After the First World War,10.3, Boris's father, Tsar Ferdinand I, was forced to cede the throne to his eldest son Boris and went into exile in Austria at the request of the Allied Forces. At the age of 24, Boris became Bulgarian Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria. During the Paris Peace Conference, the young new czar waited anxiously to see how much territory he had to pay for his father's wrong bet 19 15.
1919165438+1On October 27th, a simple ceremony was held in the ancient town hall in Neuilly, a suburb of Paris. Under the auspices of French Prime Minister George Clemenceau, the pale and worried leader of the Farmers' Union, Alexander Stamboliski, signed the Nai Peace Treaty on a green table. According to this treaty, Bulgaria lost about one-tenth of its territory, in addition to paying 2.25 billion gold francs, equivalent to 90 million pounds or 654.38+08 billion gold marks. The annual compensation amount far exceeds Bulgaria's budget.
Facts have proved that Stamboliski is still an outstanding politician. He recognized new borders, handed over livestock, disbanded troops, destroyed planes and cannons, and became a supporter of the League of Nations. He also condemned past expansionist acts, further repaired relations with Yugoslavia and cracked down on lawless terrorists in "internal revolutionary organizations". He even started to build the "green international" of the peasant party in eastern European countries to counter the "* * * production international" of red Russia. However, Stamboliski's internal and external policies have also offended many people: Bulgarian nationalists, officers' corps, Macedonian terrorists, the middle class suffering from high taxes and inflation, and perhaps the czar. 1in June, 923, a military coup took place in Bulgaria, and the cabinet of the peasant party was overthrown by the Bulgarian military corps, right-wing parties and "internal revolutionary organizations". When Stamboliski was killed, the rebels first cut off his hand that signed the Nai peace treaty.
In the 1923 anti-peasant party and government revolution, the Bulgarian Production Party sat quietly and watched their two opponents kill each other. When they launched an uprising in September according to the resolution of Producer International, they were also brutally suppressed. In summer and autumn, more than10,000 Bulgarians may be killed that year.
After two struggles, Professor Alexander Kankov, the leader of the People's Consultative Union of the Far Right, became the Prime Minister, and the Bulgarian Military Corps and its leader, Colonel volkov, the Minister of National Defense, firmly grasped the power. Bulgaria's most vengeful group came to power, which shocked neighboring countries and began to gather troops on the border. It was only because of the warnings from Britain and Italy that Yugoslavia gave up the idea of sending troops to intervene in Greece and Romania.
Boris III of Bulgaria has a neutral and indifferent attitude towards the 1923 coup. The young czar is bald, thin, slightly hunched and looks ugly. The greatest pleasure in his life is driving a train, followed by studying the mechanical structure of clocks and watches. The driver of the "Orient Express" crossing the European continent was warned by the railway company that the king should not go near the cab when the train was running in Bulgaria.
This absent-minded attitude towards politics actually helps to save his life and his throne, because it is not easy to be king in the Balkans. In the first 35 years of the 20th century, two kings in Serbia and later Yugoslavia were killed by their own officers corps and Croatian nationalists. A monarch in Montenegro was deposed; In Greece, two kings were deposed three times, and one king was killed by a monkey. In Romania, a king overthrew his 9-year-old son and replaced him. As for Bulgaria, although the old king has abdicated Austria and the new king has adopted a lifelong attitude towards the sensitive issue of monarch's intervention in state affairs, the murder case has found the head of the czar.
1925 On April 3rd, Boris III of Bulgaria and Ilchev, a famous entomologist from the Royal Museum of Natural History, went to the Balkan Mountains to collect insect specimens. On the way back to the capital the next morning, they were ambushed by gunmen from the Bulgarian production party. Ilchev and the king's hunting guide were killed, the driver was seriously injured and the king's adjutant was injured. Boris held the steering wheel, ran over the murderer's foot and managed to escape. 15 In the morning, the founder of the "Officers' Union", General Konstantin Georgiev, was killed by plainclothes gunmen when he led his children out of the church and crossed the street in Bulgaria. /kloc-on 0/6, when people held a funeral for Georgiev in the holy church, the bomb hidden on the roof in advance exploded and the church was destroyed. More than 250 bodies were dug up from the ruins, including the archbishop, the mayor of Sofia, the police chief and at least 14 generals. Boris first attended the funeral of entomologist and hunting guide. When he was about to go to the holy cathedral, the explosion 15 minutes ago saved him.
After the explosion, Bao quickly issued a statement denying that he had anything to do with these terrorist incidents, and then said that the explosion was the personal behavior of several extremists and "seriously deviated from the correct line of the party." However, this excuse is useless in front of the vengeful officer corps. The government of Kankov first proposed that the prisoners of the * * * production party with the same number of victims as the "Holy Church" be executed from prison, and then killed more suspects of the * * * production party without trial. Bulgarian leader Georgi mikhailov fled to Moscow two years ago, but one of his brothers died in this "white terror" period. Under the unanimous opposition of the people and the pressure of foreign public opinion, the Kankov government fell on 10/4/0/926. "Moderate" Andre Liapchev (андрейляпчев) became the new Prime Minister.
193 1 year, the wave of world economic crisis washed up on Bulgaria's coast, which led to further political turmoil and rising worker riots. 1933, some young Bulgarian military officers who were pro-fascism, totalitarianism and technicalism decided to set up a stronger organization called "secret military alliance" to replace the old military alliance with bureaucratic corruption. They and a right-wing organization called "Zveno" staged a coup in the evening of May 1934, announcing the termination of the Constitution, dissolution of Parliament, closure of trade unions, prohibition of assembly and demonstration, revocation of local autonomy and strict censorship. Some young coup leaders further advocated depriving the czar of his power and even establishing a fascist Republic.
General Simon Georgiev (кимонгеоргиев), the leader of "Ties Group", visited the Tsar with a list of new governments, and the other pocket contained a letter of abdication for him. Boris knew that the secret military alliance had strong anti-monarchy thoughts, but without the support and support of the army, he could not keep the throne. So after learning the news of the coup, he put on the general's military uniform, put on the medal, stepped on the waist knife, and signed his name on the new cabinet list without hesitation.
This coup undoubtedly posed a severe challenge to Boris's idea of "governing by doing nothing". In his first few years in office, he really just wanted to be a symbolic head of state and a nominal commander-in-chief of the army, and a "unified but not cured" czar. However, two military coups, 1923 and 1934, both threatened the throne and pushed Boris onto the road of absolute monarchy. Centralized rule has become a very attractive new system in Europe at this time. At this time, totalitarian rule has become a very attractive new system in Europe, and many Balkan countries facing despair in the old system are ready to eat this panacea. Yugoslavia established a monarchy with Balkan characteristics in 1929, Greece in 1935 and Romania in 1938. 1935, Boris III of Bulgaria also established an absolute monarchy. He used the intrigue between the old and new officers to force Simon Georgiev, who was inclined to * * *, to resign, and then gained the personnel rights of the army. Some unruly members of the "secret military alliance" were exiled, some were sent abroad as ministers or military attaché s, and some were executed or imprisoned for "treason".
Although Bulgaria resumed its parliament in 1938, the reconstructed parliament became a purely advisory body and rubber stamp. The ban on political parties in 1934 is still in effect. In this way, the military clique destroyed the cabinet and parliament, but the regime finally fell into the hands of the tsar. For Boris, driving a train and collecting motorcycles are still interesting, but the national affairs are busy and can only become luxury entertainment from now on.
1935 In the summer, Hermann G?ring, the No.2 figure of the Third Reich, and his new wife went to Southeast Europe for their honeymoon and passed through Bulgaria. Boris III of Bulgaria presented Marshal Pang with the "Saint Alexander Cross" and presented a pair of exquisite diamond bracelets to Mrs. Eda Goering. Afterwards, the tsar and his entourage joked that maybe these two gifts should be exchanged, because he noticed that after Goering saw the bracelet, his double-star blue eyes only showed greedy light when the woman walked into the jewelry store.
By 1935, the German Empire had largely restored its traditional influence in Balkan countries. After the world economic crisis, France, Belgium and other countries withdrew their capital from Eastern Europe, which opened the door for the infiltration of German capital. In order to buy Bulgaria's export products, Germany is willing to pay a price higher than the international market, but the payment period is very long, and Bulgaria is often asked to use this money to buy German products. Germany adopted the same policy when doing business with Yugoslavia, Romania and China. This was the first test of the new world economic order by the Third Reich, and it was very successful. By 1939, Germany's share in Bulgaria's import and export trade reached 65.5% and 67.8% respectively, and Bulgaria became Germany's number one trading partner among Balkan countries.
Boris III of Bulgaria dropped in at the funeral of King George V of England. Besides visiting his old father in Coburg Palace, he also met Goering, schacht and other "old friends" who had visited Bulgaria. On August 1 day of that year, the Tsar led a Bulgarian delegation to attend the Berlin Olympic Games and had a cordial conversation with Hitler. Hitler promised to help Bulgaria "heal the wounds caused by the war", while Boris said that he would follow the example of the Fuehrer and establish a dictatorship in Bulgaria.
However, despite his close ties with Germany, Boris didn't want to hang himself from a tree, but swayed among great powers to strive for the best interests of Bulgaria. When attending the 50th anniversary ceremony of the Russian-Turkish War Memorial, he did not forget to praise the achievements of Slavic Russia, as well as the "great achievements of brotherly Russian people" and "generous assistance". As for Britain and France, in order to compete with Germany for Bulgaria's favor, they forced Balkan allies Greece, Romania, Yugoslavia and Turkey to sign an agreement with Bulgaria in 1938, allowing Bulgaria to reorganize its army and armaments freely.
What Boris often said reflected his dilemma when he was "swinging": "My officers are pro-German, and my people love Russia; The middle class likes Britain and France, the queen and the children are pro-Italy ... only my parliament and I support Bulgaria. " In other words, Bulgaria keeps in constant contact with Germany, Italy, Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Obviously, neutrality is the best choice among these countries.
However, the actual situation does not allow Bulgaria to make such a choice. For Boris himself, because he has relatives in Germany and married an Italian princess, he is very aware of the strength and limitations of Hitler and Mussolini. At the same time, when Romania's Carol II stepped forward on the pro-German tightrope, Boris would rather stand in the distance and enjoy such political acrobatics, but also look at the abyss under the performers' feet from time to time and feel deeply worried.
However, Bulgarian soldiers and politicians only saw a more superficial side: Germany showed the magical power to make British and French politicians bow to their knees in 1935, 1937 and 1938; Although Italy's performances are often more comedic, it has also gained a lot of benefits by scaring each other with feathers. Generally speaking, on the eve of World War II, the Bulgarian government and soldiers, like Germany and Italy, opposed the new European order formulated by the Paris Peace Conference and were committed to breaking the existing situation and recovering lost ground, while Britain and France were committed to maintaining the status quo in Europe and vigorously fostering the Balkan agreement. Although Boris III of Bulgaria shook his head at Bulgaria's complete fall into the German camp, the officers didn't see it that way. The danger is that the officers know that they have the power to overthrow the tsar, and the tsar knows this.
1939 September 1, World War II broke out. The rapid demise of Poland made Balkan countries see the power of blitzkrieg for the first time, but what surprised them even more was the turbulent eastward advance of the Soviet Red Army. Half of Poland and three Baltic countries fell into Stalin's blood pocket, and the brave Finns were almost drowned in the blood of the Red Army after bathing in the Soviet Union 15 weeks. Seeing the fate of these five Soviet neighbors, every country in Southeast Europe began to scramble to become an indispensable member of Germany, hoping that Hitler could help stop Stalin's maw.
1940 February 15, Bogdahn Filov (богдандимитров) Germany not only failed to help Romania keep Bissalabia and North Bukovina, but also was forced to agree to cede half of Transylvania to Hungary. Three days later, Hitler forced Romania to return Nando Brogat to Bulgaria. This is the first gift Boris got from Germany.
1In the autumn of 940, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia successively joined the Three Kingdoms Convention. Yugoslavia would have joined this treaty long ago, but for Italy's bad intentions. In his later years, Tsar Ferdinand also brought a message from Germany: "Don't miss the opportunity to volunteer to join the Axis of the Three Kingdoms." Boris replied, "Now is not the time to discuss this issue."
Faced with the "German tide" that almost submerged the Balkans, Boris III of Bulgaria still has the courage to postpone joining the Axis as much as possible. You know, Germany has conquered almost the whole of Europe at this time, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg have fallen, France has surrendered, the British Isles groaned under the bombing of the German Air Force, the Germans have entered Romania, and the Italian army is attacking Greece. It undoubtedly takes considerable courage and political foresight to hesitate to invite Germany at this time.
Britain has also noticed Bulgaria's hesitation. George VI sent a secret letter to Boris, asking Bulgaria to "think twice before you act" and not to stand on the side of Germany, otherwise "it will end in disaster". Boris asked the British minister to tell London that it was difficult for Bulgaria to resist German pressure. If Hitler is aggressive, any resistance will be futile. As he expected, on June 16 10, ribbentrop sent an urgent telegram to the Bulgarian government, asking it to join the Axis within three days. Boris resisted on the grounds that "this move may push Turkey into the Anglo-French camp". Seeing that Bulgaria did not submit it immediately, Germany agreed to extend this ultimatum period by 10 days.
1940, 10 year128 October, Boris personally wrote to Hitler, expressing his ambiguous position. On the one hand, he called the Fuehrer a great man, and the friendship between Bulgaria and Germany has been profound since the First World War. On the other hand, he advocated that Bulgaria's interests were consistent with the great interests of the Third Reich, "whether in the past or today", and begged Hitler to consider this question: "Does Bulgaria have to unconditionally change its current policy?" Obviously, a neutral Bulgaria can also help Germany play a role in the Balkans.
However, the development of things is not decided by Boris or even Hitler-because Stalin shot. 1940165438+1At the beginning of October, Molotov conveyed Stalin's opinion to Hitler, and the Soviet Union insisted on bringing Bulgaria into its sphere of influence. The Soviet Union promised to ensure Bulgaria's security and even agreed to keep its monarchy. Polev, a member of the People's Committee of the Soviet Union's Deputy Foreign Affairs, also suggested that the Soviet Union and Bulgaria sign an ominous "treaty of friendship and mutual assistance". You know, that summer, the Soviet Union annexed Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia by virtue of this "Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance".
1940165438+1October 17. The frightened czar Boris personally visited Hitler in Berchtesgaden and inquired about the bottom line of Germany's demands. Hitler told him that Germany only wanted transit rights and promised that Turkey would not touch Bulgaria, because "I can reach an agreement with Stalin within 24 hours and Turkey will disappear from the map". As for the Soviet Union, "I have 100 divisions ready to go, and I can conquer the Soviet Union in just three months". Six days later, Sofia informed Berlin that Bulgaria agreed in principle to join the three-nation convention, but asked to sign it later.
In addition, Bulgaria also allowed a signal unit of the German Air Force of more than 200 people to enter the country first and set up a communication station on the border between Greece and Bulgaria. Later, a small number of Germans were allowed to enter Bulgaria as tourists to build bridges, railways and airports to welcome the arrival of a large number of Germans.
194165438+1October 2 1 Colonel Donovan, the envoy of President Roosevelt, secretly came to Sofia to make a final effort. On behalf of the American government, he suggested that Bulgaria strictly observe neutrality and resist the German crossing by force. The reason is very simple, because Bulgaria is in a key area and is the "key" of the Balkans. If it is on the wrong team, it will destroy the country. Boris replied, "Yes, we are a key to the Balkans, but this key is in someone else's hand." On February 28th, German 12 entered the "God's Back Garden" under the command of Marshal Liszt. The next morning, at Bervid Palace in Warsaw, Bulgarian representatives signed the Three Kingdoms Convention and joined the Axis countries.
1941After the Soviet-German war broke out on June 22nd, Bulgaria did not declare war on the Soviet Union according to the conditions agreed in advance when it joined the Axis powers. Boris was worried that ordinary people would start from pure Slavic feelings and oppose war with the Soviet Union, and Hitler actually agreed with this view. Perhaps he thinks that a complete Bulgarian army can, after all, serve as the task of maintaining order in the Balkans, and Bulgaria can also serve as a negotiation channel when the Soviet Union makes peace in the future. On the other hand, after withdrawing its ambassador to Germany, the Soviet Union also entrusted the Bulgarian Embassy to take care of its diplomatic interests in the Axis countries.
Legally speaking, Bulgaria 194 1 12 followed Germany in declaring war on the United States and, by the way, on Britain, and is still a completely neutral country until now. However, this did not prevent Bulgaria from sharing the spoils after the fall of Greece and Yugoslavia, although the Bulgarian army did not directly participate in the wars against these two countries. According to the arrangement of the German high command, Bulgarian troops entered most parts of Yugoslav Macedonia (namely "Wada Macedonia") and the southeast of Serbia proper. Two places in western Macedonia were merged into Italy-controlled Albania. In Greece, Bulgaria occupied the Aegean Thrace region and southern Macedonia ceded by 19 18. Although Germany did not allow Bulgaria to directly annex these lands, the prospect of "recovering lost land" immersed Bulgaria in fanatical excitement and excitement. Boris III of Bulgaria was honored as "Liberator Tsar" and "Uniter Tsar" by Parliament.
The relationship between Germany and Bulgaria in World War II was similar to that between Germany and Romania and Hungary. Although Hitler had different attitudes towards these countries, they were all under the control of Germany economically and became the "Danube Province of Agriculture and Raw Materials" of the Third Reich. Germany's economic purpose in Bulgaria can be summed up in one word: strengthening agriculture. In order to encourage Bulgaria to export more agricultural products, Germany provided funds and technology to help Bulgaria build slaughterhouses, cold storage plants, glass greenhouses and other equipment. French chemical companies also provide Bulgaria with low-cost fertilizers and pesticides to increase production. During the war, Bulgaria was forced to provide Germany with meat and leather equivalent to 300,000 pigs, 65,438+10,000 sheep and 20,000 cows every year, in addition to transporting a lot of oil, canned fruits, vegetables, tobacco and almost all rose essential oils. In order to steal as much money as possible, Germany artificially let the mark appreciate, and withheld Bulgaria's due payment, so as to set up a clearing account in Germany and use the money to buy German industrial products-from machines, arms, medicines and fertilizers to toys, sewing machines, light bulbs and typewriters. With the continuation of the war, Bulgaria's exports of grain and raw materials have been expanding, while the imports of German industrial products have been decreasing. By September 1944, Germany's debt to Bulgaria had reached 70 billion lev.
In the spring of 1943, the defeat of the Third Reich was obvious. At the end of March and early April, Boris III of Bulgaria visited Hitler twice to discuss the war situation, relations between the two countries and the Jewish issue. Boris III of Bulgaria, like Danish King Christian X, opposed the persecution of Jewish minorities. Since the outbreak of the war, Bulgaria has only promulgated symbolic anti-Semitic laws, which only stipulate double taxation for Jewish enterprises. Before the war, there were 55,000 Jews in Bulgaria. At the end of the war, no one was forcibly expelled or put into a concentration camp. In the Axis camp, only it and Finland have done this. The Jewish community in Bulgaria is still grateful to Boris for this. But in Macedonia and South Thrace, the SS came forward personally and captured 65,438+300,000 Jews of Yugoslav and Greek nationality. Although the Bulgarian Civil Affairs Bureau and the church came forward to stop it, there was nothing they could do in the end.
1On July 24th, 943, on a sunny day, there was a loud thunder, and the news of Mussolini's downfall came from Italy. The next day, King Vittorio Emanuele of Italy told his son-in-law Boris that Italy was about to stop fighting. On August 9th, there was an urgent telegram from Germany. Hitler wanted to meet the Bulgarian czar at the base camp. On August 14, Boris and his party came to the "Wolf Cave" base camp in Rastenberg, East Prussia, and then held three-day talks with Hitler and a bunch of German military leaders.
Boris has always been weak and unfit for underground life in a wolf's den. He felt that he couldn't sleep well there. His face was tired and he felt short of breath. Hitler asked Bulgaria to send troops to the Soviet-German battlefield, send two more divisions to fight in northern Greece and prepare to send troops to take over Albania when Italy defected. Boris refused these demands one by one and even quarreled with Hitler. Finally, he was forced to verbally agree to send more troops to Greece and Albania, but asked to return to China to discuss with General Mihov, the Minister of National Defense, before making a final reply.
1943 August 16, Boris and the Bulgarian military delegation left Rastenberg and returned to Sofia on the Ju-52 special plane provided by Hitler. During this period, the czar personally flew the plane for some time. The next day, Boris, exhausted, came to bicester Richards Villa in Lira Mountain to recuperate. /kloc-on 0/9, he and his younger brother Prince kirill climbed Mosala Peak, the highest peak of Lira Mountain. When they came down, they looked pale and exhausted. On the 23rd, Boris returned to Sofia to handle official business, and suddenly felt chest pain and vomiting. After consultation, doctors thought that the Tsar had a heart attack, and emergency medical experts from Berlin and Vienna also thought that Boris had a myocardial infarction. On the evening of the 27th, the Tsar's condition deteriorated and he began to be unconscious. At 4: 22 pm the next day, 49-year-old Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria's heart stopped beating. That evening, the Bulgarian Cabinet published a letter to the Bulgarian people, announcing the death of the "Uniter Tsar".
It was in troubled times, so people doubted Boris's real cause of death. Some people think that he tried to quit the alliance with Germany when he met Hitler in the wolf's den, so he was poisoned by the Germans; Others think that he was poisoned by the * * * production party in order to create chaos in Bulgaria. The BBC broadcast in London quoted an agent as saying that the czar was shot dead at Sofia Railway Station and later renamed Hitler to poison the czar.
Whatever the real cause of death, Boris's death deprived Bulgaria of a resourceful ruler at the critical moment of the war. He is alert by nature and more experienced because of the changeable fate of a quarter century. The czar was succeeded by his 6-year-old son Simeon II, and the kingship was assumed by a three-member regent committee. The head of this committee is Prince kirill Pleslav, Boris's younger brother, and the real power figures are Professor bogdan Filov, the former Prime Minister who was later discredited, and General Mihov, the Minister of National Defense.
A considerable number of Bulgarians believe that Boris's personality is very similar to that of his great-grandfather, Louis-Philippe, the French "civilian king". With his civilized behavior and modest behavior, he won the respect of all walks of life in Bulgaria almost from the beginning. Many biographers point out that Boris's life is very simple, and there is no luxury hobby common to Balkan monarchs. He repeatedly reduced the number and salary of royal attendants. Every year, he donates the money saved from the royal salary to Children's Home charity to buy food for poor children. Boris also banned the decoration of the palace at will, prohibited the state from importing high-end consumer goods and cars for him, and even the expenses of visiting abroad were paid by the czar himself. You know, even the British royal family, known as the model of constitutional monarchy, only implemented these radical measures at the end of the 20th century.
Boris III of Bulgaria always believed that his code of conduct should be to obey the "exhortation to the king" in the Bible and encourage himself: "... to speak for those who can't speak and safeguard the rights and interests of the helpless. It is necessary to defend them, make a fair judgment and avenge the poor ... "History has answered whether Boris is really such a person and has been in charge of this country for 25 years.
During the war years, the memorial service and funeral of the tsar were short and simple. In addition to the spontaneous farewell of the people, some foreign delegations were invited, among which the German delegation led by Marshal Wilhelm Keitel had the highest specifications. Keitel also brought a personal letter from Hitler: "I personally lost my most loyal friend and ally. I and the German people will always miss him. " Boris's body was embalmed and buried in Lira Monastery in southwest Bulgaria. After the war, it was dug up by the Chinese Communist authorities and buried in an unknown secret place. When the Bulgarian government tried to rebury Boris in A.D. 1990, it didn't find his body, only his heart. 1993 reburied in lira monastery.