Whether combating opposition from fascists and communists, implementing new anti-semetic policies, or avoiding wider involvement in the war, the Bulgarian government operates in the shadows.

Major Characters in this Episode:

Tsar Boris III

Prime Minister Filov

Foreign Minister Popov

German Foreign Minister Von Ribbentrop

Adolf Hitler

Hristo Lukov

Alexander Belev

Interior Minister Gabrovski

Timeline:

• 1942, Feb - Bulgarian Police capture some communists. Interrogations then set up mass arrests in the following month.

• 1942, Mar 4th - Bulgarian police capture leading Communist party members.

• 1942, Mar 6th - Tsar Boris discusses suicide with close confidants.

• 1942, Mar 13th - A new law is passed against speculation in real estate. It specifies that Jews are only allowed to own housing and not other types of real estate.

• 1942, Mar 22nd - Tsar Boris and Adolf Hitler meet for six hours during which time the German dictator pressures Bulgaria to take on additional occupation commitments in Serbia.

• 1942, Mar 25-6th - The first mass transportation of Jews to the Auschwitz concentration camp is completed.

• 1942, Mar 26th - Two members of the National Assembly representing the government are expelled for corruption.

• 1942, Late Mar - General Vladimir Zaimov is arrested for treason.

• 1942, Mar - The Bulgarian government orders villages to organize combat units comprising 15-30 men each.

• 1942, Apr 5th - A communist conspiracy is uncovered in two regiments of the Bulgarian Army.

• 1942, Apr 6th - The Soviet commercial mission in Varna is closed.

• 1942, Apr 10th - The Treblinka II concentration camp begins operation.

• 1942, April 11th - The Bulgarian cabinet is reshuffled.

• 1942, May 12-23rd - A quarter of a million Soviet troops are encircled in the Second Battle of Kharkov.

• 1942, May 26th - The British and Soviet Union sign a military and political alliance.

• 1942, May - Greek partisan movement gets underway.

• 1942, Spring - Some high-ranking Bulgarian military officials express support for an attack on Turkey.

• 1942, Spring - Right-wing groups with German sympathy advocate for a government headed by Hristo Lukov.

• 1942, Jun 1st - General Vladimir Zaimov is sentenced to death and actually executed for spying for the USSR.

• 1942, Jun 4-7th - The United States blunts the Japanese advance in the Pacific at the Battle of Midway.

• 1942, Jun 5th - A government decree grants Bulgarian citizenship to residents of occupied territories, but explicitly excludes Jews.

• 1942, Jun 5th - The United States declares war on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania.

• 1942, Jun 9-26th - A trial is held for captured instructors of Bulgarian partisans. 18 are sentenced to death, 7 to life in prison, and the remaining given 2 and 15 year sentences.

• 1942, Jun 28th - Germany begins its major summer offensive towards Stalingrad and the Caucasus.

• 1942, Jun - Bulgarian government is reorganized.

• 1942, Jun - Belev visits Berlin on orders from Gabrovski to learn about the latest German efforts to answer the ‘Jewish question.’

• 1942, Jun - Germany gives Turkey a line of credit to purchase military materials.

• 1942, Jun - A new Communist operative arrives in Macedonia and begins promoting a pro-Tito faction.

• 1942, Jun - Debates around a new anti-Jewish law in Bulgaria before it is ultimately passed.

• 1942, Jun - The German ambassador complains about the Soviet Legation in Sofia.

• 1942, Jun - Foreign Minister Popov authorizes the Germans to do what they like with Bulgarian Jews abroad.

Sources:

• История на България в Дати by Vasil Katsunov, Plamen Mitev, Valeri Kolev, Evgenia Kalinova, and Iskra Baeva

• Crown of Thorns by Stephane Groueff

• Bulgaria During the Second World War by Marshall E. Miller

• The Bulgarian Communist Party from Blagoev to Zhivkov by John D. Bell

• The Bulgarian Jews and the Final Solution, 1940-1944 by Frederick B. Chary

• Bulgaria and Her Jews by Vicki Tamir