When Serbian children get to the lessons about Europe after the First World War, the topic about the Bulgarian Western Suburbs does not stand as a separate large section. It enters the lesson about the Neuilly Peace Treaty and the new territorial organization of the Balkans after 1918.
In the Serbian educational narrative, the main names are Tsaribrod, today's Dimitrovgrad, Bosilegrad and the territories along the Timok and in Strumica. On November 27, 1919, Bulgaria signed the Neuilly Treaty as a defeated state. The document ceded these areas to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, along with other territorial and military restrictions.
Territorial change, not “lost Bulgarian land“
The essential difference is in the language. In Bulgaria, the term “Western outskirts“ is used as a historical and national designation for lands that were within the borders of the Bulgarian state and were ceded after the war. In the Serbian educational and administrative narrative, the formulations for territories annexed to the newly created kingdom and for the confirmation of the post-war border are leading.
Thus, the student learns that Bulgaria lost Tsaribrod and Bosilegrad by virtue of an international treaty, but usually does not encounter the Bulgarian interpretation of “former Bulgarian territory“ as the central conclusion of the lesson. The topic is placed in the broader context of the consequences for Bulgaria of its participation in World War I.
What is missing from the general educational narrative
General education Serbian textbooks do not devote significant space to the history of the Bulgarian population in these areas, to the change in the school and church system, or to the disputes over language and identity. These topics appear in more detail in the education of the Bulgarian national minority.
Modern eighth-grade history textbooks are organized around the interwar period, World War II, socialist Yugoslavia, and the modern era. In this model, the Treaty of Neuilly is part of the general chronology, rather than a separate topic for relations between Bulgaria and Serbia.
For students who study in Bulgarian, the picture is only partially different. Serbian textbooks are translated, but the content follows the curriculum approved by the Serbian authorities. The law provides for additional materials on history, geography and culture, tailored to the national minority.
“These are textbooks that have been approved by the Minister of Education of the Republic of Serbia, only they have been translated into Bulgarian“, Stefan Stoykov from the National Council of the Bulgarian National Minority in Serbia told the Bulgarian National Radio.The problem with books has long been practical, not just historical. In 2015, the provision of translated textbooks for primary education began, after years in which students worked with photocopies or with books imported from Bulgaria. There are 12,918 people living in Serbia today who declared Bulgarian nationality in the 2022 census, with the main communities being in Bosilegrad and Dimitrovgrad.
Therefore, the answer to the question of what Serbian children learn is twofold: in the general Serbian curriculum, they learn about the Treaty of Neuilly and the accession of Tsaribrod and Bosilegrad to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes; children from the Bulgarian minority have the opportunity to add their own historical memory to this narrative.
Sources: Bulgarian National Radio, Radio-Television Tsaribrod, Reuters