The Bulgarian Church and the Jews during the Second World War

Transcription

1 The Bulgarian Church and the Jews during the Second World War Moshe Mossek The major question that arises when researching the fate of the Bulgarian Jews during the period of the Holocaust has always been and still remains who saved them from destruction? Today, since relevant archival material in Bulgaria and other countries has been revealed, and the historical circumstances are better known, we are aware that there were several factors involved in the salvation of the Jews. The question is: to what extent did each of these factors contribute to their salvation? [1] The reason for the diversity of answers to this historiographical question has been political ever since the events themselves took place. Strange as it may seem, although there is now a much greater consensus than in the past regarding the historical facts, interpretations and political discord on the subject have become even more polarised and extreme than in the past. [2] Despite the varied opinions that have existed for over half a century, certain dominant historiographical trends have always been apparent during that period. From the time that the events took place, and until the termination of the monarchy in September 1944, the predominant approach, or rather belief, among the survivors was that the main savior and the person who prevented their being sent to the death camps was King Boris III.[3] There were also those who contended that the King s vehement opposition to the deportation had cost him his life. They believed that this explains his sudden and mysterious death at the end of August 1943, caused by apparent poisoning either during his visit to Berlin or in the aircraft returning to Sofia. Following the liberation of Bulgaria in September 1944 and the establishment of the Fatherland Front Government, this approach among Bulgarian Jewry was considerably weakened, and was totally rejected by the Communist regime that ruled until During this period the official Bulgarian version was that the salvation of the Bulgarian Jews had been due solely to the heroic struggle of the Bulgarian 1

2 Communist Party. The Party had mobilized the people in armed opposition against the King and his fascist, pro-nazi government which planned to expel the Jews to the death camps. According to this version, the struggle against the suppression of the Jewish minority in Bulgaria which ultimately brought about their salvation from extermination, was supported by the Bulgarian people, who sympathised with the Resistance Movement and aided it in its fight against the monarchist tyranny.[4] Todor Jivkov, the Bulgarian ruler during the 1970s and 1980s, who was Secretary of the Communist Party in the Jewish quarter of Yuch Bonar in Sofia during the war, was even named by his supporters as a possible nominee for the Nobel Prize for his personal contribution to the salvation of the Bulgarian Jews. [5] The significant contribution of three other factors that worked with great determination against the oppression of the Jews and their expulsion from Bulgaria was greatly minimized, although not denied, by the Communist regime. The first factor in this group were well-known liberal-democrat Bulgarian intellectuals and politicians, as well as prestigious professional associations such as those of the writers and poets, physicians and lawyers. In the autumn of 1940 these groups issued written and oral public protests and petitions against the law which was designed to deprive the Jews of their economic status, their property and their civil rights, and to bring about their social and communal isolation.[6] The second factor minimized during this period, was the courageous action of the Deputy Chairman of the Parliament, Dimiter Peshev, who on 9 March 1943 succeeded, together with a small group of Members of Parliament, in preventing the first transport of Bulgarian Jews to the death camps of Treblinka. Immediately afterwards Peshev also succeeded in obtaining the signatures of 42 Memers of Parliament, supporters of the King and the Government, to a petition against any further attempt to deport the Jews of Bulgaria to the death camps.[7] The roles of Dimiter Peshev and the liberal circles in saving the Bulgarian Jews although not negated, were greatly understated for many years to prevent their 2

3 rivalling the official version that claimed the Communist party s sole contribution to the salvation.[8] This is not the case, however, with regard to the part played by the King. For many years the King s memory continued to be deeply embedded in the historical consciousness of the Bulgarian masses and to threaten the legitimacy of the communist regime. The Bulgarian authorities therefore laboured tirelessly until the beginning of the 1990s to emphasize the King s major role in suppressing the Jews, his responsibility for the anti-semitic policy of his fascist government and his initiative in deporting the Bulgarian Jews to the death camps. It is interesting to note that in their incitement against the King no reference is made to his direct responsibility for the murder of the Jews of Thracia and Macedonia, inhabitants of the areas annexed to Bulgaria by Germany. This was in order that the mark of genocide would not blemish the uniforms of the Bulgarian army and police force who had collaborated with the Nazi death machine. However, in the past decade there have been many influential political factors in Bulgaria and abroad, including the mass media, who have minimized the role of the King in the persecution of the Jews and the destruction of Thracian and Macedonian Jewry on the one hand, while glorifying his role in the salvation of Bulgarian Jewry. The third factor was the role of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. For almost half a century the Church did not receive the recognition it deserved from the Communist government, nor in Bulgarian historiography, for its unique and cardinal contribution to instilling among the Bulgarian people, particularly religious believers, a moral, humane and fair attitude towards the persecuted Jewish minority. This brave and honest stand taken by the Bulgarian Church indirectly played a significant role in the salvation of the Jews because of its influence over the masses of believers, especially the King and circles close to the court, most of whom were profoundly religious. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church was a far more tangible threat to the legitimacy of the Communist regime than the shadow of the dead monarch. Deeply rooted in the consciousness of the people, and despite the efforts of the government to limit its activities, the Church continued to work intensively during the Communist regime. 3

4 It was not possible to dismiss or deny the resolute stand which was well known among the Bulgarian people, and publicly supported during the war by two of its leaders, Metropolitan Stefan of Sofia and Metropolitan Kyril of Plovdiv. The Church s role was thus minimized as much as possible, and only part of the existing documentation regarding its struggle on behalf of the Jewish minority was officially published.[9] The position of the supreme religious council, the Holy Synod, is shown clearly and unequivocally in the documents accompanying this article. It is interesting to note that in these documents there are no differences of opinion to be found among the eleven members of the Synod. The members all vehemently attack the anti- Semitic and immoral policy of the Government in persecuting the Jews, and create a consensus of opinion agreeing fully on the proposed actions against their expulsion from the country. During the course of World War II four major periods of activity by the Holy Synod and its principal members can be noted. Three Metropolitans took action to relieve the plight of the Jews in general and the converts in particular - Neofit of Vidin, Deputy Chairman of the Council representing the Synod and Stefan and Kyril, taking independent responsibility for their daring deeds while endangering their positions and their own personal safety. The first period of activity by the Synod took place in November-December 1940 when the Bulgarian Parliament was in the midst of feverish discussions regarding the legislation of The Law for the Protection of the Nation. [Document 1] The second focus of activity began immediately after the publication of the Regulations of 26 August 1942, appended to the Law. Following these Regulations a Commissariat for Jewish Affairs was set up and a significant deterioration in policy towards the Jews began, intended to lead to their expulsion from Bulgaria. The new regulations severely affected the privileges of the converted Jews and those of mixed marriage. [Document 2] 4

5 The third focus began on 10 March 1943, the day designated for the first death transport of 8,000 deportees, among them the social and economic leadership as well as the professional and intellectual elites of Bulgarian Jewry. Also included in the intended transport were three entire communities from the border towns: Dupnitza, Kyustandil and Gorna Djumaya. The Jews of these towns were to be deported because they were situated along the route secretly planned for the deportation of the Jews of Thracia and Macedonia. The entire operation had been top secret and the information did not reach the members of the Holy Synod in time. However, on the morning of 10 March, when the Jews of Plovdiv (one of the five towns that had not been informed that the order for deportation had been annulled) were gathered in the courtyard of the Jewish school, Metropolitan Kyril rushed immediately to the deportees and declared that he would bodily prevent their deportation. [Document 3] The fourth focus of activity began on 22 May 1943, several days before the commencement of the deportation of the Jews of Sofia to outlying towns. Hysterical rumours that the deportation was to be outside the borders of Bulgaria resulted in a significant increase in requests by hundreds of Jews to convert to Christianity, thus hoping to cancel the deportation order against them. Demonstrating great personal courage, Stefan resisted the expulsion of the Jews of Sofia from their homes and challenged the decree preventing those who wanted to convert to Christianity in order to be saved from deportation. At first he appealed directly to the King through his Court Advisor Gruev [Document 4] but was refused. He then convened an urgent emergency meeting of the Holy Synod to protest the government s policy. [Document 5] When Stefan discovered that the Prime Minister had disregarded the Synod s protest, and that the King was avoiding him, he declared a rebellion against the Government s policy, without consulting the Synod. [Document 6] The Bulgarian Church s resolute and courageous stand against the Government s anti-semitic policy during World War II was unique among the churches of the European countries under Nazi domination.[10] But despite this conclusion, it is clear 5

6 that the Church failed in almost all of its campaigns against the Government s policy regarding the Jews. It was unable to change the Law for the Protection of the Nation and could not modify the policy regarding converts to Christianity. It was unsuccessful in amending the regulations of August 1942 and in relieving the suffering both of converts and those who had married non-jews, and it failed in preventing the expulsion of the Jews of Sofia. However, there is no doubt that the consistent activities of the Church to relieve the plight of the Jews contributed greatly towards their salvation. Their persistent campaign helped create a more positive and trusting approach towards the Jews on the part of the Bulgarian people and also the ruling elite. The Church s demonstration of strength vis a vis the Government and the King that began in April 1943, after the first attempt to deport the Bulgarian Jews failed, as well as the struggle that reached a climax at the end of May during the expulsion of the Jews of Sofia, persuaded the King and the Government that they would come up against extensive opposition led by the Church and its multitude of followers. Only a prestigious religious and moral authority such as the Church could allow itself to act within a wartime dictatorship with such perseverance and determination, sweeping the people along with it in order to save a national minority, which was for the most part looked upon with ambivalence. The Church s contribution to the salvation of the Bulgarian Jews was its greatest achievement and compensates for its failure to prevent or at least modify their suffering, during the Second World War. Notes and references 1. The most recent research dealing with the Bulgarian Jews during World War II, and analyzing the factors involving their salvation, is an unpublished Ph.D. dissertation by S. Shaltiel, Aliyah VeHa apala MiBulgaria VeDarka BaShanim {Emigration and Illegal Immigration to Palestine from Bulgaria and via Bulgaria in the Years ), Ph.D. Diss. Tel-Aviv University, An earlier research was carried out by F.B. Chery, Bulgaria and the Jews: The Final Solution 1940 to 1944, also Ph.D. Diss. submitted to the University of Pittsburgh, 1968, published in See also N. Oren, 6

7 Hatzalat Yehudei Bulgaria MiNekudat Mabat Chadasha (The Salvation of the Bulgarian Jews from a New Point of View), Yad Vashem, (1968) pp Following the publication in Israel in 1999 of Michael Bar Zohar s controversial book Beyond Hitler s Grasp (Called in Hebrew Harakavot Yatzeu Reikot, [The Trains Left Empty]), there was a widespread outcry and public pressure brought to bear, particularly by Jewish Thracian and Macedonian survivors. They subsequently demanded the removal of the memorial sign in the Bulgaria Forest in Israel, crediting King Boris III for his role in the salvation of the Bulgarian Jews. 3. B.Arditi, Rolyata Na Tzar Boris III Pri Izselvaneto Na Evreite Ot Balgaria (Tel-Aviv, 1961) (The Role of King Boris III during the Expulsion of the Bulgarian Jews). By the same author, Yehudei Bulgaria BeShnot Hamishtar HaNatsi , (Tel Aviv, 1962), (The Bulgarian Jews during the Nazi Regime ). See also S. Groueff, Crown of Thorns: The Reign of King Boris III of Bulgaria, (London, 1987), and M. Bar Zohar, Beyond Hitler s Grasp, (London, New York, 1998). 4. A considerable number of articles supporting this approach were published in Annual (in Bulgarian from 1965, since 1971 also in English, until 1989), published by the Central Board of the Social Cultural and Educational Organization of the Jews in the the People s Republic of Bulgaria. 5. M. Bar Zohar, p Ch. Keshales, Korot Yehudei Bulgaria, Vol. 3, (Tel Aviv, 1969) pp , (The History of the Bulgarian Jews), B. Arditi, Toldot Yehudei Bulgaria BeShnot Hamishtar HaNatsi The Bulgarian Jews during the Nazi Regime, , ibid. pp N. Baruch, Hakoffer (Tel-Aviv, 1990) pp (The Ransom). M. Mossek, Yehudei Bulgaria Kepessah Beinam LeVein Hamavet, Beshvil Hazikaron,Vol 33, 1999, pp , (The Bulgarian Jews A Step Away From Death, in the Journal, For [also, Along the Path of] the Memory of the Holocaust). 7. Gabriele Nissim, L uomo che Fermo Hitler, La storia di Dimitar Pesev che salvo gli ebrei di una nazione intera, (Mondadori, 1998). Unpublished version in English, The Man who Stopped Hitler: The story of Dimitur Peshev who saved the Jews of a whole nation. 7

8 8. D. Cohen, Borbata Na Bulgarskiyanarod Za Zashtita y Spassiavane Na Evreite Vav Balgaria Prez Vtorata Svetovna Voyna: Dokumenti y Materiali (Sofia 1978), (The Struggle of the Bulgarian People for the Protection and the Salvation of the Jews in Bulgaria during World War II: documents and material). A later, new and revised version of the book of documents, D. Cohen, ed. Otzelyavaneto , (The Survival), Shalom Publishing Centre, (Sofia, 1995). 9. Ibid, ibid. 10. HaEntsiklopeida Shel Hashoa, vol 3, (Jerusalem, 1990) pp , (Encylopedia of the Holocaust) The Church and the Holocaust. L. Yahil, Hashoah: Goral Yehudei Europa , (The Holocaust: The Fate of European Jewry , (Jerusalem, 1987), according to the Index. 8