Washington DC City Hall
On May, 28 there was the recent hearing of Washington City Council to discuss the proposal to name a square after the Bulgarian Righteous Dimitar Peshev. The author of the proposal is Council Member Neil Glick. In a previous letter to Gariwo which you can see in the box, he recalled how he came across a "Yellow Star With a Different Meaning" during a trip to Sofia.
From then on, Neil Glick started his struggle to name a Washington Square after Dimitar Peshev, the rescuer of 48,000 Jews in Bulgaria. His brave deed could not prevent King Boris III and Prime Minister Filov from having the Jews from Thrace and Macedonia deported, but Peshev personally made the right choice in front of evil and did everything in his power to save as many Bulgarian Jews as he could.
Neil Glick has understood the importance of honouring Dimitar Peshev and has gained more and more consensus winning over the objections of the Bulgarian Embassy and the Holocaust Museum of Washington, who feared political attempts to conceal the filonazi past of Bulgaria and its role in the Holocaust. "A dark page of its history coexisting with the brighter sides", he explains.
He was helped by Gariwo Chairman Gabriele Nissim, the historian who discovered Peshev and presented his figure in his book "The Man Who Stopped Hitler" and on many occasions including scientific conferences, the celebrations of EU Day of the Righteous in Brussels and Milan and many other presentations and events.
Nissim wrote a letter for the fellow Council Members' and the City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson.
In this interview Neil Glick tells us about his endeavor to obtain the favorable vote of the DC City Council. Below you will also find Nissim's letter and his speech in the latest Council hearing.
Will you tell us about the meeting of the DC Council?
It went very well. Everybody was on the same page regarding Dimitar Peshev Plaza. I learned about the concerns of the Museum and incorporated them into my remarks. At no time did anyone dispute the actions of Peshev. I feel much better this time. I delivered the letter from Gabriele Nissim and I explained the Council members about the whole history of Peshev and Bulgaria.
Why did problems arise in Washington about the proposal to name a square after Mr. Peshev?
They thought one cannot simply remember the good deeds of Bulgaria and forget about the fate of the Jews from Thrace, Pirot and Macedonia. You know, every nation has a bright and dark history. For example, in World War II, the US helped liberate Italy from the South and defeat Nazism, but it also put the Japanese into internment camps. This is part of our dark history. Bulgaria should honor the greatness of it's people and accept its' mistakes. It must acknowledge its own responsibilities in the deportation of the Jews. But at the hearing there weren’t any more objections.
How did you decide to put forward this proposal? Have you got some personal motivation?
Many years ago I went to Bulgaria, learned a bit of the story and I made this decision to make this extraordinary tale known to people.
Do you agree that the importance of Peshev is that he was the first one who started cancelling the deportations?
Yes, I agree, I also said that in 1941 he voted for the imposition of the Yellow Star under the Law for the Defense of the Nation.
Don’t you think some people have a distorted view of the Righteous?
I don't know. I discussed the importance of the designation Righteous during this hearing and put it in context.
Do you think there are some chances that Peshev Square is officially approved next month?
As I told you I feel much more optimistic now. But there are no guarantees.
Did you deliver our letter to Mr. Mendelson and the Holocaust Museum? Mr. Mendelson has not replied yet.
I delivered your letter and Mr. Mendelson's office called me up to confirm he has received it. But these days we are voting the budget of Washington DC. and it this is only a tiny part of what our DC government is focused on right now!