The Revival Process or the Process of Rebirth ( bg, Възродителен процес, Vazroditelen protses) refers to a policy of forced assimilation practiced by the socialist Bulgarian government in the 1980s. The policy involved the ethnic cleansing of Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish minority, which eventually culminated in the forced expulsion of 360,000 ethnic Turks in 1989.

Repressions

Bulgaria's about 900,000 ethnic Turks, at that time representing 10% of the country's population, were to assimilate by changing their Turkish names, including their deceased ancestors', to "Bulgarian" names. Exercising their Turkish customs and language as well as Islamic faith were also prohibited. The name-changing campaign was carried out between late 1984 and early 1985. The repressions lasted unabated from 1984 through 1989 under the

communist government A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

Todor Zhivkov Todor Hristov Zhivkov ( bg, Тодор Христов Живков ; 7 September 1911 – 5 August 1998) was a Bulgarian communist statesman who served as the ''de facto'' leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB) from 1954 until 1989 ...

. Those who refused were subjected to persecution, including imprisonment, expulsion and internment in the then reactivated infamous

Belene labor camp The Belene labour camp, also referred to as Belene concentration camp, was part of the network of forced labour camps in Communist Bulgaria. It was located on the Belene Island, between two branches of the Danube river. At the height of Valko Che ...

, situated on an island in the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

river. In 1984, the Bulgarian Government initiated an assimilation campaign in which Turks were forced to change their Turkish names for Bulgarian names. By March 1985 the Bulgarian Government announced the

Bulgarisation Bulgarisation ( bg, българизация), also known as Bulgarianisation ( bg, побългаряване) is the spread of Bulgarian culture beyond the Bulgarian ethnic space. History A number of government policies are considered to be exa ...

had been completed and the Bulgarian Turks were provided with several newly issued documents for identification. The Turkish minority rebelled and protests ensued against the forced assimilation and by 1989 the Bulgarian Government came to the conclusion that an emigration of the Turkish population into Turkey was to be encouraged actively.

1989 ethnic cleansing

Migration to Turkey

In early 1989, in some areas with large ethnic Turkish populations severe clashes with fatalities occurred, following which the Chairman of the Bulgarian state council Todor Zhivkov addressed to population encouraging Bulgarian Turks to settle to Turkey. Shortly after his address, the border with Turkey was opened on 29 May 1989 exclusively for the country's Turks and Muslims and over 360,000 left

Communist Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; bg, Народна Република България (НРБ), ''Narodna Republika Balgariya, NRB'') was the official name of Bulgaria, when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the ...

for

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

between 30 May 1989 and 22 August 1989. Turkey eventually closed the border to prevent a further immigration of Bulgarian Turks. Faced with difficulties settling in Turkey, within the first three months of their arrival 40,000 Turks and Muslims returned to Bulgaria. This process continued and by the end of 1990 about 150,000 people have returned to Bulgaria suggesting a largely voluntary character of the migration. This 1989 expulsion of the

Bulgarian Turks Bulgarian Turks ( bg, български турци, bŭlgarski turtsi, tr, Bulgaristan Türkleri) are a Turkish ethnic group from Bulgaria. According to the 2021 census, there were 508,375 Bulgarians of Turkish descent, roughly 8.4% of t ...

to Turkey had been the largest case of

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...

in Europe since the

expulsion of Germans Expulsion or expelled may refer to: General * Deportation * Ejection (sports) * Eviction * Exile * Expeller pressing * Expulsion (education) * Expulsion from the United States Congress * Extradition * Forced migration * Ostracism * Persona non ...

living east of the Oder-Neisse line during 1944-1950, as agreed at the

Potsdam Conference The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris P ...

. On 11 January 2012, the

Bulgarian Parliament The National Assembly ( bg, Народно събрание, Narodno sabranie) is the unicameral parliament and legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria. The National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution. Ord ...

officially recognized the 1989 expulsion as ethnic cleansing. However, some Bulgarian mainstream parties have been rebuked for their continued neglect and disregard for the events of 1989.

Migration to Western countries

In addition to the mass migration waves to Turkey, many Bulgarian Turks also sought refuge in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

, especially in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

. Many also found refuge in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Aftermath

On the 10 November 1989 Zhivkov was forced to resign and the new Bulgarian Government restored the right to have Turkish names.

References

{{reflist

External links

NY Times Article, Bulgaria Forces Exodus of Thousands

T Kamusella. 2016. The Forgotten 1989 Etnic Cleansing of Bulgaria's Turks: a Yugoslav Connection? Ljubljana: University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

The Declaration Condemning the Attempted Forced Assimilation of Bulgarian Muslims (2012)
Post–World War II forced migrations People's Republic of Bulgaria Turkish diaspora in Europe Ethnic cleansing in Europe Bulgaria–Turkey relations 1980s in Bulgaria Islam in Bulgaria Pomaks Persecution of Balkan Turks