Day of Macedonian Uprising in 1941

The day of the Macedonian Uprising in 1941 is October 11. It marks the anniversary of the beginning of the Macedonian uprising against fascism during World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia. Since the times of SFRY this was the national holiday in SR Macedonia and later in then Republic of Macedonia it was proclaimed a public holiday. It is a non-working day.[1]

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.

History

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,[2] because the very name Macedonia was prohibited in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.[3][4] On October 11, 1941, the Yugoslav Communists in Vardar Macedonia began to organize an armed insurrection against their Bulgarian occupiers which started with an attack on the local police-station in Prilep. The October 11 rebellion launched the war for national liberation from fascist occupation, which coincided with the subsequent rise of the Macedonian communist resistance movement into the following years. It lasted until late 1944.[5]

Celebration

Every year on 11 October, there are official ceremonies and public speeches and celebrations on the occasion of Day of Macedonian Uprising. There are also official award called 11 October, given out to Macedonian people who have contributed significantly to the national progress.

Controversy
See also: Macedonian historiography

When Bulgarian Army entered Vardar Macedonia on 19 April 1941, the soldiers were greeted by the locals as liberators, while pro-Bulgarian feelings among them prevailed.[6] 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.[7] After the WWII the Yugoslav communists ignored this circumstance, due to the complicated relations between the two countries, related to the Macedonian issue.[8] Today this holiday is part of the historical dispute with Bulgaria, which treats to block the EU candidature of that country because of the manipulation of historical events..[9] Sofia insists also the two countries must "harmonize" historic literature "overcoming the hate speech" against Bulgaria.[10] On November 17, 2020, Bulgaria effectively blocked the official start of accession talks with this country.[11] In an interview with Bulgarian media several days later, the Prime Minister Zoran Zaev acknowledged that Bulgarians were not fascist occupiers, as well as many other historical facts that have been altered and concealed for decades in North Macedonia.[12] The interview was shock for the general public and was followed by a wave of hysterical nationalism in Skopje.[13][14]

See also

References
  1. Discovering Macedonia, Macedonian Holidays – a Comprehensive Guide.
  2. F. Rothenbacher, The Central and East European Population since 1850, Societies of Europe; Springer, 2016, ISBN 1137273909, p. 626.
  3. Donald Bloxham, The Final Solution: A Genocide, OUP Oxford, 2009, ISBN 0199550336, p. 65.
  4. Chris Kostov, Contested Ethnic Identity: The Case of Macedonian Immigrants in Toronto, Peter Lang, 2010, ISBN 3034301960, p. 76.
  5. Macedonia is celebrating the 11th of October – The Day of the Antifascist Uprising. 11 October, 2017, META.mk.
  6. "Who are the Macedonians?" Hugh Poulton, Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1995, ISBN 978-1-85065-238-0, p. 101.
  7. Hugh Poulton, Who are the Macedonians?, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1995, ISBN 1-85065-238-4, p.102.
  8. Valentina Georgieva, Sasha Konechni, Historical dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia, Scarecrow Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8108-3336-0, p. 223.
  9. В Северна Македония се възражда темата за българската "фашистка окупация"! 5 юни 2019 г. Dnes.bg.
  10. Sinisa Jakov Marusic, Bulgaria Sets Tough Terms for North Macedonia’s EU Progress Skopje. BIRN; 10 October 2019.
  11. Bulgaria blocks EU accession talks with North Macedonia. Nov 17, 2020, National post.
  12. Зоран Заев: Договорът с България ще бъде закон. Меdiapool публикува интервюто на Любчо Нешков, собственик на информационната агенция БГНЕС. 25 November, 2020; Mediapool.bg.
  13. Sinisa Jakov Marusic, North Macedonia PM’s Remarks About History Hit a Nerve. BIRN, November 26, 2020.
  14. VMRO-DPMNE leader Mickoski demands PM Zaev's resignation, announces more protests. MIA, 26 November, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.