BULGARIAN TERRITORIAL REVISIONISM AND BULGARIA'S RAPPROCHEMENT WITH THE THIRD REICH (Bulgarski rewizjonizm terytorialny a zblizenie Bulgarii z III Rzesza)

• Authors: Znamierowska-Rakk Elzbieta
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

The incorporation of a major part of Macedonia into Serbia and Greece as well as of Southern Dobrudzha into Romania in the wake of the Balkan wars, and in particular the loss of Western Thrace and the Western Borderlands after the first world war, determined the prime trend of the foreign policy pursued by the Bulgarian governments in the interwar period. The policy in question focused on a revision of the Treaty of Neuilly and regaining the lost territories. The realisation of this fundamental objective proved possible in the course of World War n, with the assistance of the Third Reich. The economic and military power of Nazi Germany rendered the abolition of the Versailles system credible. On the other hand, an open alliance with the Third Reich threatened Bulgaria with finding herself in the midst of the war and with attacks launched by the pio-Versailles powers and the Balkan states. Hence, initially, Sofia declared neutrality and oscillated between the Nazi coalition, on the one hand, and Great Britain, France and the Balkan countries, on the other in the hope that the existing configuration of forces would make it possible to at least partially realise her territorial claims. Once these calculations proved to be illusory, and the acceptance of Moscow's offer would signify communist rule, the Third Reich appeared to be the only factor capable of resolving the complicated question of Bulgarian national and territorial claims. Thanks to the support offered by Hitler and Mussolini, in 1940 the Bulgarians were capable of regaining Southern Dobrudzha without entering into an alliance with Berlin. A further realisation of Bulgarian territorial claims took place after Prime Minister Bogdan Filov signed the act of access to the Tripartite Pact (1 March 1941).

Keywords

EN

BULGARIA AND THIRD REICH; BULGARIAN TERRITORIAL REVISIONISM; INCORPORATION PART OF MACEDONIA INTO SERBIA AND GREECE; SOUTHERN DOBRUDZHA; TREATY OF NEUILLY

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Historii im. Tadeusza Manteuffla PAN w Warszawie
• Journal: Studia z Dziejów Rosji i Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej
• Year: 2009
• Volume: 44
• Pages: 77-100
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Znamierowska-Rakk Elzbieta

• Instytut Historii im. Tadeusza Manteuffla PAN, Rynek Starego Miasta 29/31, 00-272 Warszawa, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

11PLAAAA10264