Ivan Dochev
| Ivan Dochev | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Ivan Dimitrov Dochev January 7, 1906 Shumen |
| Died | 2005 |
| Nationality | Bulgarian |
| Alma mater | Sofia University, University of Heidelberg |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Known for | Political activist |
| Notable work | Half century struggle against communism for the freedom of Bulgaria (1982) |
| Political party | Union of Bulgarian National Legions, Bulgarian National Front |
Ivan Dimitrov Dochev (Bulgarian: Иван Димитров Дочев) (7 January 1906 – 2005) was a Bulgarian far right politician active either side of the Second World War.
Born in Shumen the son of an army colonel, Dochev worked in the civil service from 1926 to 1932 when he went to Sofia University to study law and politics. It was at university that he first became involved in politics, taking charge of the student organisation.
In 1933 he was a founder of the Union of Young National Legions and became part of the triumvirate that officially led this movement. The group was initially anti-communist and nationalist but it soon came under the influence of Italian fascism and Nazism and added corporatism and anti-Semitism to its platform. In 1934 Dochev went to Nazi Germany with Nikola Zhekov and met both Adolf Hitler and Alfred Rosenberg. Dochev failed to come fully to terms with Hitler however as he would not support the Nazi demand for the Legions to overthrow King Boris.
His movement adopted its more familiar name of the Union of Bulgarian National Legions in 1937 and the following year it split with Dochev leading one wing away from the main group under Hristo Lukov.
Dochev was reconciled to Lukov during the Second World War and became one of the main supporters of the pro-Nazi general. His pro-German stance made him unpopular however, especially as the war neared its end. As a result, he joined Aleksandar Tsankov in accepting German-sponsored exile in Vienna in 1944 and he served out the war there. After the war Dochev was given three separate death sentences in absentia for crimes such as sending Jews to extermination camps whilst mayor of Silistra although he denied committing the crimes.
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Wikipedia