On April 20, 1993, the presidents of the countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including the president of Bulgaria, Dr. Jelio Jelev, were invited to Washington for the official grand opening of the Museum of the Holocaust. President Bill Clinton gave a memorial speech at the Arlington Memorial Cemetery, where he mentioned Denmark as the only country to save its Jews during World War II. Immediately after the speech, Jelev sent a letter to the White House, in which he explained that what had happened in Bulgaria during the war was in fact unique. If this fact was not mentioned at the official opening of the museum, he warned, he would demonstratively leave the presentation and give an interview to the media, explaining his reasons.

The White House responded almost immediately. In 20 minutes, Jelev was invited to the White House where Vice President Al Gore insisted on further explanation.

At the official opening, Bulgaria was mentioned even before Denmark.

I read about this episode in Jelev’s memoirs and later was able to interview him about it. Jelev told me that during his conversation at the White House, Gore asked him one question that left a great impression on him. Gore said, “Why is this fact not widely known? This is almost scandalous.”

I agree with Gore. I also believe Bulgaria should be proud of this unique event of world history, of this noble manifestation of humane response.

That is why I dedicated my project to the untold story of the massive rescue of the Bulgarian Jews. In the following articles I will show how a nation of 8 million people stood like a rock against the tide of anti-Semitic genocide during the Second World War.