History of the Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Encyclopedia
The Jewish community of Bosnia and Herzegovina
has a rich and varied history, surviving World War II and the Yugoslav Wars
, after having been born as a result of the Spanish Inquisition
, and having been almost destroyed by the Holocaust.
The Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina
now numbers some 500 people, spread in Sarajevo
, Banja Luka
, Mostar
, Tuzla
, Doboj
, and Zenica
.
and Herzegovina
in the 1575.
As tens of thousands of Jews fled the Spanish
and Portuguese
Inquisitions, Sultan
Bayezid II
of the Ottoman Empire welcomed Jews who were able to reach his territories. Jews fleeing Spain and Portugal were welcomed in and found their way to Bosnia and Herzegovina
, Macedonia
, Thrace
and other areas of Europe under Ottoman control. Jews began to arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina
in numbers in the 16th century, with Jews arriving from the Ottoman Empire, and settling mainly in Sarajevo
. The first Ashkenazi Jews
arrived from Hungary in 1686, when the Ottoman Turks were expelled from Hungary,.
Jewish community prospered in Bosnia, living side by side with their Bosnian Muslim neighbors, as one of the largest European centres for Sephardi Jewry outside of Spain.
Jews in the Ottoman Empire were generally well-treated and were recognized under the law as non-Muslims
. Despite some restrictions, the Jewish communities of the Empire prospered. They were granted significant autonomy, with various rights including the right to buy real estate, to build synagogues and to conduct trade throughout the Ottoman Empire. Jews, along with the other non-Muslim subjects of the Empire, were granted full equality under Ottoman law by 1856.
conquered Bosnia and Herzegovina
in 1878, and brought with them an injection of European capital, companies and methods. Many professional, educated Ashkenazi Jews
arrived with the Austro-Hungarians
. The Sephardi Jews
continued to engage in their traditional areas, mainly foreign trade and crafts.
World War I saw the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and after the war Bosnia and Herzegovina
was incorporated into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
.
In the census of 1921, Ladino was the mother language of 10,000 out of 70,000 inhabitants of Sarajevo.
By 1926, there were 13,000 Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
, with 10,000 in Sarajevo
.
With the invasion of Yugoslavia
in April 1941 by the Nazis
and their Allies, Bosnia and Herzegovina
came under the control of the Independent State of Croatia
, a Nazi puppet-state. The Independent State of Croatia
was headed by the notoriously anti-Semitic
Ustaše, and they wasted little time in persecuting non-Croats such as Serbs
, Jews and Gypsies.
a senior Minister in the Croatian government and one of the chief ideologists of the Ustaše movement declared that the goal of the Ustaše was the extermination of "foreign elements" from the Independent State of Croatia
. His message was simple: "The basis for the Ustasha movement is religion. For minorities such as Serbs
, Jews, and Gypsies, we have three million bullets." In 1941, Ante Pavelić
leader of the Ustaše movement declared that "the Jews will be liquidated in a very short time".
In September 1941 deportations of Jews began, with most Bosnian Jews being deported to Auschwitz
or to concentration camps in Croatia
. The Ustaše set up concentration camps at Kerestinac, Jadovna, Metajna
and Slana
. The most notorious, where cruelty of unimaginable proportions was perpetrated against Jewish and Serbian
prisoners were at Pag
and Jasenovac
. At Jasenovac
alone, hundreds of thousands of people were murdered (mostly Serbs
), including 20,000 Jews.
By War
's end, the Ustaše had murdered more than 500,000 Serbs
, approximately 40,000 Roma (Gypsies) and 32,000 Jews. Among Bosnian Jews, 10,000 of the pre-War
Jewish population of 14,000 had been murdered. Most of the 4,000 who had survived did so by fighting with the Yugoslav
, Jewish
or Soviet Partisans or by escaping to the Italian controlled zone (approximately 1,600 had escaped to the Italian controlled zone on the Dalmatian coast
).
Jewish members of the Yugoslav
Army became German prisoners of war and survived the war. They returned to Sarajevo
after the war.
The Sarajevo Haggadah
has survived many close calls with destruction. Historians believe that it was taken out of Spain by Spanish Jews who were expelled by the Inquisition
in 1492. Notes in the margins of the Haggadah indicate that it surfaced in Italy in the 16th century. It was sold to the national museum in Sarajevo in 1894 by a man named Joseph Kohen.
During World War II, the manuscript was hidden from the Nazis by Dr. Jozo Petrovic, the director of the city museum and by Derviš Korkut, the chief librarian, who smuggled the Haggadah out to a Muslim
cleric in a mountain village near Treskavica — there it was hidden in the mosque among Korans and other Islamic texts. During the Bosnian War of 1992-1995, when Sarajevo
was under constant siege by Bosnian Serb forces, the manuscript survived in an underground bank vault.
Afterwards, the manuscript was restored through a special campaign financed by the United Nations and the Bosnian Jewish community in 2001, and went on permanent display at the museum in December 2002.
was reconstituted after the Holocaust, but most survivors chose to emigrate to Israel
. The community came under the auspices of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Yugoslavia, based in the capital, Belgrade
.
In the early 1990s, before the Yugoslav Wars
, the Jewish population of Bosnia and Herzegovina
was over 2,000, and relations between Jews and their Catholic, Orthodox
and Muslim
neighbors were good.
broke out in 1991, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee evacuated 15,000 Bosnian Jews to Israel
, and most chose to remain there after the wars.
As a result of the ethnic balancing act involved in the UN-imposed Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina
, Jews and other minorities are forbidden in the Constitution of Bosnia from running for the position of president. Jakob Finci
, a prominent Bosnian Jew and Bosnia's ambassador to Switzerland, and Dervo Sejdić
, a prominent Bosnian Roma and member of the member of Bosnia's Roma Council, have launched an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights
on the basis that Bosnia's Constitution violates the European Convention on Human Rights
. A finding is expected in September 2009.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
has a rich and varied history, surviving World War II and the Yugoslav Wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
, after having been born as a result of the Spanish Inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...
, and having been almost destroyed by the Holocaust.
The Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
now numbers some 500 people, spread in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, Banja Luka
Banja Luka
-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...
, Mostar
Mostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
, Tuzla
Tuzla
Tuzla is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time of the 1991 census, it had 83,770 inhabitants, while the municipality 131,318. Taking the influx of refugees into account, the city is currently estimated to have 174,558 inhabitants...
, Doboj
Doboj
Doboj is a city and a municipality in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, situated in the northern part of the Republika Srpska entity on the river Bosna. Doboj is the largest national railway junction; as such, the seats of the Republika Srpska Railways, and the Railways Corporation of Bosnia and...
, and Zenica
Zenica
Zenica is an industrial city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the capital of the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity...
.
Ottoman rule
The first Jews arrived in the regions of BosniaBosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
and Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
in the 1575.
As tens of thousands of Jews fled the Spanish
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...
and Portuguese
Portuguese Inquisition
The Portuguese Inquisition was formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of the King of Portugal, João III. Manuel I had asked for the installation of the Inquisition in 1515 to fulfill the commitment of marriage with Maria of Aragon, but it was only after his death that the Pope...
Inquisitions, Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Bayezid II
Bayezid II
Bayezid II or Sultân Bayezid-î Velî was the oldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512...
of the Ottoman Empire welcomed Jews who were able to reach his territories. Jews fleeing Spain and Portugal were welcomed in and found their way to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
, Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and other areas of Europe under Ottoman control. Jews began to arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
in numbers in the 16th century, with Jews arriving from the Ottoman Empire, and settling mainly in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
. The first Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
arrived from Hungary in 1686, when the Ottoman Turks were expelled from Hungary,.
Jewish community prospered in Bosnia, living side by side with their Bosnian Muslim neighbors, as one of the largest European centres for Sephardi Jewry outside of Spain.
Jews in the Ottoman Empire were generally well-treated and were recognized under the law as non-Muslims
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Despite some restrictions, the Jewish communities of the Empire prospered. They were granted significant autonomy, with various rights including the right to buy real estate, to build synagogues and to conduct trade throughout the Ottoman Empire. Jews, along with the other non-Muslim subjects of the Empire, were granted full equality under Ottoman law by 1856.
Habsburg rule
The Austro-Hungarian EmpireAustria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
conquered Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
in 1878, and brought with them an injection of European capital, companies and methods. Many professional, educated Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
arrived with the Austro-Hungarians
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
. The Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
continued to engage in their traditional areas, mainly foreign trade and crafts.
World War I saw the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and after the war Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
was incorporated into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
.
In the census of 1921, Ladino was the mother language of 10,000 out of 70,000 inhabitants of Sarajevo.
By 1926, there were 13,000 Jews in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
.
Background
In 1940, there were approximately 14,000 Jews in Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, with 10,000 in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
.
With the invasion of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
in April 1941 by the Nazis
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and their Allies, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
came under the control of the Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
, a Nazi puppet-state. The Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
was headed by the notoriously anti-Semitic
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
Ustaše, and they wasted little time in persecuting non-Croats such as Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, Jews and Gypsies.
Deportation and murder
On July 22, 1941, Mile BudakMile Budak
Mile Budak was a Croatian Ustaše and writer, best known as one of the chief ideologists of the Croatian clerofascist Ustaše movement, which ruled the Independent State of Croatia, or NDH, from 1941-45 and waged a genocidal campaign against its Serb, Roma and Jewish minorities, and against Croatian...
a senior Minister in the Croatian government and one of the chief ideologists of the Ustaše movement declared that the goal of the Ustaše was the extermination of "foreign elements" from the Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
. His message was simple: "The basis for the Ustasha movement is religion. For minorities such as Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, Jews, and Gypsies, we have three million bullets." In 1941, Ante Pavelić
Ante Pavelic
Ante Pavelić was a Croatian fascist leader, revolutionary, and politician. He ruled as Poglavnik or head, of the Independent State of Croatia , a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia...
leader of the Ustaše movement declared that "the Jews will be liquidated in a very short time".
In September 1941 deportations of Jews began, with most Bosnian Jews being deported to Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
or to concentration camps in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. The Ustaše set up concentration camps at Kerestinac, Jadovna, Metajna
Metajna
Metajna is a village on the Paski Zaljev on the island of Pag located at ....
and Slana
Slaná
Slaná can refer to:* Sajó river - Slaná is its Slovak name* Slaná, a village in the Czech Republic...
. The most notorious, where cruelty of unimaginable proportions was perpetrated against Jewish and Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
prisoners were at Pag
Pag
Pag may refer to:*Pag , an island in the Adriatic Sea, part of Croatia*Pag , the largest town on the island of Pag* Pag, the ISO 639-2 and ISO 639-3 code for the Pangasinan languageSee also* PAG...
and Jasenovac
Jasenovac concentration camp
Jasenovac concentration camp was the largest extermination camp in the Independent State of Croatia and occupied Yugoslavia during World War II...
. At Jasenovac
Jasenovac concentration camp
Jasenovac concentration camp was the largest extermination camp in the Independent State of Croatia and occupied Yugoslavia during World War II...
alone, hundreds of thousands of people were murdered (mostly Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
), including 20,000 Jews.
By War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
's end, the Ustaše had murdered more than 500,000 Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, approximately 40,000 Roma (Gypsies) and 32,000 Jews. Among Bosnian Jews, 10,000 of the pre-War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Jewish population of 14,000 had been murdered. Most of the 4,000 who had survived did so by fighting with the Yugoslav
Partisans (Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia...
, Jewish
Jewish partisans
Jewish partisans were fighters in irregular military groups participating in the Jewish resistance movement against Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II....
or Soviet Partisans or by escaping to the Italian controlled zone (approximately 1,600 had escaped to the Italian controlled zone on the Dalmatian coast
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
).
Jewish members of the Yugoslav
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
Army became German prisoners of war and survived the war. They returned to Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
after the war.
Sarajevo Haggadah
Sarajevo Haggadah
The Sarajevo Haggadah is an illuminated manuscript that contains the illustrated traditional text of the Passover Haggadah which accompanies the Passover Seder. It is one of the oldest Sephardic Haggadahs in the world, originating in Barcelona around 1350. The Haggadah is presently owned by the...
has survived many close calls with destruction. Historians believe that it was taken out of Spain by Spanish Jews who were expelled by the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
in 1492. Notes in the margins of the Haggadah indicate that it surfaced in Italy in the 16th century. It was sold to the national museum in Sarajevo in 1894 by a man named Joseph Kohen.
During World War II, the manuscript was hidden from the Nazis by Dr. Jozo Petrovic, the director of the city museum and by Derviš Korkut, the chief librarian, who smuggled the Haggadah out to a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
cleric in a mountain village near Treskavica — there it was hidden in the mosque among Korans and other Islamic texts. During the Bosnian War of 1992-1995, when Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
was under constant siege by Bosnian Serb forces, the manuscript survived in an underground bank vault.
Afterwards, the manuscript was restored through a special campaign financed by the United Nations and the Bosnian Jewish community in 2001, and went on permanent display at the museum in December 2002.
Post-war community
The Jewish Community of Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
was reconstituted after the Holocaust, but most survivors chose to emigrate to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. The community came under the auspices of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Yugoslavia, based in the capital, Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
.
In the early 1990s, before the Yugoslav Wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
, the Jewish population of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
was over 2,000, and relations between Jews and their Catholic, Orthodox
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
and Muslim
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
neighbors were good.
Yugoslav wars
When the Yugoslav WarsYugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
broke out in 1991, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee evacuated 15,000 Bosnian Jews to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and most chose to remain there after the wars.
Today
Today, there are some 500 Jews living in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They enjoy excellent relations with their non-Jewish neighbors and with the Bosnian government, as it was throughout the history.As a result of the ethnic balancing act involved in the UN-imposed Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the highest legal document of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The current Constitution is the Annex 4 of The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, signed in Paris on 14 December 1995...
, Jews and other minorities are forbidden in the Constitution of Bosnia from running for the position of president. Jakob Finci
Jakob Finci
Jakob Finci is a prominent Bosnian Jew and Bosnia's ambassador to Switzerland.He also runs the charity Benevolencija.He and Dervo Sejdić, a prominent Bosnian Roma and member of the member of Bosnia's Roma Council, have launched an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights on the basis that...
, a prominent Bosnian Jew and Bosnia's ambassador to Switzerland, and Dervo Sejdić
Dervo Sejdić
Dervo Sejdić is a prominent Bosnian Roma and member of the member of Bosnia's Roma Council.He and Jacob Finci, a prominent Bosnian Jew and Bosnia's ambassador to Switzerland....
, a prominent Bosnian Roma and member of the member of Bosnia's Roma Council, have launched an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
on the basis that Bosnia's Constitution violates the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
. A finding is expected in September 2009.
Prominent Bosnian Jews
- Rav Moshe Danon, known as the Rabbi of Stolac
- Ivan Ceresnjes, architect-researcher, former president of the Jewish community of Bosnia and Herzegovina and vice-chairman of the Yugoslav Federation of Jewish Communities from 1992–1996
- Judah AlkalaiJudah AlkalaiJudah ben Solomon Chai Alkalai was a Sephardic rabbi in Zemun in the Austrian Empire's District of Velika Kikinda and one of pioneers of modern Zionism....
, Rabbi, early member of the Zionist movement - Sven AlkalajSven AlkalajSven Alkalaj is a Bosnian diplomat who is the Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Alkalaj, who is of Sephardic ethnicity, is one of the most prominent Bosnian Jews...
, Minister of foreign affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Kalmi BaruhKalmi BaruhKalmi Baruh ; was a Bosnian scholar in the field of Judeo-Spanish language, pioneer of the Sephardic studies and Hispanic studies in former Yugoslavia.- Life and activities :...
, writer and philosopher - Emerik BlumEmerik BlumEmerik Blum was born to immigrant Hungarian parents on August 7, 1911 in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina which was then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and died on June 24, 1984 in Fojnica, Bosnia then a part of Yugoslavia...
, businessman, founder of Energoinvest, former Mayor of Sarajevo - Oskar DanonOskar DanonOskar Danon was a Bosnian Jewish composer and conductor.-Early life and education:Oskar Danon was born in 1913 in Sarajevo, then in the Austria-Hungarian Empire but now in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He studied music in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Prague, Czechoslovakia, where he obtained his Ph.D...
, composer and conductor - Jakob FinciJakob FinciJakob Finci is a prominent Bosnian Jew and Bosnia's ambassador to Switzerland.He also runs the charity Benevolencija.He and Dervo Sejdić, a prominent Bosnian Roma and member of the member of Bosnia's Roma Council, have launched an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights on the basis that...
, current spiritual leader of the Bosnian Jewish community. - David ElazarDavid ElazarDavid "Dado" Elazar was the ninth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, serving in that capacity from 1972 to 1974. He was forced to resign in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War.-Early life:...
, Israeli general and Chief of StaffRamatkalThe Chief of the General Staff, also known as the Commander-in-Chief of the Israel Defense Forces is the supreme commander and Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. At any given time, the Chief of Staff is the only active officer holding the IDF's highest rank, Rav Aluf , which is usually...
of Israel Defense ForcesIsrael Defense ForcesThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel... - Robert RothbartRobert RothbartRobert Rothbart is a Bosnian-Israeli-Serbian professional basketball player playing the position of center for Union Olimpija.- Biography :Robert was born in Sarajevo the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the time part of the former Yugoslavia...
, basketball player (Jewish father) - Isak SamokovlijaIsak SamokovlijaIsak Samokovlija was a Bosnian-Herzegovinian writer, born in a Jewish Sephardic family. By profession he was a physician...
, writer - Avraham Levi-Lazzaris (1905–2008), businessman, explorer of the first mines of diamonds in Rondonia, Brazil, Holocaust survivor.
- Moses Levi-Lazzaris (1944–1990), mechanical engineer, Trotskyist militant in Brazil, Holocaust survivor.
- Hilde ZaloscerHilde ZaloscerProf. Dr. Hilde Zaloscer was an art historian, Egyptologist, Coptologist, essayist, novelist and a prominent expert of Coptic history and art.-Biography:...
(1903–1999) World renowned Art Historian, Egyptologist and Coptologist.
Further reading
- Sarajevo Rose: A Balkan Jewish Notebook, by Stephen Schwartz http://www.jewcy.com/userblog/sarajevo_rose_balkan_jewish_notebook
- The Righteous Among the Nations - Bosnian Muslim Rescuers in Sarajevo: Mustafa and Zejneba Hardaga, Izet and Bachrija Hardaga, Ahmed Sadik http://www1.yadvashem.org/righteous_new/bosnia/hardaga.html
- The Righteous Among the Nations - Bosnian Rescuers: Roza Sober-Dragoje and Zekira Besrević http://www1.yadvashem.org/righteous_new/bosnia/sober.html
External links
- Excerpts from Jews in Yugoslavia - Part I
- Jewish Virtual Library - Bosnia-Herzegovina, Stephanie Persin
- American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee - Bosnia-Herzegovina
- http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DRIT=4&DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=253&PID=0&IID=1829&
- Association of Descendants and Supporters of Victims of Ustashian Concentration Camps in Jadovno 1941.-ארגון בנים ותומכים של קורבני מחנות רכוז ידובנו 1941 Bosnian Jewry: A Small Community Meets a Unique Challenge During the 1990s War - Interview with Ivica Ceresnjes