fascists, communists and world war ii in the balkans power politics in europe germany the third...

Fascists, Communists and World War II in the Balkans

Power Politics in Europe Germany

The Third Reich and New World Order Italy

A new Roman Empire USSR

Ideological expansion and the protection of traditional possessions of the Russian Empire

France Contain Germany

Britain Preserve control over the Mediterranean, contain USSR and Germany Percentages agreement of 1944: Greece 90/10, Romania 10/90,

Yugoslavia 50/50, Bulgaria 25/75 (10/90)


Beginning of World War II in the Balkans Mussolini’s imperial designs and rivalry with Hitler Occupation of Albania on April 4, 1939 The ill-prepared invasion of Greece; the ultimatum of

28 October 1940 The start of the initially peripheral Operation Maritsa –

conquest of Greece would deny Britain leverage over the Mediterranean, completed by June 1941


German Pressure on the Balkan Royal Dictatorships – the map of the Balkans in WWII Need to secure resources for war Need to secure obedient regimes and order in its

rearguard Potential allies for Operation Barbarossa Yet minimize cost to the German state –reliance on

local fascists and puppets; ground for resentment and resistance movement


Pressure on Romania and King Carol Loss of oil markets to Britain and France Fear of loosing Transylvania Importance of Romanian oil for German war USSR as a potential threat Wohltat Agreement on March 23, 1939 Lost Northern Transylvania, Southern Dobrudja, Bukovina and

Bessarabia by August 1940; King Carol fled from the country The new government of General Antonescu signed the Tripartite

Pact on November 23, 1940 Romania would provide help and troops for the Eastern Front


Pressure on Bulgaria and King Boris III Fear of USSR but refused to conclude an

alliance in 1939 German demands in February 1941 to let

German troops pass made the alliance unavoidable

German Promises of Macedonia But refusal to commit troops to the Eastern

Front


Pressure on Yugoslavia and Prince Paul Withdrawing support from the Ustaša Pressing the German Volksdeutsche in Vojvodina to support the

Stojadinovic Government Cvetkovic-Maček government signed the Tripartite Pact on March

25, 1941; a coup overthrew that government German offensive in Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941 Albania, Greece and Yugoslavia were occupied; territorial

occupation and administration split among Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria

The Independent State of Croatia under Ustaše regime established


The Domestic Side of the Royal Dictatorships Undermining and elimination of political

parties Persecution of political opponents; political

police Censorship Rise of Fascist movements Ethnic Cleansing


Albania under King Zog and Italian occupation Since 1928; Aspired to be the strongest, yet remained the weakest Abolished the independent legislative and judiciary branches; remained the

single authority in the state No political parties allowed But he lacked administrative and financial capacity to impose the central

control that was possible in neighboring countries Italian occupation expanded the territory to include Kosovo and Northwestern

Macedonia in 1941 (Italy also occupied Montenegro); no resistance against Italy in these extended territories, where they reached to locals for administrative purposes, who promptly killed 10 000 and expelled 20 000 Serbs

Italians also put less strain on the economy for maintaining occupation and significantly did not persecute the Jewish community; Albania’s Jewish population grew to 1800 during the war

But in Albania proper Italian administrative mishandling bred resentment and opened room for Enver Hohxa’s communist resistance

Inflation, corruption and ultimately lack of military capabilities


Greece under Ioannis Metaxas and German-Italian occupation In 1936 suspended parliament; in 1937 eliminated local self-government;

1938 declared himself Prime Minister for life Established the National Youth Organization (EON); personality cult –

the creator of the Third Hellenic Civilization; fascist paraphernalia Enormous power to the Ministry of Interior (Konstantinos Maniadakis)

and security police Wide persecution of communists or suspected communists Akronaupia Concentration Camp (some thousands of prisoners) Anyone who spoke language other than Greek in public, failed to display

national flag on holidays or criticized Metaxas was vulnerable to political persecution

Phone tapping Mandated work hours and wages


Occupied Greece – division into 3 different occupation zones created chaos Italian misadministration, German requisitions, British

Blockade and Bulgarian refusal to send more grain caused famine in the winter of 1941

40 000 people died of starvation in Athens alone; Red Cross estimate for the whole of Greece at 250 000

2/3 of government revenue and 20% of GDP went for maintaining German occupation

Greece’s Jewish population was decimated – 70 000 unless it was in Italian zones


Yugoslavia under the Royal Dictatorship, the Ustaša and German-Italian occupation

King Alexander’s regime was probably the harshest in the region Centralization and territorial organization; suspension of constitution and

political parties Appointed his closest military advisor Petar Živcović as both Prime

Minister and Minister of Interior; a court of state protection; recruited a network of informers

Censorship – Central Press Bureau preventing any publication expressing ‘hatred of the state’

A new Youth Movement – the Sokol Assassinated by IMRO and the Ustaše Yugoslavia’s administrative apparatus collapsed with the occupation; its

war-time administration was the messiest and allowed for the country to turn into a Civil War battleground.


Serbia under Occupation Serbia and Banat only under German control; drew on 130 000 local Germans to administer 200 000 Serb solider captured and sent to forced labor or prison camps 16 000 Serb Jews captured and murdered outright; only a few thousand Jews would survive

(small fascist party – Zbor under Milan Nedic) The Independent State of Croatia under the Ustaše of Ante Pavelic enjoyed relative

autonomy (with expanded territory control over 1.5 million Serbs) Newly appointed police to expel Serbs - a flood of 200 000; many killed in the process; created

problems with the German authorities Concentration camps for Jews, Serbs and Roma (Jasenovac, where by 1942 150 000 people

would perish; 2/3 of the 39 000 Jews would perish Prepared the ground for Tito’s communist resistance to occupiers; but they also engaged in

vicious fights with the Chetniks of Draža Mihailovic The Chetniks collaborated with the Italians against the Partisans and the Ustaše; in 1942

participated in a massacre of Bosnian Muslims in Foča in Western Bosnia; the SS Handžar Division massacred Serbs in 1944 in Eastern Bosnia in revenge

Fighting most extensive in the Italian zone and Croatia


Romania under King Carol, the Iron Guard, and a German Ally King Carol’s Dictatorship established formally only in 1938 but since 1933 he was

virtually the most-dominant player in Romanian politics Freedom of speech repressed Martial law imposed since 1934; the Siguranţa pollitical police The official justification – the rise of the Iron Guard The Legion of the Archangel Michael and Corneliu Zelea Codreanu – messianic,

populist, cult of death and personality, explicitly anti-Semitic and ultra-nationalist; paramilitary organization – the Iron Guard; surrogate party – Fatherland Party won 16 percent of vote in 1937 elections

King Carol’s attitude towards the Iron Guard shifted; in 1933 he tried to ban them – Prime Minister Ion Duca assassinated; in 1938 he approached them to share power with him if he would be declared the leader; then his Interior and then Prime Minister Armand Calinescu to finish them; Coderanu and the other leaders were arrested and murdered; Calinescu was assassinated by the Iron Guard the following year but then the movement never recovered from the ensuing fractionalization


Under Antonescu and before that a flurry of anti-Semitic laws based on Germany’s Nuremberg Laws’; additionally anti-worker legislation – the Legionary State

In their participation in Operation Barbarossa the Romanian government committed troops to the Eastern Front (155 000 would die in the Siege of Stalingrad)

In the march the troops and Romanian administration engaged in a series of anti-Semitic activities

In Iaşi in June 1940 a pogrom that killed 6000 Jews and put 2600 more on the death trains

In Transnistria a sabotage of Romanian headquarters led to a misdirected reprisal. The Romanian police and troops killed almost all of the 50 000 Jews they could find in Odessa

Another 10 000 had been shot in Chişinau and at least 120 000 transported to labor camps in Transnistria; a majority of them and the 25 000 Roma did not survive

Plans for Jewish Deportation only suspended after turn of fortunes on the front, heavy casualties and labor shortage; this was the reason why a majority of the 310 000 Jewish population of Romania survived


Bulgaria under King Boris III, and a German ally King Boris III left the Military coup of Zveno to deal with IMRO

and only after that assumed control in a Royal dictatorship The most benign regime in the Balkans; a search for ‘controlled

representation’; restricted suffrage, parties and legislative powers Refused participation on the Eastern Front but this did not save

Bulgaria in 1944 when USSR declared war on Bulgaria And refused Jewish Deportation in Bulgaria proper (55 000);

protection did not extend to occupied territories (12 000 in Macedonia)

The King died in 1934; subsequent governments more pro-German

In occupied territories Bulgarian heavy-handed administration and German requisitions caused resentment; harsh treatment of Greek majority in Thrace


The uneasy path of the Communist parties Structural constraints Lack of Working Class Predominantly peasant societies In Albania in 1941; Bulgaria 1903; Romania 1921; Greece 1918;

Yugoslavia -1919 The Third Communist International (1919 – 1935) in its first several

congresses had formulated a position on the national question in favor of the self-determination of minorities. This almost doomed the communist parties in all of the countries (no such party in Albania); the activists of the Communist party in Romania were very often Jews and Hungarians; those of the Greek Communist Party-Macedonian; communist parties perceived as treacherous


Banned in the 1920s – leadership forced into exile in USSR and subject to Stalinization

Comintern initially approved exclusive parties based on working class only

Yugoslavia: initial legal membership 60000, down to 1000; At its last Congress in 1935 Comintern makes to changes in its official

position that further the prospects of the Communist parties on the Balkans; the endorment of the Popular Front against Fascism changed constraints on membership and privileged national integrity over minority rights

But Soviet Foreign Policy would introduce further constraints the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of 1939 once again put a

break on resistance movements until Operation Barbarossa Percentages agreement


Greek Civil War – lasted until 1949 Miscalculations of the Greek Communist Party Unwillingness of Greek political sides to

compromise Aftermath

155 000 casualties 700 000 internally displaced More than 100 000 (20 000 children) most of them

Slavs left for the northern communist regimes and would be allowed to return only 30 years after that

fascists, communists and world war ii in the balkans power politics in europe germany the third...

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