Plovdiv Marks 80th Anniversary of Rescue of Bulgarian Jews

Jerusalem, 9 March, 2023 (TPS) -- PLOVDIV, SOUTH CENTRAL BULGARIA, 09.03.2023 (BTA)
The 80th anniversary of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews from the death camps was commemorated with a rally, a minute of silence and the laying of wreaths at the Gratitude Monument in Plovdiv.

In his speech, Prof. Alexander Oscar, head of the Shalom Organization of Jews in Bulgaria, said in his speech: “The Holocaust is the greatest tragedy in human history that happened not only because there was a Nazi man-hating ideology, but because there were enough people, who stood by and allowed the Nazis to carry out their evil plans and millions of innocent people to fall victim to that ideology.”

Oscar noted that thanks to the united efforts of the Plovdiv community, Patriarch Cyril of Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and intellectuals, the plans for the deportation of the Plovdiv Jews were thwarted.

Svetlozar Kalev, head of the Shalom local chapter in Plovdiv, called the event that took place on March 10, 1943, the miracle of the 20th century, as it resulted in nearly 50,000 lives saved.

Arsenios, Bishop of Znepole, reiterated that the Bulgarian people joined forces to rescue the Bulgarian Jews from getting deported to the death camps and praised the Bulgarian Orthodox Church for its contribution to this effort.

The ceremony was attended by Plovdiv Mayor Zdravko Dimitrov, Plovdiv Regional Governor Angel Stoev, Plovdiv Municipal Council Chairman Alexander Darzhikov, Chair of the Central Israeli Spiritual Council Maxim Delchev, diplomats, representatives of local authorities, representatives of the Jewish community in the country.