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In 1943, Sofia Jews were interned [see Internment of Jews in Bulgaria] [19]. They arrived by train from Sofia at 10pm. Some of us from the forced labor groups were allowed to help them settle in the town after their arrival. The chairman of the Jewish community, Mois Alkalai, was in charge of their accommodation. He had made a list of the houses and the number of people who could be accommodated with Jewish families. So, in the evening we went to the station, met with them and went to the Jewish community first. The first thing the chairman did was to ask them whether they had relatives or friends in the town. If they did, he checked how many people the house could accommodate and asked someone to take them to the place. Every evening for about a week people came and were accommodated in the Jewish houses. Relatives of my stepmother were staying at our place.
On 7th September 1944 I was in Izvor. At that time the Soviet troops were about to enter Bulgaria [20]. At that time many Jews ran away from the labor groups. We also prepared for our escape. We didn’t get on the train to Lovech because we were warned that there were policemen at the railway station. I and another man got on a train near a village a kilometer away from the town. Thus we went to Pleven. There was a big bustle there. We asked what it was about and were told that the people were attacking the prison in order to set the political prisoners free. An acquaintance of mine, Stefan from Dupnitsa, who had escaped from prison, got on the train. He was hiding from the police. He had been jailed as he was a communist. He asked me whether I had money to give him to buy himself a ticket from Sofia to Dupnitsa. My friend from the labor camp was from a rich family and I told him not to bother. We agreed that I would buy him the ticket and wait for him close to the station. And so that’s what happened, I bought him a ticket and found a wagon with fewer people. He got on the train and at the last moment, just before the train departed, he got off one stop before his final destination so that the policemen wouldn’t see him. We didn’t know yet what the situation in Dupnitsa was. Thus we went home on the 7th in the evening.
The next day I went to the central square near the police station. All of a sudden shooting started. The partisans had come down from the mountain, and had attacked the police station. A policeman and a partisan were killed. The partisans entered the police station and set the political prisoners free.
On 7th September 1944 I was in Izvor. At that time the Soviet troops were about to enter Bulgaria [20]. At that time many Jews ran away from the labor groups. We also prepared for our escape. We didn’t get on the train to Lovech because we were warned that there were policemen at the railway station. I and another man got on a train near a village a kilometer away from the town. Thus we went to Pleven. There was a big bustle there. We asked what it was about and were told that the people were attacking the prison in order to set the political prisoners free. An acquaintance of mine, Stefan from Dupnitsa, who had escaped from prison, got on the train. He was hiding from the police. He had been jailed as he was a communist. He asked me whether I had money to give him to buy himself a ticket from Sofia to Dupnitsa. My friend from the labor camp was from a rich family and I told him not to bother. We agreed that I would buy him the ticket and wait for him close to the station. And so that’s what happened, I bought him a ticket and found a wagon with fewer people. He got on the train and at the last moment, just before the train departed, he got off one stop before his final destination so that the policemen wouldn’t see him. We didn’t know yet what the situation in Dupnitsa was. Thus we went home on the 7th in the evening.
The next day I went to the central square near the police station. All of a sudden shooting started. The partisans had come down from the mountain, and had attacked the police station. A policeman and a partisan were killed. The partisans entered the police station and set the political prisoners free.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Sabat Pilosof