Jews who were forced to work in labor camps in Bulgaria during World War II are now, for the first time, eligible for German compensation. Negotiations waged by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (known as the Claims Conference) recently reached a successful end, thanks in part to new documents showing that Bulgaria's Jews were not treated as benignly as has long been thought.
According to the Claims Conference research, the Jewish Week reports, "probably tens of thousands," were forced to work at 112 labor camps around Bulgaria during the war in conditions of "malnourishment, exploitation, and brutal labor." The Conference report states, "These prisoners faced frequent beatings by superiors, subsisted on an inadequate diet, and lacked the clothing or boots needed for working in the cold, rugged terrain." Although the Jews were placed there for their own good - to stave off German pressure to deport them to Nazi death camps - the conditions there were intolerable.
Michael Berenbaum, the first project director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, called the new findings a "black mark for those who had been apologists for Bulgaria." Eligible Bulgarian labor camp survivors will receive monthly stipends of up to $325, while others will receive one-time payments as high as $9,000.
The Bulgarian Jewish community, which numbered close to 50,000 people before World War II, now numbers only about 6% of that amount. While they are pleased that the record has been set straight, it is clear that the new decision has come too late for most of those who suffered. "How many people 80 years old or older are still alive?" asked one survivor. Yoshke Levy, who was 20 years old when he was sent to a forced labor camp with his two older brothers - who have since passed away - told Maariv, "[Even] millions will not compensate us for ruining our lives and stealing our property. The work was extremely hard. I was required to finish digging within a set amount of time or the Germans would not allow any rest time. I still remember the suffering of the digging, the fear and the threats."
According to the Claims Conference research, the Jewish Week reports, "probably tens of thousands," were forced to work at 112 labor camps around Bulgaria during the war in conditions of "malnourishment, exploitation, and brutal labor." The Conference report states, "These prisoners faced frequent beatings by superiors, subsisted on an inadequate diet, and lacked the clothing or boots needed for working in the cold, rugged terrain." Although the Jews were placed there for their own good - to stave off German pressure to deport them to Nazi death camps - the conditions there were intolerable.
Michael Berenbaum, the first project director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, called the new findings a "black mark for those who had been apologists for Bulgaria." Eligible Bulgarian labor camp survivors will receive monthly stipends of up to $325, while others will receive one-time payments as high as $9,000.
The Bulgarian Jewish community, which numbered close to 50,000 people before World War II, now numbers only about 6% of that amount. While they are pleased that the record has been set straight, it is clear that the new decision has come too late for most of those who suffered. "How many people 80 years old or older are still alive?" asked one survivor. Yoshke Levy, who was 20 years old when he was sent to a forced labor camp with his two older brothers - who have since passed away - told Maariv, "[Even] millions will not compensate us for ruining our lives and stealing our property. The work was extremely hard. I was required to finish digging within a set amount of time or the Germans would not allow any rest time. I still remember the suffering of the digging, the fear and the threats."