Hristo Lukov

Template:Short description Template:Expand Bulgarian Template:Infobox officeholder Hristo Nikolov Lukov (Template:Langx; 6 January 1887 in Varna – 13 February 1943 in Sofia) was a Bulgarian lieutenant-general, politician, and Minister of War, who led the nationalistic Union of Bulgarian National Legions (UBNL), an organisation largely supportive of Nazi ideology. He was assassinated in 1943 by two members of the Bulgarian resistance movement, Violeta Yakova and Ivan Burudzhiev.

Military and political career

First World War

Hristo Nikolov Lukov was promoted during World War I to the rank of a major and a commander of an artillery battalion. Abroad he is incorrectly thought to be the commander of the 13th Infantry division during World War I. In fact, that was major-general Hristo Tsonev Lukov, a native of Gabrovo.

Interwar period

During the interwar period Hristo Nikolov Lukov became the commander of the Army School of Artillery, of the Training Section of the General Staff's Artillery Inspection, and of the 2nd and 3rd Infantry divisions.Template:Citation needed

Between 1935–1938 Lukov served as Minister of War, in which position he created close ties to high-ranking Nazi officials.<ref name="Singer">Robert Singer, Bulgaria must stop this neo-Nazi Lukov march, EUobserver, 1 February 2018 [1]; quote: "Lukov was a top Bulgarian military and political figure who led the ultra-nationalist Union of Bulgarian National Legions from the 1930s until his assassination in 1943.

He served as minister of war from 1935-1938, during which he fostered close ties with senior Nazi officials in Germany; after retiring, he remained highly influential and strongly advocated for the Bulgarian Law for the Protection of the Nation, modelled on the infamous 1935 Nuremberg Laws in Germany that stripped Jews of their civic rights."</ref>

Second World War

Hristov Lukov earlier in his military career ca. 1930

During the Second World War he was a key supporter of the Axis powers, particularly Nazi Germany. This was largely due to his close relations with the Third Reich<ref name="Miller-1975">Miller, L. (1975). Bulgaria during the Second World War. Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 73–5. Template:ISBN</ref><ref name="Chary-1972">Chary, F. B. (1972). The Bulgarian Jews and the Final Solution, 1940-1944. London: University of Pittsburgh Press, pp. 8–9. Template:ISBN</ref><ref name="Chary-2011">Chary, F. B. (2011). The history of Bulgaria. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, pp. 81–2. Template:ISBN</ref> and his activities as leader of UBNL. Lukov was considered one of the most prominent advocates of antisemitic ideas in Bulgaria.<ref name="ENAR-2011">Template:Citation</ref>

Death

Lukov was shot dead by Communist partisans on 13 February 1943 in Sofia. According to the book In the Name of the People,<ref>In the name of the people, a book by Mitka Grabcheva, pp 187–194, in Bulgarian</ref> he was ambushed by two resistance fighters<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in front of his apartment in Sofia. Although struck by one bullet, he fought back one of the partisans, Ivan Burudzhiev, but the second one, Violeta Yakova, fired two more shots and killed him.

'Lukov March'

From 2003 to 2019, the far-right Bulgarian National Union hosted an annual 'Lukov March' to commemorate "fallen heroes of Bulgaria" with a torch march, taking place in February in Sofia. It persistently caused controversy and was subject to multiple court bans. In 2020, the Supreme Administrative Court upheld a ban by the Sofia municipality so that the evening procession was cancelled. Less than 200 supporters of Lukov still gathered for the laying of wreaths at the house where Lukov was killed. Over one hundred people gathered for a counter-protest in central Sofia earlier in the day, promoting "No Nazis on the streets".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="ENAR-2011" />

Awards and decorations

• Order of Bravery, 4th degree, first and second class
• Order of St Alexander, 3rd class without swords and 4th class with swords
• Order of Military Merit, 1st class
• Iron Cross of 1939, 2nd class (Germany)

See also

• List of Bulgarian generals in the Kingdom of Bulgaria

Sources

• Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 edited by Philip Rees, 1991, Template:ISBN