My friend Lisa recently asked if it’s true that the Jewish community in Bulgaria was not turned over to the Nazis during World War II. This is a true story. Bulgaria was, by the way, a Nazi ally. Mischa Glenny, in his book The Balkans states that this is not entirely due to altruism and the king of Bulgaria only stopped the deportation trains because he had political reasons to (and it should be noted that Jews living in Bulgarian-occupied territory were deported), but not a single Bulgarian Jew was deported during the Second World War. This is due to a few factors:
First, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church simply refused to go along with the deportation orders. The higher ups in the Church badgered leading politicians into resisting the Nazis. At one point, the head Church dude in Plovdiv said that if the trains left the city, he’d lay down on the tracks.
Second, Bulgarian Jews wouldn’t comply with Nazi-ordered humiliations. They wouldn’t wear the yellow star, and those few that did were, according to Glenny, would be ostentatiously greeted by non-Jews, to counteract the intended ostracizing effects of the patch.
Third, as indicated already, there wasn’t really any widespread anti-Semitism in Bulgaria. Bulgarian Jews were considered Bulgarians, and people were furious that the Germans would try to abscond with their citizens. There’s a book on this subject called Beyond Hitler’s Grasp, but I haven’t read it so I don’t really know if it’s any good.
Anyway, the Jewish community in Bulgaria is pretty small today, having largely relocated to Israel, but there are still operating synagogues in Plovdiv, Vidin, and Sofia. Bulgarian Jews are Sephardim, incidentally, the descendents of refugees from the Spanish expulsion of 1492. I’ve heard that they speak a mishmash language of Spanish, Hebrew, and Bulgarian. Yikes! I’m going to Plovdiv for Rosh Hashana so maybe I’ll have more information after that.
Anyway, I haven’t updated much lately. It’s certainly not because I’ve been so busy…in fact, it’s probably the opposite. I just don’t have anything to report! I’ve been teaching English three hours a week, to the young kids. Bulgaria is beginning to feel less alien every day. Working on my language skills. I adopted a nutso cat, named Max. School starts on September 15.
September 9, 2006 at 11:28 am
Bulgarian Jews are Sephardim, incidentally, the descendents of refugees from the Spanish expulsion of 1492. I’ve heard that they speak a mishmash language of Spanish, Hebrew, and Bulgarian.
I think I have an example of the above on a mix tape somewhere – it’s a bit of traditional Bulgarian women’s a cappella singing, but it is in a language almost exactly like Spanish. It sounds pretty cool. And yes, I know you’re shocked that I’d have something like that on a random mix tape someone gave me. This is why random mixes are a Good Thing – you find stuff you’d never find otherwise!
Have you heard any Bulgarian a cappella harmony stuff sung live yet? If that’s your cup of tea, that is.
September 11, 2006 at 8:48 am
I have heard some stuff…there are a couple of different styles. Some sound pretty western, but some sound downright Middle Eastern (as does a lot of Bulgarian folk music, which uses the minor scales that are typically associated with the ME).