March 9, 1943 in a large tobacco warehouse In Kyustendil Bulgaria, a giant of a man in a tall miter hat and a long robe stood among one thousand of his countrymen. In a booming voice that carried throughout the crowd he recited scripture from the Book of Ruth: “I will not leave you or turn away. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God, my God.”
The man was Archbishop Kyril. The people were Jews.
Bulgaria is a country whose people have been conquered over and over again. Throughout history, Greeks, Czechs, Slovaks, of all religions were welcome immigrants to Bulgaria. This nation grew strong in diversity and its citizens loyal to King and country, loyal to each other.
At the time of our story, even the beloved King Boris III was a first generation Bulgarian. His father King Ferdinand I was from nearby Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. He got the job after the Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1887. That’s when Bulgaria got its independence back.
But not for long. Real estate changed hands often in Bulgaria’s corner of the world. Following defeat in World War I, King Boris lost parts of his land. He was anxious to get it back. He made a deal with the devil in the form of Nazi leader Adolph Hitler of Germany. An evil man with an evil plan.
The King agreed to be an ally of Germany. Bulgaria would not have to fight in another war and the German army would provide protection against its enemies. That’s why the deal with Germany seemed like a good one at the time. By aligning himself with the Third Reich, he was promised peace and the restoration of former territories. King Boris III was an avowed pacifist.
It worked for a while.
Bulgaria was doing pretty good – all things considered. In addition to the royal family, there was a sound government structure, staffed with ministers, commissioners and local leaders serving their constituents. If you traveled through the cities at that time you would find parks, libraries, sports arenas, and cultural institutions for music and art lovers to enjoy. The countryside was a friendly place with farms and small towns where people gathered to trade and lodge, and of course, to find fun after an honest day’s labor.
But one thing missing in Bulgaria prior to the Second World War was anti-Semitism. It was one of a few countries where Jews at that time lived peacefully among their non-Jewish neighbors.
Nearly all of the countries in Europe had a problem with “their Jews”. Hitler’s infamous rise to power relied heavily on using Jewish citizens as scapegoats for the economic woes of the times. “Look at the evil Jews!” the Nazis would say. “Their race is inferior to ours, yet they steal our money, take our jobs, and deceive us at every turn.”
Some Bulgarians were listening. They liked the idea of an Aryan master race. Three such men were Bogdan Filov, Petar Gabrovski and Alexander Belev. These were men of influence. Filov was the Prime Minister of Bulgaria. Gabrovski was Minister of the Interior. Belev was a lawyer.
They formed the Commission of Jewish Affairs, a political branch of the government to oversee the safety of the 48,000 Jewish citizens living in Bulgaria and its territories. Prime Minister Filov appointed Alexander Belev to head the new agency. He would report to Petar Gabrovski.
Filov, Gabrovski and Belev kept their real motive and mission secret: eliminate the Jews.
King Boris III ruled over two German occupied territories on the border of the country. Thrace and Macedonia. Though he was responsible for them, Germany had the final say on what to do with them. In September of 1942, Adolph Hitler gave orders to expel the 12,000 Jews of Thrace and Macedonia.
King Boris III received the orders with a heavy heart. Filov, Gabrovski and Filov were ecstatic.
At this point in the war, the Nazis have built extermination camps all over Europe for Jews, people of color, dissenters, the aged and mentally ill. Everyone knew a deportation order meant certain death.
Filov, Gabrovski and Belev saw the deportation of the Thrace and Macedonia Jews as the perfect opportunity to get rid of the Bulgarian Jews. Instead of sending only the neighboring Jews to the camps, why not make it an even 20,000 by throwing in an extra 8,000 of their own?
They did not include the government ministers in their plan. No discussion heard. No vote was taken. The order was to be executed in secrecy. Or so they thought.
Alexander Belev made all the arrangements for the deportation. It was complex. The exiled Jews would be sent to Poland by train. He needed to figure out how many Jews could be packed in each rail car, and how to get the trains to the different cities where the exiles would be waiting for boarding.
Where would they wait? He needed to find shelter large enough to house hundreds and even thousands of people. How to contain them and prevent escape?
Arrangements needed to be made to confiscate the valuables of the Jews. He knew they would not willingly give up all their money, jewels, and belongings, he could allow no time for preparation. It had to be a raid in the middle of the night.
Who would do the dirty work? The Bulgarian military? The different municipalities all had local police forces. It was not an easy task to enforce the order.
Alexander Belev was not only head of the Jewish Commission, he was a very handsome bachelor. Belev had a beautiful young secretary, Lily Panitzer. Lily and Alexander were an “item”. He trusted her completely. She was hopelessly in love with her boss.
Of course all the telegrams, calls, and meetings went through Lily. Everyone knows – it’s the girl in the office who runs the place.
Lily was a Christian. And like most of the folks in Bulgaria at that time, she had Jewish friends. She knew many of the people on the List. It couldn’t hurt to give a few of them a little warning.
Meanwhile, a civil servant named Michael Abadjiev received a strange request. It was regarding a tobacco warehouse under his charge. The warehouse was located near a train station in the Bulgarian city of Kyustendil which bordered the big city of Sofia. On March 9 – six days away, the government would need it to house the Sofia Jews who would be deported to Poland early the next morning.
He couldn’t keep the news to himself.
Abadjiev and his wife planned a party the next night. They invited their friends and one very important Jewish leader, Buko Lazarov. The party was a cover for the information Michael Abadjiev passed along to Lazarov. The resistance was in motion.
People knew of the Thrace and Macedonian deportation. Deportations were happening all over Europe. But it was happening to other Jews – not their own. That the Jewish Commission would include Bulgarian Jews in the deportation was scandalous. This was personal.
Lazarov gathered a delegation to meet with Dimitar Peshev, deputy speaker of the parliament. Peshev informed the governors and ministers about the secret plot to unlawfully deport the Jews and they rose up against it.
The Church got involved. Exarch Stefan of Bulgaria and Archbishop Kyril were two prominent clerics who made their voices heard. The good Christians responded.
Intellectuals, artists and everyday citizens got wind of the upcoming deportation. They organized. It was one of the worst kept secrets in history.
Lily Panitza was contacted and she co-operated. Details were uncovered. The scope of the mission to eliminate the Bulgarian Jews was fully revealed. The five days following the party at the Abadjiev were fruitful.
March 9, 1943, the Jews of Sofia were indeed rounded up and gathered in Abadjiev’s tobacco warehouse. They were in shock. Most were scared. Some were defiant. All were afraid.
In that large tobacco warehouse In Sofia Bulgaria, Archbishop Kyril stood in his tall miter hat and long robe among one thousand of his countrymen. In a booming voice that carried throughout the crowd he recited scripture from the Book of Ruth: “I will not leave you or turn away. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God, my God.”
Everything came together – just in time. The Jews had a friend in a high places. King Boris III was the only one who could cancel the order. And cancel the order he did.
The Jews of Sofia were saved. Proud Bulgarians of all persuasions were celebrating in the streets. The trains left the station empty.
AFTERWARD
The Nazis were furious that the deportation of Bulgarian Jews was stopped. King Boris appeased Hitler by convincing him of his need for Bulgarian work camps. It worked for a while.
The Nazis learned of the relatively easy conditions of the camps. Jewish males were required to show up in the morning, finish work early afternoon and spend the rest of the day and nights with their families.
King Boris got word that a Nazi delegation was on their way to strong arm him to change his policies. The King disappeared. Rumor had it he went hunting at a country estate to avoid the conversation. The stall tactic worked. The Allies were gaining ground in Europe and the war would soon be over.
The numbers of the victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution will surprise you.
– Jews: up to 6 million
– Soviet civilians: around 7 million (including 1.3 Soviet Jewish civilians, who are included in the 6 million figure for Jews)
– Soviet prisoners of war: around 3 million (including about 50,000 Jewish soldiers)
– Non-Jewish Polish civilians: around 1.8 million (including between 50,000 and 100,000 members of the Polish elites)
– Serb civilians (on the territory of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina): 312,000
– People with disabilities living in institutions: up to 250,000
– Roma (Gypsies): 196,000–220,000
– Jehovah’s Witnesses: around 1,900
– Repeat criminal offenders and so-called asocials: at least 70,000
– German political opponents and resistance activists in Axis-occupied territory: undetermined
– Homosexuals: hundreds, possibly thousands (possibly also counted in part under the 70,000 repeat criminal offenders and so-called asocials noted above)
Source: www.ushmm.org
The number of Jews in Bulgaria at the start of World War II: approx. 48,000. The number of Jews at the end of the war: approx. 49,000. Not one Bulgarian Jew suffered under the hand of the Nazis. Bulgaria was the only European country to have an increase of Jewish population following the atrocities of the Holocaust.
King Boris III died five months after the fateful night in at the Kyustendil train station. His brother King Simeon succeeded him. The monarchy was abolished after the war.
Bulgaria soon became a dangerous place for the Jewish people. After centuries of tolerance and friendship, anti-Semitism took over.
After World War II, 90% of the Bulgarian Jews immigrated to what was then called Palestine, now Israel. They settled in the ancient port city of Jaffa where they still live today.
There has been a Jewish presence in Bulgaria since 2nd century CE. Today it is home to only a few (less than 300 hundred) elderly Jews. They remember the day Archbishop Kyril quoted scripture from the Book of Ruth.
By Susan Diamond