Auschwitz Museum Receives Documents of Bulgarian Jews Rescue

The Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva (c), presents to the Director of the Auschwitz Museum, Piotr Cywinski (l), documents of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews from deportation to German death camps during World War II. Photo by BGNES

The Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva, offered to the Auschwitz Museum as a gift 17 documents related to the rescue of the country’s Jews during World War II.

The donation was made Wednesday during the ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. 150 concentration camp prisoners and politicians took part in the event. The museum director, Piotr Cywinski, pointed out that the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews was a light in the dark tunnel of World War II.

“Representatives of over 35 countries are taking part in this ceremony, but there is no country that could be as proud as Bulgaria. Bulgaria said NO to the deportation and this dignified Bulgarian act must be remembered,” Cywinski remarked.

On her part, Tsacheva spoke about the rescue of the Jews as one of the most important events in Bulgaria’s public life history where representatives from all levels of society united against the deportation of the Jewish people – an act unique all throughout Europe.

“The Bulgarian Jews were not sent to the death camps and not even a single member of the Bulgarian Jewish Community perished. Bulgaria is the only European country where there were more Jews at the end of the War than at its beginning,” Tsacheva stated.

Among the documents presented to the Auschwitz Museum is a copy of the letter dated March 17, 1943, signed by the Deputy Speaker of the then General Assembly, Dimitar Peshev, and 43 Members of the Parliament sent to Prime Minister, Bogdan Filov, stating opposition to plans to deport the Bulgarian Jews.

The originals of all 17 documents are kept in Bulgaria’s Central State Archives.

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