The 70^th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust was the subject of a press conference at the Bulgarian National Radio. The 25^th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and the State of Israel was also marked. Despite Being a Nazi ally, Bulgaria managed to save all its Jews from the death camps during WWII due to the advocacy of the Deputy Chair of Parliament Dimitar Peshev, other 42 MPs, Metropolitans Stefan and Kiril and also because of the solidarity of the common Bulgarians. President of the Shalom organization of Jews in Bulgaria Maxim Benvenisti pointed out the Bulgarian contribution to the establishment of the State of Israel.

“The Bulgarian government was the only one to allow the local Jewish community to move to Israel,” he said. “It was the only one from the Eastern Bloc that didn’t create obstacles and even helped the Bulgarian Jews, who wanted to go to the land of their forefathers. The Israeli politicians that are not of Bulgarian origin and who do not see the rescue subject as a major one, do recall the other Bulgarian contribution – those 40,000 people, part of them being young and experienced in battle, who joined at once the frontline of the 1948 liberation war…”

According to Maxim Benvenisti the interruption of the diplomatic relations due to Bulgaria’s belonging to the Soviet Bloc didn’t mean the humane relations were ever severed. “People from my generation remember that their Jewish friends and relatives visited them back in those years and no one hampered that… Of course, however, the restoration of diplomatic relations is an essential act.”

Here is what the Ambassador of Israel to Bulgaria Shaul Khamisa Raz said about the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews subject: “These are events that some of the participants have good feeling for, being proud of them. However, there are people that should be ashamed of their deeds back then. A constant discussion is necessary, an additional research, in order to find out what exactly happened. The fact that we continue in that direction today really deserves respect.”

“My vision and understanding as a researcher is that the tragedy of the Holocaust is definitely a civilizational catastrophe and this in no way concerns Jews only,” said at the press conference Associate Prof. Albena Taneva, from Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. “This is a huge problem of anyone that showed no interest or remained at a distance back then, because as we all know bad scenarios mean not only that bad guys are doing something evil. It is enough for the good ones not to do anything…”

The speech of the chief rabbi of the Habad center for Bulgaria Yosef Salamon was particularly emotional. He is a third generation after Holocaust survivors and fourth generation of those, who didn’t make it. “I see it is as a very special thing to live in a country like Bulgaria,” he said and added:

“I would like to bless the entire Bulgarian people, the state, the government, as well as those, who are not among the living now: the bishops of the Bulgarian church back then, Mr. Dimitar Peshev and many others. I would like to wish to the living ones to continue that way and to serve as an example for the world on how we should respect and protect people around. Thank you.”

English version: Zhivko Stanchev