Bulgarian yellow button badge belonging to Nissim Solomonov, survivor of the bulgarian jewry holocaust. Bulgaria, c. 1942. Also Photographs and personal documents of Solomonov.
In addition to the badge there are two documents and four photographs of Solomonov: a declaration regarding his Bulgarian citizenship – 1948, release certificate from reserve military service – Israel, 1968, two photographs of Solomonov in his youth as a soldier and Bulgarian citizen, two photographs of him and friends in Israel years after the war.
In January 1941, a law for the protection of the nation was approved in the Bulgarian parliament, similar to the Nuremberg Laws. Two months later, Bulgaria joined the Tripartite Pact and became an Axis ally. Despite wide opposition in Bulgaria to anti-Semitic legislation, the government issued on August 26, 1942 a decree requiring Jews aged 6 and over to wear an identifying mark. At the same time, the “Commission for Jewish Affairs” was established in the Bulgarian Interior Ministry headed by lawyer Alexander Belev – one of the leaders of the extreme right organization “Ratnik”, which dictated the new antisemitic laws. Unlike fabric armbands in other countries, Bulgarian Jews were marked with a small yellow plastic Star of David button. However, due to local opposition and resistance by the church, the decree was not fully enforced and only about one fifth of Bulgarian Jews wore the badge, hence its rarity.
Badge: 3.5×3.5 cm. Very good condition.
