The Sofia radio today announced officially that all anti-Jewish laws in Bulgaria have been rescinded by the government and that the Bulgarian Commissariat for Jewish Affairs will be dissolved.
The Jewish Consistoire, representing the of the Jewish communities throughout Bulgaria, will be re-established by the government and will resume its seat in Sofia to where Jews are returning after two years of banishment, it is reported by Reuters.
Anti-Jewish laws were first introduced by the pro-Nazi Bulgarian Government in 1941. The full list of Nuremberg Laws was promulgated when the Sobrajne adopted a resolution in June 1942 giving full power to the government “to settle the Jewish question.” The resolution was adopted over the bitter opposition of many of the deputies and after a protracted debate which lasted for several days.
Following the adoption of this resolution, the Bulgarian Government started the confiscation of Jewish property and the deportation of Jews from Sofia. Protests and even street demonstrations by the population against the deportation of Jews from Sofia were unavailing.
With the abolition of the anti-Jewish laws and with the return of Jews from various “ghetto villages” to their homes in Sofia and other Bulgarian cities, the question of restoration of confiscated Jewish property will be dealt with by the government in coordination with representatives of the Jewish Consistoire, it was reported here from Istanbul. Jews are already being permitted to withdraw funds from their bank accounts which had been “frozen.”
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.
