Violeta Yosifovna Yakova was born into a poor Sephardic-Jewish family in Dupnitsa; her father, Yosef Yakov, a small trader, died before she was born. The difficult economic situation in Bulgaria after World War I led many Jewish families to emigrate from relatively small towns to larger population centers, and under these circumstances, her family emigrated to the capital Sofia. Violeta learned sewing and was employed as a tailor's apprentice. For many young Bulgarian Jews in the late 1930s and during World War II, idealism combined with the Bulgarian regime alignment with the Axis powers furthered a commitment to Zionist and far-left organizations, engaging in underground activities against the government, informers and German officers in Bulgaria. In 1939, she joined the youth organization of the Bulgarian Communist Party. In 1942, after Bulgaria joined the Axis and signed the Tripartite Pact, Jakova joined the underground resistance. Many young Bulgarian Jews participated in attacks in Sofia. Together, Yakova and Anjel Vagenstein burned in 1942 the Sofia Leather Jackets Factory, which produced uniforms for the German forces. Also, together with Leon Kalaora and Dano Albahara, formed a death squad who assassinated well-known antisemites, fascists and nazi informers. Out of these, Yakova was considered the most skilled fighter, who assassinated Lieutenant General Hristo Lukov and the chief of the Bulgarian Police, Colonel Atanas Pantev. Her toughness was heard far and she became wanted by the Bulgarian security forces. At the beginning of March 1944, the Bulgarian police gathered intelligence information about the whereabouts of Yakova in her hometown of Radomir, and the police began a manhunt. Yakova was located in June and was captured after a shootout with the police, during which she was injured. She was later beaten and executed by the Bulgarian police.
Memorial
Her boldness and the circumstances of her death made Yakova one of the symbols of the resistance against the pro-fascist regime in Bulgaria, and the Communist movement idealized her name. She was declared a national hero of Soviet Bulgaria. In 1970, Vulo Radev produced a movie called Черните ангели, whose plot is about the assassination of Bulgarian military officers by young communist partisan fighters, and in which Yakova has a central role. She is the physical killer of Hristo Lukov. The city of Radomir has erected a monument in her memory.
