The Jewish Museum of Belgium will support the 10th edition of the International Literary Student Competition “Whoever saves one human life, saves the whole Universe” by spreading information about the initiative among Belgian youth and encouraging them to send their literary works and participating in it. The 10th competition is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews on the theme “A story of darkness and light”. The museum undertook to search for information with which to enrich the Alef’s virtual library on the topic of saving the Jews from the Holocaust.
On November 16, Alberta Alkalay – chairwoman of Center Alef, visited the Jewish Museum in Belgium, where she met with Philippe Blondin – president of the museum /pictured in the middle/ and Ariane Defren – responsible for projects /pictured on the right/.
The Brussels museum has already planned initiatives related to the tragic events of the Second World War.
In Bulgaria, the name of Todor Angelov-Bojanata is little known, but in Belgium he is a legend. The country where his grave is located preserves the memory of him and his role in saving thousands of Belgian Jews. In Belgium, the name of Todor Angelov-Bojanata is synonymous with self-sacrifice for freedom and justice. Therefore, the worthy Bulgarian was posthumously declared “National Hero of the Kingdom of Belgium” and “Hero of the Belgian Resistance”. He was awarded the country’s highest royal order, the Knight of the Order of Leopold with Palms, the Military Cross with Palms, the Resistance Medal and the Commemorative Medal 1940-1945.
His monument in Brussels on Schaerbeek, avenue Raymond Foucart, the square opposite school #17 in the neighborhood where the Bulgarian from Kyustendil lived for a long time after he was forced to flee our country and chose Belgium to fight the Nazis, conveys to the youth the memory of him
As a member of the General Staff of the Belgian Resistance, Todor Angelov participated in a number of sabotage actions, organized the hiding and placement of Jewish children from families marked for deportation, in Belgian families in various places of the occupied country. On April 19, 1943, with the participation of Todor Angelov, a German convoy transporting over 200 Jews was stopped. More than 150 people were saved, the rest were shot by the Nazis.
The Jewish Museum in Belgium is preparing a photo exhibition showing the places where the action to save the deported Jews took place. The exhibition will be accessible to visitors from January 2023. The museum has committed to continue the research on the life and activities of Todor Angelov in Belgium, which will help the participants in the competition with additional information.