The still little-known story of how the people of Bulgaria
came together to save their entire Jewish community during
the Holocaust was commemorated at a special "Tribute to
Bulgaria" evening at the Beyachad Jewish Community center in
Johannesburg last week. The respective Ambassadors of
Bulgaria and Israel, together with members of both the Jewish
and Bulgarian communities, were amongst those in attendance
at the function, which was organized by the South African
Jewish Board of Deputies.
The story of how the people of Bulgaria, from their King
Boris III down to the humblest farmer, came together to
thwart Nazi attempts to deport the country's 48,000 Jews to
the death camps, was for decades one of the "forgotten
miracles" of the Holocaust. It was suppressed by the ruling
Communist regime at a time when Bulgaria was under the sway
of the Soviet-dominated Communist Bloc. Since the collapse of
Communism, a growing body of literature and documentary has
begun to emerge.
Bulgarian Ambassador Kossio Kitipov began by describing his
early life, in which he lived near the old Jewish
neighborhood, and would read on the doors of the houses the
names of Jews who had by then departed for Israel. He had not
known at the time what great dramas had been played out in
the very streets where he walked, and that all those who had
lived behind those doors could quite easily have been sent
away to almost certain death. During the war, the people of
Bulgaria had put aside their political differences and
disregarded the fact that their country was allied with the
Nazis to protect their Jewish compatriots, uniting to stop
the trains of death.
"A truth may be delayed, but it cannot be hidden forever,
especially when it involves 50,000 people" he said.
This was Mr. Kitipov's last public engagement in South Africa
before returning to Bulgaria. He promised to make known the
public recognition of Bulgaria's wartime heroism by the South
African Jewish community once he was back in his homeland.
.
Israeli Ambassador Ilan Baruch said that the Bulgarian
community in Israel (over 90 percent of Bulgarian Jews
immigrated to Israel shortly after the State was established)
had contributed to the country in a variety of ways. He
praised them in particular for their sense of humor and zest
for life, that had so enriched Israeli society. Baruch said
that loyalty was second nature to Bulgarian Jewry. They had
become patriotic, productive citizens of Israel, but remained
at the same time passionate about their Bulgarian roots.
One of the high points of the evening was a brief but
memorable performance by the renowned Bulgarian violinist
Ivan Lazerov, who enthralled those present with a display of
astounding virtuosity.
The main item on the evening's program was the screening of
the documentary "Beyond Hitler's Grasp", based on the book by
Michael Bar-Zohar. The latter, an Israeli-born writer and
former Member of the Knesset, was himself of Bulgarian origin
and had decided to write up the history of how Bulgarian
Jewry were saved about sixteen years ago when he realized how
few people knew about it. Professor Reuben Musiker, SAJBD
library consultant, described the background to both the book
and film.
In his closing remarks Ronnie Mink, chairman of the S A
National Yad Vashem Foundation, said, "The entire nation of
Bulgaria deserves our respect, our tribute and our love. The
Jewish world today says a long-awaited thank-you."
