Vlado Chernozemski

People

• Vlado Chernozemski — Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO); later assassinated Alexander I of Yugoslavia.
• Velichko Dimitrov Kerin — birth name of Vlado Chernozemski.
• Dimo Hadjidimov — leader of the Bulgarian Communist Party; was killed by Chernozemski in 1924.
• Alexander I of Yugoslavia — King of Yugoslavia; was assassinated by Chernozemski on 9 October 1934.
• Louis Barthou — French Foreign Minister; was in the car with Alexander I and was accidentally shot by a French policeman and later died.
• Ivan Mihaylov — leader of IMRO at the time mentioned; ordered Chernozemski to murder another left-wing IMRO member in 1930.
• Ante Pavelić — leader of the Croatian Ustaše group mentioned in the narrative.
• Benito Mussolini — Italian dictator mentioned as providing secret sponsorship in the narrative.
• Peter II — minor son of Alexander I; was still a minor at the time of Alexander’s burial.
• Prince Pavle Karadjordjevic — Alexander’s first cousin; took the regency of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia because Peter II was still a minor.
• Aloysius Stepinac — bishop granted special permission to attend Alexander’s funeral.
• Antun Akšamović — bishop granted special permission to attend Alexander’s funeral.
• Dionisije Njaradi — bishop granted special permission to attend Alexander’s funeral.
• Gregorij Rožman — bishop granted special permission to attend Alexander’s funeral.
• The chauffeur — chauffeur travelling in the car with Alexander I; was killed instantly when shot.
• A French policeman — mounted French policeman who cut down Chernozemski immediately after the assassination; also a French policeman who accidentally shot Barthou (in the narrative explanation).
• The cameraman — filmed the assassination and immediate aftermath.
• John F. Kennedy — mentioned only as a later comparison to film footage being notable.

Background

Vlado Chernozemski (19 October 1897 – 9 October 1934) was born Velichko Dimitrov Kerin. He was born in the village of Kamenitsa (now part of Velingrad, Bulgaria). He joined the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) in 1922. The narrative describes the IMRO as a political organization that fought for secession of Vardar Macedonia from Yugoslavia, and identifies Ivan Mihailov as the leader of the organization at that time.

The narrative states that Chernozemski cooperated with the Croatian movement Ustaše. It also states that IMRO worked in alliance with the Croatian Ustaše group led by Ante Pavelić, under the secret sponsorship of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

The offences

Killing of Dimo Hadjidimov

After killing Dimo Hadjidimov, leader of the Bulgarian Communist Party, in 1924, Chernozemski was sentenced to death in 1928.

Murder of another IMRO left-wing member

The narrative states that Chernozemski “also murdered another member of the left wing of IMRO in 1930 on the order of Ivan Mihaylov.”

Proposed assassination plan against the League of Nations conference building

In 1927, Chernozemski proposed to the Central Committee of the IMRO to enter and detonate the main conference building of the League of Nations in Paris, with grenades attached to him, to attract world publicity over the question of the Bulgarians in Macedonia. The proposal was not accepted.

Assassination of Alexander I of Yugoslavia and the shooting of Louis Barthou

On Tuesday 9 October 1934, the narrative describes Alexander I of Yugoslavia arriving in Marseilles to start a state visit to the Third French Republic. While Alexander was being driven in a car through the streets along with French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou, Chernozemski stepped from the street and shot the King and the chauffeur. The chauffeur was killed instantly. Louis Barthou was accidentally shot by a French policeman and died later.

The narrative states that it was one of the first assassinations captured on film and that the cameraman was only feet away, filming both the assassination and the immediate aftermath; it also describes the chauffeur’s body becoming jammed against the brakes of the car, allowing the cameraman to continue filming from within inches of the King for a number of minutes afterwards.

The narrative states that Chernozemski was a member of IMRO and an experienced marksman who was immediately cut down by the sword of a mounted French policeman and then beaten by the crowd, and that by the time he was removed from the scene he was already dead.

The narrative also includes a separate explanation: it states that Chernozemski was “also thought to have shot and killed French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou,” but that “until 1974, when it was revealed that the bullet actually came from a French policeman reacting to the shooting of King Alexander.”

Investigation

No separate investigative steps are described in the material beyond the narrative explanation regarding Louis Barthou’s fatal bullet coming from a French policeman.

Arrest

No separate arrest is described in the material. The narrative describes Chernozemski being killed immediately after assassinating Alexander I.

Trial

Sentence for killing Dimo Hadjidimov

After the killing of Dimo Hadjidimov in 1924, Chernozemski was sentenced to death in 1928.

Sentencing

Chernozemski was sentenced to death in 1928, but was granted an amnesty in 1932.

Appeals

No appeals are described in the material.

Outcome

Death after the assassination on 9 October 1934

Vlado Chernozemski was assassinated immediately afterwards on 9 October 1934; the narrative states it was 10 days before his 37th birthday. After he was cut down by a mounted French policeman and beaten by the crowd, he was removed from the scene already dead.

Death and burial of Alexander I

The narrative states that King Alexander I was buried in the Memorial Church of St. George, which had been built by his father. It states that the Holy See gave special permission to bishops Aloysius Stepinac, Antun Akšamović, Dionisije Njaradi, and Gregorij Rožman to attend the funeral in an Orthodox church.

It also states that because Alexander’s son Peter II was still a minor, Alexander’s first cousin Prince Pavle Karadjordjevic took the regency of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Aftermath

The narrative includes film and cultural references:

• It states that the assassination was one of the most notable pieces of newsreel in existence, alongside the film of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia’s coronation, the funerals of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Emperor Franz Josef of Austria, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
• It states that the assassination of Alexander I was fictionalized at the beginning of The Second Assassin by Christopher Hyde, as being a Nazi-backed Ustasa plot, with a Croatian assassin plus a second gunman.

Timeline

• 1922 — Chernozemski joined the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO).
• 1924 — Chernozemski killed Dimo Hadjidimov, leader of the Bulgarian Communist Party.
• 1927 — Chernozemski proposed to the IMRO Central Committee to enter and detonate the main conference building of the League of Nations in Paris with grenades attached to him.
• 1928 — Chernozemski was sentenced to death.
• 1930 — Chernozemski murdered another member of the left wing of IMRO on the order of Ivan Mihaylov.
• 1932 — Chernozemski was granted an amnesty.
• 9 October 1934 — Chernozemski assassinated Alexander I of Yugoslavia in the port of Marseilles; he was killed immediately afterward.
• 1974 — The narrative states that it was revealed that the bullet that killed Louis Barthou came from a French policeman reacting to the shooting of King Alexander.
• 9 October 1934 — King Alexander I was buried in the Memorial Church of St. George (as described in the narrative context).