REMEMBRANCE IN TIME - Index of

270
Remembrance in Time
The establishment of the communist regime in New Yugoslavia reproduces the Soviet
Federation model as the solving of the national question has an important place in the
ideology of the Yugoslav Communist Party (YCP). The ideological construction of the
communist Macedonism is formulated with respect to Macedonia. The marginal, in the
past decades, idea of the existence of “Macedonian nation” is defined in the decisions of
the Executive Committee of the Communist International in 1934 and becomes the main
weapon of the Yugoslav communists lead by Tito for the Revival of Yugoslavia. The
projected federal state must overcome the inherited from the old regime national
contradictions and to ensure peaceful co-existence of Serbs, Croats, Slovenes and
Montenegrins as well as of “Bosnians” and “Macedonians” [9] [iii].
The construction of the Macedonian nations faces serious difficulties in the end of the
war due to the mass collaboration of the population during the Bulgarian government in
the area in 1941 – 1944. Besides the preserved Bulgarian national consciousness and the
satisfaction from the dissolution of Yugoslavia, caused by the Serbian denationalization
policy during the decades[3] [iv], an important factor for the support of the Bulgarian
government is the consistent policy of Sofia for full integration and accelerated
development of the “new lands” reaching the level of privileged attitude.
One of the first steps of the Bulgarian government in Vardar Macedonia in 1941 is the
liberation of all Bulgarian prisoners from the defeated Yugoslav army. Bulgaria came to
an agreement with Germany and Italy for the liberation of the Bulgarian prisoners, for the
organization of their repatriation in the country and sending them to their native places.
By the end of May 1941 12 600 people were released from captivity [7][v]. The process
of searching, liberation and returning of captives continues in the following months and
the Bulgarian administrative and military authorities in Macedonia, the organizations of
the Macedonian Bulgarians in Sofia, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Bulgarian
state actively participate in this process.
The policy of the Bulgarian state to the Serbian colonials in the area is of great
importance. In the past years they have been settled in lands which have been taken from
the native people and were the ethnic basis of Serb domination. By the end of 1941 the
Bulgarian authorities deported 26 451 Serbs from Vardar Macedonia and were prepared
to deport 11 773 more. The process is ceased on the insistence of Germany since the
colonials who have been returned to Serbia filled in the ranks of the anti-Hitler
opposition. The positive reaction of the population is proved also by the fact that even in
the beginning of 1940 the communist leader in Skopje Metodi Shatarov demanded from
the Central Committee of YCP to deport the Serbian Colonials from Macedonia as a
means for strengthening the influence of the communist party [vi].
The deportation of a part of the Serbian colonials is followed by agrarian reform whose
purpose is to provide “all Bulgarians by origin and citizenship” with land. They have to
be hard-working, capable of agriculture and most of all they have to be residents of the
lands which are provided. During the Bulgarian government under the Law of the labour
farms 50 000 hectares of land were parceled and approximately 70 % of them were
received by landless and poor peasants.
The whole Bulgarian policy is oriented towards fast development of the area which is
considered extremely undeveloped in comparison with the old lands. In the
historiography one can see that during the whole period of government in Vardar
Macedonia, the Bulgarian state spent in various activities over 10 billion and 609 million
leva and put almost 43 billion in state property which at the end of the war remains for
the new communist power in Skopje [vii].