VIEW OVER THE BALKAN PENINSULA
The Bulgarian Church Representation in Istanbul and the Issue of Lifting the Schism
Assoc. Prof. Boryana Buzhashka, DSc.
University of Library Studies and Information Technologies
Sofia, Bulgaria
Absract. Nowadays in Istanbul, Turkey, there is a Bulgarian colony, which was
created after the Second Balkan War and the First World War. It was not related to the
Bulgarians in Constantinople from the times of the Bulgarian National Revival, but
through the Foundation of Bulgarian Orthodox Churches in Istanbul as established,
it was their legal successor. The Foundation was also the formal owner of that part
of the Bulgarian exarchal properties in Turkey which the Turkish State returned.
Lifting the schism was an act of international and internal political importance.
This act put an end to the use of the Exarchy as a mean to unite all the Bulgarians
within the borders of a new Bulgaria according to the Treaty of San Stefano. In
essence, this was a retreat from the national ideal. The conditions for lifting the
schism, the closing of the Exarchal Vicegerency and the unresolved status of the
Bulgarian Church Community deprived the Bulgarians in the Republic of Turkey
of Bulgarian representation on church affairs and predetermined their remaining
within the diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This issue has consequences
even nowadays.
Keywords: Bulgarian colony; Ecumenical Patriarchate; schism; Church Representation
The Contribution of Todor Bourmov in the Elaboration of the Original Draft of the Organic Statute of the Bulgarian Principality
Assoc. Prof. Kostadin Paev, DSc.
South-West University “Neofit Rilski”
Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
Absract. The views of Todor Bourmov for the government of Bulgaria are
reflected in a document stored in Russian archives. At the first its publication,
the document was defined as a response of one of the Bulgarian notables – Todor
Bourmov – to the questions of the Russian civil administration in Bulgaria from
1878, and in the second – as rules for the election of a Bulgarian prince. According
contained in this article concept, in both cases there are errors and inaccuracies, but
in principle, the document itself contains a number of provisions found a place in
the initial draft of the Organic Statute of the Bulgarian principality.
Keywords: Todor Bourmov; Bulgarian notables; Original draft of Organic Statute; Turnovo constitution
REVIEWS AND ANNOTATIONS
Dr. Asen Kozhukharov, Assoc. Prof.
Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy
Varna, Bulgaria
Melinikova, A. Y., Melinikov, Y. A. (2019). Decompression memory. Historical sketch of the head of the Kronstadt diving school M. K. von Schulze, 1870 – 1917. Sankt-Peterburg: Dmitrij Bulanin, [in Russian].
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GUARDIANS OF THE MEMORY
The Policy of the German Authorities towards the Jews in the First Years of World War II (1939 – 1941). The Social, Economic and Legal Context
Dr. Martyna Grądzka-Rejak
Institute of National Remembrance –
Warsaw, Poland
Dr. Aleksandra Namysło
Institute of National Remembrance – Katowice Division
Katowice, Poland
Absract. The article tries to characterize the plight of the Jewish community
– in its legal, social and economic aspect – on German-occupied Polish soil in the
first years of WWII (1939-1941). The text analyzes the key measures of the German
authorities toward the Jews, beginning with the Third Reich’s aggression against
Poland on September 1, 1939, until the decision of the extermination of European
Jews (second half of 1941). The Authors analyze legal acts limiting the functioning
of the Jewish community and how they really influenced their everyday life. The
question at stake has to be seen against a wider backdrop: the policy of the German
occupant against the Polish state and its population.
Keywords: World War II; Holocaust; Polish-Jewish relations; occupation;
Germans; Third Reich; regulations; legal acts; September 1939 campagne
The Beginnings of the Socialist Conspiracy PPS – WRN
Mr. Maciej Żuczkowski
Institute of National Remembrance
Warsaw, Poland
Absract. The article presents inception and the first months of the functioning
of the underground Polish Socialist Party occurring in 1939-1944, under the code
name “Wolność-Równość-Niepodległość” (Freedom-Equality-Independence). It
shows both the pre-war preparations of the PPS and the way in which the PPSWRN
was formed at the beginning of October 1939, as well as the principles on
which its organization was based. The article also discusses both the beginnings of
the PPS-WRN underground press and the party’s place in the forming structures of
the Polish Underground State.
Keywords: Polish Socialist Party “Freedom-Equality-Independence”; Polish Underground State; German occupation
In a (Not Completely) Distorting Mirror. Poland Viewed from the Perspective of the Authorities and of the Population of the Soviet Union on the Eve of and during the Soviet Aggression against Poland in September 1939
Dr. Hab. Sławomir Kalbarczyk
Institute of National Remembrance (Poland)
Abstract. This article intends to answer two fundamental questions: 1) What kind of image of Poland was created by the authorities of the Soviet Union on the eve of and during the Soviet aggression against Poland on 17 September 1939? 2) Did Soviet society accept this image uncritically, or was it capable of creating its own image of Poland independently? This study is based on an analysis that the Soviet authorities created a false image of Poland as a fascist country which had been defeated by Germany not as a result of its military advantage but as a result of its incorrect policy towards ethnic minorities. The image of Poland was generally accepted by the society of the Soviet Union which was subject to a monopolistic propaganda of the state. Only a small minority of society rejected the image promoted by the authorities – as untrue and a justification for Moscow’s imperial policy.
Keywords: Poland; Soviet propaganda; Soviet society
Collaboration of National Minorities of the Second Polish Republic with the Soviets in the Areas Occupied by the Red Army in September and October 1939
Dr. Jacek Romanek
Institute of National Remembrance
Warsaw, Poland
Absract. The article presents the issue related to the collaboration of national
minorities during the Soviet Union’s aggression against Poland in 1939. The
appearances of the Ukrainian and Jewish minorities against the Polish population
led to a huge amount of crimes. Thousands of representatives of the Polish state
were killed by the communist militias. According to Soviet propaganda, destruction
of the Polish intelligentsia began in the occupied areas. These activities were to
make the soviets easier to defeat the Polish state.
Keywords: communism; minorities; collaboration; The Second World War; Soviet aggression