German occupation of Macedonia (today's name: North Macedonia)
German occupation troops entered Skopje one day after the invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on the afternoon of April 7. 1941. After the surrender, the territories of the then Yugoslavia were divided. Bulgaria got the larger part of Vardar and Aegean Macedonia, Italy moved into the towns of Tetovo, Gostivar, Kičevo, Debar and Struga, where it ruled from then on with the help of Albanian collaboration authorities.
The path of Macedonian struggle was long, accompanied by many sufferings and sacrifices. Immediately after the occupation, organized freedom efforts began, and the first shots rang out on October 11 in Prilep during a raid on a Bulgarian police post. This was followed the next day by a skirmish between a partisan unit from Kumanovo and occupation troops. The more time passed, the more organized and massive the resistance became. The Bulgarian occupation forces, who had taken over the entire administration in Macedonia and expected the people to welcome them with open arms, were surprised by the resistance and met it with strong repression. (Source: https://www.zukunft-braucht-erinnerung.de/jugoslawien-und-makedonien-als-sieger-im-zweiten-weltkrieg/)
