Bowing to increasing Nazi pressure in the Balkans, the Bulgarian Parliament today passed the sweeping anti-Jewish bill barring Jews from Government, municipal and army service and limiting them in professions according to their population ratio.
The law, the first such legislation introduced in Bulgaria, affects about 50,000 Jews. The legislation, forming part of a bill "for protection of the nation," was approved by the Philoff cabinet on Oct. 7 on the initiative of Interior Minister Petar Gabrovski.
The law is viewed primarily a sop to Nazi plans to widen the anti-Semitic front in the Balkans, which already groups Hungary and Rumania. Jews have never played a very prominent role in Bulgaria’s political and economic life. They do not hold agricultural land, government positions or officers’ posts in the army. The majority of them are poor and only about 500 are engaged in professions, such as doctors, dentists and lawyers.
The legislation determines who is a "Jew" and who a "semi-Jew" and stipulates that persons of Jewish descent may not hold posts in communal or State services, may not enter the army and are barred from owning land. Their admission to the free professions will be limited to a figure corresponding to the proportion of Jews in the population.
Persons of Jewish descent are prohibited from working as authors and journalists or in the film and theatrical businesses. Persons of Jewish descent may not employ Bulgarian servants. Violation of these regulations will be severely punished.
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