Muslims in Bulgaria during the Balkan Wars and World War I – Selected Social Aspects

Bulgarian Historical Review, 53 (2025), No. 4, pp. 151-168
DOI: https://doi.org/10.71069/BHR4.25.KP06

Krzysztof Popek

Assist. Prof. Krzysztof Popek, Ph.D., - Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Institute of History, Department of Modern History, 13 Gołębia Street, Kraków 31-007, Poland, ORCID ID: 0000-0001-5864-5264, E-mail: krzysztof.popek@uj.edu.pl

Abstract: This article examines the fate of Muslims in Bulgaria during the wars of the second decade of the 20th century, namely the two Balkan Wars and the First World War. In 1912, when war with the Ottomans broke out, Turkish Muslims from the north-eastern part of Bulgaria were – with some exceptions – left undisturbed. Meanwhile, in the Rhodopes, the situation was markedly different, as a Christianisation campaign was launched against the Pomaks. Shortly thereafter, the Great War erupted, during which the Bulgarians and the Ottomans became allies, and the Muslims living in Bulgaria were no longer in such an ambiguous position as during the Balkan Wars. However, this did not mean that the Bulgarians ceased to regard them with heightened suspicion. Drawing on documents from the archives of Sofia, Veliko Tarnovo, Varna and Shumen, this article presents new insights into the social conditions of the Muslim minority in Bulgaria during this period, including wartime hardships, suspicions of disloyalty and espionage, and the phenomenon of desertion.

Keywords: Muslims in Bulgaria; Pomaks; Bulgarian Turks; Balkan Wars; First World War.

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