During World War II, under pressure from Nazi Germany, Bulgaria joined the Tripartite Pact in 1941 and enacted the Law for the Protection of the Nation, which targeted the Jewish minority. Despite this, over 48,000 Jews in Bulgaria were ultimately spared from deportation and extermination camps, thanks to widespread resistance from ordinary citizens, political figures, and the Orthodox Church.
The war brought complex challenges for Bulgaria’s Jewish community. Maxim Delchev, the leader of Bulgaria’s Jewish Religious Council, described the period as neither purely tragic nor entirely heroic, emphasizing its complexity. In 1941, as an ally of Nazi Germany, Bulgaria gained control over territories in modern-day Greece and North Macedonia. However, Nazi-inspired legislation stripped Jews in Bulgaria of their rights and freedoms, which had been shared with their Christian neighbors for generations.
Before the war, Jewish communities in Bulgaria lived integrated lives, with no segregated ghettos or distinct quarters. Many had served alongside their compatriots in previous wars, with nearly 1,000 Jews dying for Bulgaria in the Balkan Wars and World War I. The sudden restrictions and discriminatory laws left many Bulgarians perplexed and outraged. Hundreds signed an open letter condemning these laws, declaring them a betrayal of the sacrifices made by their ancestors for the country’s freedoms.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church strongly opposed anti-Jewish measures, urging the government to focus on genuine threats to the nation. Nazi officials in Bulgaria noted the public’s lack of ideological alignment with the Holocaust, with the German ambassador lamenting that Bulgarians, accustomed to coexisting with diverse ethnic groups, saw no justification for such persecution.
Despite Bulgaria’s alliance with Nazi Germany, resistance to deporting Jews was widespread. When plans were revealed to detain and deport Jews within Bulgaria, public outcry intensified. Protests came from political leaders, church officials, and citizens alike. Dimitar Peshev, deputy speaker of parliament, spearheaded a petition opposing the deportation plans, securing the support of 42 fellow lawmakers. He later reflected that this was an effort to prevent Bulgaria from bearing an indelible stain.
Clergy members played a key role in thwarting the deportations. One senior church figure climbed into a temporary detention camp to offer solidarity to Jews awaiting transportation. The Church’s moral authority made it difficult for the pro-Nazi government to enforce its plans.
While Bulgarian Jews were spared, the same could not be said for Jews in territories under Bulgarian control. Over 11,000 Jews from northern Greece and Macedonia were deported through Bulgaria to death camps in Nazi-occupied Poland, where almost all were killed. The tragedy highlighted the stark contrast in Bulgaria’s treatment of its Jewish population versus those in annexed territories.
After the war, Bulgaria’s Jewish population, which had survived the Holocaust, largely emigrated to Israel under the Soviet-backed government established in 1946. Today, only around 5,000 Jews remain in the country. Each year, on March 10, the Day of Salvation is observed by Bulgarian Jews, commemorating their rescue during the Holocaust. Monuments in Bulgaria and Israel honor the events, including a shofar monument in Varna, which bears a message of gratitude to the Bulgarian people and a commitment to remembering the past.