King's Ransom by Thom Lemmons
"King's Ransom" by Thom Lemmons is a historical fiction novel set against the backdrop of World War II in Bulgaria, intertwining modern events with poignant flashbacks to the past. The narrative begins in 1996, as Dobri Dimitrov, a former servant to King Boris III, reflects on his life and love for Daria Richetti, a Jewish woman, during a time of great peril for Bulgarian Jews. The story delves into King Boris's struggles as he navigates the pressures of aligning Bulgaria with Nazi Germany while attempting to protect his Jewish citizens from persecution.
Through a series of events, including political negotiations and the actions of both Jewish and Orthodox Christian leaders, the novel highlights the moral dilemmas faced by individuals during this tumultuous period. It emphasizes themes of compassion, justice, and the resistance against evil, showcasing how both religious values and personal conscience motivated Bulgarians to stand against the deportation of Jews. Central to the narrative are the sacrifices made by King Boris and his supporters, who sought to balance national interests with humanitarian duties.
"King’s Ransom" serves as a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the importance of moral courage in the face of systemic oppression. The intertwining of love, faith, and the quest for justice creates a compelling story that resonates with readers interested in the complexities of history and the challenges of ethical decision-making during times of crisis.
King's Ransom by Thom Lemmons
First published: Colorado Springs, Colo.: WaterBrook Press, 2004
Genre(s): Novel
Subgenre(s): Historical fiction (twentieth century); thriller/suspense
Core issue(s): Compassion; conscience; good vs. evil; Judaism; justice; persecution
Principal characters
Boris III , king of Bulgaria, 1918-1943Queen Giovanna , Boris’s wifeDobri Dimitrov , Boris’s servantDaria Richetti , a Jewish royal employeeMetropolitan Stefan , head of the Orthodox Church in SofiaAlexander Belev , an Interior Ministry officialLiliana “Lily” Panitza , Belev’s typistBogdan Filov , the prime minister
Overview
The story of King’s Ransom begins in modern times but covers past events in flashback: In spring, 1996, Dobri Dimitrov, a former servant to Bulgarian king Boris III, assembles with well-wishers in Alexander Battenberg Square at Sofia to greet the return of long-exiled King Simeon II. Dimitrov remembers events fifty years prior, when he worked in the Bulgarian palace with his future wife, Daria Richetti, a Jew. The story then flashes back to September, 1940, during World War II.
King Boris III discusses the German transfer of Dobrudja to Bulgaria with pro-German Bulgarian interior minister Peter Gabrovski and Prime Minister Bogdan Filov. Both men pressure the king to agree to a treaty that will ally Bulgaria with Germany. The king notes other countries’ military interests in gaining access to Bulgarian strategic resources and stresses that his primary concern is to protect Bulgaria. Frustrated by Bulgaria’s vulnerability, the king travels in the countryside, visiting a monastery, where he stops to contemplate political problems and possible solutions.
In the palace, Dimitrov and Richetti perform their duties for the royal family. Richetti shops in the local market, observing Third Reich visitors who unnerve her because of their clear anti-Semitism. Although she trusts the royal family to protect her, Richetti is concerned for other Bulgarian Jews. Liliana (Lily) Panitza works in the Sofia office of Interior Ministry official Alexander Belev, who assigns her work, including preparing lists of approximately fifty thousand Bulgarian Jews, claiming that these Jews are dangerous Bolshevik supporters. Panitza asks Richetti, whom she befriended at a royal reception, to tell the king about the Interior Ministry’s work targeting Jews.
That November, Metropolitan Stefan, the leader of the Orthodox Church in Sofia, denounces Bulgarian officials for registering Bulgarian Jews. Speaking at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, he warns people not to permit Jews to be persecuted within Bulgaria and instead to embrace tolerance. Stefan bravely states that laws discriminating against groups and officials who create those laws are criminal.
King Boris meets with Adolf Hitler in Austria, where he listens to Hitler’s argument for moving German troops through Bulgaria to assist Italian forces that are attacking Greece. Hitler urges the king to ally with the Axis Powers. When a U.S. representative insists, by contrast, that Bulgaria help defeat Germany, King Boris describes his World War I experiences and devotion to Bulgarians, stressing that protecting his people surpasses all other demands. With the king’s reluctant approval, Prime Minister Filov travels to Germany to sign the Tripartite Pact with Hitler and his allies to avoid being violently invaded like neighboring Yugoslavia. As a result of negotiations with Hitler, Bulgaria occupies nearby Macedonia and Thrace.
Bulgarian officials pass the Law for the Defense of the Nation, planning to deport Jews and creating a Commissariat for Jewish Questions. To delay deportations, King Boris asserts the necessity for Jewish males to serve as laborers to build roads and other projects. Queen Giovanna independently arranges for Italian passports for her Jewish friends.
Working at the palace, Dimitrov and Richetti fall in love. They cautiously develop their romantic relationship while guarding Richetti’s Jewish identity. Panitza continues to share information with Richetti. In early 1943, however, Richetti’s Jewish background is exposed at a gala. She chooses to wear a yellow star of David in public, despite her friends’ protests. Panitza gains access to information regarding deportation plans for Jews in Thrace and Macedonia. Rabbi Daniel Tsion, a prophet, visits Metropolitan Stefan, asking him to warn Jews throughout Bulgaria of an approaching evil. As a result of Jewish resistance and church leaders’ protests, deportations are stopped after boxcars have removed thousands of Jews from Macedonia and Thrace.
While King Boris deals with German demands for Bulgarian forces and Jewish deportations, Bulgarian metropolitans meet in Sofia to discuss how to help Jews. Metropolitan Kyril describes his experience at Plovdiv, interceding on behalf of Jews and preventing their removal from that community. The religious leaders vow to protect the Jews, providing safe shelter in churches and stressing that they must use their religious authority to give voice to the Jews’ despair. They draft correspondence to the king and officials, requesting a meeting and censuring anti-Semitic actions. The holy synod visit the king, whose words of support for the Jewish laws anger the pro-German prime minister Filov.
In May, 1943, Richetti accompanies the queen and royal children to the Bulgaria Hall, where an anti-Jewish exhibit is on display. Panitza tells Richetti that officials plan to deport all Bulgarian Jews to ports for distribution to European concentration camps. King Boris retreats with Dimitrov to the royal chalet, located at Yastrebetz, to avoid pressure over the deportations. He accepts the eviction of Jews to camps in Bulgaria’s provinces, considering that the best compromise, and destroys a document approving deportations.
Boris continues attempting to appease the Germans, stressing that he is trying to do what he considers best in order for Bulgaria to be supportive of Germany’s wartime goals. Jews withstand labor camp life, praying and reciting psalms in groups for spiritual strength. In August, 1943, King Boris stays at Hitler’s Wolf’s Lair, refusing to deploy Bulgarian soldiers to fight Russian troops. Hitler coolly bids him farewell. After returning to Bulgaria, King Boris becomes sick and dies.
Flashing forward to 1996, Dimitrov recalls events soon after King Boris’s death and the accession of his son, Simeon II, to the throne. Communist troops overtook Bulgaria and local communists seized power. The new leaders incarcerated the royal family, executed officials, and liberated Jews held in camps. Dimitrov and Richetti, who later married, tended the royal family until they were forced into exile in 1946. Many Bulgarian Jews, having escaped the Holocaust, emigrated to Israel.
Christian Themes
King’s Ransom tells the true story of Bulgaria during World War II and how both Jewish and Christian values prompted national action against Hitler’s “final solution” in Bulgaria. Because of Bulgaria’s geographic position in the Balkans, King Boris despaired of protecting his country from Nazi control and possible communist takeover by Russian troops. His attempts, despite the odds, to prevent German seizure of Bulgarian territory and people through diplomacy and decrees were met by those of both Jewish and Orthodox Christian leaders, who developed strategies to protect Jews. The resistance with which the real-life evil of Nazism was met by those who faced severe consequences for upholding Judeo-Christian values is key to the book’s major theme: that evil is real, and the fight against evil requires courage and a willingness to risk the ultimate sacrifice.
Underlying Christian and Jewish values surface throughout the novel: Prayer comforts most Bulgarians, both Orthodox and Jewish, as they face hostile persecution of Jews by those officials who support German efforts to exterminate all Jews in Europe. Motivated by their consciences, religious leaders risk their safety, threatening to block trains and denouncing political efforts to strip Jews of property, employment, and citizenship. True to their spiritual calling, they willingly sacrifice their comfort to protest attempts to deport Jews from Bulgaria to concentration camps.
King Boris embraces his mother’s dying words, urging him to act with kindness. Many Bulgarians epitomize mercy, generously sharing food and supplies with Jews whose belongings and jobs have been taken from them. Charity becomes a common response to neighbors and friends in need, regardless of their religious affiliation. Some people take food and water to boxcars of Jews being transported from outlying territories. Alleviating suffering and taking social responsibility are a part of daily life for many wartime Bulgarians.
King Boris tries to keep his personal pledge to protect all Bulgarians from physical and spiritual harm. Confronted by evil, the king resists nonviolently, seeking a moral response to horrific demands. Boris visits a monastery and churches, donates money, prays, and confides his fears in trusted monks. Retreating to secluded spots, he prays for God’s guidance to help him withstand pressures to betray his country and the people he loves and describes as Bulgaria’s soul.
Religious leaders, however, worry that the king is surrendering his benevolence to appease evil. They warn that anyone who allows Jews to suffer risks similar punishment from God, who is testing the goodness of people. Speaking boldly to their congregations, these spiritual leaders encourage people to disobey by refusing to submit to laws and those whom they consider spiritually deficient.
Finally, throughout the novel, Bulgarian Jews embolden themselves with stories of historic heroes who resisted persecution and with psalms emphasizing God’s resilient strength. They stoically endure harassment and persist in their commitment to God over their allegiance to country to achieve spiritual peace.
Sources for Further Study
Bar-Zohar, Michael. Beyond Hitler’s Grasp: The Heroic Rescue of Bulgaria’s Jews. Avon, Mass.: Adams Media, 1998. The author, a Jew, lived in Bulgaria during World War II. Based on archival documents and interviews with surviving officials, Princess Maria-Louisa, and Liliana Panitza. Includes family photographs.
Chary, Frederick B. The Bulgarian Jews and the Final Solution, 1940-1944. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972. Best scholarly source, providing context and discussing church leaders’ involvement and other factors averting successful Jewish deportation. The king’s role is minimized. Compares Bulgaria with other German-controlled countries where Jews survived.
Todorov, Tzvetan, comp. The Fragility of Goodness: Why Bulgaria’s Jews Survived the Holocaust. Translated by Arthur Denner. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2001. Originally published in French, includes commentary and transcripts of church documents, letters sent to King Boris III, government officials’ speeches, leaflets, and key figures’ memoirs.