site.btaOrganization of Jews Shalom Marks 78 Years Since Bulgarian Jews Were Rescued from Nazi Death Camps

Plovdiv, Southern Bulgaria, March 10 (BTA) - The Organization of
 Jews in Bulgaria Shalom marked here on Wednesday the 78th
anniversary of the saving of Bulgarian Jews from deportation to
Nazi concentration camps. The ceremony took place in front of
the Monument of Gratitude at the Tsar Kaloyan Square built on
the very spot where 78 years ago Plovdiv Jews were rounded up
for deportation to the Nazi concentration camps.

Chairman of Shalom-Plovdiv Svetlozar Kalev expressed special
gratitude to ordinary people who are often unnoticed, but have
helped save millions of lives from the camps of death. "Let us
also honour the memory of the departed and thank them for the
courage they showed 78 years ago," Kalev added.

The rescue of the Bulgarian Jews during the Second World War
meant preventing the deportation to Nazi concentration camps of
Jews from Bulgaria's pre-war territory. The deportation was
stopped following a strong public reaction, driven by the Holy
Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, MPs led by Dimitar
Peshev, trade unions and ordinary citizens.

Even before the Kingdom of Bulgaria joined the Tripartite Pact,
Parliament had adopted the Law for the Protection of the Nation
that limited the civil rights of Jews. After Bulgaria joined
WWII as Hitler's ally, anti-Semitic legislation persisted,
including a one-time property tax on persons of Jewish origin.

In March of 1943 the Bulgarian authorities deported  the Jews
from territories controlled by Bulgaria during the Second World
War. A total of 11,343 people of Jewish origin who were refused
Bulgarian citizenship (unlike other ethnic groups in these
territories) were deported to the Treblinka extermination camp
in German-occupied Poland, where only 12 of them survived.

Leaked information about the plans to deport Jews from
Bulgaria's pre-war territories caused a strong public reaction
against the deportation, and the process was stopped which saved
 the lives of almost 50,000 Jews in prewar Bulgaria.

NV/MT