This newsreel shows the assassination of the Yugoslavian king Alexander in 1934 by Vlado Chernozemski from the Bulgarian VMRO in cooperation with the Croatian Ustasha, executed after VMRO issued a death sentence for the king as a punishment for his atrocities against the Bulgarian population in Macedonia and against the other supressed nationalities in Yugoslavia.

Vlado Chernosemski was the pseudonym of the Bulgarian-born Velichko Dimitrov Kerin.

On 9 October 1934 the king arrived in Marseille to start a state visit to the Third French Republic, to strengthen the defensive alliance against Nazi Germany. When being driven in a car through the streets along with French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou, a gunman, Vlado Georgieff, stepped from the street and shot the King, the Minister and the chauffeur.

It was one of the first assassinations captured on film; the shooting occurred straight in front of the cameraman, who was only feet away at the time. The cameraman captured not merely the assassination but the immediate aftermath; the body of the chauffeur (who had been killed instantly) became 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 assassin Vlado Georgieff — driver of the leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, Ivan Mihailov — was cut down by the sword of a mounted French policeman, then beaten by the crowd. By the time he was removed from the scene, he was already dead

According to Bulgarian records, he was born in the village of Kamenitsa, near Peshtera, Bulgaria on October 19, 1897. His parents came from the Bulgarian part of Macedonia. He joined the IMRO in 1922.

Song Lyrics:

Song about Vlado Chernosemski

True and extraordinary
but the extraordinary happens,
In a far away city of Marseilles
there are united autonomists
and brother Croatians.
Now a king departs
on a luxury ship,
from the town of Dubrovnik
and he sleeps peacefully
while he sails the wide ocean
and destiny waits in Marseilles.

There he is honoured
by Minister Barthou
and his mighty generals;
where they all gather
to hold a council of war
against poor Macedonia.

The people they gather
the crowds enormous
and they chant “long may he live”
but from the crowd
a lone voice is heard
“Death to the tyrant”.

For there stands also
Vlado Chernozemski
all the way from Macedonia,
he starts to run
alongside the automobile
in his hand a pistol is seen.

King Alexander
starts to plead
and to Vlado he begs:
“please Vlado,
don’t do this Vlado,
don’t kill me”.

to the King Vlado replies
proud and true,
understand this you tyrant,
I’ve been sent by
Vancho Mihailoff himself
to deliver our verdict.

Now stand up, stand up
you Serbian dog
I’m going to execute you.
the pistol fires
the King he expires
long live Macedonia!

Let it be known,
known and remembered
throughout all of Europe,
that the Macedonians’
oppression will not be forgiven
Death to all tyrants!