Norbert Yasharoff
Norbert was born to a Jewish family in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. His father, a prominent lawyer, was also active in the Jewish community, heading relief efforts for the city's Jewish orphans. Sofia was home to approximately half of Bulgaria's estimated 50,000 Jews during the mid-1930s.
1933-39: On September 1, 1939, while on a family vacation the Yasharoffs heard over the radio that war [World War II] had begun. Norbert's parents exchanged worried glances; what would happen to them now? Bulgaria had close ties with the Germans and they were frightened. At the newsstand Norbert saw antisemitic headlines appear for the first time in the papers speaking of the Jews' "international conspiracy." He asked his father to help him understand what was happening.
1940-44: In May 1943 Norbert's family was deported to Pleven in northern Bulgaria. It wasn't like the deportations they'd heard about; they lived with relatives and Norbert even attended a public school. The Soviet army arrived on September 9, 1944. The Bulgarian partisans descended from the mountains and started rounding up town officials. Nortbert happened to be in the street so he helped. While the chief of police was held at gunpoint, Norbert searched his pockets. He was shaking worse than the police chief.
Norbert finished high school in Sofia after the war. In 1948 he immigrated to Israel and later moved to the United States.
Item ViewLeon Franko
Leon was born to a large, Ladino-speaking, Sephardic-Jewish family. The Frankos lived in a large house in ethnically diverse Bitola, a town located in the southern part of Yugoslav Macedonia, near the Greek border. Leon's father, Yiosef, was a successful fabric merchant. The Frankos' children attended Yugoslav public schools where they learned to speak Serbian.
1933-39: Upon completing his schooling, Leon became a fabric merchant in Bitola. A handsome man from a well-to-do family, Leon was popular. His friends often remarked that he looked like a movie star. His younger brother, Dario, idolized him.
1940-44: In April 1941 the Germans invaded Yugoslavia, and Macedonia was annexed to Bulgaria. The Bulgarians introduced anti-Jewish laws and cooperated with the Germans. Leon and Dario fled to Kastoria, a town in Italian-occupied Greece. There, Leon met and married Rebecca Pissirilo. After Italy surrendered, the Germans deported Kastoria's 700 Jews to Salonika, where they were assembled for deportation to Auschwitz. In Salonika, Leon's wife, who was nine months pregnant, was taken by the International Red Cross to a hospital.
Leon was one of 700 Jews deported by train from Salonika to Auschwitz on April 1, 1944. Both he and his wife perished. Their baby, Esther, was saved by a nurse in the hospital.
Item ViewNorbert J. Yasharoff describes the change in living conditions for Jews in Bulgaria
Anti-Jewish measures took effect in Bulgaria after the beginning of World War II. In March 1941, Bulgaria joined the Axis alliance and German troops passed through Sofia. In May 1943, Norbert and his family were expelled to Plevin in northern Bulgaria, where they stayed with relatives. After the advance of the Soviet army in 1944, Norbert and his family returned to Sofia.
Item ViewNorbert J. Yasharoff describes the trial and sentencing of a Jewish man falsely charged with economic crimes
Anti-Jewish measures took effect in Bulgaria after the beginning of World War II. In March 1941, Bulgaria joined the Axis alliance and German troops passed through Sofia. In May 1943, Norbert and his family were expelled to Plevin in northern Bulgaria, where they stayed with relatives. After the advance of the Soviet army in 1944, Norbert and his family returned to Sofia.
Item View