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I remember the period of the Law for Protection of the Nation very well. When we went out we had to wear these disgraceful yellow stars; we got insulted and even humiliated by random people in the streets whom we even didn't know. We had an obligatory curfew hour; besides, Jews were banned from entering certain shops, restaurants, theaters and so on. There was an invariable sign at these places: ‘Forbidden for Jews’. But what is more - the Jews were not allowed to keep running their private pharmacies, most of them - situated in Sofia's center, so Bulgarians got an advantage of taking control over the pharmacies. Of course, there were restrictions for tradesmen of Jewish origin as well (and the Jews were then predominantly retailers). Students of Jewish origin could not continue their education at universities. There was also one-off tax, for example if one had a bank account of 100,000 leva 30 per cent or 40 per cent of that sum simply got confiscated. I remember very well a historic date - 24th May 1943 [5], when in Sofia the Jews manifested against the decision for their internment out of the capital, as well as against the deportation of Bulgarian Jews. The people were marching from the Synagogue [6] to the school, starting from Stamboliiski Blvd. They wanted to reach the royal palace and ask King Boris III [7] for help. However, the police suddenly intercepted them on Vazrazhdane Square, where Bet Am [8] is situated today. They stuffed them into trucks and arrested many people. In fact, the action led by rabbi Daniel [Zion] was smashed. Rabbi Daniel managed to find refuge with bishop [i.e. Exarch] Stefan [9], who was then an active opposer to the idea for Jewish internment.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Juliet Saltiel