Clarifying 70 Years of Whitewashing and ... - Shelomo Alfassa

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Page | 24 Until it finally gained membership status in 2007, Bulgaria desperately sought to be accepted into the European Union, 148 but their poor human rights record often presented a problem. Prior to their acceptance into the E.U., the U.S. State Department reported that Bulgaria continued to have “problems in several areas” relating to the human rights of its citizens. This included: Law enforcement officers beating and mistreating suspects, prison inmates, and minorities, along with arbitrary arrest and detention. Problems of accountability persisted and inhibited government attempts to address police abuses. Conditions in some prisons and detention facilities were harsh. The executive and judicial branches continued to struggle with wide-ranging systematic problems and suffered from serious corruption…There were restrictions on freedom of the press. The Government restricted freedom of religion for some religious groups and societal discrimination and harassment of nontraditional religious minorities persisted…Societal violence and discrimination against women were problems… 149 To counter this, on the world stage, on more than one occasion, it revisited the claim that it had “saved 50,000 Jews” and that Bulgaria was “humanitarian” and that they must keep up their “respect for human life and human dignity.” 150 On at least one occasion, ex-president Peter Stoyanov said that the Jews’ rescue from deportation was “the best answer to the constantly asked question ‘What have you contributed to European civilization?’” 151 The Bulgarians used the story of the Jews they elected not to deport to their deaths as part of their supporting evidence that they were “humanitarian.” What the Republic of Bulgaria suppressed is that they directly sent 13,000 Jews to their deaths when they deported them to Treblinka. Suppression of the truth continues to undermine the legitimacy of the Bulgarian government in their sincerity on human rights issues, even today, as it remains a member of the European Union. Failure to disclose the truth, at every opportunity, will forever damage the legitimacy of any current or future Bulgarian government. Discussion After the war, several Bulgarians were pronounced “enemies of the people” and before a jam-packed square at Sofia’s ‘Palace of Justice’ a crowd of 150,000 wildly cheered the news that the 100 death sentences were “without appeal,” would be carried out “immediately.” Those executed by firing squad included the Jew hating ex-Prime Minister, Bogdan Filov, who had signed the original pact with the Nazis. 152 The current generation of Bulgarians has been brought up with the ‘hero story’ about King Boris III while not being taught about their government’s persecution of the Jews in both ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Bulgaria. Still, Ambassador Poptodorova knows better, yet fails to ever publicly acknowledge that during WWII, the 148 An invitation for NATO Membership had been extended to Bulgaria during the Prague NATO Summit in November 2002. On April 2, 2004 Bulgaria become a member of NATO. 149 US State Department. "Bulgaria: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2004." February 28, 2005 150 Transcript: Hearing before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: 107 Congress, Second Session: April 9, 2002. (CSCE 107-2-1) US GPO, Washington, 2002. “Romani Human Rights: Old Problems, New Possibilities.” 60 151 th “Bulgaria Marks 60 Anniversary of Bulgarian Jews' Rescue from Nazi Death Camps in WW II.” Bulgarian News Agency; March 10, 2003. 152 “The Balkans: 100 Death Sentences.” Time Magazine. February 12, 1945. Judaic Studies Academic Paper Series / Library of Congress ISSN No. 2156-0390 © Shelomo Alfassa (shelomo@alfassa.com)
Page | 25 Jews of Bulgaria suffered under the iron hand of their government; that they had their property expropriated; that they were striped of a means of livelihood; that many were killed; that they were dismissed from public posts and schools; that they were mandated to wear yellow Star of David which led them to often falling victim to violent crimes; that they suffered arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, and eventually were forcefully resettled into slave labor or concentration camps where they were denied human and civil rights. 153 All of this, falls quiet on the lips of Bulgarian officials, it remains completely trounced in silence at all public memorials. Poptodorova was invited and addressed the annual 96th meeting of the American Jewish Committee in May of 2002 where participants in a forum paid tribute to Bulgaria for saving Jews during WWII, 154 she said nothing other than Boris saved ‘50,000.’ Over subsequent years, she and other Bulgarian officials have attended memorials and ceremonies promoted by Jewish organizations—which they themselves may be culpable for being too quick to thank Bulgaria, while being too slow in taking the time to fully investigate her interaction and treatment of Jews. 155 Add to this the existence of institutional biases, political correctness, political sensitivities, academic biases (especially of historiography which can be hard to eradicate), and it is no wonder why this topic of Bulgaria and her interaction with Jews is presented so skewed. In addition, since 98% of the population of Macedonian Jewry was destroyed, there are not many people left to speak for them. The facts are: • There is a reason why an Israeli committee ordered the memorial to King Boris III and his wife Queen Giovanna removed from its place in the ‘Forest of Bulgaria.’ • There is a reason why Greek and Macedonian Jews, such the Monastirlis, continue to get angry, as well as saddened, year after year, when Bulgaria’s former king is praised, while their families continue to be forgotten about. 153 This is one of the primary reasons more than 35,000 Bulgarian Jews fled to the new country of Israel in 1948. 154 “American Jewish Committee Paid Tribute To Bulgaria For Saving Its Jews.” Novinite - Sofia News Agency. May 11, 2002 155 In 2010, Bulgarian authorities and representatives had increased interactions with leading US Jewish advocacy organizations. In April, two representatives of the Bulgarian Jewish community, Maxim Behar and Victor Melamed, were notable guests at the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s dinner with the American Jewish Committee in DC, with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mladenov also attending. In August, the Chair of the American Jewish Committee David Harris visited Sofia stating that Bulgaria has the full support and affection of the American Jewish community; Harris was received by the highest Bulgarian state figures. David Harris was conferred with Shofar, the greatest award of the Bulgarian Jewish community, for his contribution to the development of the relations between the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria Shalom and the American Jewish Committee. Bulgarian President Parvanov awarded Harris with the Madara Horseman state order to his contribution to Bulgarian-US ties. In September, Bulgarian Prime Minister Borisov had a meeting with the major US Jewish organizations in New York City. The meeting in the building of the Permanent Mission of Bulgaria to the United Nations in New York was attended by Abraham Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, Daniel Mariaschin, Executive VP of B’nai B’rith International, David Harris, Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee, Richard Gordon, President of the American Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress, Richard Stone, President of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, and Steven Schweiger, the General Director of the American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. (blog.sabdesi.net) Judaic Studies Academic Paper Series / Library of Congress ISSN No. 2156-0390 © Shelomo Alfassa (shelomo@alfassa.com)
Page 1 and 2: Clarifying 70 Years of Whitewashing
Page 3 and 4: Contents Abstract 4 Background 6 In
Page 5 and 6: Page | 5 partnership with the Nazis
Page 7 and 8: Bulgaria Officially Partners with t
Page 9 and 10: Bulgarian Jews Made Slave Laborers
Page 11 and 12: Page | 11 These Bulgarian Jews were
Page 13 and 14: Page | 13 their excitement and thei
Page 15 and 16: Page | 15 property was looted and s
Page 17 and 18: Page | 17 journey of great torment.
Page 19 and 20: Page | 19 deaths. These 50,000 Bulg
Page 21 and 22: The Bulgarian Government Propaganda
Page 23: Page | 23 obtain foreign economic a
Page 27 and 28: Appendix 1. Suggested Redress for t
Page 29 and 30: Newspaper Clippings Appendix 2. Pag
Page 31 and 32: Page | 31 Judaic Studies Academic P
Page 33 and 34: Page | 33 Judaic Studies Academic P
Page 35 and 36: Skopje, Yugoslavia, Jews rounded up
Page 37 and 38: Lom, Bulgaria, Bulgarian officials
Page 39: This paper resides at http://www.al

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