The collection "Documents from the period 1878 - 1944." contains materials reflecting the history of state administration, politics, economy, education and culture, as well as the national liberation struggles of the Bulgarians outside the borders of the Third Bulgarian Kingdom. To date, the collection includes over 6500 movable cultural assets, diverse in content, type and historical significance.
The National Historical Museum (NIM) houses a number of written testimonies of primary importance. Such are, for example, the originals of the Protocol for the exchange of the military convention between Bulgaria and Serbia, which was part of the diplomatic preparations for the Balkan War (1912 – 1913) and the Ratification of the Peace Treaty of Neuilly, marking the final end of Bulgaria's participation in the First World War.
To this group we should refer the documentary materials of the monarchical institution, reflecting the activities of Prince Alexander I, Prince/Tsar Ferdinand I and Tsar Boris III. Most of them are related to the reign of Ferdinand I. Some of them mark key dates in Bulgarian history, such as the Manifesto for the abdication of Prince Alexander I from the Bulgarian throne (August 26, 1886), the Manifesto of King Ferdinand declaring the Balkan War (5.10.1912) and the Manifesto on the occasion of Bulgaria's entry into the First World War (1.10.1915). Documents reflecting the functioning of the supreme bodies of state power are stored - the National Assembly, the Regional Assembly of Eastern Rumelia, the State Council, the Council of Ministers. In the section on the political development of Bulgaria, a special place is occupied by those materials that refer to such personalities as Stefan Stambolov, Dragan Tsankov, Dimitar Grekov, Stoyan Danev, Andrey Lyapchev, Atanas Burov, Bogdan Filov and Ekaterina Karavelova.
There are numerous shares of banks, insurance companies, enterprises and securities illustrating the economic history of the country, some of which are of high artistic value. Particularly valuable is the magnificently designed Contract for the construction of the Mezdra - Vratsa - Vidin railway line, with a branch to Berkovitsa and Lom (31.05.1908), signed by the Minister of Public Buildings, Roads and Communications Al. Malinov (at that time also prime minister) and the entrepreneur K. Kirchev, whose bank "Kiril Kirchev & Co" financed the construction.
In the field of education and science, NIM preserves cultural values related to the life and activities of Academician Gavril Katsarov, Prof. Bogdan Filov, Prof. Vasil Zlatarski, Prof. Alexander Teodorov-Balan, Hristo Vakarelski, as well as many student certificates, student books, diplomas from schools and universities at home and abroad.
The spectrum of cultural figures represented is wide - Elisaveta Bagryana, actors Krastyo Sarafov, Konstantin Kisimov and Vasil Gendov, singers Ivan Vulpe, Stefan Makedonski and Elisaveta Jovovich, artists Vladimir Dimitrov-Maistora, Ivan Nenov and Ekaterina Savova-Nenova.
The national liberation struggles of the Bulgarians in Macedonia, Odrinska Thrace and Dobruja are represented in the collection of letters of Todor Alexandrov from the beginning of the 1923th century, the death sentence of Raiko Daskalov, issued by VMRO (1928), the appeal of Dobruja emigrants for the unity of Dobruja national liberation movement (XNUMX), etc. Many documents about the activities of the Bulgarian Exarchate in the lands that remained under the power of the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the XNUMXth century have also been preserved.
