International contacts of the Zagreb Jewish community

Abstract

The Federation of Jewish Religious Communities was established in 1919 in Zagreb, but Belgrade was chosen for its headquarters. "The original idea was to establish the Federation as a manifestation of our unity in an enlarged common country and a permanent common interpreter of all the aspirations and needs of our community." In time, the "Federation turned into an intermediary between the state authorities and our community, gradually its cultural and national programs gained shape" and it later "became capable of autonomously performing a host of tasks related to the Jewish community, thus turning into an official authority in its own right". Of course, the Belgrade headquarters was also in charge of all the international contacts. The situation changed in 1933 when Hitler’s accession to power set off the first mass migrations of the German Jews. In the early days, they crossed the territories of France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Czechoslovakia, while these countries were still allowing them transit, in order to reach European ports and sail off to Great Britain and the United States. Here again, Yugoslavia played an important role.