On May 7th 2015 the Embassy of Bulgaria hosted a reception featuring a gift to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum of unique materials depicting Jewish life in wartime Bulgaria during WWII as captured on film by Holocaust survivor Max Licco Haim. Some of them were screened to the large audience who crowded the embassy salon – among them members of the Haim family coming from Brazil, representatives of the American Jewish community in Washington and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, including former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and other members of the Museum’s governing board, media representatives, etc.
In her welcoming remarks Ambassador Elena Poptodorova referred to the dramatic story of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews from the Holocaust and underlined the active cooperation between the Bulgarian Embassy and the American Jewish community on topics and projects of mutual interest. Max Licco Haim’s son, Salvator Haim, told in an emotional way the long family story from Sofia to Sao Paolo and the circumstances that led to the donation of the video materials to the Holocaust Memorial Museum. At the end of the official part of the event a deed of gift was solemnly signed by Mr. Salvator Haim certifying the donation.
Photographer: Miriam Lomaskin, US Holocaust Memorial Museum