Boris III of Bulgaria: Encyclopedia II - Boris III of Bulgaria - Marriage and family

Boris III of Bulgaria - Marriage and family

Boris married Giovanna of Savoy, daughter of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, first in Assisi in October 1930, and then at an Orthodox ceremony in Sofia. The marriage produced a daughter, Marie-Louise in January 1933 and a son and heir in Simeon in 1937.

In the early days of World War II, Bulgaria was neutral, but popular sentiment swayed toward Germany, which had forced Romania to cede southern Dobruja back to Bulgaria. In 1941, Boris reluctantly allied himself with the Axis Powers and joined Germany's war against Greece and the Yugoslavia in an attempt to regain territories lost under the Treaty of Neuilly. However, in spite of siding with Nazi Germany, Boris consistently refused cooperation on two major issues. In early 1943, Nazi officials requested that Bulgaria's Jews be sent to Poland as part of Hitler's "final solution." The request caused a public outcry, led by prominent figures such as Parliament Chairman Dimitar Peshev and Archbishop Stefan of Sofia. Boris was thus compelled to cancel the deportation of Bulgaria's 50,000 Jews to Auschwitz. Even more threatening to Hitler, however, was the tsar's refusal to declare war on the Soviet Union, particularly as the war was turning against Germany.

In August 1943, Hitler summoned Boris to a stormy meeting in Berlin. While Boris had declared war on the distant United Kingdom and United States, he again refused to get Bulgaria involved in the war against the USSR. The "symbolic" war against the Western Allies turned into a disaster for the citizens of Sofia as the city was heavily bombarded by the US and British Air Force in 1943 and 1944.

Shortly after returning to Sofia, Boris died of apparent heart failure. Many believed he was poisoned by Hitler in an attempt to put a more obedient government in place. Others suggest that this was a Communist plot attempting to destabilize the monarchy. Boris was succeeded by his six-year-old son Simeon II. He was buried in the ancient Rila Monastery. After assuming power in 1944, the Communist-dominated government had his body exhumed and secretly buried in the courtyard of Vrana Palace. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, there was an excavation attempt but only Boris's heart was recovered. It was reburied at Rila Monastery.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Marriage and family", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki