Tragedy of the Kladovo-Šabac transport Refugee Relief Board

Abstract

The first emigrants from Germany started arriving in Yugoslavia immediately after the National Socialists came to power, in late February 1933. Individuals or entire families arrived with or without luggage, some with money, others possessing no more than what little clothes they were wearing. The first bigger Jewish center close to the northern border was the one in Zagreb, which had been granted full autonomy by the Federation of Jewish Religious Centers of Yugoslavia (SJVOJ). With the Federation’s approval, the Zagreb Center set up the Refugee Relief Board, headed by Dr. Makso Pšerhof, the Center’s vice-president. Aleksa Klajn was appointed its secretary (later Arnon). In collaboration with other Jewish organizations in Zagreb, several commissions responsible for financial, cultural, educational, medical, social, religious, legal, and other matters were established within the Board. The Center supported this complex project by providing office space and administrative staff.