site.btaHolocaust Memorial in Burgas Defaced with Pro-Nazi Stickers

A Holocaust memorial in Burgas, dedicated to locals who saved Jews during World War II, was defaced with stickers depicting pro-Nazi figure Hristo Lukov, Alberta Alkalay, founder of the Centre for Jewish-Bulgarian Cooperation Alef, said on Tuesday.

Alkalay said the stickers had been placed on the monument’s Star of David and over words expressing gratitude to Burgas residents who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. She described Lukov as a figure followed by young people with Nazi and far-right views. “The stickers are placed on the six-pointed star, the Star of David, and over the words with which we have expressed appreciation and thanks to worthy Burgas citizens who rescued Jews during the Holocaust,” Alkalay said. “For us this is a direct message that our activity in commemorating the achievement of the Bulgarian people is unacceptable,” she added.

The incident is "part of the general wave of antisemitism in Europe, which unfortunately has reached Burgas as well,” Alkalay said. “This monument is a symbol of humanism, of the courage to stand up to the system and reach out to someone different. Burgas and Bulgaria have always been places free of religious strife; we want to preserve this and set an example for young people.”

Burgas Municipality, the prosecution service and law enforcement authorities have been notified. “We cannot report every incident, but this act is in the centre of Burgas, a city that has long served as a place of unity and refuge for people of different ethnic backgrounds. We believe this is unacceptable,” Alkalay said.

The monument was built to mark the 70th anniversary of the rescue of Bulgarian Jews. Before it was erected, a study identified the names of 20 to 30 Burgas residents who actively protected their Jewish fellow citizens and prevented their deportation, Alkalay said.

Alkalay recalled previous incidents in the city: about 10 to 15 years ago, posters with Hitler’s image were put up in front of the courthouse, and swastika graffiti has continued to appear from time to time. “So far these incidents have always been regarded as acts of vandalism, but this case is more serious. It is reminiscent of the incident with the red bloody handprints on the Holocaust memorial in Paris, for which a Bulgarian was among the accused,” she said.

“In a country that saved its Jews, such actions are unacceptable. Bulgarians should come together around unconditional values that transcend political differences and preserve the memory of this historic act,” Alkalay said.

She said such incidents are part of a broader European trend that intensified after the start of the war in Gaza. “One of the motives of antisemites is to hold all Jews responsible for what is happening in Israel. This is absolutely unacceptable,” she said.

Over the years, isolated acts of vandalism with Nazi symbols have been registered in Burgas, posters with Hitler’s image, swastikas and graffiti, usually removed quickly by municipal services, though the perpetrators are seldom identified. The most serious act against a Jewish site in the city remains the terrorist attack at Sarafovo Airport in 2012.