A similar miraculous sea crossing was carried out by the Greeks. who transported several hundred Jews from the Greek islands to Turkey. On the Greek mainland. several thousand Jews were sheltered in the mountains and other hiding places thanks to the friendly attitude of the Greek population. Peshev. the Vice President of the Sobranie Parliament of Bulgaria. stood up to the authorities and countermanded the deportation of the Jews of Bulgaria. He. and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Bulgarian masses who croweded the railroad station. the depot for deportation. played a major role in saving the lives of 50.000 Bulgarian Jews. Bulgarias sense that native Jews were also Bulgarians was so strong that the government insisted on protecting its own people. In Italy. 80 percent of the Jewish population was saved. Even though Mussolini yielded to Hitlers request that Italys Jews be deported. throughout the country Italians defied Mussolinis orders and protected thousands of Jews. both native Italians as well as Jewish refugees who sought shelter in Italy. Records show that from the highest to lowest echelons of the bureaucracy. large numbers of Italians blocked orders to deport detained Jews. warned Jews of impending raids and cooperated with individuals who were protecting Jews. Yugoslavian Jews report that they were taken almost from the hands of approaching Germans onto Italian army trains. dressed in Italian military uniforms and brought to Italy where they were concealed.
Keywords matched
deported deportation refugees