The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece has called on both
Sofia and the United Nations to note Bulgaria's role in the deportation
of 11,343 Jews during the war, including around 4,000 from northern
Greece and over 7,000 from what is today the Republic of Macedonia.
While Bulgarian troops did play a role in deporting Jews from
neighboring areas occupied during the war, the country did not send any
of its own Jewish population of 50,000 to the Nazis, despite the face it
had an authoritarian king of German origin and was allied with Germany
from 1941.
Efforts by liberal politicians, church leaders and the Bulgarian public
were effective in the end, and the country successfully resisted German
calls to send Jews to concentration camps and almost certain death.
Jewish-Polish-German author Arno Lustiger wrote about the subject in
his book on the steps taken to save the Jews from Nazi gas chambers
called Rettungswiderstand.
"Most Bulgarian Jews survived World War II and the anti-Semitic
extermination policy, but not due to the Bulgarian government or the
head of state, who showed no scruples when it came to handing over Jews
to the Germans. In March 1943, thousands of Thracian and Macedonian Jews
from the part of Greece occupied by the Bulgarians were deported to
Treblinka and murdered," Lustiger wrote.
"The role Bulgarians played in these deportations woke the nation up to
the possible fate of their own Jewish population. Without the
widespread resistance of the church, politicians and sections of
society, the Bulgarian Jews would have experienced the same thing as
Jews in the occupied areas did. This forceful protest was based
primarily on the traditionally close relationship that existed between
Jews and Christians in Bulgaria."
Historial blinders
As a German ally, Bulgaria never occupied - at least according to the
nation's popular myths - territory in northern Greece or the region of
Vardar Macedonia, which corresponds with today's Republic of Macedonia.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov at Yad Vashem
Then,
and even today, the occupation was and is interpreted by a majority of
the Bugarian public not as a warlike act against sovereign states, but
as a kind of national reunification.
At the same time, the responsibility for the deportation of Jews from
these occupied areas is generally repressed or placed firmly on Hitler's
shoulders.
This attitude is reflected in today's discussion of those events.
Officially, Bulgaria has taken no position on the letter dated Jan. 26
that the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece wrote to the UN
Department of Public Information.
It stated: "In the name of the historical memory of our brothers,
victims of the Bulgarian atrocities in our country during the Holocaust,
we ask you to include this small and 'untold' part of history in your
briefing."
Touching a nerve
While Sofia has remained silent, the letter has touched a raw nerve
among the public, and readers' forums on media websites have been
roiling.
For some, it is the "wily Greeks" who are raising the issue, hoping to
distract attention from their current economic woes. Others see it as
the fault of the "arrogant Germans," who killed millions of Jews during
the war and once again, irate readers say, hope to conquer the world.
The saving of Bulgaria's Jews has been recognized internationally by
many groups and individuals. It has been a topic for Italian and German
authors, American filmmakers, the State of Israel and Jewish communities
in many countries, who have expressed their respect and appreciation
for Bulgaria's actions.
"We will never know how many Jews could have been saved if others in
occupied Europe had acted as the Bulgarians did. Both Christians and
Jews there deserve to be collectively honored," wrote historian Arno
Lustiger who added that as of January 2011, 19 bulgarians had been
honored as "righteous" by Yad Veshem in Israel.
Selective memory
A majority of Bulgarians would like to have the focus remain firmly on
this positive side of their history, and it is not the first time that
the country has had difficulty taking a critical look at its own past.
Right-wing extremism is on the rise in Bulgaria
Be
it Bulgaria's aggressive role in the Balkan war and the two World Wars,
a relationship to the Soviet Union that was so close that Bulgaria was
often referred to as the 16th Soviet Republic, or the dark story of the
country's secret police during the communist era, uncomfortable parts of
Bulgarian history are generally not talked about or quietly swept under
the rug.
Today, Bulgaria is witnessing the rise of a dangerous strain of
nationalism coupled with racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. All
together, these have led to attacks against the Roma population,
Muslims, dark-skinned soccer players and gays and lesbians.
Given this, the current furor surrounding the letter sent by the Jewish umbrella group is not surprising.
Author: Alexander Andreev / jam
Editor: Joanna Impey http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15707243,00.html
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