The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, deputies, unions of doctors and writers stop sending our compatriots to death
The future Patriarch Kirill was ready to go with the Jews to the death camps
Today, March 10, Bulgaria celebrates the 80th anniversary of one of the most significant events in its modern history – the salvation of the Bulgarian Jews during World War II.
What is the chronology of both the rescue of nearly 50,000 Bulgarian Jews and the deportation of 11,343 to the death camps:
On February 22, 1943, Bulgaria, as an ally of Germany in the Second World War, signed an agreement with the fascist government for the deportation of the Bulgarian Jews to the concentration camps. The most vigilant and philanthropic Bulgarians, who were by no means few in those years, saved the descendants of David, organizing various events for their protection. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church also stands with all its institutional strength and with the authority of Plovdiv Metropolitan Kiril (the future patriarch) and Sofia Metropolitan Stefan against sending the Jews to certain death in the camps.
The acts against the Jewish people in Bulgaria began already at the end of 1940, imposed by the preparations for our alliance with Hitler.
In December, the National Assembly passed the Law for the Protection of the Nation, which places drastic restrictions on Jews in our country. Even then, prominent intellectuals and public figures, among them Todor Vlaikov, Elin Pelin, Grigor Cheshmedzhiev, Stoyan Chilingirov, Elisaveta Bagryana, Lyudmil Stoyanov, Konstantin Konstantinov, signed a letter of protest against the law, and in the parliament the bill was sharply criticized by Petko Stainov.
Economic sanctions against the Jews began with the imposition of a one-time tax of 20 to 25% on the property of persons of Jewish origin. The tax collects BGN 1.4 billion in the Bulgarian treasury. This was followed by the nationalization of a large part of the properties and property of the Jews, who received government bonds against their property. Immovable and movable property of Jews was massively sold off, and the funds were transferred to their accounts in the Bulgarian National Bank, in which, as of March 1943, BGN 307 million had been accumulated.
At first, the holders of these accounts could withdraw money from them with the permission of the state authorities, but later they were prohibited from doing so, and later the administration itself began to use this money without the knowledge of the owners. The sales of Jewish property, especially in the occupied territories, were accompanied by massive corruption and outright theft by the government officials who carried them out.
On March 2, 1943, the government made decisions to organize the emigration, and the emigrants were deprived of Bulgarian citizenship.
It was decided that this first contingent would be formed by 11,363 Jews from Macedonia and the White Sea and 8,560 Jews from “old Bulgaria”.
On March 4, 1943, the deportation of Jews from the White Sea began. 4058 people were transported to Lom and from there on 4 ships they were sent to Vienna. Only 100 of them survive.
Bulgarian police units (under German command) in Bitola and Skopje pick off the Jews from Vardar Macedonia, and on March 10, the deportation of 7,144 people by wagons to the Danube ports of Lom and Vidin begins. From there they were taken to Treblinka. Only about 200 of them survive.
On March 12, 161 Jews were deported from Pirotsko through Lom to Vienna.
From there it starts the salvation of the Jews.
In Plovdiv, the authorities deported nearly nine thousand people from “old Bulgaria”. They were supposed to be loaded on the trains to Poland, but then Metropolitan Cyril intervened. He enters the Jewish camp in Plovdiv and declares that he will leave with the deportees if they are not released. Meanwhile, a wave of popular indignation is rising in the country against the government’s decision.
A group of 42 deputies headed by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Dimitar Peshev, signed a petition in the National Assembly and announced about the deported Jews, which had been hidden from the people. The shock of the Bulgarians forced the government to postpone the transportation of the Bulgarian Jews to the camps.
At that time, the Doctors’ Union, the Writers’ Union and the “Slavia” sports club intervened, which strongly reacted against the actions of the authorities. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is a leader in the resistance against the fascist scenario for the extermination of “God’s people”. The clergy believe that the persecution of the Jews is a blow to Bulgaria itself. Many individuals intervened, including the widow of the statesman Petko Karavelov, Ekaterina Karavelova.
The plans to deport the Jews from Bulgaria were stopped twice – in March and May 1943, after which they were not renewed, since the government failed in these intentions. The consequences of the displacement of the Jews, as well as the progress of the defeat of the Wehrmacht in the following months, made deportation practically impossible. The protests created an opportunity for Tsar Boris III to cancel the deportation of the Jews from “old Bulgaria”.