Salvation, Persecution, and the Holocaust in the Kingdom of Bulgaria (1940–1944)

As an inseparable part of the Bulgarian people, the Bulgarian Jews have shared on an equal basis the entire history of their establishment as a nation.

Integrated for centuries in Bulgarian society, the Bulgarian Jews have participated alongside all Bulgarians in the country’s national history. They defended their homeland during the struggles for liberation from Ottoman rule and fought in all the wars in which Bulgaria was protecting its statehood and nationhood.

The contribution of the Jews to Bulgaria’s economic, cultural and intellectual advancement following the Liberation is also considerable. It has been recognized and duly appreciated by Bulgarian society.

A country with a low level of anti-Semitism, Bulgaria has always been a true homeland for the Bulgarian Jews.

The events of 1940 –1944, when under the influence of Nazi ideology the Jews were subjected to persecution, were an ordeal both for the Bulgarian Jewry and for all Bulgarian people.

The historical essays in this book reflect on this dramatic episode in Bulgarian history, when both Jews and Bulgarians went through an experience of great pain.

This book is the result of more than 20 years of research and is based on documents, testimonies, and letters.

• Was there a Holocaust in Bulgaria?

• The regulatory basis for the legalization of the persecutions;

• The role of King Boris III;

• The women and their written testimonies;

• Salvation or survival?

• The contribution of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to the rescue of the Jews.

Countries are stronger when they can confront difficult parts of their history. No country had an unblemished record during World War II.

Stuart E. Eizenstat,

Special Adviser on Holocaust Issues,

Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council