Bulgaria 1945

Towards the end of World War II it became clear that Germany would be defeated and Bulgaria was now threatened by the advancing Red Army. On 26 August 1944, Bulgaria adopted a neutral stance and ordered German troops to leave its territory, however this was not enough to secure favour from the Allies and the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria on 5 September. After offering no resistance against a Soviet occupation, Bulgaria then declared war on Germany on 8 September. At the conclusion of World War II Bulgaria relinquished all territory it had occupied during the conflict but was allowed to keep Southern Dobruja, which it had been given under the Treaty of Craiova in 1940. This had restored the territory to Bulgaria after it was previously ceded to Romania under the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913, following Bulgaria’s defeat in the Second Balkan War. Bulgaria then became a Communist People’s Republic in 1946.