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Blessing of Bulgarian military recruits

Film | Digitized | Accession Number: 2015.360.2 | RG Number: RG-60.1562 | Film ID: 4115

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    Blessing of Bulgarian military recruits

    Overview

    Description
    Religious procession through a town-square. Locals gather in front of a bank (with sign in Bulgarian) to watch. A military officer greets the line of armed Bulgarian soldier recruits. 01:11:10 Quick CU of priest. Bulgarian military soldiers with backpacks and weapons are blessed by a priest. 01:11:24 CU of priest reading. Locals observe the ceremony. A man leads others in song. Another view, LS, of the blessing. 01:12:24 A Bulgarian officer speaks to the recruits; a civilian dressed in a suit and glasses reads from a paper. CU, the new troops march away. 01:13:15 One by one, the soldiers kiss a Bible, then the flag, and salute. Locals (women and children) watch the presentation. A band plays and the men march. Bulgarians circle-dance, veteran. Drum corps. MS, the unit marches by; dirt pile in the street.
    Duration
    00:04:16
    Date
    Event:  Summer 1941?
    Locale
    Bulgaria
    Credit
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, gift of Salvator Haim
    Contributor
    Camera Operator: Licco Max Haim
    Biography
    Licco Max Haim (1910-2002), an amateur filmmaker, was asked by the military commander of the 4th Construction Company of the 1st (Jewish) Labor Battalion to make a film of their activities and deliver it to him. Licco did so, but managed to hide one 8mm roll (Film ID 4115), shot in the summer of 1941 to build a road in Lakatnik as part of the forced labor battalion. Most of the Jewish men in the unit had resided in Sofia, mostly in the neighborhood of Iuchbunar. After the summer of 1941, Licco was summoned to work on the repair of cars in Sofia, as he was expert as a mechanic. He married Berta on December 18, 1941.

    Physical Details

    Language
    Silent
    Genre/Form
    Amateur.
    B&W / Color
    Black & White
    Image Quality
    Good
    Time Code
    01:10:21:00 to 01:14:37:00
    Film Format
    • Master
    • Master 4115 Video: HDCam - NTSC - small
      Master 4115 Film: positive - 8 mm - b&w - silent - reversal original
      Master 4115 Video: HDCam - NTSC - small
      Master 4115 Film: positive - 8 mm - b&w - silent - reversal original
      Master 4115 Video: HDCam - NTSC - small
      Master 4115 Film: positive - 8 mm - b&w - silent - reversal original
      Master 4115 Video: HDCam - NTSC - small
      Master 4115 Film: positive - 8 mm - b&w - silent - reversal original

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    You do not require further permission from the Museum to access this archival media.
    Copyright
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
    Conditions on Use
    The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum places no restrictions on use of this material. You do not require further permission from the Museum to reproduce or use this film footage.

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Film Provenance
    Salvator Haim donated films to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in April 2015.
    Note
    In early March 1941, Bulgaria joined the Axis alliance and, in April 1941, participated in the German-led attack on Yugoslavia and Greece. In return, Bulgaria received German authorization to occupy most of Greek Thrace, Yugoslav Macedonia, and Pirot County in eastern Serbia. Beginning in July 1940, Bulgarian authorities instituted anti-Jewish legislation that excluded Jews from public service, restricted their choice of places of residence, and restricted their participation in many occupations. However, during the war, German-allied Bulgaria did not deport Jews from the core provinces of Bulgaria. All male Bulgarian Jews were sent to forced labor camps in Bulgaria to build roads and bridges. In 1941, the Bulgarian military oversaw the labor camps and under their rule the treatment of Jewish nationals was harsh, but not completely unhuman. Males aged 20-46 were drafted. Later, the security forces took over managing the labor camps, and conditions worsened. Still, most of Bulgaria's Jews survived the war; in fact, the Jewish population remained the same as it was in 1939 (roughly 50,000), though almost 90% left the country by 1950.

    Eleven additional 8mm family films form part of this Licco Max Haim Collection under Film ID 4122 to 4129 and 4136 to 4137.
    Film Source
    Mr. Salvator Haim
    File Number
    Legacy Database File: 5812
    Record last modified:
    2024-02-21 08:03:20
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn1004840

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