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When my father died in 1961 my stepmother had her eyes on a man from the town. She wanted to move to his place. I told her that if she would leave our house, I would never let her come back later. Until then I had provided for her entirely. One day that man came with a cart and they loaded her luggage. And off she went with him. Later, we heard the news that her man had started selling her stuff for money. While she lived with us my stepmother had things which we had never dared to touch. However, in her new home her household belongings were gradually being sold. Once she asked me to let her return home but I refused. After she died I took care of all the funeral arrangements. There was a Jewish cemetery in Dupnitsa but due to the town-planning changes it was removed. Now there is a common graveyard.
Our synagogue was demolished at the end of the 1970s. Nobody was informed of this act. The machines were prepared during nighttime and in the morning the demolition began. The Jews immediately telephoned the Ministry [Department] of Ecclesiastical Matters in Sofia in order to stop this act, but it was already too late. Asen Stoyanov was Dupnitsa’s mayor at that time. When the synagogue was demolished pitchers were found in the walls, which had improved the acoustics when it was still operating. The Jewish community continued to exist even after the emigration of most of the Jews to Israel [see Mass Aliyah] [25].
I used to be chairman of the Jewish community for about ten years starting in the 1970s. At that time the whole Jewish community used to gather in the club during the high holidays. We didn’t have any impediments neither regarding celebration of our holidays, nor in terms of gathering in the house of the Jewish community. The synagogue still existed and elderly people used to visit it. We were a greater number then than we are now. Lately many people have left for Israel; others have passed away. For Pesach we used to receive matzah from Sofia, every family ordering a certain quantity in advance. We didn’t have a chazzan in the synagogue in the years after 1944 but there were people among us who could read the Haggadah. We also organized excursions in order to meet Jews from other towns, and most often we visited Kyustendil.
Our synagogue was demolished at the end of the 1970s. Nobody was informed of this act. The machines were prepared during nighttime and in the morning the demolition began. The Jews immediately telephoned the Ministry [Department] of Ecclesiastical Matters in Sofia in order to stop this act, but it was already too late. Asen Stoyanov was Dupnitsa’s mayor at that time. When the synagogue was demolished pitchers were found in the walls, which had improved the acoustics when it was still operating. The Jewish community continued to exist even after the emigration of most of the Jews to Israel [see Mass Aliyah] [25].
I used to be chairman of the Jewish community for about ten years starting in the 1970s. At that time the whole Jewish community used to gather in the club during the high holidays. We didn’t have any impediments neither regarding celebration of our holidays, nor in terms of gathering in the house of the Jewish community. The synagogue still existed and elderly people used to visit it. We were a greater number then than we are now. Lately many people have left for Israel; others have passed away. For Pesach we used to receive matzah from Sofia, every family ordering a certain quantity in advance. We didn’t have a chazzan in the synagogue in the years after 1944 but there were people among us who could read the Haggadah. We also organized excursions in order to meet Jews from other towns, and most often we visited Kyustendil.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Sabat Pilosof