Education as a means for nationalistic propaganda : the Bulgarian policy of assimilation in eastern Macedonia and Thrace 1941-1944

Abstract

During WW II and after the accession of Bulgaria to the Axis Eastern
Macedonia and Thrace were occupied by the Bulgarians from April 1941 up to
October 1944. As this occupation was an excellent opportunity for potential
permanent annexation of those regions to the Bulgarian state, Bulgaria
followed a clear policy of assimilation in all sectors of public life. Among
them was that of education, since the Bulgarian Ministry of National
Education itself proclaimed that the control of education is the best and most
efficient way for the channeling of the intellect. This article examines: a) The
incorporation of the Region’s Education into the Bulgarian Educational
System, b) The propagandists nature of Bulgarian Education, which was
applied mainly to the Greek population and the Pomaks, c) The role of the
Bulgarian Educators, who were considered as front-line fighters for the
imposing of Bulgarian-cultural models and d) the vague, practically non
existant, “results” of the Bulgarian Educational Planning.