Tag #121797 - Interview #79524 (Beno Ruso)

When the war came, all the connections that we had with Hashomer Hatzair throughout Yugoslavia were cut. This included with the headquarters in Zagreb. Hashomer Hatzair was never illegal it was under supervision. They knew well that Jewish youth could not be supporters of the fascist occupiers. This wasn’t regular supervision. It was enough for them to catch you somewhere, for you to do something and then to go to jail or to forced labor. This supervision was by the Bulgarians. The Germans occupied Bitola and then the Bulgarians came and took over control [see Bulgarian Occupation of Macedonia] [15]. And in Macedonia Bulgarian fascists were the practical government. They were worse than Germans. They wanted to prove themselves.