From the majority of locations in North-east Slovenia, the German army withdrew on 8 or 9 March 1945. There was no direct fighting for Maribor. It was liberated within the final operations for the liberation of Slovenia and Yugoslavia. Members of the city command headed by Štefan Pavšič arrived to Maribor in the evening hours of 8 May. They assumed the military command, whereas the Liberation Front City Committee became the civil authorities. In the morning of 9 May 1945, the last military units of the occupying forces left the city, and with them also members of the occupying authorities and their helpers, both Slovenians and Germans. When retreating across the Drava bridge, crews of the German tank unit fired shots at people who had begun gathering on the streets, at the Bulgarian soldiers and at houses where Slovenian flags were fluttering in the wind. The final victims fell, three civilians and a Bulgarian officer, and there were several wounded. People greeted the end of the war with great joy.
Before noon on 9 May 1945, units of the 1st Bulgarian army and representatives of the Red Army arrived to the city, and in the afternoon activists from Pohorje and Kozjak hills. As there was no major Partisan unit nearby at the time, people of Maribor could not experience the celebratory march of Partisans into the city on 9 May 1945. Only the following morning there were first the soldiers of the Prekmurje brigade and then also the units of the 51st Vojvodina division of the 3rd Yugoslav army and soldiers of the Zidanšek brigade marching into the city.
“Maribor experienced its liberation quite different from other Slovenian and Yugoslav cities. It was deprived of the grand one-off mass experience of liberation when the liberators are celebrating with the oppressed population...” wrote Mirko Fajdiga. The grand liberation celebration that was attended by several thousand residents of Maribor, was only held at the Trg svobode square on Sunday 13 May 1945. Liberation celebrations were also held elsewhere.
