History of the Jews in Croatia
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The history of the
Today, Croatia is home to eight synagogues and associated organizations, located in
History of the community
Ancient community
Jewish traders and merchants first arrived in what is now northern Croatia in the first centuries of the
Early Middle Ages
One of the oldest written sources, which could indicate the presence of Jews on Croatian territory, comes from the letter of the vizier
Late Middle Ages
The Jewish communities of Croatia flourished in the 13th and 14th centuries, with the communities enjoying prosperity and peaceful relations with their
This ended in 1456, when Jews, along with most non-Catholic Croats, were forced out. There followed 200 years where there are no records of Jews in Croatia.
Arrival of the Spanish Refugees
The 15th century saw increasing persecution of Jews in areas of Spain retaken in the
Habsburg rule
In the 17th century, Jews were still not permitted to settle in northern Croatia. Jews traveled to Croatia as traveling merchants, mostly from neighboring Hungary. They were generally permitted to stay only a few days.[7] In the early part of the century, the Croatian Parliament ("Sabor") confirmed its ban on permanent settlement when a Jewish family attempted to settle in Đurđevac.[7]
In 1753, although still officially banned, Jews were allowed to settle in
The prohibition against Jewish settlement in northern Croatia lasted until 1783, until the 1782 Edict of Tolerance issued by the Habsburg Monarch Emperor Joseph II went into effect. Jews were subsequently allowed to settle in Croatia, but were not allowed to own land or engage in any trade protected by a guild, and were not allowed to work in agriculture.[7] Despite these measures, Jews settled in Zagreb and Varaždin.
In 1840, the Sabor (parliament) voted to "gradually" allow full equality for the Jews, and over the next 33 years there was gradual progress.
Year | Legislation[7] |
---|---|
1843 | Range of occupations open to Jews extended |
1846 | Possibility to buy freedom through payment of a "tolerance tax" |
1859 | Jews allowed to buy houses and land |
1873 | Full legal equality |
In 1867 the new Zagreb Great Synagogue was inaugurated and Rabbi Dr. Hosea Jacobi became Chief Rabbi of Zagreb. In 1873, Ivan Mažuranić signed the decree allowing for the full legal equality of Jews and, as with other faiths, state funds were made available for community institutions.[15]
By 1880, there were 13,488 Jews in Croatia, rising to 20,032 by 1900. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 21 Jewish communities in Croatia, the largest being in Zagreb (3,000 people) and Osijek (3,000 people). The Jewish community of Croatia became highly successful and integrated. By 1900, 54% of Zagreb Jews and 35% of all Croatian Jews spoke Croatian as their mother tongue. Despite their small numbers, Jews were disproportionately represented in industrial and wholesale business in Croatia, and in the timber and food industries. Several Jewish families were amongst Croatia's wealthiest families. Despite the apparent wealth, most Jews were middle class, and many second generation Croatian Jews were attracted to the fields of law and medicine.
World War I
World War I brought about the collapse of the
Prior to World War II, the Croatian, and especially the
The Holocaust
On 25 March 1941,
With Germany and Italy's support, the Croatian ultra-nationalist
During the Holocaust, a total of 29–31,000 Jews in the NDH were killed, around 75% by the Ustaše and around 25% by the Germans. This constituted 79 percent of the country's pre-war Jewish population,
When Yugoslavia was liberated in 1945, Croatia became part of the new Yugoslav federation, which eventually became the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Post-war community
After 1945, atheism became the official policy of Yugoslavia and Croatia, and because of this there were no rabbis in Croatia until the mid-1990s. Most Croatian Jews identified as Yugoslavs, or as Serbs or Croats.[26] After the founding of Israel, about half of the survivors renounced their Yugoslav citizenship as a prerequisite for leaving the country and acquiring Israeli citizenship. Those who opted to leave for Israel signed a document by which they left all property, land, and other unmovable property to Yugoslavia.
The post-war Jewish community of Croatia became highly assimilated, with 80% of Zagreb's 1,500 Jews either born into mixed marriages, or married to non-Jews. In 1991, there were approximately 2,000 Jews in Croatia.
Twenty-first century
The 2001 Croatian census listed only 495 Jews, with 323 in Zagreb. Approximately 20 Jews lived in each of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Osijek and Dubrovnik.[27]
The Jewish community in Croatia is organized into ten Jewish "municipalities" (Croatian: Židovska općina) in the cities of Čakovec, Daruvar, Dubrovnik, Koprivnica, Osijek, Rijeka, Slavonski Brod, Split, Virovitica, Zagreb. Since 2005, Zagreb also has a separate Jewish organization named "Bet Israel", formed by a splinter group in the original organization led by Ivo Goldstein and others. A Chabad organization is also registered in Zagreb and held most Jewish activities around the year.
Jews are officially recognized as an autonomous national minority, and as such, they elect a special representative to the Croatian Parliament, shared with members of eleven other national minorities.[28]
Regional communities
Dalmatia
The Jewish communities of the Croatian coast of Dalmatia date back to the 14th century CE. A letter from 1326 refers to a Jewish doctor in Dubrovnik. The community remained small throughout the years (100-330 members), although the community distinguished itself in trade and medicine. The community was augmented from 1421 by refugees fleeing increasing persecution in Spain, and then from 1492 as Jews fled the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions.[29]
The Jewish synagogue in Split is more than 500 years old and is the third oldest active synagogue in Europe. Except for a brief period during WW2 the synagogue has been in continuous use since it was established. Although there is no rabbi in Split, the 100-member strong community conducts regular Friday evening
See also
- Concentration camps in the Independent State of Croatia
- Croatia-Israel relations
- List of Croatian Righteous Among the Nations
- The Holocaust in the Independent State of Croatia
- History of the Jews in Yugoslavia
References
- ^ "Nacionalne manjine u Republici Hrvatskoj" (in Croatian). Government of Croatia. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ a b "European Jewish Congress -Croatia". Archived from the original on 13 August 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
- ^ American Jewish Year Book. "The Jewish Population of the World (2010)". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
- ISBN 978-9536800124. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "The Jewish guide to Croatia". LikeCroatia. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- ^ a b Synagogues Without Jews - Serbia and Croatia Archived 29 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h Excerpts from Jews in Yugoslavia - Part III Archived 23 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Excerpts from Jews in Yugoslavia - Part III (Osijek) Archived 23 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-0-415-34466-1
- ^ Ivanko Vlašićek iz 1923.
- ^ The Spirit of the English magazines, str. 398, Monroe and Francis, 1826.
- ^ http://www.efos-statistika.com/hobi/Andrijana_az.pdf[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Jewish Virtual Library (Croatia)
- ^ Jadranska Hrvatska u povijesti staroga europskog bankarstva, Ivan Pederin, Književni krug, 1996.
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia - Croatia
- ^ "Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia". Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ Stephen A. Hart. "Partisans: War in the Balkans 1941 - 1945". BBC. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
- ISBN 9780857725356. P. 75
- ^ Jews of Yugoslavia 1941–1945 Victims of Genocide and Freedom Fighters, Jasa Romano
- ^ "Osijek". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ "The Synagogue of Zagreb 1867-192" (PDF). Yad Vashem.
- ^ Jews of Yugoslavia 1941–1945 Victims of Genocide and Freedom Fighters, Jaša Romano, p 7
- ^ Cvetković, Dragan (2011). "Holokaust u Nezavisnoj Državi Hrvatskoj - numeričko određenje" (PDF). Istorija 20. Veka: Časopis Instituta za savremenu istoriju. 29 (1): 182. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ Jewish Virtual Library - Croatia
- ^ Excerpts from Jews in Yugoslavia - Part III Archived 23 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Croatia's census forces Jews to confront identity crisis, Vlasta Kovac
- ^ Population by Religion, by Towns/Municipalities, Census 2001
- ^ "Pravo pripadnika nacionalnih manjina u Republici Hrvatskoj na zastupljenost u Hrvatskom saboru". Zakon o izborima zastupnika u Hrvatski sabor (in Croatian). Croatian Parliament. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ^ a b Excerpts from Jews in Yugoslavia - Part I Archived 16 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- "Excerpts from Jews in Yugoslavia - Part III", Centropa Reports [1]
- "The Virtual Jewish History Tour - Croatia", Stephanie Persin, Jewish Virtual Library [2]
Further reading
- Yahil, Leni (1987). The Holocaust: the Fate of European Jewry, 1932-1945. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195045239. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
External links
- Jewish Community of Osijek
- Jewish Community of Zagreb
- Jewish Community Bet Israel of Croatia
- Croatian Jewish Network - Chronology (in Croatian)
- "History of Split´s Jewish Community" (PDF). (470 KB)
- "Adriatic Sea - Jewish port of salvages" (PDF). (9.9 MB)
- Digital Preservation Project of Jewish Heritage in Osijek