, the official Macedonian historiography, written mainly by Apostolski himself, understandably played down the crucial role of the Bulgarians. The glorification of the Partisan movement, an essential component of the post-war Yugoslav political culture-and more personal Partisan considerations left little room for such "technicalities"... For information on the military situation in Macedonia and Serbia and the role of the Bulgarian army see FO 371/43608, R17271, 24/11/1944; FO 371/44279, R16642,14/10/1944; FO 371/43630, R19495, 24/11/1944; WO 208, 113B, 12/9/1944. The sources, which contain intelligence reports from BLOs, confirm the decisive role of the Bulgarian army in the liberation of Skopje, Nis, Prilep, and the Morava Valley. For more see: Dimitris Livanios, The Macedonian Question: Britain and the Southern Balkans 1939–1949, Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2008; ISBN 9780199237685, p. 134.
  24. ^ For a detailed description of the German withdrawal from Greece through Macedonia and the central Balkans to Bosnia... see the account by one of the participants, Erich Schmidt-Richberg, „Der Endkampf auf dem Balkan“. General Schmidt-Richberg was chief of staff of Army Group E, deployed in Greece... The Yugoslavs' main criticism of the book was that it did not mention the Partisan units that fought the Germans as soon as they entered Yugoslav territory in Macedonia. Schmidt-Richberg only mentioned Bulgarian divisions, which had changed camps and were now fighting the Germans. But the Yugoslavs claimed that the main burden of fighting the Germans was theirs and that the Bulgarians did not have their heart in fighting their erstwhile allies. The claim applies to Partisan operations in the area between the Greek frontier on the south and the Drina River on the northwest – Macedonia, Southern Serbia, Kosovo and Sndjak. It is interesting to note that in a series of maps from Army Group E on its withdrawal through Macedonia and Serbia toward the Drina River and Bosnia, there is almost no indications on Yugoslav Partisan units... The contribution of Bulgarian troops in fighting the Germans in the fall of 1944 in Macedonia and Serbia is still much debated between Yugoslav and Bulgarian military historians. For more see: Jozo TomasevichWar and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Volume 2, Stanford University Press, 2002, ISBN 0804779244, pp. 751-752.
  25. ^ Soviet arrogance was evident at all levels of the Red Army, beginning with its commander in chief. Stalin told Tito at a meeting that the Bulgarian army (which switched sides in the war in September 1944) was superior to Partisans, praising the professionalism of its officers. This was a pure provocation from the Soviet leader. The Bulgarians were Partisan wartime foes, and regardless of whether it was true, Stalin meant to put the assertive Yugoslav leadership in its place by insulting Tito's proudest achievement: his army. Furthermore, the Red Army's operational maps often excluded Partisan units, indicating the command's failure to even acknowledge that Yugoslavs played any role in the defeat of the Germans in the country. Further below in the chain of command, Partisan commanders had to appeal to the Red Army's political departments to include in their public statements the fact that Belgrade was liberated jointly by the Red Army and Partisans and not just by the Soviets, as well as to cease treating the Partisans as unknowledgeable and as a second-rate army. For more see: Majstorović, Vojin. "The Red Army in Yugoslavia, 1944–1945." p. 414 in Slavic Review, vol. 75, no. 2, 2016, pp. 396–421. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5612/slavicreview.75.2.396. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020.
  26. ^ Katerina Kolozova, On the Macedonian-Bulgarian dispute and historical revisionism. 7 Dec 2020, Al Jazeera.
  27. ^ Sabrina P. Ramet (2006) The Three Yugoslavias: State-building and Legitimation, 1918-2005; Indiana University Press, p. 140, ISBN 0253346568.
  28. ^ Carl Skutsch as ed., Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities, Routledge, 2013, ISBN 1135193886, p. 766.
  29. ^ Paul Reef, Macedonian Monument Culture Beyond 'Skopje 2014'. From the journal Comparative Southeast European Studies. https://doi.org/10.1515/soeu-2018-0037
  30. ^ В Северна Македония се възражда темата за българската "фашистка окупация"! 5 юни 2019 г. Dnes.bg.
  31. ^ Boris Georgievski Bulgaria asks EU to stop 'fake' Macedonian identity. 23.09.2020, Deutsche Welle.
  32. ^ Sinisa Jakov Marusic, Bulgaria Sets Tough Terms for North Macedonia's EU Progress Skopje. BIRN; 10 October 2019.
  33. ^ Ковачев до Заев: Зошто на Заев му треба оваа антибугарска провокација сега? 11 Октомври, 2020. Канал 5
  34. ^ Bulgaria blocks EU accession talks with North Macedonia. Nov 17, 2020, National post.
  35. ^ Зоран Заев: Договорът с България ще бъде закон. Меdiapool публикува интервюто на Любчо Нешков, собственик на информационната агенция БГНЕС. 25 November, 2020; Mediapool.bg.
  36. ^ Sinisa Jakov Marusic, North Macedonia PM's Remarks About History Hit a Nerve. BIRN, November 26, 2020.
  37. ^ Мария Атанасова: Мицкоски: Заев да внимава с приятелството с България, Факти.бГ. 25 Ноември, 2020г.
  38. ^ VMRO-DPMNE leader Mickoski demands PM Zaev's resignation, announces more protests. MIA, 26 November, 2020.
  39. ^ "Дејан Азески, Зошто Зоран Заев политички греши, а историски е во право? Fokus 02.12.2020". Archived from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
  40. ^ В Северна Македония: Българската армия бе едновременно окупационна и освободителна, Факти.бг. 4 Декември, 2020
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