The Stolen Narrative of the Bulgarian Jews and the Holocaust

This book collects narratives of Bulgarian Jews who survived the Holocaust. Through eye-witness testimonies, archival documents, photographs, and researchers’ investigations, the stories counter official accounts and corroborate war crimes.

The Stolen Narrative of the Bulgarian Jews and the Holocaust collects narratives of Bulgarian Jews who survived the Holocaust. Through the analysis of eye-witness testimonies, archival documents, photographs, and researchers’ investigations, the authors weave a complex tapestry of voices that were previously underrepresented, ignored, and denied. Taken together, the collected memories offer an alternative perspective that counters official accounts and corroborates war crimes.

List of Figures

Foreword by Omer Bartov

Preface

Acknowledgments

00 Introduction

Part 1 Identity - Who We Are

01 The Jewish Diaspora

02 The Jews of the Iberian Peninsula

03 The Jews of the Balkans

04 Jewish Migration waves to the Balkans

05 Jewish Life 15-19th centuries

Part 2 Collective Memory of the Balkan Jews

06 Multicultural Multi religious and multi ethnic Balkans

07 Shared History

08 Religious Tolerance and Freedom of Conscience

09 The Balkan Wars and World War I

10 Bulgarians and Jews

11 Jewish Traditions, Heritage and Community

12 How Life Was

13 Zionism And Patriotism

Part 3 The Bulgarian Jews during Hitlerism 1933-1945

14 Clouds on the Horizon

15 Growing Threats

16 Escaping Anti-Semitism

17 Law for the Defense of the Nation

18 The Fox in the Chicken Coop

19 Life under the Swastika: Deteriorating Conditions

20 Jewish Forced Labor

Part 4 The Final Solution and Bulgaria

21 Bulgaria Prepares for the Final Solution

22 Deportations

23 Friends and Neighbors

24 Roundups and Continued Resistance

25 Train to Treblinka

26 My Father’s Injury Story

27 Between Deportations

28 Deportations and Ghettoization

29 Meanwhile in Labor Camp

30 Resistance

31 Concentration Camps

32 Game of Nerves

Part 5 The Silenced Narrative of Bulgaria’s Victims

33 "Instincts of an Animal"—Jennie Lebl’s Survival Story

34 "To and Through Hell and Back" - Israel Behar’s Survival Story

35 "Burdensome to this Moment"--Rudi Abarbanel’s Escape Story

Part 6 The Aftermath of the Holocaust

36 Rivers of Tears--After the War 1945-1948

37 "We Overcame It!" Bulgaria in Jaffa

Part 7 The Stolen Narrative of the Bulgarian Jews

38 A Myth is Born

39 “Who Saved the Jews?”

40 The Balkan Fox

41 Territory and Accountability

42 Wheeling and Dealing Memory

43 Anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial

Part 8 The Reclaimed Narrative

44 Reflections--Mixed Accounts

45 The Moral Lesson

46 “To Be a Mensch!"

Epilogue: Tribute to Decency

Appendix I: List of Interviewees

Appendix II: Timelines

Appendix III: Further Reading

Bibliography

Index

About the Authors