A memorial plaque from the heirs of the first emigrants to Israel has been placed in the port
A memorial plaque complements the history of the rescue of Bulgarian Jews at the entrance to the Sea Station – Burgas. It is placed right next to the only preserved authentic building from the construction of the port of Burgas 120 years ago – the lighthouse keeper’s tower.
“At this port of Burgas on December 27th 1947 15.000 Romanian and 400 Bulgarian Jewish Holocaust survivors boarded the ships “Pan York” and “Pan Crescent” (“Kibbutz Galuyot” and “Atzmaut”) making their way to establish a free and independent Jewish state – the State of Israel.”- is written on the plaque. The initiative for its placement is of the Israeli citizens Zehavit Blumenfeld and Dr. Nathan Baruch and the Center for Jewish-Bulgarian Cooperation “Alef”.
Zehavit Blumenfeld and Dr. Nathan Baruch are the heirs of Romanian Jews who passed through Bulgaria and were detained in British military camps in Cyprus, where there were about 53,000 Jews until 1949 – illegal immigrants from all over Europe. From the emotional stories of their parents they know about the small Bulgarian port city and its kind inhabitants whom they have met on the long way to the Promised Land. The memory of the good in the people that followed the terrible years of the war and the desire to pass it on through the generations provoked the two Israeli citizens to join the initiative committee for the creation and installation of the memorial plaque. The initiative is supported by the Municipality of Burgas and the State Enterprise “Port Infrastructure”.
The memorial plaque is placed at 1, Knyaz Alexander Batenberg Street. It will be included in the tourist route of Israeli tourists. It will also be marked with a QR code, the scan of which will refer to the official interactive guide of Bulgaria and will provide visitors with detailed information about the events of 1947, the cosmopolitan nature of Burgas and the tolerance of its inhabitants.
The official opening of the memmorial plaque is forthcoming.