before 1 September 1940 were exempted from classification as Jews, as were those whose had married a person "of Bulgarian descent" before that date and who had subsequently converted before the law's enactment. Baptized children and mixed couples were also excluded and the Nazi concept of Mischling was not reproduced in the Law. Likewise, military war orphans and veterans (volunteers, not conscripts) who had been disabled or awarded medals or honours were exempt. Distinctions of this kind were increasingly overlooked later in WWII. Foreign Jews were forbidden to claim Bulgarian citizenship by naturalization in Bulgaria, a measure that in December 1940 was directed at recently-arrived Central European Jews. History The bill was proposed to parliament by Petar Gabrovski, Interior Minister and former Ratnik leader in October 1940. His protégé, government lawyer and fellow Ratnik, Alexander Belev, had been sent to study the 1933 Nuremberg Laws in Germany and was closely involved in its drafting. Modelled on this precedent, the law targeted Jews, together with Freemasonry and other intentional organizations deemed "threatening" to Bulgarian national security. Bulgaria, as a potential beneficiary from the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in August 1939, had competed with other such nations to curry favour with Nazi Germany by gestures of antisemitic legislation. Bulgaria was economically dependent on Germany, with 65% Bulgaria's trade in 1939 accounted for by Germany, and militarily bound by an arms deal. Bulgarian extreme nationalists lobbied for a return to the enlarged borders of the 1878 Treaty of San Stefano. On 7 September 1940, Southern Dobruja, lost to Romania under the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest, was returned to Bulgarian control by the Treaty of Craiova, formulated under German pressure. A citizenship law followed on 21 November 1940, which transferred Bulgarian citizenship to the inhabitants of the annexed territory, including to around 500 Jews, alongside the territory's Roma, Greeks, Turks, and Romanians. Petar Gabrovski and Alexander Belev were aligned to Nazism and were both members of the fascist group "Combatants for the Advancement of the Bulgarian National Spirit" or Ratniks. Also in support of the legislation were the pro-fascist organizations the Union of Bulgarian National Legions, the Union of Bulgarian Youth (Otets Pajsi), the National Union of Bulgarian Students, and Brannik. The unions of pharmacists and shopkeepers were likewise in favour. The bill made legislative progress through the winter of late 1940, with parliament reviewing the it on the 15, 19, and 20 November. The week