Dimitar Peshev
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Dimitar Peshev (Bulgarian: Димитър Пешев) (25 June 1894 - 25 February 1973) was the Bulgarian Parliament Deputy Speaker and Minister of Justice during World War II. He rebelled against the pro-Nazi cabinet and prevented the deportation of Bulgaria's 48,000 Jews.
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[edit] Context of Bulgaria during World War Two
King Boris of Bulgaria joined in an alliance with Hitler in 1940 agreeing to follow his anti-Semitic course. On September 7, 1940, Romania and Bulgaria, under the auspices of Germany, signed the "Law for the Defense of the Nation", which was modeled upon the Nuremberg Laws. These laws depicted the Jews as the country's most vile enemies and defined as a Jew anybody who had at least one Jewish parent. Under the law, Jews were no longer eligible for Bulgarian citizenship, had to change their last names if they resembled anything Bulgarian and could not intermarry with non-Jews. A strict quota of less than 1% was instituted dictating how many Jews could study in universities, and Jews could not employ the majority of occupations. The ZZN was supported by Bulgaria's bourgeoisie who wanted the Jews removed from the trade alliance with Germany and economic life in general. However, the majority of Bulgarians, including the Communist Party, the Eastern Orthodox Church, writers, artists, lawyers and other members of the intelligentsia opposed the law.
The Bulgarian government signed an agreement declaring that, on March 10, 1943, all of Bulgaria's 48,000 Jews would be deported from the Kyustendil train station and sent to death camps in Poland. This deportation was organized under the leadership of Teodor Danecker, an SS officer very close to Eichmann. Jews in the Bulgarian territories of Thrace and Macedonia would also be rounded up and deported.
[edit] Peshev's personal background
Born in 1894 in Kyustendil to an affluent family, Dimitar Peshev had studied languages in Saloniki and law in Sofia. He fought in World War I on the southern front and, a year after the war, completed his law studies and became a judge. He was known in Parliament and politics as being an honest and honorable man and, in 1938, won the position of Deputy Speaker. His main interests were in safeguarding human rights and the Constitution. He was strongly disliked by Prime Minister Bogdan Filov.
[edit] Peshev's Role in the Jewish Deportation
Peshev was a good friend of Bulgaria's Jewish community. However, he had not objected to the institution of the ZZN. In the beginning of March 1943, the Jews of Kyustendil were ordered by the Commissariat on the Jewish Issues to leave their homes with only a few belongings. Understanding the implications of this order, the citizens of Kyustendil appointed a delegation to ask the government to repeal this evacuation order. On March 8, 1943, the delegation marched into Dimitar Peshev's office. One of the delegates, Peshev's Jewish friend, Jakob Baruch, informed him of the government's plan to deport the Jews. At first, Peshev thought Baruch's words to be untrue until he called several high government officials who confirmed the rumor. By the morning of March 9, Peshev had made up his mind to halt the deportations.
Peshev tried several times to see Filov but the prime minster refused. Next, he and his close friend and colleague, Peter Mikhalev, went to see Interior Minister Gabrovski insisting that he cancel the deportations. After much persuasion, Gabrovski finally called the governor of Kyustendil and instructed him to stop preparations for the Jewish deportations. By 5:30 p.m. on March 9th, the order had been cancelled. However, the order did not reach all the Bulgarian cities on time and, on the morning of March 10th, police began to round up Jews in Thrace and Macedonia.
Once Peshev learned about this, he wrote a letter to Filov on March 19th which aimed to prevent any future anti-Jewish legislation in Bulgaria. He, along with the Kyustendil delegates, got 43 government deputies to sign the letter. These signatures were only from members of the pro-government majority so that no one could accuse Peshev of acting against the government.
Under the pressure from the King and the Prime Minister, who was furious at Peshev's letter, 42 of the deputies withdrew their signatures. Peshev was the only official to refuse to do this and, as a result, was censured and dismissed from his position of Minister of Justice on March 24th.
[edit] Post-War accusations
After the war, the Communists brought forth charges on the Old Bulgarian Parliament for collaboration with the Germans. Peshev was tried for being both an anti-Semite and anti-Communist and was even accused of having been bribed by the Jews in exchange for halting the deportation. However, his Jewish friends from the Kyustendil delegation, led by Joseph Nissim Yasharoff, testified on his behalf and saved him from a death sentence. He was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment but was released after one year.
[edit] Righteous Among the Nations
Peshev's deeds went unrecognized for years after the war as he lived an empty, destitute and isolated life. In January 1973, Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Museum, awarded him the title of "Righteous Among the Nations," for his role in saving Bulgaria's Jews at considerable risk to himself. He died that same year and has only been since recognized by Bulgaria as having performed a great service to humanity during the war years.
When asked about his rationale for preventing the Jewish deportation, Peshev once stated: "My human conscious and my understanding of the fateful consequences both for the people involved and the policy of our country now and in the future did not allow me to remain idle. And I decided to do all in my power to prevent what was being planned from happening; I knew that this action was going to shame Bulgaria in the eyes of the world and brand her with a stain she didn't deserve" (Bar-Zohar 119).
[edit] Honours
Peshev Ridge on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named for Dimitar Peshev.
[edit] References
- Assa, A. & Cohen, A. Saving of the Jews in Bulgaria 1941-1944. Sofia: State Publishing House, 1977.
- Bar-Zohar, M. Beyond Hitler's Grasp: The Heroic Rescue of Bulgaria's Jews. Holbrook: Adams Media Corporation, 1998.
- Gilbert, M. The Righteous: The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2003.
- Yasharoff, Norbert. Bulgaria's Heroes. The Washington Post, December 30, 1999, pg A.30.
