148 young people are inspired by the example of Bulgarians declared as “Righteous among the Nations” during the Holocaust
A new record number of participants collected the seventh edition of the national literary youth competition “Who Saves One Human Life, Saves a Whole Universe”, organized by Center for Jewish-Bulgarian Cooperation “Alef. 138 high-school students and 10 university students from 47 settlements in Bulgaria sent their stories inspired by the life of Bulgarians who neglected their safety to help Bulgarian Jews escape the Holocaust. The total number of participants in the seven editions of the competition exceeds 1000.
The theme “I am one of them – the Bulgarian righteous among the Nations” was another challenge for the young authors organized by Center “Alef”. They had to go back to the years 1941-1944 when The Law for Protection of the Nation put the Jews under inhumane conditions. The main purpose is to tell the stories of those worthy Bulgarians who did not allow their fellow Jews to be sent to the Nazi death camps. Putting yourself in the place of another and relaying his feelings, thoughts and actions is no easy task. Especially when it comes to people in dramatic times who put to the test genuine human moral values.
The young storytellers have taken on the role of the 20 Bulgarians honored with the title of “Righteous among the nations” by Yad Vashem, Israel – a memorial created to commemorate the 6 million Holocaust victims. These are twenty of the many Bulgarian fates for example and removal from oblivion through literary works.
How the participants in the competition coped with their reincarnation in the Bulgarian “righteous” will be determined by the jury, to which their stories have already been submitted. The responsible but pleasant task to read and evaluate the creations was taken by Radostina Nikolova – senior expert at the Ministry of Education and Science, Rumen Leonidov – poet and publisher of the website Fakel.bg and Asen Yordanov – journalist, poet and director of the website Bivol.bg
Their nominations are expected to become clear in mid-April, and the names of the best authors will be announced on the CJBC “Alef” website http://alef-bg.org.
The best 20 authors from whom the winners of the competition will be announced will be invited to the award ceremony in Burgas in May, at the organizers’ expense. Their stories will be published in the collection “I am one of them – the Bulgarian righteous among the nation”, which will be published later. The final of the ceremony will set a boat trip to the iconic island of St. Anastasia for Burgas.
The prizes that the winners of the competition will receive are more than attractive. For the fourth time, a student will be sent to the International Young Leaders Congress in Israel. A one-year scholarship is another of the prizes. Many more material prizes and surprises will be presented to the talented young people of Bulgaria.
The young participants in the seventh competition are from: Burgas, Sofia, Razlog, Ruse, Sliven, Plovdiv, Targovishte, Blagoevgrad, Varna, Kardzhali, Pleven, Veliko Tarnovo, Sevlievo, Dragoman, Varshets, Dryanovo, Gotse Delchev, Montana, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Hadzhidimovo, Rudozem, Vidin, Lovech, Momchilgrad, Yakoruda, Dolni Dubnik, Botevgrad, Kazanlak, Kyustendil, Haskovo, Pazardzhik, Shumen, Polski Trambesh, Sopot, Tsarevo, Karlovo, Lom, Lyaskovets, Bansko, Zaichar, Agatovo village, Eleshnitsa village, Banya village, Medkovets village.
