Archaeologists have uncovered Jewish religious relics in Bulgaria dating from the 2nd century C.E. Jewish communities are documented by the 9th century; and in 1335 the Bulgar King Johann Alexander married a Jewish woman, Sarah, who converted to Christianity and reigned as Queen Theodora. In 1492, when the Jews were expelled from Spain, some settled in Bulgaria. They brought their language—Ladino—and culture. In time, the Spanish Jews outnumbered the native population and the two groups intermarried. The Jews of Bulgaria became known as Sephardim and spoke Ladino.
Bulgaria became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1396 and also tolerated Jews, who prospered, often more than their Gentile neighbors. When Russia liberated Bulgaria from the Ottomans in 1878, however, anti-Semitic activity increased. Jewish homes and businesses were destroyed, many Jews were expelled, and others fled. In subsequent years, the geographic size of Bulgaria waxed and waned. In 1920, there were 16,000 Jews in Bulgaria. The 1934 census showed about 48,000 Jews. During World War II, Bulgaria initially collaborated with the Nazis and many Bulgarian Jews were murdered. In 1943, public protests forced the government to cancel further deportations. The 1945 Jewish population was still about 49,000, however, consisting of 34 Jewish communities. Nonetheless, 7,000 Bulgarian Jews left for Palestine between 1944 and 1948. Additionally, in the years immediately after Israel declared statehood in 1948, another 45,000 emigrated to Israel. By 1950, only 7,000 Jews remained. By 2014, there were only 2,000 Jews left.
Current Community
The Jews who remain in Bulgaria are represented by the Shalom Organization of Jews in Bulgaria, successor to the Social and Cultural Organization of Jews in Bulgaria.
Address:
Boulevard Alexander Stamboliiski 50
1303 Sofia, Vyzrajdane
Bulgaria Contact: Pepa Ilieva
Phone: 359 888 26 88 41
Email: pepa_i@abv.bg
Website: http://shalompr.org (Cyrillic script)
The following chart lists the current and previous names of some towns where Jews lived. The current place name is also provided in Cyrillic. To identify the map coordinates of these and other towns, see Where Once We Walked: A Guide to the Jewish Communities Destroyed in the Holocaust —Revised Edition, by Gary Mokotoff and Sallyann Amdur Sack with Alexander Sharon (Avotaynu, 2002). Genealogy Institute DS135.E83 M65 2002
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