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Raina’s boyfriend was in a labor camp [20], but he was released and they got married in Ruse, where he had been interned with his parents. None of us attended the wedding because it was far and we had no money. Sofka got married in Vratsa, which was closer and got special permission from the police station to marry her Jewish boyfriend. My mother wasn’t allowed to go for her daughter’s wedding, nor was anyone else. But I decided to go illegally: that was in spring 1944. I hid my star and went to the train. I had to go to the station first. And as hard as I tried to hide, I saw an agent: Milcho. He was also another civil agent of the State Security Service in the town. Milcho was a group leader, Kosta’s boss. They were civil agents, but we knew them, because they always arrested us for stupid things. I saw him and froze, because I thought that he would arrest me now and nobody would know: neither my mother, nor my sisters. At that time, fortunately for me, I saw Mitko at the station. He was coming home on leave. The military police had a bad name because they made a lot of arrests, but he was a very nice boy. He was just conscripted in these forces. I saw him and called him quietly, ‘Mitko, Mitko!’ He came and asked me what the matter was. I explained to him and said, ‘Milcho is here. Tell me, please, which train to get on.’ I couldn’t go to the platform without knowing which train to catch to Vratsa. He bought me a ticket, gave it to me, took my small suitcase and told me, ‘Watch where I’m going. I’ll leave your suitcase at the door of your train. And when you hear the announcement that the train to Vratsa is leaving, run for the train.’ And so I did.
I saw which wagon he entered, he waved to me, I saw where he stopped and when I heard that the train for Vratsa was leaving in two minutes I ran for the train, entered the wagon and hid there. I saw Milcho walking along the platform near the train. He had spotted me once earlier but had lost me. He didn’t know where I was. He got on the same train. And what chaos there was in there! He passed nearby and I entered the toilet. When the train stopped I got off and waited on the platform. At the last minute I got on again and we traveled to Mezdra. He had been looking for me, but he didn’t know if I was still on the train. At some point Mitko appeared again: he was in the same train because he was traveling to Sofia and he said, ‘I’ll find out where Milcho is going and tell you.’
Fortunately, the agent was traveling to Lom or Vidin and caught another train in Mezdra. So, I could relax a bit. I stayed for five or six days in Varna at my sister’s house. The wedding had already taken place, I saw that she was well but I was wondering how to get home. I was afraid of what would happen if I met Milcho again on the train. There would be no one to help me. So I decided that in Mezdra I would go out on the platform and look around for him. When I arrived in Ferdinand, although I hadn’t seen him, I was afraid that he would be waiting for me at the station or that he would have sent someone else to wait for me. So when the train slowed down before reaching the station, I threw my suitcase and jumped out of the train.
I saw which wagon he entered, he waved to me, I saw where he stopped and when I heard that the train for Vratsa was leaving in two minutes I ran for the train, entered the wagon and hid there. I saw Milcho walking along the platform near the train. He had spotted me once earlier but had lost me. He didn’t know where I was. He got on the same train. And what chaos there was in there! He passed nearby and I entered the toilet. When the train stopped I got off and waited on the platform. At the last minute I got on again and we traveled to Mezdra. He had been looking for me, but he didn’t know if I was still on the train. At some point Mitko appeared again: he was in the same train because he was traveling to Sofia and he said, ‘I’ll find out where Milcho is going and tell you.’
Fortunately, the agent was traveling to Lom or Vidin and caught another train in Mezdra. So, I could relax a bit. I stayed for five or six days in Varna at my sister’s house. The wedding had already taken place, I saw that she was well but I was wondering how to get home. I was afraid of what would happen if I met Milcho again on the train. There would be no one to help me. So I decided that in Mezdra I would go out on the platform and look around for him. When I arrived in Ferdinand, although I hadn’t seen him, I was afraid that he would be waiting for me at the station or that he would have sent someone else to wait for me. So when the train slowed down before reaching the station, I threw my suitcase and jumped out of the train.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Adela Nissimova Levi