He immediately joined the resistance, but in 1941 he went underground. He was underground from 22nd June until 26 November. In 1942 he was caught because he was betrayed. He was sentenced to death. But the jury was bribed – for 250 000 levs his sentence was changed to life imprisonment. In prison he shared a cell with Traicho Kostov [53], whom he much respected. Although Traicho Kostov fell into disgrace later on, he always spoke in his favor.
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Major events (political and historical)
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Displaying 39901 - 39930 of 50826 results
Stela Astrukova
My husband Yosif Hananel Astrukov (1912 – 1996) and I were in the same prison – the Pleven one but we had not met there. He had spent two years underground. He had been district secretary of the UYW in Sofia. He had become a member of UYW in 1936 and he had been much higher in the organization hierarchy than me. His illegal name was Herz, made up by his friends. Herz means heart in German, because he was the soul of every company.
Soon after that the youngest brother of my mother left with his family for Israel. Meshulam and the two elder brothers remained here. Vizurka also left. So did my aunt. [Mass Aliyah] [52]
I never considered leaving for Israel because I was convinced that now was the time to realize my ideals. My husband was even more convinced that we should remain here. He was against the aliyahs. He believed that Bulgaria was our home and we should stay here and realize our dreams and live freely. But a lot of the Jews, especially the richer ones and those, whose shops, factories and workshops were once again being nationalized in 1947, left for Israel. The others, their relatives and friends followed and it was like a chain reaction.
I never considered leaving for Israel because I was convinced that now was the time to realize my ideals. My husband was even more convinced that we should remain here. He was against the aliyahs. He believed that Bulgaria was our home and we should stay here and realize our dreams and live freely. But a lot of the Jews, especially the richer ones and those, whose shops, factories and workshops were once again being nationalized in 1947, left for Israel. The others, their relatives and friends followed and it was like a chain reaction.
Sarina Chelibakova
We spend our days doing house-work and participating in the events at the Jewish organization. We are members of many clubs. My husband is also a member of the Shalom and Haverim [Friends] Club. Every Friday Jewish men gather together to drink a rakia [32] before lunch. I am a member of the Health club. [The Health club in Plovdiv is 12 years old. Its members listen to health lectures, do exercises and go on excursions]. We are both members of the Golden Age club. [This is a cultural center for elderly people. They listen to lectures, concerts, meet cultural figures, musicians, poets, writers.] If it weren’t for the Shalom, I don’t know how I would bear my retirement. I am a very sociable person.
We listened to Express Radio at that time. My children and grandchildren were at the barricades. [Editor’s note: In 1997 the country was governed by the government of the Bulgarian Socialist Party led by Zhan Videnov. In January 1997 it was overthrown by the massive protests of university students, transport workers and citizens.] They were angry at us for staying at home. This was a very hot topic for my daughter. She was very extreme, while her father was more moderate. He comes from such a family. His father was a colonel in the Ministry of the Interior and a member of the party. Besides, he was calmer and quieter. But then the disappointment came.
Ivan Kostov [Chairman of the Union of Democratic Forces, minister of finance in the government of Filip Dimitrov (1992), Prime Minister of Bulgaria (1997 – 2001) and presently leader of the Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria party] was the only person who didn’t disappoint us. My daughter is a big supporter of him, while I support the right-wing ideas and the Union of Democratic Forces [founded in 1989 and then led by Zhelyu Zhelev. Initially it was a coalition uniting the parties opposing the Bulgarian Socialist Party. After the complex democratic process the party is in crisis.] But I don’t know who I will vote for in the elections.
Ivan Kostov [Chairman of the Union of Democratic Forces, minister of finance in the government of Filip Dimitrov (1992), Prime Minister of Bulgaria (1997 – 2001) and presently leader of the Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria party] was the only person who didn’t disappoint us. My daughter is a big supporter of him, while I support the right-wing ideas and the Union of Democratic Forces [founded in 1989 and then led by Zhelyu Zhelev. Initially it was a coalition uniting the parties opposing the Bulgarian Socialist Party. After the complex democratic process the party is in crisis.] But I don’t know who I will vote for in the elections.
I was a member of the Bulgarian Communist Party [29] from 1966 until 1988. I had leftist beliefs but I would say that my way of life and education were more in line with right-wing ideas. Deep in my soul I knew that if I became a member of the party, my daughter would have some benefits in her studies. In the plant ‘Petar Chenegelov’ where I worked, I became chairman of the inspection commission of the party committee. I organized and taught courses on Stalin’s biography or the interpretation of the decisions of the Central Committee of the BCP. [Editor’s note: During communist rule it had the power of a Ministry Council, all decisions were made by the Central Committee and then voted and approved by the Ministry Council. That was formulated in article 1 of the old communist constitution (before 1991) about the leading role of the party.]
I have witnessed a lot of meaningless activities and I didn’t agree with everything. For example, instead of training workers to keep the machines in order, they preferred to put up slogans, ‘Look after the machines – they are ours.’ How can they be ours? That wasn’t true. That’s one of the smallest things. When the party made a decision, we were summoned and told about it. At the same time my husband, who had right-wing beliefs, listened to Radio London, Radio Free Europe [30] and we saw how false everything was. The party documents contained much demagogy and false information. I also saw how the people feared the party secretary because he could fire them if he wanted to. During my work at the plant, I never sensed any anti-Semitic attitudes towards me. On the contrary, I was much respected and loved.
We looked forward to the events of 1989 [31].
I have witnessed a lot of meaningless activities and I didn’t agree with everything. For example, instead of training workers to keep the machines in order, they preferred to put up slogans, ‘Look after the machines – they are ours.’ How can they be ours? That wasn’t true. That’s one of the smallest things. When the party made a decision, we were summoned and told about it. At the same time my husband, who had right-wing beliefs, listened to Radio London, Radio Free Europe [30] and we saw how false everything was. The party documents contained much demagogy and false information. I also saw how the people feared the party secretary because he could fire them if he wanted to. During my work at the plant, I never sensed any anti-Semitic attitudes towards me. On the contrary, I was much respected and loved.
We looked forward to the events of 1989 [31].
We moved from Kyuchuk Parizh to this apartment in the center. When we came here in 1965, I started receiving messages from Shalom about their meetings. They invited us to their events but we didn’t go there often.
My active participation in the Jewish community started on 1st February 1988. That year I retired and on 1st February 1989 they invited me to become a secretary of the Jewish community. I worked as a secretary and deputy chairperson of the organization for twelve years. I started on 1st March 1988 and occupied that position until March 2000.
As I said, my family and I restored and revived community life. Up to now, the Shalom in Plovdiv was only an educational organization at the community house [named after the distinguished Jewish writer Sholem Aleichem]. We also revived the celebration of the holidays in the community. All events were documented and stored in audio and video archives.
My active participation in the Jewish community started on 1st February 1988. That year I retired and on 1st February 1989 they invited me to become a secretary of the Jewish community. I worked as a secretary and deputy chairperson of the organization for twelve years. I started on 1st March 1988 and occupied that position until March 2000.
As I said, my family and I restored and revived community life. Up to now, the Shalom in Plovdiv was only an educational organization at the community house [named after the distinguished Jewish writer Sholem Aleichem]. We also revived the celebration of the holidays in the community. All events were documented and stored in audio and video archives.
My father died in 1966. He was buried in Israel according to tradition. In 1998 my brother died of leukemia at 62 years of age. I went to Israel to attend his funeral and spent one month there. On 23rd August 2001 I received a telegram from my sister-in-law that my mother had suffered a stroke and they needed me. I left for Israel on 5th September and stayed there for sixty-five days to look after her in the hospital in Kaplan. Then we moved her to a private senior home and I continued visiting her and taking her out on walks. On 15th October I returned to Sofia. She died on 24th December of the same year.
We didn’t agree with the official policy of Bulgaria towards Israel. We had so many friends and relatives there. And I don’t like Arabs in general. I always kept in touch with my friends and my relatives. We received letters regularly, maybe they were censored, I don’t know. My mother was quite afraid, because my father often expressed his true beliefs in the letters and wrote jokes against the regime.
I have been to Israel ten times. Because of the official policy of Bulgaria to Israel, we traveled separately until 1989 [28]. Our family wasn’t allowed to travel together to Israel. In 1963 I went there with my daughter, then my husband went with our daughter and I stayed here. In 1972 I went alone.
Afterwards, when my daughter was a university student, we applied for a permit to go to Israel together but Tosho wasn’t allowed, because he was in charge of confidential information at the company where he worked. He was chief of the supply department of ‘Patni Stroezhi’ company. My husband was very angry, so he went to the director and said to him, ‘Find someone else to do my job starting tomorrow!’ He stopped doing the correspondence, but he was still not allowed to travel to Israel with us.
The first time we went to Israel together was in 2000. After that we traveled to Israel a lot. I learned Ivrit during my first visits to the country. I usually spent three months with my brother’s children, who didn’t know Bulgarian. I spoke to them using basic words in Ivrit and gradually learned to speak and write it.
I have been to Israel ten times. Because of the official policy of Bulgaria to Israel, we traveled separately until 1989 [28]. Our family wasn’t allowed to travel together to Israel. In 1963 I went there with my daughter, then my husband went with our daughter and I stayed here. In 1972 I went alone.
Afterwards, when my daughter was a university student, we applied for a permit to go to Israel together but Tosho wasn’t allowed, because he was in charge of confidential information at the company where he worked. He was chief of the supply department of ‘Patni Stroezhi’ company. My husband was very angry, so he went to the director and said to him, ‘Find someone else to do my job starting tomorrow!’ He stopped doing the correspondence, but he was still not allowed to travel to Israel with us.
The first time we went to Israel together was in 2000. After that we traveled to Israel a lot. I learned Ivrit during my first visits to the country. I usually spent three months with my brother’s children, who didn’t know Bulgarian. I spoke to them using basic words in Ivrit and gradually learned to speak and write it.
We could also have left for Israel but my husband didn’t want to, because he believed that although we had a lot of friends, they wouldn’t be able to help us in the beginning. He was afraid that he would feel out of place, blind and dumb. I don’t know how I would have felt, but as a woman I think I would have got used to the new environment more easily.
My brother managed to make a career in Israel. He took part in the Six-Day-War [27] and was wounded. I remember that my mother was visiting Bulgaria at the time and she received a telegram from her daughter-in-law that he was wounded and in hospital.
At first, my brother worked as a laborer at the airport and then he started working in a lathe factory. He became director of a plane construction company in Ashkelon. Through his work, he traveled around the world. He had a very high salary and was highly respected. His wife is director of Bank Discount. He supported my parents financially. Both my mother’s and my brother’s families live in Rehovot.
At first, my brother worked as a laborer at the airport and then he started working in a lathe factory. He became director of a plane construction company in Ashkelon. Through his work, he traveled around the world. He had a very high salary and was highly respected. His wife is director of Bank Discount. He supported my parents financially. Both my mother’s and my brother’s families live in Rehovot.
In 1955 my parents left for Israel. They were very afraid that my brother might marry a Bulgarian too and after he graduated from technical school, they prepared to leave. I didn’t receive any help from them. They hadn’t forgiven me for marrying a Bulgarian yet. They sold the apartment, but told me that they needed the money for the trip. They left me nothing.
My mother even took the books from the enormous library, put them in big boxes and loaded them on their ship. They didn’t need these books at all. But that was her way of punishing me. The only book she left me was [Margaret Mitchell’s] ‘Gone with the Wind.’ Later, when we visited them in Israel, we found the books still unpacked in the big boxes and we took out some of them to read. Later, she gave all the books to a library.
My parents weren’t very happy in Israel because my father had to go to an ulpan [26] in Jerusalem. Not every town had an ulpan at that time. It was very hard and he had a stroke six months after their arrival. My mother looked after him for eleven years, which meant she couldn’t work and achieve anything. She ironed clothes for richer people at home in order to earn some money. They brought shirts and bed sheets, which she ironed and folded.
After papa died in 1966, she started babysitting. It was very hard for her because she was no longer young but she never thought about returning to Bulgaria. She was a firm Zionist. She always believed that there was no better country than Israel.
My mother even took the books from the enormous library, put them in big boxes and loaded them on their ship. They didn’t need these books at all. But that was her way of punishing me. The only book she left me was [Margaret Mitchell’s] ‘Gone with the Wind.’ Later, when we visited them in Israel, we found the books still unpacked in the big boxes and we took out some of them to read. Later, she gave all the books to a library.
My parents weren’t very happy in Israel because my father had to go to an ulpan [26] in Jerusalem. Not every town had an ulpan at that time. It was very hard and he had a stroke six months after their arrival. My mother looked after him for eleven years, which meant she couldn’t work and achieve anything. She ironed clothes for richer people at home in order to earn some money. They brought shirts and bed sheets, which she ironed and folded.
After papa died in 1966, she started babysitting. It was very hard for her because she was no longer young but she never thought about returning to Bulgaria. She was a firm Zionist. She always believed that there was no better country than Israel.
My grandchildren are very active in the Jewish community. Robert writes for the ‘Evreiski Vesti’ [Jewish News] newspaper and takes an active part in the camps in Kovachevtsi. I influenced my family to participate in Jewish communal activities. I’m not bragging, but in 1988 when I took over the leadership of the Jewish community in Plovdiv, I insisted on everybody taking part. And they all did quite willingly. My husband Tosho is very respected in our family. Everyone loves him. On holidays such as birthdays, Christmas and Easter all my grandchildren come and we celebrate them together at home. It has always been that way.
For ten years my daughter Ema contributed to the activities of the Middle Generation in Plovdiv. She was a member of the executive board of the Consistory in Sofia and member of the board in Plovdiv. On 15th March 2002, she and her husband took part in a collective religious wedding organized by the Joint [25]. Five more couples from Sofia and Plovdiv participated. They had already got married in a registry office but not in accordance with the traditional Jewish laws. The event took place in Pancharevo. Ema and her husband Isak were married by a registrar in 1975. Some of the other participants in the ritual were Yosif and Mati Madjar, Victoria and Mois Benbasat from Plovdiv, Reni and Robert Djerasi, Morits and Rozi Mashiyah and one more couple from Sofia, whose names I don’t remember.
My daughter graduated in dentistry and works as a dentist in Plovdiv. She is very active in the Shalom organization now. She is a member of the Consistory board. Ema ran the restored Sunday school for 16 years. We started with only six or seven children and their numbers increased over the years. We restored WIZO. We started celebrating the holidays. In 1988 we organized a celebration for Purim for the first time. Then we celebrated Rosh Hashanah, Chanukkah and Pesach. The community got so used to celebrating the holidays together that now we can’t make them celebrate them at their houses too.
My daughter, Ema, was born in 1953 and lived here while studying in junior high school. We lived together for 25 years. In the summer we went to the seaside, Primorsko, Nessebar, Pomorie and to the mountainous Velingrad. My daughter was raised to feel Jewish and we celebrated both the Jewish and the Bulgarian holidays at home.
She married a Jew, Isak Mezan, who was a chemist. My husband insisted on that, while I didn’t. He had started feeling part of the Jewish community. He didn’t have any relatives and my relatives became his. He went to Israel twice and liked to say, ‘It will be nice if Emi married a Jew.’ He wanted that and so did I, although I am happy with my marriage to a Bulgarian. Emi met Isak at a wedding and then married him.
She married a Jew, Isak Mezan, who was a chemist. My husband insisted on that, while I didn’t. He had started feeling part of the Jewish community. He didn’t have any relatives and my relatives became his. He went to Israel twice and liked to say, ‘It will be nice if Emi married a Jew.’ He wanted that and so did I, although I am happy with my marriage to a Bulgarian. Emi met Isak at a wedding and then married him.
When I got married, I distanced myself from the Jewish community. I lived far from Kyuchuk Parizh and I didn’t visit the Jewish Home. It was transferred under the aegis of the Fatherland Front and lost its Jewish identity.
We had some great friends. We met very often, sang songs. My mother-in-law was also very kind to us. She knew very well my conflict with my parents and tried to make my life as easy and comfortable as possible. She would always say, ‘We will cook for you, whatever you decide. We, Bulgarians, are used to cooking both for lunch and dinner.’ When I went to live with them, I told them that we were used to eating sandwiches at home: yellow cheese, cheese, olives, eggs etc. My mother-in-law said, ‘If you like them, I will prepare the same here.’
My mother-in-law even studied Jewish cuisine so that she would be able to cook Jewish dishes such as agristada, apyu, anginara. She learned to make a wonderful Kebap de merandgena, baked unpeeled aubergines, which are placed still warm in salty water. Then they are peeled and returned to the water. Afterwards, they are minced. The meat is cooked in oil and the aubergines are added to them. The dish is then boiled at a moderate temperature.
So I established a new order and atmosphere in their house. I managed to arrange their apartment in a new way and change a lot of things. My husband and I had absolutely nothing when we started our family. They had some tin utensils, they were poor people. We gradually started buying stuff. We made a list of what we needed. The first thing we bought was a night lamp above the bed. We had a double bed from my mother-in-law. We also bought a wardrobe, forks, spoons, knives.
There was an external staircase, reaching a landing, from which you entered a small room. We constructed a small entrance hall over the landing. In the next room we put a small glass case, a table, a refrigerator, the bed my mother-in-law had given us and the TV. Our first TV set was an Opera. We also had a kitchen where Tosho’s [Tosho is diminutive for Todor] grandmother slept. We slept in the bedroom. It was also used as a guest room because there was a sofa and when we had guests, we always invited them there. We had a lot of friends, Bulgarians and Jews.
My mother-in-law even studied Jewish cuisine so that she would be able to cook Jewish dishes such as agristada, apyu, anginara. She learned to make a wonderful Kebap de merandgena, baked unpeeled aubergines, which are placed still warm in salty water. Then they are peeled and returned to the water. Afterwards, they are minced. The meat is cooked in oil and the aubergines are added to them. The dish is then boiled at a moderate temperature.
So I established a new order and atmosphere in their house. I managed to arrange their apartment in a new way and change a lot of things. My husband and I had absolutely nothing when we started our family. They had some tin utensils, they were poor people. We gradually started buying stuff. We made a list of what we needed. The first thing we bought was a night lamp above the bed. We had a double bed from my mother-in-law. We also bought a wardrobe, forks, spoons, knives.
There was an external staircase, reaching a landing, from which you entered a small room. We constructed a small entrance hall over the landing. In the next room we put a small glass case, a table, a refrigerator, the bed my mother-in-law had given us and the TV. Our first TV set was an Opera. We also had a kitchen where Tosho’s [Tosho is diminutive for Todor] grandmother slept. We slept in the bedroom. It was also used as a guest room because there was a sofa and when we had guests, we always invited them there. We had a lot of friends, Bulgarians and Jews.
From 1952 to 1965 we lived very poorly in the Kyuchuk Parizh quarter [the Small Paris in Turkish]. We came to live in this apartment when my father died. It was a small house with an external staircase, which was covered in ice in the winter and we had to sprinkle ash on it. We had no water at home, we had to bring it in in pitchers. The toilet was down in the yard and the water there also froze. We lived very poorly but we were happy. Upstairs in the kitchen we had a closet where we kept the wash-tub and the sink. We had a tin container, which we filled with water and used as a sink. I, who always had maids as a child, who had Persian rugs, accepted the new living conditions without complaint. I swear. We lived so happily.
Bulgaria
My mother was strongly against our marriage. My parents talked negatively about him and about Bulgarians as a whole. Then they stopped talking to me for seven or eight months. I would come back from work and go straight to bed. If they wanted to tell me something, they put notes in my bag or sent someone else to tell me.
I insisted that this time I wouldn’t listen to them, ‘I obeyed you about not making aliyah with my friends in 1948. I obeyed you about not leaving you alone on graduating from high school. Marko’s parents came and you didn’t let me go. I wanted to study in the Agro-economical Institute and you didn’t allow me once again. This time I’m doing what I want!’ I think they wanted me to do only what they decided was good for me.
My family’s resistance was very strong and lasted eight months. In 1952 I left home. I got married in 1952. We were married by a registrar in front of two witnesses only: my husband’s boss Ivan Keremidchiyski and a colleague of mine, Dochka Arykova. Before that my father had met Todor a couple of times to persuade him to leave me, because I was a spoiled girl, we wouldn’t have any children, I had a weak heart or they would leave for Israel and I would decide to join them sooner or later.
Todor always said, ‘I haven’t chained her to myself. If she decides, I am ready to do anything for her, but I can’t keep her by force.’ Todor is a very tolerant man. He reacted calmly to the attitude of my parents towards him and towards Bulgarians. You can rarely meet such a man. He didn’t feel angry towards them. He would only say, ‘They are your parents, this is what they think is right for you. We have no right to judge them.’
Even after we got married I told him that it wasn’t accepted among Jews to call your parents-in-law grandmother and grandfather, and he should call them ‘mama’ and ‘papa.’ And he addressed them in this way. When welcoming my mother into our home, he literally bowed to her. He indulged her every wish and brought her everything she wanted.
I had a wonderful mother-in-law.
I insisted that this time I wouldn’t listen to them, ‘I obeyed you about not making aliyah with my friends in 1948. I obeyed you about not leaving you alone on graduating from high school. Marko’s parents came and you didn’t let me go. I wanted to study in the Agro-economical Institute and you didn’t allow me once again. This time I’m doing what I want!’ I think they wanted me to do only what they decided was good for me.
My family’s resistance was very strong and lasted eight months. In 1952 I left home. I got married in 1952. We were married by a registrar in front of two witnesses only: my husband’s boss Ivan Keremidchiyski and a colleague of mine, Dochka Arykova. Before that my father had met Todor a couple of times to persuade him to leave me, because I was a spoiled girl, we wouldn’t have any children, I had a weak heart or they would leave for Israel and I would decide to join them sooner or later.
Todor always said, ‘I haven’t chained her to myself. If she decides, I am ready to do anything for her, but I can’t keep her by force.’ Todor is a very tolerant man. He reacted calmly to the attitude of my parents towards him and towards Bulgarians. You can rarely meet such a man. He didn’t feel angry towards them. He would only say, ‘They are your parents, this is what they think is right for you. We have no right to judge them.’
Even after we got married I told him that it wasn’t accepted among Jews to call your parents-in-law grandmother and grandfather, and he should call them ‘mama’ and ‘papa.’ And he addressed them in this way. When welcoming my mother into our home, he literally bowed to her. He indulged her every wish and brought her everything she wanted.
I had a wonderful mother-in-law.
Since I wasn’t able to study at university for one reason or another, I started working as a secretary in the meat processing plant. I am a very sociable person. Suddenly all my friends were gone and I felt the need to meet people, so I went to the Youth Union in our neighborhood. [Editor’s note: After 1944 the UYW was renamed Democratic Union of the People's Youth. After 1947 it became Dimitrov's Communist Youth Union which existed up to 1992.]
That was where I met my future husband, the Bulgarian Todor Petrov Chelibakov. He was also a member of the Youth Union, and led the theater group. We met there and also saw each other at parties and birthdays. He sang very well and was a very direct and sociable person, the Bohemian type.
He had had a very difficult childhood. His mother was a tobacco worker, who divorced her husband when Todor was one year and a half. After that she never saw his father again. He lived with his mother and his grandmother. Later, his father remarried and had other children, whom Todor didn’t know about. Much later, my daughter met his step-brother and sisters and found out by accident that they and Todor had the same father.
My mother-in-law raised Todor by herself. It was very hard for her; she worked as a seamstress at home to earn some extra money. They lived very poorly, but he managed to graduate from high school. My husband has always worked in construction companies as a supplier. He retired in the ‘Patni Stroezhi’ company as chief of the supply department.
That was where I met my future husband, the Bulgarian Todor Petrov Chelibakov. He was also a member of the Youth Union, and led the theater group. We met there and also saw each other at parties and birthdays. He sang very well and was a very direct and sociable person, the Bohemian type.
He had had a very difficult childhood. His mother was a tobacco worker, who divorced her husband when Todor was one year and a half. After that she never saw his father again. He lived with his mother and his grandmother. Later, his father remarried and had other children, whom Todor didn’t know about. Much later, my daughter met his step-brother and sisters and found out by accident that they and Todor had the same father.
My mother-in-law raised Todor by herself. It was very hard for her; she worked as a seamstress at home to earn some extra money. They lived very poorly, but he managed to graduate from high school. My husband has always worked in construction companies as a supplier. He retired in the ‘Patni Stroezhi’ company as chief of the supply department.
I started thinking about going to Israel, as did my parents. They even sold some of their furniture in line with my mother’s wishes, because she was the one who wanted to leave and my father didn’t. But, in the end, they gave it up.
At that time I was friends with a Jewish boy, who also wanted to make aliyah. His name was Marko Semov. We had a very strong relationship. He was studying engineering in Sofia and I met him in He-Halutz Hatzair. He had friends in the older groups and came to see us and that’s how we met. My parents approved of his family. His father was a sarafin, a money dealer and lived in the neighborhood. At the time of the youth aliyah in 1948-49 he wasn’t able to leave because he was still studying in Sofia. He took two terms simultaneously so that he would be able to graduate and leave, because he knew that I wanted to leave too.
Finally my parents decided to stay in Bulgaria. He left and I stayed. He continued his studies in Israel. He worked as a street cleaner and waiter so that he’d be able to graduate from university. He had graduated from the French College in Bulgaria. We wrote to each other all the time. Now that I read my letters, I get surprised at what plans I had: to start medical courses so that I would be able to work there and he would be able to finish his studies.
I very much wanted to leave for Israel but my parents didn’t agree. His parents had also decided to leave with him. They came back home and told my parents that they wanted to take me back to Israel with them, but my parents refused. My father’s words were, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ Not that they were against us, they approved of our relationship, but they weren’t sure if our feelings after two years away from each other were still the same. They were afraid that I might find myself alone on the streets in an unknown country. So I remained here.
At that time I was friends with a Jewish boy, who also wanted to make aliyah. His name was Marko Semov. We had a very strong relationship. He was studying engineering in Sofia and I met him in He-Halutz Hatzair. He had friends in the older groups and came to see us and that’s how we met. My parents approved of his family. His father was a sarafin, a money dealer and lived in the neighborhood. At the time of the youth aliyah in 1948-49 he wasn’t able to leave because he was still studying in Sofia. He took two terms simultaneously so that he would be able to graduate and leave, because he knew that I wanted to leave too.
Finally my parents decided to stay in Bulgaria. He left and I stayed. He continued his studies in Israel. He worked as a street cleaner and waiter so that he’d be able to graduate from university. He had graduated from the French College in Bulgaria. We wrote to each other all the time. Now that I read my letters, I get surprised at what plans I had: to start medical courses so that I would be able to work there and he would be able to finish his studies.
I very much wanted to leave for Israel but my parents didn’t agree. His parents had also decided to leave with him. They came back home and told my parents that they wanted to take me back to Israel with them, but my parents refused. My father’s words were, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ Not that they were against us, they approved of our relationship, but they weren’t sure if our feelings after two years away from each other were still the same. They were afraid that I might find myself alone on the streets in an unknown country. So I remained here.
After 1944 my brother and I continued to study. In 1947 I became a member of the Jewish organization He-Halutz Hatzair. The organization was more right-wing than Hashomer Hatzair [22], which was a left-wing organization. We studied Ivrit there, discussed the Jewish way of life, learned important facts from Jewish history and its heroes, the biographies of distinguished Jewish people, the principles of Jewish social life and cooperation. We gathered in a club opposite the Shalom [23]. We had lectures by people from Sofia about the traditions, rituals, the Jewish state and kibbutzim. I became a leader of the younger members of the organization. In all, its purpose was educational: to prepare young people for aliyah to Israel [24].
I made a lot of friends there, some of whom I still keep in touch with, for example, Kleri Madjar, Beka Benaroyo. Kleri and I were like sisters. We went to the cinema, to concerts and parties. We gathered on various occasions, but my mother didn’t let me out often. As I said, she was a very ambitious woman, who was also very strict. Once the young men from He-Halutz Hatzair decided to organize a party for New Year’s Eve. They came to ask my mother to let me go but she firmly refused. She didn’t let me go on many of the school excursions. She always wanted me to be beside her.
There were probably other Jewish organizations at that time, but I wasn’t interested. I know that there was WIZO then, who had their parties in the Jewish Home. Gradually the Shalom lost its Jewish identity and passed under the auspices of the Fatherland Front.
In 1948-49 all the members of the organization left for a kibbutz in Israel with the youth aliyah movement. Suddenly Plovdiv felt empty. I lost all my friends. In 1949-50 I graduated from high school and wanted to go and study in Sofia.
I made a lot of friends there, some of whom I still keep in touch with, for example, Kleri Madjar, Beka Benaroyo. Kleri and I were like sisters. We went to the cinema, to concerts and parties. We gathered on various occasions, but my mother didn’t let me out often. As I said, she was a very ambitious woman, who was also very strict. Once the young men from He-Halutz Hatzair decided to organize a party for New Year’s Eve. They came to ask my mother to let me go but she firmly refused. She didn’t let me go on many of the school excursions. She always wanted me to be beside her.
There were probably other Jewish organizations at that time, but I wasn’t interested. I know that there was WIZO then, who had their parties in the Jewish Home. Gradually the Shalom lost its Jewish identity and passed under the auspices of the Fatherland Front.
In 1948-49 all the members of the organization left for a kibbutz in Israel with the youth aliyah movement. Suddenly Plovdiv felt empty. I lost all my friends. In 1949-50 I graduated from high school and wanted to go and study in Sofia.
My uncle Isak Katalan married in 1942. He had two children, Zelma and Zhak, who now live in Poland. After 9th September 1944 my uncle Isak became a judge in the People’s Court [18] and then moved to live in Sofia. There he started work in the Legislation Commission [19]. He was one of the creators of the Labor Code. He always occupied high-rank positions. He was the founder of the Football Association ‘Botev’ in Plovdiv and chairman of the Philatelist Association in Bulgaria. His wife knew German and worked in the German bookstore in Sofia.
My other uncle David Katalan remained in Plovdiv and worked as a lawyer. He was a member of ‘Zveno’ [20] and the Fatherland Front [21] in Plovdiv. He married in 1946. His family remained in Bulgaria; they have two daughters, Rashel and Zelma, who now live in Sofia. Both my uncle and his wife died in Bulgaria.
My other uncle David Katalan remained in Plovdiv and worked as a lawyer. He was a member of ‘Zveno’ [20] and the Fatherland Front [21] in Plovdiv. He married in 1946. His family remained in Bulgaria; they have two daughters, Rashel and Zelma, who now live in Sofia. Both my uncle and his wife died in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria
The insurance company where my father worked was transformed into the State Insurance Institute after 9th September 1944. My father started working there, but his income was very different from the previous one, although he had an important position and received one of the highest salaries. Thanks to his connections to many people and since he earned a percentage of the profits, he managed to earn a reasonable amount.
My mother remained a housewife. So did my grandmother Sarina. She lived in the neighboring apartment together with my uncle Shelomo, who also worked in the State Insurance Institute like my father. My other grandmother Zelma and my aunt Marga with her husband Mordehay Natan left for Israel in 1948.
My mother remained a housewife. So did my grandmother Sarina. She lived in the neighboring apartment together with my uncle Shelomo, who also worked in the State Insurance Institute like my father. My other grandmother Zelma and my aunt Marga with her husband Mordehay Natan left for Israel in 1948.
People were talking about the concentration camps in Europe. When 10th March 1943 [Plan for deportation of Jews in Bulgaria] [13] came, we knew that we would be deported. On 9th March we were at my grandmother’s; there was no bathroom in our apartment and we used to go and have a bath there. We always stayed there for a while before we went home. Isak Katalan, my uncle, was a member of the communist party. He came home in the evening and told us, ‘Sit down and listen to me. Jews are about to be deported. There are lists made. Probably not everyone will be deported, but you never know. Now, when you go home, prepare a suitcase or a small bag for each one of you.’ And really, on 10th March the deportation started.
Our family wasn’t deported, but all my grandmother’s family together with my uncles and aunt, who had already married and was seven months pregnant, were taken to the school. People were saying there was a second list, including the names of all the other Jews. A cousin of ours came and told my mother the news. My mother and I got dressed and at half past four in the morning, we left for my grandmother’s. There were policemen in front of Grandmother Zelma’s house. Of course, we weren’t allowed inside and stood in front of the house.
Later I understood from my grandmother that she did everything she could to prevent them from taking her family out in the dark. She tried to slow things down. She went from policeman to policeman saying, ‘Do whatever you want, but wait until the morning so that the Bulgarian citizens of Plovdiv will see what you’re doing.’ My grandmother was an intelligent woman, despite not having any formal education. Thanks to her the family was led out at seven thirty with much effort from the policemen. The houses belonging to all the Jews who were taken to the school were sealed.
I remember that my grandmother and my mother’s relatives started walking up the street and we walked behind them. When we reached the Monument of Gratitude many people saw them and many lawyers ran to hug my uncles. They were saying, ‘Where are they taking Katalan?’ The policemen pushed them with the butt-stocks of their guns. The Jews were taken to the yard of the Jewish school. We waited in front of the yard and talked about what was happening, ‘Now they are making them do this, now they have to do that etc.’ We heard cries and shouting from inside. We wanted to pass some things to our relatives, but we weren’t allowed. It was very frightening, but they were released at four o’clock in the afternoon.
My aunt was taken to the school on 10th March and gave birth to my cousin Rozi on 16th March. The delivery was normal, but the baby was born prematurely. I don’t remember if she gave birth in a hospital or not.
From this apartment here I saw how Bishop Kiril [14] passed along this street, near this garden, with all his people. He went to the Jewish school to tell the people that they wouldn’t be deported. Yes, he went to them and said resolutely, ‘I will lie on the rails, I will not allow it.’ I don’t remember any Jews from Sofia being deported. They interned them [15] to smaller towns such as Yambol, Gorna Djumaya and Shumen.
All our family survived the Holocaust. No one was sent to jail, although my uncle Isak Katalan was a communist and before that a member of Maccabi [16] and the UYW [17]. Our property was also preserved, because we lived in these two apartments and we had nothing to confiscate and nationalize. But life was very hard financially. We had to live very frugally.
Our family wasn’t deported, but all my grandmother’s family together with my uncles and aunt, who had already married and was seven months pregnant, were taken to the school. People were saying there was a second list, including the names of all the other Jews. A cousin of ours came and told my mother the news. My mother and I got dressed and at half past four in the morning, we left for my grandmother’s. There were policemen in front of Grandmother Zelma’s house. Of course, we weren’t allowed inside and stood in front of the house.
Later I understood from my grandmother that she did everything she could to prevent them from taking her family out in the dark. She tried to slow things down. She went from policeman to policeman saying, ‘Do whatever you want, but wait until the morning so that the Bulgarian citizens of Plovdiv will see what you’re doing.’ My grandmother was an intelligent woman, despite not having any formal education. Thanks to her the family was led out at seven thirty with much effort from the policemen. The houses belonging to all the Jews who were taken to the school were sealed.
I remember that my grandmother and my mother’s relatives started walking up the street and we walked behind them. When we reached the Monument of Gratitude many people saw them and many lawyers ran to hug my uncles. They were saying, ‘Where are they taking Katalan?’ The policemen pushed them with the butt-stocks of their guns. The Jews were taken to the yard of the Jewish school. We waited in front of the yard and talked about what was happening, ‘Now they are making them do this, now they have to do that etc.’ We heard cries and shouting from inside. We wanted to pass some things to our relatives, but we weren’t allowed. It was very frightening, but they were released at four o’clock in the afternoon.
My aunt was taken to the school on 10th March and gave birth to my cousin Rozi on 16th March. The delivery was normal, but the baby was born prematurely. I don’t remember if she gave birth in a hospital or not.
From this apartment here I saw how Bishop Kiril [14] passed along this street, near this garden, with all his people. He went to the Jewish school to tell the people that they wouldn’t be deported. Yes, he went to them and said resolutely, ‘I will lie on the rails, I will not allow it.’ I don’t remember any Jews from Sofia being deported. They interned them [15] to smaller towns such as Yambol, Gorna Djumaya and Shumen.
All our family survived the Holocaust. No one was sent to jail, although my uncle Isak Katalan was a communist and before that a member of Maccabi [16] and the UYW [17]. Our property was also preserved, because we lived in these two apartments and we had nothing to confiscate and nationalize. But life was very hard financially. We had to live very frugally.
There were also boys from today’s Greek territories who were mobilized into Bulgarian labor camps and whose relatives were deported [12]. My family decided to give shelter to such a boy. His first name was Ilialu, I can’t remember his family name. He had a brother who went to live with another Jewish family. Ilialu lived with us from 1943 to 1946. He ate with us, my mother washed, ironed and sewed his clothes. He worked as a tailor, I don’t remember where. He was already demobilized then. At first we spoke to him in Ladino, but he gradually learned Bulgarian.
Then my mother introduced him to a Jewish girl from Bulgaria, whose name I don’t remember and they got married. The young family moved to live with the girl’s parents. They lived there until 1948 and then moved to Israel. He died, but we kept in touch for a long time after their departure.
Then my mother introduced him to a Jewish girl from Bulgaria, whose name I don’t remember and they got married. The young family moved to live with the girl’s parents. They lived there until 1948 and then moved to Israel. He died, but we kept in touch for a long time after their departure.
We knew very well what awaited us. Our neighbors were Bulgarians, the Yordanovi family, with whom my parents kept in touch. They lived behind us. He was a military pilot and she was a housewife. They offered to take me and my brother so that we wouldn’t be deported with my parents, but my parents refused. Other neighbors were the Filipovi family. The man traded in tobacco. They took our carpets and crystal sets so that they wouldn’t be confiscated and returned them to us after 9th September 1944.
We witnessed the events during fascism. We had an enormous map of Europe at home and every evening my father would open it and follow the information, which was passing from house to house. In 1941 the radio sets were sealed and later confiscated. My father would mark on the map the advances of the German and the Soviet armies. We knew everything that was happening although we were only allowed to go out for two hours each day. Blockades were set up. Our street was regularly closed and our houses searched by policemen.
The men were put in labor camps [11]. My father was mobilized to the labor camps in the villages of Mihalkovo [that labor camp corrected the bed of the Vacha River] and Devin. He would come back very exhausted and haggard. He wasn’t cut out for manual labor, his usual work was very different and that was naturally reflected in his health. After the camps he had problems with his blood pressure and got diabetes. I don’t remember if he told us any details about the camps because I was young then, only 13 years old.
Supporting the family was very hard; we had to sell our piano. We also sold our quilts, of which we had plenty and our crystal dinner sets. I remember that we used to knit socks from unraveled table cloths. We were very poor. My mother found it very hard. I remember that we were so poor and for a long time we were unable to buy even one new dress and we dressed very humbly.
Supporting the family was very hard; we had to sell our piano. We also sold our quilts, of which we had plenty and our crystal dinner sets. I remember that we used to knit socks from unraveled table cloths. We were very poor. My mother found it very hard. I remember that we were so poor and for a long time we were unable to buy even one new dress and we dressed very humbly.