site.btaAssoc. Prof. Dr. Rumyana Christidi Gives Lecture at Bulgarian Consulate General in New York

The Head of the Hebraic Studies Department at Sofia University, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rumyana Christidi gave a lecture at the Consulate General of Bulgaria in New York on the rescue of Bulgarian Jews during the Holocaust, the diplomatic mission announced on its Facebook page. 

Christidi presented an in-depth analytical overview of the historical context and circumstances that led to "this inspiring act of courage and tolerance." An interactive discussion followed, in which the guests discussed various aspects of the rescue of Bulgarian Jews and of the study and promotion of this story.

Before the start of the lecture, Consul General Angel Angelov welcomed the guests to the event. He expressed special gratitude to everyone present at the event despite the severe weather conditions and the declared state of emergency in and around New York City.

Christidi will also be a special guest of Bulgarian Consulate General in Chicago, Bulgaria's diplomatic representative there Svetoslav Stankov announced on his Facebook account. She will give a lecture on October 5 at the University of Chicago on the same topic. 

Christidi was admitted in 1994 as a student at the Faculty of History of Sofia University. In 1999 she graduated with a Master's degree in Contemporary Bulgarian History and a specialization in Archival Studies, according to a biographical note on the Sofia University website. 

From 2000 to 2003 Christidi was a full-time postgraduate student at the Department of History of Bulgaria at the Faculty of History of Sofia University. In 2004 she defended her doctoral dissertation on "Bulgarian Education in the Period 1948-1959" and received the degree of Doctor of Education and Science. Since 2004 he has been a lecturer, and since 2009 a full-time assistant professor of modern Bulgarian history at the Faculty of History of Sofia University. In 2014 she became an Associate Professor with a habilitation thesis on "Higher Education in Bulgaria from the Soviet to the Bologna Reforms".

She has specialised and lectured at Link Campus University in Rome (Italy), the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki (Greece), Carlo Bo University in Urbino (Italy) and the University of Haifa (Israel).

She has also specialized at the International School for Holocaust Studies (ISHS, Yad Vashem) in Jerusalem, Israel. She is certified by Yad Vashem to teach Holocaust studies.

She is a member of the European Association for Jewish Studies, the recipient of a badge of honor and a diploma from the Shalom Organization of Jews in Bulgaria for "outstanding contribution to the realization of interethnic and religious dialogue, the fight against manifestations of hatred and xenophobia, popularizing the story of the rescue of Bulgarian Jews during the Holocaust, and strengthening the friendship between Bulgarians and Jews."