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During the war [WWII] I witnessed many cases of anti-Semitism from the Bulgarians, but there were some Bulgarians who were against the absurd laws against us and helped us in whatever way they could. I had the feeling that the people didn’t hate us much, but the propaganda they were subjected to was so strong that sometimes they hated us without knowing why. For example, there was a case which was very indicative of that. One of those families had a son who was our age and with whom we played as kids. He had even learned Ladino. When the Law for the Protection of the Nation was passed, he was already married, maybe he even had kids and he had started to hate Jews. He gave us a lot of trouble. For example, there was a curfew for the Jews, 8pm if I am not mistaken, and he stood in front of our houses checking whether someone would be late. If he caught someone who got home later, he chased him and wanted to beat him. On the other hand, his father was a very good friend of my father. He was a blacksmith and his workshop was very close to my father’s one. Once his son came and started threatening my father that if he didn’t move his workshop, he would kill him. Then my father talked to his father, who promised that he would talk to his son.
There were other such cases. Branniks and Legionaries [12] came to our neighborhood and broke our windows. But I wouldn’t say that we were seriously harassed. The curfew was not a problem either, because as I mentioned, we could pass from house to house through the yards without having to go out on the street.
I remember a period of about a week when we were forbidden to go outside, because they were about to send us to the death camps together with the Macedonian Jews. They told us to prepare our luggage, around 5-6 kg and to be ready to be sent somewhere to work. I wouldn’t say that we knew where we were going, although we were informed what was happening at the warfront. We listened to London Radio and Moscow Radio. We, the Jews, were forbidden to have radio sets, but we went to Bulgarian families to listen. So we weren’t allowed to leave our homes, only small children under ten years of age were allowed to go outside and buy bread. The police, Branniks and Legionaries stood on guard.
We were about to be sent to the camps together with the Jews from Macedonia and the Aegean region. In 1944 the trains with those Jews passed through Dupnitsa. They tried to travel only by night using freight wagons, but we were close to the railway and we heard them. The trains stopped in Dupnitsa and the Jews were taken to the tobacco warehouses until their fate was decided. The Jewish community in Dupnitsa raised some aid for them. A cousin of mine, Borcho Komforti, who was a glazier, said the he had some work in the warehouse and managed to reach the Jews and talk to them in Ladino. At least he managed to tell them where they were. It was a great tragedy! There were small children and many old people among them. Meanwhile, I remember that a friend of my father came, a Bulgarian. He carried two buckets; he called my father and left the buckets in front of the door. There was compost in the buckets, and under the compost – flour. He hid it that way so that it would not be seen. That man was worried that we had nothing to eat. So there were kind and conscientious people!
There were other such cases. Branniks and Legionaries [12] came to our neighborhood and broke our windows. But I wouldn’t say that we were seriously harassed. The curfew was not a problem either, because as I mentioned, we could pass from house to house through the yards without having to go out on the street.
I remember a period of about a week when we were forbidden to go outside, because they were about to send us to the death camps together with the Macedonian Jews. They told us to prepare our luggage, around 5-6 kg and to be ready to be sent somewhere to work. I wouldn’t say that we knew where we were going, although we were informed what was happening at the warfront. We listened to London Radio and Moscow Radio. We, the Jews, were forbidden to have radio sets, but we went to Bulgarian families to listen. So we weren’t allowed to leave our homes, only small children under ten years of age were allowed to go outside and buy bread. The police, Branniks and Legionaries stood on guard.
We were about to be sent to the camps together with the Jews from Macedonia and the Aegean region. In 1944 the trains with those Jews passed through Dupnitsa. They tried to travel only by night using freight wagons, but we were close to the railway and we heard them. The trains stopped in Dupnitsa and the Jews were taken to the tobacco warehouses until their fate was decided. The Jewish community in Dupnitsa raised some aid for them. A cousin of mine, Borcho Komforti, who was a glazier, said the he had some work in the warehouse and managed to reach the Jews and talk to them in Ladino. At least he managed to tell them where they were. It was a great tragedy! There were small children and many old people among them. Meanwhile, I remember that a friend of my father came, a Bulgarian. He carried two buckets; he called my father and left the buckets in front of the door. There was compost in the buckets, and under the compost – flour. He hid it that way so that it would not be seen. That man was worried that we had nothing to eat. So there were kind and conscientious people!
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Leon Mordohay Madzhar