Bulgaria, said Churchill in 1944. had subjected her peasant population to the pangs of war and the chastisement of defeat. Defeat yes,butasDrRichard
Crampton of the University of Kent argues, it is possible to place a different construction on Bulgaria's wartime performance. By playing on the pro-Russian sentiment of his people. King Boris retained a large measure of independence in his dealings with Hitler. Until hia sudden death in August 1943, hit peopleweresparedmanyof the pangs of war.