Remembrance day

The Roma and Sinti genocide is unofficially commemorated on 8th April.

The 10th of March has been designated as the “Day of the Holocaust and Saving of the Bulgarian Jews” (known also as the Day of Holocaust Victims). This date was appointed by the Council of Ministers in its Decision No. 5 from February 2003 as the “Day of the Salvation of the Bulgarian Jews and of the Victims of the Holocaust and of the Crimes against Humanity” which is also known as the “Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and of the Victims of Crimes against Humanity”.

This remembrance day is nationally commemorated in Bulgarian schools with a special lesson called “10th March: Lesson of Dignity.” Commemoration activities include meetings with survivors, visits to monuments and other sites, art and essay competitions on the topic, and research projects on primary-source documents.

Representatives of the Bulgarian Government, the National Assembly, other institutions and civil society groups pay homage to the victims of the Holocaust as well as to individuals who rescued Bulgarian Jews. The President of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Speaker of the National Assembly, deputies as well as high-level officials from the Government and regional public institutions have participated in commemorative events on 10th March. Government officials at different levels also take part in various cultural events dedicated to the special meaning of the Day of Remembrance, as do municipal officials. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sciences provides support, information, documentation and resources for the 10 March commemorations. (See “CAHROM (2013)15 Overview on the Recognition of the Genocide of Roma and Sinti (Pharrajimos / Samudaripen) during World War II and on Related Remembrance Days in member States of the Council of Europe”, page 7).

The date marks the anniversary of the day in 1943 when Dimar Peshev, the Deputy Speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly together with Metropolitan Bishop Stephan of Sofia, Metropolitan Bishop Cyril of Plovdiv as well as many other prominent public figures and with the support of members of the general population, prevented the planned deportation of 50 000 Bulgarian citizens of Jewish origin to the Nazi concentration camps. The day was first marked with an official commemoration in 2002. (See “CAHROM (2013)15 Overview on the Recognition of the Genocide of Roma and Sinti (Pharrajimos / Samudaripen) during World War II and on Related Remembrance Days in member States of the Council of Europe”, page 6)

In 2013, to mark the 70th anniversary of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews and to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, the Bulgarian Council of Ministers adopted a national plan of events and initiatives to commemorate the anniversary. The plan was prepared by the Initiative Committee with representatives of the president, the National Assembly, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Bulgarian Jewish communities, local authorities, the media and cultural and scientific communities. The programme included official, cultural and social events and conferences on the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews in 1943. The local authorities of Sofia, Burgas, Plovdiv, Lom and Kyustendil, Organisation of the Jews in Bulgaria “Shalom” as well as Bulgarian diplomatic missions in Europe, the United States and Israel took part in the commemorations. The National Assembly adopted a declaration to mark the 70th anniversary.  

In the context of the anniversary, the Archives State Agency of Bulgaria launched a special website, “The Jewish Community in Bulgaria”, which has collected hundreds of original documents about the rescue of Bulgarian Jews during World War II. 

Bulgaria reported that the Bulgarian Jewish organisation “Shalom” also organises commemorations and events in relation to the Holocaust. (See OSCE report “Holocaust Memorial Days: An overview of remembrance and education in the OSCE region”, page 25)

On 27th January 2014, the Deputy Minister of Education launched the event with which Sofia became part of the ceremonies in memory of the Holocaust victims. A sample lesson about the fate of the Jews during World War II was presented by Mr Angel Yanchev, director of a school in the city of Veliko Tarnovo and a participant in the first training workshop for teaching topics of the Holocaust in Yad Vashem. The lesson he prepared involves working with documents and archives related to the history of the Holocaust and enabling students to interactively recreate history.