A historic acquisition for Bulgarian cultural heritage
The State Archives Agency (SAA) has officially acquired the building and the valuable documentary collections of the "Iliya Todorov Gadjev" Institute for the History of Bulgarian Emigration in North America, located in the town of Gotse Delchev.
"This is an archive of the Macedonian emigration that clearly proves the Bulgarian character of Macedonia," emphasized Deputy Prime Minister Ivo Hristov.
What does the archive include?
- Over 152 linear meters of documents and 3,000 archival units.
- Personal archives of significant figures such as Ivan Mihaylov, Lyubomir Dalchev, Petar Semerdzhiev, and Dr. Ivan Gadjev.
- A unique collection of émigré periodicals, missing even from the "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" National Library.
The institute will be established as an independent unit within the structure of the SAA. This large-scale private collection is an invaluable testament to the struggles of the Macedonian Bulgarians and the life of our diaspora in the USA.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Ivo Hristov, the deal was concluded at a reasonable price, well under one million euros, and involved complex negotiations with five heirs in the USA. The state managed to prevent the risk of these valuable documents falling into foreign hands or being used against the national interest.