site.btaTwo Exhibitions on Antisemitism to Be Displayed in Sofia

The Regional History Museum in Sofia will house two exhibitions on antisemitism. An exposition titled "Susi, the Granddaughter of House No. 4 and the Time of Hidden Jewish Stars" will be unveiled on February 12. The Regional History Museum will simultaneously host the multimedia show of another exhibition on countering antisemitism, "A Jewish Street: Reconstruction", which was displayed there in 2023, the museum’s team said.

"Susi, the Granddaughter of House No. 4 and the Time of Hidden Jewish Stars" will be presented by the museum and the Cultural Perspectives Foundation. The exposition was inspired by Birgitta Behr’s book of the same title and recounts the story of a Jewish girl from Berlin-Wilmersdorf who went into hiding with her parents in October 1942 to escape Nazi persecution.

"We, as publishers of the book and curators of the exhibition, are willing to take a risk because we are sure that the story of the granddaughter from house No. 4, like all good literature, conveys messages that transcend ideological divides, messages related to the important themes of postmemory, exclusion, and inequality that are as relevant today as they were 70 years ago," Cultural Perspectives Foundation Chair Ina Kancheva.

The exhibition "A Jewish Street: Reconstruction" tells the life story of the Jewish community in Bulgaria through artifacts and digitized materials. Chronologically speaking, it deals with the period after Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman rule in 1878, illustrating the everyday life of Jews in Bulgarian towns through household and religious objects. The items included in the exhibition are kept in cultural institutions across the country. Topics covered include the emergence of Jews in Bulgarian lands, the synagogue as the spiritual centre of the community, and the traditions, holidays, and crafts of Jewish families.