Here are some historic facts from 1943: The then Jewish Affairs Comissioner of Bulgaria, Alexander Belev, signed a contract with the Gestapo Representative for Bulgaria, Teodor Daneker, for the staged deportation of 20,000 BG Jews to the Treblinka concentration camp in tne end of February and beginning of March, 1943.
That number was supposed to be constituted by 11,363 Jews from the region of Macedonia and Aegyan Sea, while 8,560 were supposed to be from the so called "Old Bulgarian territories". The Jews from Bitola and Skopie were selected and then deported to the Danube ports of Lom and Vidin for further deportation to Treblinka. Just a few people from them managed to survive.
The other griou of almost 9000 people were selected in Plovdiv, where there was large populatio of that ethnicity. There was a huge wave of protests among the Plovdiv population against that decision. A group of 25 MPs of the governing party, led by the Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly, Dimiter Petkov, stood firmly against that deed. They were supported by the Union of the Retired Military Officers, the BG Doctors Union, the Slavia Sports Association, as well as the BG Eastern Orthodox Church.
The Plovdiv Metorpoliten Kiril enetred inside the Jewish camp in Plovdiv with the words that he will go along with the deported. The protests were the reason the government to cancel the deportation.