The Bulgarian School Boy Album 4

Bulgarian school boys hanging out with a professor, Bulgarian school boys goofing off in science class?  The second print has an actual confirm-able date.  Translated from the Bulgarian, "28 September 1942."  As mentioned in earlier posts, Bulgaria remained neutral until late 1941.  With the failing Italian invasion of Greece, Hitler decided to bail his allies out, and more or less forced a decision on the Bulgarian government.  The German army was going to march overland to Greece whether Bulgaria liked it or not, so capitulating to an ultimatum, Bulgaria joined the Axis powers.  There had been an unofficial fascist movement in the country, led by retired general Hristo Lukov and Tsar Boris III was  not unfriendly to the Nazi movement.  On the other hand, Bulgaria had one of the more active and widely supported resistance movements in Europe.  The Union of Bulgarian National Legions, the fascists,  and the anti-fascists were both popular with the young, so it's at least somewhat possible that the young students in these photos would choose opposite sides and end up fighting and killing each other in the war.  While Bulgaria did not join the German invasions of their neighbors, they did occupy parts of Yugoslavia and Greece, and when borders were adjusted after World War 2, Bulgaria ended up as the only Axis power to add territory.

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