On April 29, 1917, Geo Milev was seriously wounded in the head after the post he was in command of was discovered by the British and subjected to artillery fire. Only Milev survived, but was seriously injured and lost his right eye.
This is recalled by "On this date".
Georgi Milev Kasabov, known as Geo Milev, is a Bulgarian poet and publicist, a major representative of expressionism in Bulgarian literature.
Geo Milev was born on January 15, 1895 in Radne mahle (present-day Radnevo), into the family of teacher and journalist Milyo Kasabov. Later, his father moved to Stara Zagora, where in 1907 he founded a bookstore and publishing house.
Geo Milev studied at the Stara Zagora High School (1907 - 1911).
He then studied Romance Philology at the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" (1911 – 1912), after which he continued his education in Leipzig (1912 – 1914). There he attended lectures on philosophy and wrote a dissertation on the poetry of Richard Demel, which he failed to defend.
In December 1913, his first publications appeared in the magazine “Listopad“ – “Literary and Artistic Letters from Germany“. In July 1914, after the start of World War I, he went to London, where he met the émigré Belgian poet Emile Verhaeren. Returning to Germany to continue his education, Geo Milev was suspected of being an English spy and was arrested in Hamburg by the German police. Due to lack of evidence, he was released. He arrived in Leipzig, but events soon forced him to return to Bulgaria (1915).
In March 1916, Geo Milev was mobilized and sent to the Reserve Officers' School in Knyazhevo. From there, as a senior non-commissioned officer, he was sent to the 34th Trojan Regiment, which was stationed near Dojran. He was appointed commander of the intelligence apparatus in the city.
In February 1918, Geo Milev left with his wife for Berlin to undergo surgery, remaining there until March 1919. Despite fifteen serious operations, during his stay he visited libraries, museums, exhibitions, and theaters. The revolutionary ferment in Germany, which he had the opportunity to observe, was later reflected in some excerpts from “Grozni Prozi“.
After returning to Sofia, Geo Milev published the magazine “Vezni“ (1919 - 1922), which became a platform for symbolism and expressionism in Bulgaria.
In the magazine “Plamak“, which began to be published in January 1924, Geo Milev published articles under the title “Grozni Prozi“, the poem “September“, as well as the beginning of the poem “Hell“. Because of the poem “September“, booklets 7 - 8 of the magazine were confiscated, and Milev was put on trial. In January 1925, the magazine was banned. On May 14, 1925, for the poem, Geo Milev was sentenced to 1 year in prison, a fine of 20,000 leva and deprivation of civil and political rights for 2 years. He decided to appeal the verdict before the Court of Appeal, but on May 15 he was summoned for a "small check" by the police and disappeared without a trace.
The remains of Geo Milev were discovered in the 1950s in a mass grave near Sofia near Ilientsi and were identified by the artificial eye, which was implanted during the operations in Germany.