Day of the Macedonian Uprising

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.[15] Despite this welcome, the Macedonians did not wish to become "fully fledged Bulgarians and annexed by Bulgaria, as Sofia assumed at the time".[16] 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.[17] In fact, the Macedonian Slavs were regarded by the authorities then as Bulgarians, and it is questionable whether then they considered themselves to be a separate nationality.[18][19] In addition, up to one half of the Bulgarian army and police stationed in the area from 1941 to 1944 consisted of local conscripts.[20][21] Thus, the only victim of the attack on October 11, 1941, was a local man conscripted in the Bulgarian police.[22] Moreover, fascism in Bulgaria didn't become a mass movement during WWII.[23][24]

Initially, there was no organized resistance in the area,[25] however resentment towards the arrogant Bulgarian officials began within months of the occupation.[26] Resistance started to grow in 1943 with the capitulation of Italy and the Soviet victories over Nazi Germany.[27][28]

During the Cold War, the celebration of this holiday was criticized by the United States-based Macedonian Patriotic Organization. Since 1960, this day has been marked by the organization as "Mourning Day of Macedonia". In the same year, it was also celebrated by the MPO society in Brussels, Belgium. According to the MPO, the leaders of the so-called "Macedonian state", which has been actually an enslaved Tito's banovina, renounced their native Bulgarian name on October 11.[29] Ivan Mihailov, the last leader of Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, also took an attitude against the holiday. In an article published in the newspaper Macedonian Tribune in 1973, he compared it to the tragical Battle of Kleidion. Mihailov claimed that the Marxists, supported by their pro-Serbian anti-Bulgarian drive, have decided to blind spiritually one million Bulgarians in Macedonia by tampering with their past. The most massive celebration of the "Mourning Day of Macedonia" was in 1977, when the MPO sent a circular to all its divisions. It says: "We are obliged to make any sacrifices to eliminate the injustice done to our people after the Second World War".[30] Whether the events that occurred on this date were the beginning of an effective uprising, was disputed by some Yugoslav circles.[31]

After the fall of communism, in Bulgaria, the celebration of this holiday became disputed.[32] Bulgarian journalists and politicians claimed that the holiday is a celebration of hatred against Bulgaria itself, inherited from the times of Yugoslav communism.[33][34][35] Bulgaria denies any occupation and insists that during WWII its forces liberated twice, their brethren in the west.[36] It also denies that a fascist regime existed there, while the Western authorities on the issue categorically deny this too.[37] It insists that the two countries must "harmonize" school textbooks, as well as historic literature and "overcoming the hate speech" against Bulgaria.[38] On October 11, 2020, Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovatchev criticized Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev for celebrating 11 October, seeing it as an "anti-Bulgarian provocation".[39] One month later, on November 17, 2020, Bulgaria effectively blocked the official beginning of EU accession talks with North Macedonia.[40] Several days later, in an interview with Bulgarian media, the Macedonian PM 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.[41] The interview resulted in sharp criticism from the Macedonian public,[42] while the opposition's leader Hristijan Mickoski accused Zaev of threatening Macedonian national identity.[43][44] The Macedonian journalist Dejan Azeski has confirmed that Zaev's interview was a political mistake, although it revealed the historical truth. According to Azeski, for many locals the Bulgarian army was a liberating force in 1941, while the partisan movement really did not emerge in significance until after 1943. The Bulgarian military also took part in the liberation of present-day North Macedonia in the autumn of 1944, and these are the most difficult facts to be accepted by the Macedonian society today.[45][46]