ABSTRACT
Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania re-emerged at the end of the Second World War in recognizable territorial form, in spite of some adjustments. When the German Reich and the Soviet Union partitioned Poland in September 1939, the Balkans were frantically adjusting themselves, with the exception of Albania, who had already been adjusted by Mussolini. The war increased dependence on the Reich and created difficulties for the economy. Diplomatic and trade relations were set up with the Soviet Union. Surrounded by neighbours who, with the exception of Yugoslavia, all had claims against her, Romania was at the mercy of Hitler and Stalin, and turning towards the former. Ustashas and communists were waiting in the wings to appear with one or the other of Germany and Russia, whose rivalry once again loomed over the Balkans. The peace treaty with Italy in 1947 granted Yugoslavia 7,760 sq. km of additional territory in the northern Adriatic that the partisans had already occupied.
