Exhibition

The temporary exhibition “For Justice and Humanity” dedicated to the work and
life of Metropolitan of Vidin with an emphasis on the rescue of the Bulgarian
Jews.
The exhibition is provided by State Archives – Vidin and is located on the
second floor of the Jules Pascin Cultural Center.
There are a total of 115 documents presented in the exhibition. Protocols of the
Holy Synod, letters of Vidin Metropolitan Neofit, photographs of the
Metropolitan, photographs of the Jewish community in Vidin, the Jewish labor

"The second significant event in the life of the Jewish community in Vidin, after the consecration of the synagogue in 1894, is the solemn ascension of the two marble commemorative plaques with the names of those who died in the wars (1912-13 and 1915-18) on the facade of the synagogue on November 8, 1931. The ceremony took place in the Jewish prayer house with the participation of the synagogue choir, which opened with 'Baruch Ata,' after which the Jewish priests recited the relevant psalms and prayers.

Julius Mordecai Pincas was born in 1885 in Vidin, a small Bulgarian town, in the wealthy family of Sephardic Jews. His father Marius Pincas, a rich grain merchant, profited from brisk trade along the Danube. He was a powerful and unscrupulous man whom Pascin depicted as the “Bad Rich Man” in his works. After he left his family home, Jules never communicated with his father again.

Dr. Max Nordau’s call for “Muscular Jews” resounded favourably among the Bulgarian Jews. Parallel with the Bulgarian youth fitness societies established after the Liberation began the founding of the Makabi Jewish gymnastic societies. Their motto was “Strong spirit in a strong body”.