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In the period between 1939 and 9th September 1944 Jews used to live under quite heavy conditions because of the Law for the Protection of the Nation. Especially Sofia Jews were in a very difficult situation. We were interned to schools and in lodgings inhabited by two to three families in a room. The men were sent to forced labor camps [in Bulgaria] [15] in order to work in the mountains on road and other construction sites. Yet, there was one good thing the authorities did: as they saw that the people had nothing to eat, they spared part of the money, which had been confiscated from the Jews so as to build communal kitchens. Once a day every family went there with its pots in order to receive warm food with or without meat or potatoes, yet there was food. Some Bulgarians undertook to keep the property of interned Jews.
Not only the Jews from Sofia were interned, but also the ones from Kazanlak. Because there were, and still are military enterprises there, Jews were suspected of spying there. I know that Jews were interned from Ruse too. Jews were forbidden to own chemists’ shops and this favored the Bulgarians, who took charge of a lot of them. Jews used to have very nice chemist’s shops in the center of Sofia and in other places as well. There were also restrictions for Jewish merchants. Students of Jewish origin weren’t allowed to study at the universities. Many other restrictions of different characters were imposed. There was a one-time tax: if you had 100,000 levs deposited in a bank, 30 or 40 percent of it was directly confiscated. The ones who had factories were immediately deprived of them. So, from this point of view Jews were in a very difficult situation, yet they survived in the end.
Not only the Jews from Sofia were interned, but also the ones from Kazanlak. Because there were, and still are military enterprises there, Jews were suspected of spying there. I know that Jews were interned from Ruse too. Jews were forbidden to own chemists’ shops and this favored the Bulgarians, who took charge of a lot of them. Jews used to have very nice chemist’s shops in the center of Sofia and in other places as well. There were also restrictions for Jewish merchants. Students of Jewish origin weren’t allowed to study at the universities. Many other restrictions of different characters were imposed. There was a one-time tax: if you had 100,000 levs deposited in a bank, 30 or 40 percent of it was directly confiscated. The ones who had factories were immediately deprived of them. So, from this point of view Jews were in a very difficult situation, yet they survived in the end.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Yosif Avram Levi