Tag #123008 - Interview #95883 (Gitli Alhalel)

From the school subjects I also loved literature, because I loved reading. As a child I read mostly the classics, such as Hugo, Balzac, Stendhal, Mayne Reid, Jack London, Jules Verne, [Maxim] Gorky [6]. Later I started reading the so-called progressive [i.e. left-wing] literature written after 9th September 1944 [7] – Lenin, Stalin, Marxist literature. I read many such books, probably because my father had them at home even before Bulgaria turned from monarchy into a republic [1946]. At that turning point in history there were three popular newspapers: ‘Utro’ [Morning] [8], ‘Zaria’ [Fireworks] and ‘Zora’ [Dawn] [9]. What was typical about them was their different political orientation. For example, ‘Zaria’ was a progressive newspaper. It was, in a way, the forum of the new times. In other words, it was a leftist newspaper, popularizing the socialist ideas. ‘Zora’ was a fascist publication and was not bought by the common people – only by Branniks [10], Legionaries [Bulgarian Legions] [11], ‘Otets Paisii’ [12] members and chauvinists of the kind. ‘Utro’ was more social newspaper. You could see Jews reading ‘Utro’ or ‘Zaria’ in the streets, the barber’s and coffee shops.