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

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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)