Bogdan Filov
Encyclopedia
Bogdan Dimitrov Filov (10 April 1883 – 2 February 1945) was a Bulgarian archaeologist, art historian and politician. He was Prime Minister of Bulgaria
during World War II
. During his service, Bulgaria became the seventh nation to join the Axis Powers
.
, Filov was partly educated in Imperial Germany at Leipzig
, Freiburg
, and Würzburg
. His Ph.D. dissertation from Freiburg was published as a book – a supplement to the prestigious German magazine Klio in Leipzig. From May 1, 1906, he worked in the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia. Filov studied archeology and numismatics
in Bonn
, Paris
and Rome
in 1907–1909. He was the indisputable leader of "antique" (pre-classical) archaeology in Bulgaria. In 1918 he discovered Trebenishta, a necropolis of Peresadyes
, rich with gold and iron artifacts. Between 1910 and 1920 Filov was Director of the National Archaeological Museum. He conducted the first studies of the ancient city of Kabile
, near Yambol
, in 1912. In 1920 Filov became a professor of archeology, and of art history, at Sofia University
. In 1920 a Chair of Archaeology was established at the University, and Filov was appointed to it. The Archaeological Society in Sofia developed into an Archaeological Institute with a Department of Antique Archaeology. In 1937, Filov was elected chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
.
, Filov was appointed Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bulgaria
. Filov was an ally of Tsar
Boris III. On 7 September, Bulgaria was awarded the southern part
of Dobruja
by the Treaty of Craiova
. On 14 February, Bulgaria signed a non-aggression pact with the Axis powers
and on 1 March joined the Tripartite Pact
. On Bulgaria's Independence Day, March 3, German troops crossed into Bulgaria on the way to invade the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
and the Kingdom of Greece
.Though a titular member of the Axis, Bulgaria stayed out of the war as much as possible during the regime of King Boris and Premier Filov. After the death of Boris in August 1943, Filov became a member of the Regency Council established because the new Tsar, Simeon II, was underage.
that was voted on 24 December 1940 in the Parliament. This law was equivalent to the Nuremberg Laws
of the Third Reich and deprived the Jews from civil rights. Filov established the Commissariat for Jewish Affairs as executive body about the Jews in Bulgaria. According to government decision in March 1943 the Jews from the New annexed territories, which weren't Bulgarian citizens, were deported by Bulgarian authorities to Death camps of Nazi Germany. So 11,343 Jews from then occupied Northern Greece and Vardar Banovina
were deported to German custody and later to the Treblinka killing centers. Almost none of them survived. However the Nazi-allied government, did not deport its 50,000 Jews, Bulgarian citizens, from the Old lands, after yielding to pressure from the parliament deputy speaker Dimitar Peshev
and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
, saving them as well.
whose forces had entered Bulgaria in 1944, a new Communist-dominated government was established and the Regency Council members were arrested. Filov and ninety-two other public officials were sentenced to death by a "People's Tribunal" on the afternoon of 1 February 1945 and executed by firing squad that night in Sofia cemetery. They were then buried in a mass grave that had been a bomb crater. The former professor was described in one obituary as a man who had mistakenly "preferred making history to teaching it". Filov's property was confiscated and his wife exiled.
The sentence was revoked by the Bulgarian Supreme Court on June 26, 1996.
Kingdom of Bulgaria
The Kingdom of Bulgaria was established as an independent state when the Principality of Bulgaria, an Ottoman vassal, officially proclaimed itself independent on October 5, 1908 . This move also formalised the annexation of the Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia, which had been under the control...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. During his service, Bulgaria became the seventh nation to join the Axis Powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
.
Early life
Born in Stara ZagoraStara Zagora
Stara Zagora is the sixth largest city in Bulgaria, and a nationally important economic center. Located in Southern Bulgaria, it is the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province...
, Filov was partly educated in Imperial Germany at Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
, and Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
. His Ph.D. dissertation from Freiburg was published as a book – a supplement to the prestigious German magazine Klio in Leipzig. From May 1, 1906, he worked in the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia. Filov studied archeology and numismatics
Numismatics
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and the...
in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1907–1909. He was the indisputable leader of "antique" (pre-classical) archaeology in Bulgaria. In 1918 he discovered Trebenishta, a necropolis of Peresadyes
Peresadyes
Peresadyes, were a tribe that lived in the ancient region of Illyria and ruled over, or with the Encheleans, or the Sesarethi, and were part of the Taulantii group of tribes...
, rich with gold and iron artifacts. Between 1910 and 1920 Filov was Director of the National Archaeological Museum. He conducted the first studies of the ancient city of Kabile
Kabile
Kabile is a village in southeastern Bulgaria, part of the Tundzha municipality, Yambol Province. The ruins of an ancient Thracian royal city can be found nearby, and it remained an important fortress throughout the Middle Ages.- Geography :...
, near Yambol
Yambol
Yambol is a city in southeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. As of February 2011, the town has a population of 72,843 inhabitants. It is occasionally spelt 'Jambol'.The administrative centres...
, in 1912. In 1920 Filov became a professor of archeology, and of art history, at Sofia University
Sofia University
The St. Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia or Sofia University is the oldest higher education institution in Bulgaria, founded on 1 October 1888...
. In 1920 a Chair of Archaeology was established at the University, and Filov was appointed to it. The Archaeological Society in Sofia developed into an Archaeological Institute with a Department of Antique Archaeology. In 1937, Filov was elected chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy is autonomous and has a Society of Academicians, Correspondent Members and Foreign Members...
.
Prime minister
On 15 February 1940, following the resignation of Georgi KyoseivanovGeorgi Kyoseivanov
Georgi Ivanov Kyoseivanov was a Bulgarian politician who went on to serve as Prime Minister.Kyoseivanov came to power on 23 November 1935 after a period in which the country had had three Prime Ministers in quick succession...
, Filov was appointed Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bulgaria
Kingdom of Bulgaria
The Kingdom of Bulgaria was established as an independent state when the Principality of Bulgaria, an Ottoman vassal, officially proclaimed itself independent on October 5, 1908 . This move also formalised the annexation of the Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia, which had been under the control...
. Filov was an ally of Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Boris III. On 7 September, Bulgaria was awarded the southern part
Southern Dobruja
Southern Dobruja is an area of north-eastern Bulgaria comprising the administrative districts named for its two principal cities of Dobrich and Silistra...
of Dobruja
Dobruja
Dobruja is a historical region shared by Bulgaria and Romania, located between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, including the Danube Delta, Romanian coast and the northernmost part of the Bulgarian coast...
by the Treaty of Craiova
Treaty of Craiova
The Treaty of Craiova was signed on 7 September 1940 between the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Romania. Under the terms of this treaty, Romania returned the southern part of Dobruja to Bulgaria and agreed to participate in organizing a population exchange...
. On 14 February, Bulgaria signed a non-aggression pact with the Axis powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
and on 1 March joined the Tripartite Pact
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact, also the Three-Power Pact, Axis Pact, Three-way Pact or Tripartite Treaty was a pact signed in Berlin, Germany on September 27, 1940, which established the Axis Powers of World War II...
. On Bulgaria's Independence Day, March 3, German troops crossed into Bulgaria on the way to invade the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
and the Kingdom of Greece
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 in the Convention of London by the Great Powers...
.Though a titular member of the Axis, Bulgaria stayed out of the war as much as possible during the regime of King Boris and Premier Filov. After the death of Boris in August 1943, Filov became a member of the Regency Council established because the new Tsar, Simeon II, was underage.
Antisemitic law and pro-Nazi policy
In November 1940 the government of Bogdan Filov proposed the Law for protection of the nationLaw for protection of the nation
The Law for protection of the nation was a Bulgarian law, effective from 23 January 1941 to 27 November 1944, which directed measures against Jews and others...
that was voted on 24 December 1940 in the Parliament. This law was equivalent to the Nuremberg Laws
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were antisemitic laws in Nazi Germany introduced at the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. After the takeover of power in 1933 by Hitler, Nazism became an official ideology incorporating scientific racism and antisemitism...
of the Third Reich and deprived the Jews from civil rights. Filov established the Commissariat for Jewish Affairs as executive body about the Jews in Bulgaria. According to government decision in March 1943 the Jews from the New annexed territories, which weren't Bulgarian citizens, were deported by Bulgarian authorities to Death camps of Nazi Germany. So 11,343 Jews from then occupied Northern Greece and Vardar Banovina
Vardar Banovina
The Vardar Banovina or Vardar Banate or Vardarska Banovina was a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. It was located in the southernmost part of the country, encompassing the whole of today's Republic of Macedonia, southern parts of Central Serbia and southeastern parts of...
were deported to German custody and later to the Treblinka killing centers. Almost none of them survived. However the Nazi-allied government, did not deport its 50,000 Jews, Bulgarian citizens, from the Old lands, after yielding to pressure from the parliament deputy speaker Dimitar Peshev
Dimitar Peshev
Dimitar Peshev was the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Bulgaria and Minister of Justice during World War II...
and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
, saving them as well.
Death
Following the armistice with the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
whose forces had entered Bulgaria in 1944, a new Communist-dominated government was established and the Regency Council members were arrested. Filov and ninety-two other public officials were sentenced to death by a "People's Tribunal" on the afternoon of 1 February 1945 and executed by firing squad that night in Sofia cemetery. They were then buried in a mass grave that had been a bomb crater. The former professor was described in one obituary as a man who had mistakenly "preferred making history to teaching it". Filov's property was confiscated and his wife exiled.
The sentence was revoked by the Bulgarian Supreme Court on June 26, 1996.