Although this was the first free Passover in Bulgaria in several years, the Jews of Sofia spent a rather cheerless holiday. The war years and the anti-Somitic persecutions ruined the Jews economically and has crushed the spirit of many of them.
There were no matzoth available in Sofia and in most Jewish homes the cocupants are eating bread. A few very religious persons baked some home-made matzoth. In many homes the traditional reading of the Haggada was omitted because none were available, having been destroyed during the fascist regime. (The Joint Distribution Committee in New York revealed that it attempted to ship matzoth into Bulgaria, but various difficulties prevented the transport from reaching its destination in time for Passover. About ten tons of matzoth sent by the J. D. C. reached Greece in good time.)
There was a modest public seder in the Hachshara center here. Hebrew songs were sung and He brew literature was read. The observances in the homes of the Jewish quarter were hold under difficult conditions since an average of four families share each apartment. The newspaper of the Jewish section of the Fatherland Front carried an article on Passover as did the organ of the Poale Zion.
The Sofia radio this week broadcast a half-hour program devoted to the Jewish question. The program was prepared by the Jewish section of the Fatherland Front and consisted of lectures stressing that anti-Semitism could exist in Bulgaria only under a fascist government. Speakers called for an all-out fight on anti-semitism.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
