One of the darkest periods in the history of the last century was World War II and the persecution of Jews and non-Aryans. Persecuted and humiliated by the fascist regimes of the Allies of the Third Reich, millions of Jews died in mass graves and concentration camps. Anti-Semitic ideology gained momentum not only among the countries of the Tripartite Pact (between Rome - Berlin - Tokyo), but also in countries such as Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia and Finland, which aligned their legislation with the Nazi laws of Germany. Most of these countries obeyed the order to deport their Jewish population to the death camps. However, Bulgaria managed to save over 48,000 Jews, thanks to several Bulgarians who managed to attract the attention of the general public to the humane cause in defence of the Jews.

• No one can prevail on Bulgarians to hate jews
  

It was on March 10, 1943, when the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, in the person of Sofia Metropolitan Stefan and Metropolitan Kiril of Plovdiv, prevented the deportation of hundreds of Jews from Plovdiv. At the same time, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Dimitar Peshev and 43 lawmakers uncovered a secret agreement between Bulgaria and the Third Reich to deport tens of thousands of Jews and thwarted Nazi Germany's plans.

Four Bulgarians from the town of Kyustendil also had a great merit for this act – these were MP Petar Mihalev, merchant Asen Suichmezov, the teacher Vladimir Kurtev and the lawyer Ivan Momchilov. In Israel, they are recognized by the Yad Vashem Memorial as "Righteous Among the Nations" - an honorary title given to people of non-Jewish descent who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

Yad Vashem – The World Holocaust Remembrance Center

To remind you of the events of the recent past, the Dimitar Peshev House-Museum in Kyustendil keeps important documents and personal belongings that acquaint us closely with the citizens of Kyustendil who accepted the rescue of Bulgarian Jews as their public duty.

• Dimitar Peshev’s Kyustendil house keeps memory of Bulgarian Jews’ rescue

This is the only place in Bulgaria dedicated to the memory of these brave Bulgarians who dared to defy the orders of the Nazis. Thanks to them, Bulgaria managed to erase to some extent the shame of joining the Nazi regimes, although later after September 9, 1944, the government did not give them the necessary gratitude and condemned them as "enemies of the people" for sins that they had not committed. Only after their recognition by Israel were they posthumously awarded the highest state order "Stara Planina" -1^st degree, and were proclaimed "honorary citizens of Kyustendil".

While Bulgaria keeps alive the memory of the March events of 1943, in some of the countries where the atrocities of the Nazis and their collaborators were committed, there is silence. Only the stories of the few survivors bring back the memory of the tortures and hellish torments of the victims of Nazism in order to keep the conscience of humanity awake, which is about to repeat the sins of its predecessors. It will be scary when also they are unable to speak anymore…

The sad thing is that in this very Europe, where the most serious crimes against humanity have been committed, today we are once again witnessing torchlight processions and the propaganda of neo-Nazi ideologies that skillfully exploit public discontent. That is why it is necessary to remember the Holocaust every time, so as not to allow the dark past to take over the present and the future.

• Amalia Aronova: Ïn Bulgaria it didn't matter if you were Bulgarian of Jewish"
  
  

English version Rositsa Petkova