The little country that defied Hitler

ANNA LEVY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

At the time of the most horrific episode of human persecution and annihilation recorded in human history, when, in Europe, Adolf Hitler was trying to solve the "Jewish problem" by getting rid of Jewish people, one little country right in the middle of it said, "No."

The unique story of the rescue of Bulgarian Jews – the largest and most dramatic rescue during the Second World War – is well known in Europe and in Israel, but here in Vancouver, seems unknown. At that time in Bulgaria, there were approximately 50,000 Jews, all of whom survived the war. Not a single Jew was deported to the death camps in Poland.

How is this possible and to whom should the credit go? Together with the Bulgarian King Boris III, today one man heads every historian's list – Dimitar Peshev, deputy speaker of the National Assembly, a man gifted with an exceptional nature and morals. He possessed both the integrity and the power to effectively intervene in these events. He may not have been the only person to have helped the Jews, but he was the only one to have spearheaded a legal, parliamentary action in their defence. Yet one other fact distinguished this little country from other European countries – there was mass support for the Jews in just about every level of society, from the workers, writers and lawyers unions, the intelligentsia and powerful individuals, to the higher levels of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

Among the various appeals, those of the Bulgarian Church were particularly important. Metropolitan Stefan (from the capital – Sofia) was the most outspoken. Despite opposition and threats, he announced that the door of every Bulgarian church and monastery would be opened to the Jews.

Another courageous and passionate church leader was Kiril, Metropolitan of Plovdiv. When the round up and detention in the schools of the Jews began, he threatened that, if a train loaded with Jews tried to leave the city, he would lie across the railroad tracks. This civil disobedience was fully supported by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in every major city in the country.

On Jan. 2, 1943, SS Haupsturmfuhrer Theodore Dannecker, the specialist on the Jewish question arrived in Sofia, having been assigned by Adolf Eichmann. King Boris found himself under impossible pressure. On the one hand, he had to act according to national interests, i.e., to agree to the deportation; on the other hand, he had no desire to participate in this madness. King Boris was described as shy and weak of character, yet he was well liked abroad. Concerning the deportation, the king tried to avoid confrontation with the Germans by saying "OK, we will do it, but later, not now." He created a lot of work for the Jews in the country, sending all Jewish men between the ages of 20 and 40 to build and enlarge roads all over the country. It was a humiliating law that forced the Jews to do this work and, as a result, many of them became communists. Only later, when the horrific truth had been unveiled, did they realized that King Boris' actions actually saved their lives.

On Feb. 22, an official agreement was signed authorizing the deportation of 20,000 Jews. The people in charge were Alexander Belev, the director of the commissariat for the Jewish questions (KEV), and the minister of internal affairs, Peter Grabrovsky. The agreement was to involve only the deportation of the Jewish people from Macedonia and Thrace – newly occupied German territories, over which Bulgaria had been given only administrative rights. However, as historians have pointed out, these territories had no more than 12,000 Jews, so the remaining 8,000 had to be taken from the Bulgarian borders to meet the deportation number of 20,000.

King Boris was deeply distressed by these events, but he believed that he had no legal authority over the Thracian and Macedonian Jews. They weren't Bulgarian citizens and therefore subject to the Bulgarian Constitution. It is not clear if he was aware that 8,000 Bulgarians were also included in the deportation order. This shameful agreement was prepared behind closed doors and it was unconstitutional. Only a leak from the main office of KEV (from secretary Liliana Panica) at the last moment revealed the decision made by Belev and a few others.

The roundup was supposed to start on March 9, 1943. When word reached Peshev, he could not believe it; such decisions had to pass through Parliament. In his own words: "There was no doubt in my mind about what was going to happen.... And I decided to do all in my power to prevent what ... was going to shame Bulgaria in the eyes of the world and brand her with a stain she didn't deserve." (Michael Bar-Zohar, Beyond Hitler's Grasp: The Heroic Rescue of Bulgaria's Jews, 1998) Later the same day, a delegation was assembled and after considerable pressure, Gabrovsky revealed the agreement that had been made with the Germans. The members of Parliament insisted that he cancel the deportation immediately, and they made it clear that they were not going to leave his office before their demands were satisfied. Gabrovsky gave in and made a few calls.

The deportation was cancelled, but the orders did not reach all Bulgaria's cities on time. On March 10, the police rounded up several hundred Jews in Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city. Tragic scenes took place. From this time came the most famous reports about Kiril, who not only threatened to lie in front of the train, but totally disobeyed police orders. Defying the guards, he climbed the fence and jumped into the Jewish group to protect them.

It was clear to everyone that the order for the cancellation did not come from Gabrovsky – a report sent by the German embassy to Berlin implied that it had come from King Boris. Peshev won a battle, but not the war.

When he had learned about the agreement between Belev and Dannecker, he was revolted: "This agreement had been concluded by an incompetent official and was contradictory to the constitution, to regular laws and to basic morality and humanity...." (Beyond Hitler's Grasp) Any initiative to prevent future surprises had to involve a group of Parliament members. Thus, Peshev created his now-famous letter of protest to Parliament and the prime minister, collecting 43 signatures of members of the majority to support it. This letter relied strongly on the Bulgarian constitution, which, for example, stated, "Every slave becomes a free man the moments he steps on Bulgarian soil."

The prime minister was furious – this was a rebellion. He was opposed by more than a third of his own pro-government majority. When he realized that Peshev was the initiator, he started a long and sorrowful diplomatic battle against him. The result was devastating for Peshev; he was removed as deputy speaker and, even though he was still a member of Parliament, he was a broken, deeply hurt man.

But fundamentally, the victory was Peshev's. The deportation was interrupted and would not resume. Peshev had suffered personal humiliation but knew that the price was worth it. In the Europe of 1943, under Nazi control, he was probably the only statesman to have been able to stand up to such infamy, to stop the persecution of Jews.

And to describe Bulgarian people for their heroic actions, I will use the words of the top German ambassador, Adolf-Heinz Beckerle, who wrote in 1943: "The Bulgarian society doesn't understand the real meaning of the Jewish question.... I am convinced that the prime minister and the entire cabinet desire and aspire to a final and total solution of the Jewish question. But they are tied by the mentality of the Bulgarian people, that lacks the ideological enlightenment that we have...." (Beyond Hitler's Grasp)

Looking back to the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews, one comes to realize that no one individual could have brought it about. The people were opposed to the anti-Semitic measures, but a community is powerless without leaders – in this case, the metropolitans, deputies and politicians who were ready to accept the risks.

I can only say for myself how proud and fortunate I feel to come from this society where I have never encountered any anti-Semitic feelings. I would like to offer this little consolation to my fellow Jews in Vancouver, especially in light of recent anti-Semitic events in Canada.

Anna Levy is a musician, a pianist with a doctoral degree from the Moscow Conservatory. She came to Canada from Bulgaria in 1993, after marrying her Canadian husband.

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