The Jewish Community of Varna, Bulgaria
A Jewish community existed in the port city of Varna, Bulgaria from the 19th century.
A large Sephardic community operated alongside a smaller Ashkenazi congregation. The Jews of Varna made a living in trade, crafts and clerical work. In the early 20th century, the Jewish community had a population of approximately 1,300. A local Jewish school network included an elementary school and a kindergarten, and a wide range of Zionist activities took place in the city.
In September 1939, after the outbreak of World War II, all stateless Jews and Jews with foreign citizenship received a deportation order from the Minister of the Interior; 4,000 Jews were instructed to leave Bulgaria at very short notice. Following the intervention of Jewish leaders, the deportees were sent to the village of Ignatievo outside Varna. While there, the Varna Jewish community ensured that they lacked nothing. In the course of the war, Varna also served as an exit point for hundreds of refugees who escaped Eastern and Central Europe in an attempt to reach Eretz Israel (Mandatory Palestine).
In March 1941 Bulgaria forged an alliance with Nazi Germany, which was swiftly followed by anti-Jewish legislation and the appropriation of Jewish property. The deportation of the Jews of Varna began in June 1943, but was halted due to public outcry. After the war's end, many members of the Varna Jewish community returned to the city and reinstated Jewish life there. Eventually, most of them immigrated to Eretz Israel.
The Ashkenazi Family
Moshe and Luna Ashkenazi lived in the city of Varna, Bulgaria and had one daughter, Rachel. The family maintained a traditional Jewish lifestyle. When Rachel was nine years old, her father bought her an accordion that she would play at Maccabi youth movement gatherings. Moshe attached an extra, smaller pair of straps to the existing straps on the accordion in order to make it easier for Rachel to carry. After an alliance was forged between Bulgaria and Germany in March 1941, the Jews were subjected to anti-Jewish decrees and were forced to wear a button in the shape of a Star of David. Later on, the Ashkenazi family was deported from Varna together with the Jews of the larger cities in Bulgaria. Reaching the villages, they settled in Preslav, living there for six months without electricity or running water before moving to another village. During the day, Moshe would work in the fields with the farmers while Rachel and her mother stayed on the farm and helped to run it. Rachel had taken her accordion with her when they were deported, and would play and sing together with their hosts on the farm.
In September 1944, after the Red Army's entry into Bulgaria the family returned to Varna, but their home was occupied by strangers and all their possessions had been stolen. Moshe died of cancer, and Rachel and Luna remained in Varna. Rachel resumed her studies at the French Gymnasium. At the age of 19 she married Avraham Baruch, and they immigrated to Israel in 1948.
