Metadata: Federation of Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia
Collection
- Country:
- Serbia
- Holding institution:
- Jewish Historical Museum
- Holding institution (official language):
- Јеврејски историјски музеј (Jevrejski istorijski muzej)
- Postal address:
- Kralja Petra 71A, 21000 Belgrade
- Phone number:
- (+381) 112622-634
- Web address:
- http://www.jimbeograd.org/
- Reference number:
- AJIM, SJOJ
- Title:
- Federation of Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia
- Title (official language):
- Савез јеврејских општина Југославије
- Creator/accumulator:
- Federation of Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia
- Date(s):
- 1919/1991
- Language:
- Serbian
- Croatian
- English
- German
- Extent:
- 1.2 linear metres (4 boxes)
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- Good
- Scope and content:
- The collection comprises records created by the activities of the Federation of the Jewish Religious Communities of Yugoslavia and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia. In addition, records of the constituent bodies of the Federation are also included in the collection.
- Administrative/biographical history:
-
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia (SJOJ) was an organised community of Jews, whose scope was to improve the life and conditions of the Jewish community in Yugoslavia, and to protect and promote its identity, tradition and culture. SJOJ was founded in Osijek in July 1919 as the "Federation of the Jewish Religious Communities of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" with the seat in Belgrade. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, 117 communities existed in the territory of the Kingdom, of which 105 were the members of the Federation and 12 were grouped into the Association of the Orthodox Jewish Religious Communities. Almost 85% of Jews who lived in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia perished in the Holocaust and many Jewish communities were destroyed.
The Federation renewed its activities after the liberation of the country thanks to the Jews who survived the war and wanted to help their communities to start their activities again. The Federation formally renewed its work in December 1944, and was officially recognised as the legal representative of the Yugoslav Jews, who at that time numbered about 1,200 Jews in the territory of Yugoslavia. The new socio-political situation required changes in the way of organising and realising new contents while treasuring old traditions. The process of adjusting and changing the position and character of the post-war Jewish community was officially adopted at the Sixth Post-War Conference of the Jewish Communities of the FPR Yugoslavia, held in September 1952, which began officially by removing the term "religious" from the title of the Federation. The title explicitly suggested that the Yugoslav Jewish community accepted the notion that religion was to be moved from the public sphere into the private spiritual domain, in compliance with the proclaimed communist principle of separating the church from the state.
SJOJ existed until 1991, i.e. until the break-up of SFR Yugoslavia. With the creation of new states which emerged from the former Yugoslavia, new Jewish associations were established: The Federation of the Jewish Communities of Serbia, the Coordination of Jewish Communities of Croatia, the Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Jewish Community of Macedonia and the Jewish Community in Slovenia.
- Access points: locations:
- Yugoslavia
- Subject terms:
- Jewish community
- Jewish community records
- System of arrangement:
- There is no system of arrangement.
- Finding aids:
- No finding aids have been created.
- Yerusha Network member:
- Historical Archives of Belgrade
- Author of the description:
- Bojan Zorić; Jewish Historical Museum; 2020