A Note from the Editors

This volume of Serbian Studies is dedicated to the life, experience, and contributions of the Jewish people in Serbia. Their lengthy history on the Balkan Peninsula dates to Roman times. As in the case of other ethnic groups in Antiquity, they were drawn to Serbian lands for a variety of practical considerations, including the opportunities and ease of trade via the peninsula’s network of waterways that provided access to major centers of commerce. Although initially modest in number, Jewish settlements and population increased substantially during the Middle Ages and the period of the Ottoman occupation.

The fifteenth-century expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal brought significant waves of Jewish immigrants to the Balkans. Settling primarily in urban areas, they became an important part and presence within the small, once-independent nation of Serbia. The two shared a commonality of experience, including loss of sovereignty and subsequent dependency on and domination by foreign powers. As Turkish subjects they provided the requisite contributions to the Ottoman Empire’s sustenance through skills and occupations that came to be associated with and required of each group. As Serbian long-term resistance to occupation intensified in the early years of the nineteenth century, both peoples were subject to Turkish reprisals. The Serbian-initiated and Serbian-led insurrections that ultimately brought independence received noteworthy Jewish support on a variety of levels.

As an independent state, Serbia experienced the continuity of Jewish contributions to daily life, especially through engagement in trade and vitally needed professions, as well as intellectual and cultural life. While the integration into Serbian life and acceptance into certain professions and Serbian society in general varied under different monarchial governments, Jewish communities continued to expand and flourish. As individuals and as a whole, they were major participants in the modernization of Serbia, especially in the late-nineteenth century and the subsequent interwar period.

This volume addresses the Jewish experience in Serbia in articles focused on history, politics, literary works, poetry, the arts, and architecture. While this issue represents the first attempt to produce a comprehensive, wide-ranging examination of the Jewish presence and experience in and contributions to Serbia, it is a project built on the journal’s record of publishing articles specifically focused on the Jews of Serbia. Since 1984 Serbian Studies has featured articles on Jewish writers in Serbian literature, literary works by Jewish writers, and scholarly analyses of the works of major internationally recognized Jewish literary figures of Serbia.

The editors are dedicated to expanding on this project with the publication of a second volume to which, at present, scholars in the US and abroad are submitting articles and literary works on a variety of topics. As we look forward to the next volume, we extend sincere thanks to the colleagues who have joined in this challenging and lengthy endeavor to produce an exceptional collection of scholarly works. We wish to recognize and express our gratitude to Drs. Mirjana Radovanov Matarić and Ruth Rischin for their work, which dates to the early stages of this project. We are most appreciative of their contributions and participation.

Throughout the production of this volume we have received invaluable assistance from Rosemarie Connolly, Associate Editor, Slavica Publishers. We thank her for her advice and guidance.