The International Literary Youth Competition “Whoever Saves One Human Life Saves the Whole Universe” is gaining more and more followers. In the preparation of its ninth edition, Center “Alef” received convincing support from creative organizations and institutions abroad, which recognized part of their missions in the idea of the competition. The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland, the Anne Frank House-Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center “Yad Vashem” in Israel, the Slovak Embassy in Bulgaria and the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic stand behind the competition. The Union of Bulgarian Writers also supported Center “Alef”, respecting the potential of the competition as a forum for discovering young literary talents. Hungarian writers joined those who appreciated the importance of the competition and took the commitment to promote it among young people in Hungary. The publication of the regulation in Hungarian and English attracts not only interest in the competition, but also in the part of history targeted by the topic “Unordinary actions of ordinary people”.The Holocaust was a period of severe trials for Hungarian Jews as well. They were subjected to repression and torture, shot in the streets and murdered in Nazi death camps. Hungarian students who decided to take part in the Alef’s competition will demonstrate knowledge of the Holocaust period in their country, but will also learn about the fate of Bulgarian Jews during World War II.
Through the Hungarian writers – friends of “Alef” and the personal commitment of the doyen of Bulgarian-Hungarian literature Dr. Dyord Sondi – poet, translator and publisher of the literary magazine NAPUT is expected to have a serious Hungarian presence in this year’s literary competition.
The theme of the competition “Unordinary actions of ordinary people” is an occasion for young people from abroad to get acquainted with the greatest moral capital of Bulgaria – saving nearly 50,000 Jewish lives from Hitler’s death machine. In their stories, they must find and describe examples of courage, philanthropy, morality in the most inhuman times and send their messages to humanity, just like their Bulgarian peers. Thus, apart from the challenge of finding and bringing out of oblivion worthy people through the power of the artistic speech, the literary competition becomes part of the cultural exchange of Bulgaria with the world.
180 young artists from Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Israel and Bulgaria took part in the first international edition of the competition. Center “Alef” has good basis to believe that the Ninth International Competition will attract new followers and participants from more countries.
