{"product_id":"the-stolen-narrative-of-the-bulgarian-jews-and-the-holocaust-9781793632937","title":"The Stolen Narrative of the Bulgarian Jews and","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Stolen Narrative of the Bulgarian Jews and the Holocaust collects narratives of Bulgarian Jews who survived the Holocaust. Through the analysis of eye-witness testimonies, archival documents, photographs, and researchers’ investigations, the authors weave a complex tapestry of voices that were previously underrepresented, ignored, and denied. Taken together, the collected memories offer an alternative perspective that counters official accounts and corroborates war crimes. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Stolen Narrative of the Bulgarian Jews and the Holocaust, a compilation of eyewitness testimonies, archival documents, photographs, and researchers’ investigations, debunks a Holocaust myth that not only were the Jews of Bulgaria spared but it was thanks to a sympathetic government. This book provides a fresh\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eperspective on that time and place. This title is recommended for all Holocaust collections.\u003c\/p\u003e * Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eComforty, an award-winning filmmaker and oral historian, has written a counter narrative of Bulgarian Jews and Bulgaria’s role in the Final Solution, challenging the belief that the Bulgarian government prevented the deportation of its Jews to Auschwitz, except for those in the newly occupied lands of Thrace and Macedonia. Based on primary sources and interviews with more than 60 Bulgarian war survivors, Comforty argues that Bulgaria was an ally to Nazi Germany, and King Boris III, far from being the “Bulgarian Schindler,” was prepared to deport the Jews of mainland Bulgaria to the death camps. Moreover, the Bulgarian parliament passed the Law for the Defense of the Nation in 1941 (effective until 1944), which applied Nazi racial laws to Bulgaria's Jewish population. The deportation law, which would have initially deported some 8,000 Jews from Bulgaria to Auschwitz, was temporarily suspended because of the intervention of Bulgarian parliamentarians and members of the Orthodox hierarchy. Comforty notes that Bulgarians were not as anti-Semitic as their government, and in 1943, the king's death and the war's turning tide in favor of the Allies saved the Jews of Bulgaria from being sent to their deaths. The book includes valuable pictures, a time line of events, and an extensive bibliography. Recommended. General readers through faculty.\u003c\/p\u003e * Choice Reviews *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on a rich collection of oral and visual sources, most previously unknown, this book presents an account of Bulgarian Jews and Bulgaria’s role in the Final Solution like no other book on its subject. First-person oral testimonies and accompanying graphics make for engaging, gripping, reading. An historical narrative at its best!\u003c\/p\u003e -- Alvin Rosenfeld, Indiana University\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis valuable contribution to the history of Bulgarian Jews and those under Bulgarian rule during the Holocaust offers a patiently assembled and processed collection of individual voices which blend into a telling polyphonic narrative. The myriad personal memories convincingly demystify well-established canonical stories and pay a deserved tribute to human decency.\u003c\/p\u003e -- Roumen Avramov, Centre for Advanced Studies Sofia\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn excellent combination of rich documentation, critical study, responsible research and grounded insights. A flowing, important, fascinating historical narrative--the results of years of diligent work. Highly recommended!\u003c\/p\u003e -- Shlomo Shealtiel, Yad Yaari Center of Hashomer Hatzair Research\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eJacky Comforty is not only an avid collector of historical memories and visual sources of the Jews of Bulgaria, but also—as this book proves—the voice of the survivors. The book tells a story on the Shoah in the Balkans which is much more complex than the established varieties: a story of deportation and annihilation, but also one of solidarity and rescue.\u003c\/p\u003e -- Stefan Troebst, Leipzig University\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eA compelling and very personal book whose rich, poignant testimonies provide a welcome addition to recent scholarship on writing and remembering Jewish history in Bulgaria. Alongside Jewish witness accounts, a wealth of photographs bring back to life the experiences of Jewish persecution during World War Two and successfully reclaim the Bulgarian Jews’ roles in their own ‘rescue.’ The social lives of this collection of testimonies may also invite scholars to consider this volume as an object of research in its own right.\u003c\/p\u003e -- Nadège Ragaru, Sciences Po, Paris\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eDocumentary filmmaker Jacky Comforty explores this heartwarming story in The Stolen Narrative of the Bulgarian Jews and Holocaust, which he wrote with Michigan writer Martha Aladjem Bloomfield. Comforty traveled the world to interview historians, political scientists, military analysts and other experts to develop an unvarnished picture of Bulgarian actions during the war. \u003c\/p\u003e * Detroit Jewish News *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Stolen Narrative of the Bulgarian Jews and the Holocaust fills a lacuna in Holocaust history and in Bulgarian collective memory. It serves as a reminder of both the fragility of memory, its susceptibility to reshaping, and the gravity of memory, its ability to affect a population’s view of itself and even affect a nation’s international and political standing. Altogether, the book is an essential record of a narrative, the memories of the survivors –that have been repressed for far too long.\u003c\/p\u003e * Sephardic Horizons *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eJacky Comforty and Martha Bloomfield have done a service for the rest of us in shining a light on the dark and complex history of the Balkans. In an era of disinformation and fake news, their painstaking research has reclaimed this terrible episode in Jewish history for a wider audience and pushed aside those adept at manipulating it. It is an accessible and interesting read.\u003c\/p\u003e * Jerusalem Post *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eList of Figures\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eForeword by Omer Bartov \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePreface \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e00 Introduction\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart 1 Identity - Who We Are \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e01 The Jewish Diaspora\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e02 The Jews of the Iberian Peninsula \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e03 The Jews of the Balkans\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e04 Jewish Migration waves to the Balkans\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e05 Jewish Life 15-19th centuries\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart 2 Collective Memory of the Balkan Jews \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e06 Multicultural Multi religious and multi ethnic Balkans\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e07 Shared History\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e08 Religious Tolerance and Freedom of Conscience\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e09 The Balkan Wars and World War I \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e10 Bulgarians and Jews\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e11 Jewish Traditions, Heritage and Community\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e12 How Life Was\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e13 Zionism And Patriotism\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart 3 The Bulgarian Jews during Hitlerism 1933-1945\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e14 Clouds on the Horizon\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e15 Growing Threats\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e16 Escaping Anti-Semitism\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e17 Law for the Defense of the Nation\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e18 The Fox in the Chicken Coop\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e19 Life under the Swastika: Deteriorating Conditions \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e20 Jewish Forced Labor \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart 4 The Final Solution and Bulgaria \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e21 Bulgaria Prepares for the Final Solution\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e22 Deportations\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e23 Friends and Neighbors\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e24 Roundups and Continued Resistance\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e25 Train to Treblinka\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e26 My Father’s Injury Story\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e27 Between Deportations\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e28 Deportations and Ghettoization\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e29 Meanwhile in Labor Camp\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e30 Resistance\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e31 Concentration Camps\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e32 Game of Nerves\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart 5 The Silenced Narrative of Bulgaria’s Victims \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e33 \"Instincts of an Animal\"—Jennie Lebl’s Survival Story\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e34 \"To and Through Hell and Back\" - Israel Behar’s Survival Story\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e35 \"Burdensome to this Moment\"--Rudi Abarbanel’s Escape Story \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart 6 The Aftermath of the Holocaust\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e36 Rivers of Tears--After the War 1945-1948\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e37 \"We Overcame It!\" Bulgaria in Jaffa\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart 7 The Stolen Narrative of the Bulgarian Jews\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e38 A Myth is Born\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e39 “Who Saved the Jews?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e40 The Balkan Fox\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e41 Territory and Accountability\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e42 Wheeling and Dealing Memory\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e43 Anti-Semitism and Holocaust Denial\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart 8 The Reclaimed Narrative\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e44 Reflections--Mixed Accounts\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e45 The Moral Lesson\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e46 “To Be a Mensch!\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEpilogue: Tribute to Decency\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppendix I: List of Interviewees\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppendix II: Timelines\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppendix III: Further Reading\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBibliography \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIndex\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAbout the Authors\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lexington Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51042664612183,"sku":"9781793632937","price":32.4,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781793632937.jpg?v=1750955077","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-stolen-narrative-of-the-bulgarian-jews-and-the-holocaust-9781793632937","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}