Bulgarian Jews commemorate survival

Marcus · Post by **Marcus** » 11 Mar 2002 19:59

"A ceremony has been held in Bulgaria to mark the anniversary of the country's refusal to send Jews to the death camps during World War II.
...
In 1943, German Nazi forces stationed in Bulgaria took 8,500 Jews to a square in Plovdiv in preparation for deportation to concentration camps in Poland.
They gave up their plans following protests from ordinary Bulgarians, Christian clergymen, politicians and the King, Boris III."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/ ... 865369.stm

Angelo · Post by **Angelo** » 18 Mar 2002 00:59

A very nice example of how an open and sufficiently large involvement of people protesting or better showing their total disagreement with a given policy might yeld good and positive results even with the Nazi rulers.

No willing executioners, no holocaust.

Too bad it didn't happen throughout the whole Nazi/Fascist alliance; history would have been a stain less closer to hell. Let's hope it's start working from now on. (Doubtful)

Thanks for the news, Marcus.

Angelo

punesach 01 · Post by **punesach 01** » 18 Mar 2002 19:18

How many Jews were taken out of Bulgarian anyways?

Angelo · Post by **Angelo** » 19 Mar 2002 05:20

Hi Punesach!

I didn't research more than 4 or 5 sources and I got just the same result.

Here's one of them with a concise history about the subject.

The Facts
Not a single Bulgarian Jew was deported to the Nazi death camps during the Second World War. With exception of ten casualties of a fire, no one was killed.
Jews had to wear Star of David badges. Many businesses and professions were forbidden for them. Jewish real estate and other property were confiscated. Adult men were banned from normal military service and drafted to build roads instead.
Over 11,000 Jews who lived in the occupied territories of Macedonia and Thrace could not be rescued. The claim of the Bulgarian Kingdom over Macedonia and Thrace was never recognized by the Third Reich and Bulgaria had no sovereignty over this region and its civilian population.

http://b-info.com/places/Bulgaria/Jewish/jul12.shtml

Cantankerous · Post by **Cantankerous** » 22 Aug 2020 03:16

Whatever became of the Bulgarian Jews who were spared from deportation to concentration camps?

wm · Post by wm » 22 Aug 2020 06:53

That's a strange statetement - that they rescued anybody, maybe from themselves.

Bulgaria was an ally of Nazi Germany and wasn't occupied.
At some point point of time the Germans asked the Bulgars to hand over "their" Jews into German protective custody (interment).
The Bulgars sent Jews from occupied by them territories (i.e., non-Bulgarian citizens) but after heated internal debate refused to send Jewish citizens of Bulgaria.

Bulgaria wasn't occupied or threatened by Germany (and the Bulgars were convinced that the Jews would be safe in Germans' hands) so there was no glory in the fact they didn't hand over their Jews.

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