Bogdan Dimitrov Filov

In memoriam

Filov was a professor of archeology and archeologist and was considered by his nation as the top authority on ancient Bulgarian archeology. He had served as a professor of archeology at Sofia University since 1912 and was Chairman of that department when he was elected Chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Up to this point Filov had never served in a political office and would have been considered apolitical by those observers of the Bulgarian political scene. That changed when Prime Minister Georgi Ivanov Kyoseivanov resigned in 1940. Czar Boris III appointed Filov to replace him on 15 Sep 1940. Under Kyoseivanov, widely viewed as a puppet of the Czar, Bulgaria hap;d become strongly oriented toward Germany in international relations. One of Filov's first actions as Bulgaria's new P.M. was sealing this orientation by joining the Axis alliance on 1 Mar 1940. Filov is best remembered today because of his policies toward Jews. He proposed the "Law for the Protection of Nation" which passed the Bulgarian Parliament on 24 Dec 1940. Although it is seen as a cousin of Germany's famous Nuremberg Laws because it did: 1) Establish regulations about where Jews could live 2) Make expropriation provisions to specifically target Jewish property. 3)Expel Jews from public service and regulated professions However, the law notably did NOT strip Jews of their citizenship or persona non gratia. Filov established the Commissariat for Jewish Affairs which governed all Jewish affairs in Bulgaria. Once the Nazi government of Germany actively pursued the Final Solution in 1942, Germany's allies came under pressure to deliver their Jews to the many concentration and extermination camps. In March 1943 Filov issued a policy that any Jews not being Bulgarian nations in the newly acquired territories (that Bulgarian had recently one in World War could be deported to Germany. However, all Jews which were Bulgarian nationals whether residing in the old kingdom of Bulgarian or these newly acquired territories were spared from becoming Final Solution victims largely due to opposition from Deputy Speaker Dimitar Peshev and the influence of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church . . .

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