March of Tolerance marks anniversary of prevention of deportation of Bulgarian Jews

The annual March of Tolerance was held in Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia on March 9, to mark the 82nd anniversary of the prevention of the deportation of the Bulgaria Jews and to honour the memory of the 11 343 Jews deported with Bulgarian assistance from northern Greece and the former Yugoslavia to be murdered in Nazi camps.

The procession culminated at the Monument of Gratitude near the old Parliament building.

Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov said that 82 years ago, Bulgarians from all walks of life raised their voices in defence of their Jewish compatriots, demonstrating humanity and humanitarianism.

Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev said: “What happened 82 years ago is not only the most golden page in our history. This is the most honorable sign of humanity, of humanism, of awareness of the fact that there is nothing more valuable and nothing higher than human life.”

He said that even today the world is torn apart by war, conflicts, and bloodshed. Bulgaria and its institutions will always oppose attempts to destroy peace, as happened on October 7 2023, when innocent people were mercilessly killed and kidnapped by terrorists, Georgiev said.

Sofia mayor Vasil Terziev said: “The Day of the Rescue of Bulgarian Jews is a day of remembrance and responsibility. A responsibility to remember, not to forget the lessons of history and not to compromise with humanity”.

“We declare that we remember, that we appreciate the courage of those Bulgarians – MPs, public figures, clergymen, doctors, writers and ordinary citizens who stood against injustice. That we understand the importance of their work not only for the past, but also for the future,” Terziev said.

“Bulgaria then showed that it has the strength to be different, that it can stand on the side of good, even when the price is high. Now the question is: do we have the same strength? The world is once again faced with the wall of hatred, with division, with the temptation to point fingers and dig gaps between us,” he said.

Alexander Oscar, president of the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria Shalom, said: “82 years ago, the Bulgarian people, the leaders of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, gave a lesson in humanity to the world, which we must remember and which we must pass on to every generation.

“Just as we remember those 50 000 rescued Bulgarian Jews, we must not forget the fate of those 11 300 Jews from northern Greece and North Macedonia who were deported and, unfortunately, ruthlessly murdered in the Treblinka camp,” he said.

Israeli ambassador Yosi Levi Sfari said that there had been enough powerful people in Bulgaria who had stood and said clearly – the deportation of Jews will not happen here.

He said that his was an excellent lesson that we should learn from history about the power of people when they face evil.

“This story will connect Israel and Bulgaria forever because there is no other similar example of such a scale. Bulgarians deserve to be proud of their history, and it is our duty to make sure that future generations are familiar with it, both here and in Israel, so that they can understand the roots of our excellent relationship,” he said.

(Photos via the Facebook pages of the Bulgarian government and the Embassy of the State of Israel)