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Our family had a very close relationship with grandmother’s brothers Aron and Vitali Bali, who were absolute bonvivants. I know that they came from Turkey. There was a kind of proverb in the Jewish quarter about the three so-called ‘royal’ families. One of them was the Balis, the other one was the Bangos (it was my husband’s family name, too) and I can’t remember the third one. All these families were known for being bonvivants. Aron worked in a fish store and Vitali had a bakery. Vitali was said to be part of the ‘underground world’. The brothers were such an amazing company; they were joyful and lively people who knew how to have fun. The best celebrations were the weddings that took place in the Jewish quarter. There were lots of songs and dancing. My mother was a good singer and she could dance excellently. She knew many Greek songs. Sometimes she sang Bulgarian national songs at home and she could also dance the traditional Bulgarian folk dances. She loved singing and often enjoyed it. Mom insisted that my brother and I should have better education and that we should be raised in a more sophisticated environment. Family friends were only our relatives. Children could have next-door friends.
At the time we lived at Antim I Street we had no problems about the fact we were Jews. Shortly before our internment, however, we already had to wear badges [yellow stars] [6]. I wore a badge while we were living in Kyustendil, where we were interned. However, all my friends were Bulgarian. On the day when I had to leave for Kyustendil, my closest friend from the neighborhood Lily Lazarova came to see me off. She was with her family and they gave us food for the traveling. They were all filled with compassion for us. We were friends as children, later we didn’t keep in touch.
We had wonderful relations with the other neighbors, too. Generally, the Jews in Bulgaria have never had major problems. There was one absurd situation at school when there was this so called ‘Brannik’ organization [7], and Jewish children weren’t allowed to participate in it. At first, we didn’t know that this kind of organization was against us. So we used to cry, because we didn’t understand why we were not accepted as members. There were no other Jews in my class, but I knew there were some at the school. I had very good relationship with all my classmates. My teacher in Bulgarian was Mrs. Tsankova, who was the mother of the famous Bulgarian theater and film director Vili Tsankov. I will never forget her. In those years, we used the old Bulgarian alphabet. [The Act of 1st July 1921 when Bulgaria introduces simplified spelling upon proposal of a committee led by Linguistics Professor Alexander Teodrov Balan. The writing of ‘ь’ ‘ъ’ letters at the end of certain words was cancelled as they were no longer pronounced.] My handwriting was very beautiful and there were lots of exercises on writing and spelling at school. I had difficulty in writing one of the vowels, nevertheless I always had the highest marks in the class. The teacher usually picked me to read aloud my homework in front of the whole class. There were many other good teachers and I never felt discriminated because of my religion.
Until we were forced to move to Kyustendil my family had the support of our relatives. We had that special sense of unity and mutual help. The Balis weren’t rich but they always shared everything they had with us. There is one proverb in Ladino: ‘The most important thing is the smile on your face; you can deal with the rest.’
Before we left Sofia the whole family used to go on picnics by the riverside outside the city. We took a horse cart and we had a lot of food with us, so it was a great fun. The Balis were the organizers of those little excursions. We could hire the carts with the coachman, it was so enjoyable. We preferred to go to places where we could find fine mellows and water. We never went to the mountains. We did those trips at least once a week during our summer vacation. I remember the carts were very large like a big platform. We used to bring with us tomatoes and cheese for a snack. In those years the streets of Sofia were covered with concrete, so they were clean and smooth. But the streets in the Jewish quarter were dirty and muddy; the toilets were usually outside in the yard. Our family certainly had better than those conditions of life.
At the time we lived at Antim I Street we had no problems about the fact we were Jews. Shortly before our internment, however, we already had to wear badges [yellow stars] [6]. I wore a badge while we were living in Kyustendil, where we were interned. However, all my friends were Bulgarian. On the day when I had to leave for Kyustendil, my closest friend from the neighborhood Lily Lazarova came to see me off. She was with her family and they gave us food for the traveling. They were all filled with compassion for us. We were friends as children, later we didn’t keep in touch.
We had wonderful relations with the other neighbors, too. Generally, the Jews in Bulgaria have never had major problems. There was one absurd situation at school when there was this so called ‘Brannik’ organization [7], and Jewish children weren’t allowed to participate in it. At first, we didn’t know that this kind of organization was against us. So we used to cry, because we didn’t understand why we were not accepted as members. There were no other Jews in my class, but I knew there were some at the school. I had very good relationship with all my classmates. My teacher in Bulgarian was Mrs. Tsankova, who was the mother of the famous Bulgarian theater and film director Vili Tsankov. I will never forget her. In those years, we used the old Bulgarian alphabet. [The Act of 1st July 1921 when Bulgaria introduces simplified spelling upon proposal of a committee led by Linguistics Professor Alexander Teodrov Balan. The writing of ‘ь’ ‘ъ’ letters at the end of certain words was cancelled as they were no longer pronounced.] My handwriting was very beautiful and there were lots of exercises on writing and spelling at school. I had difficulty in writing one of the vowels, nevertheless I always had the highest marks in the class. The teacher usually picked me to read aloud my homework in front of the whole class. There were many other good teachers and I never felt discriminated because of my religion.
Until we were forced to move to Kyustendil my family had the support of our relatives. We had that special sense of unity and mutual help. The Balis weren’t rich but they always shared everything they had with us. There is one proverb in Ladino: ‘The most important thing is the smile on your face; you can deal with the rest.’
Before we left Sofia the whole family used to go on picnics by the riverside outside the city. We took a horse cart and we had a lot of food with us, so it was a great fun. The Balis were the organizers of those little excursions. We could hire the carts with the coachman, it was so enjoyable. We preferred to go to places where we could find fine mellows and water. We never went to the mountains. We did those trips at least once a week during our summer vacation. I remember the carts were very large like a big platform. We used to bring with us tomatoes and cheese for a snack. In those years the streets of Sofia were covered with concrete, so they were clean and smooth. But the streets in the Jewish quarter were dirty and muddy; the toilets were usually outside in the yard. Our family certainly had better than those conditions of life.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Matilda Ninyo