Sabat Baruh and his brother Solomon Baruh

Sabat Baruh and his brother Solomon Baruh

This is a photograph of my father, Sabat Baruh and his brother, Solomon Baruh. It was taken on 19th February 1910 in the photo studio of Tz. Kolarov in the town of Pazardzhik.

My father was born in Kjustendil. He graduated in Pedagogy and he worked as a teacher in elementary school subjects such as writing, reading and arithmetic in Kjustendil before he came to Sofia in 1907. At this time in Sofia, as a capital it began to attract people from the countryside because there were lots of opportunities for work and a better life. He knew French and Spanish and worked as a teacher and translator in Sofia. I know that he was a translator at the headquarters of the Bulgarian army in Kjustendil during the First World War. My father was not religious - we celebrated the Jewish holidays but it was due to paying respect to the tradition and it was not a matter of piety. I remember that my father brought home matzah - there were special stores where it was sold. He never prayed as far as I remember, nor did he ever wear a kippah. In 1934 my father fell ill and we went to live in Kjustendil where he died in 1936.

He had eight brothers - Benyamin, Ruben, Rahamin, Naim, Avram, Pinkas and Solomon and one sister - Yafa. Most of them were tradesmen and Avram was a physician. I still maintain a relationship with Avram's son Nir Baruh, who lives in Israel, as well as with other relatives. Most of them are sons and daughters of my cousins who have already died, for example Emil Baruh, the granddaughter of Pinkas. Nir Baruh left for Israel before 9th September, 1944. As a representative of Israel he was a diplomat in Bulgaria, Cuba and the U.S.A.

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