Prilog izučavanju istorije smederevskih Jevreja

Abstract

Najverovatnije je da su se Jevreji počeli naseljavati i u Smederevo još polovinom XVI veka, u vreme kad je zabeleženo njihovo prisustvo u Beogradu. U to doba Smederevo je bilo poznato trgovačko mesto, pa je moglo da privuče Jevreje koji su se bavili trgovinom. Na tu pretpostavku upućuje i činjenica da je u okolini Smedereva nađen i jedan španski talir iz XVI veka što su ga svakako doneli Jevreji; talir je danas četvrtastog oblika, prečnik iznosi 3 cm, ali je prvobitno bio okrugao i veći. Jevreji su ga posle dolaska prilagodili i obradili, jer je bio teži od srebrnjaka koji su bili u opticaju u Srbiji i Bosni. Primerak se čuva u numizmatičkoj zbirci Smederevskog muzeja...

According to data preserved in the Belgrade Archive of Serbia Jews lived in Smederevo as early as 1817. As a rule, they came from Belgrade or Austria either as foreign nationals or as Serbian citizens. As the Smederevo traders were afraid of the competition of Jews who were more experienced and enterprising in commerce, they have done whatever they could to prevent their stay in the city. There are in the Archive quite a few documents which make these endeavors clear. From these documents, one can also learn that the Smederevo Jews were engaged in a great variety of crafts and also in trade bringing to the city merchandise from Constantinople, Vienna, and Budapest. Mostly wool, leather, salt, wine, and some other goods were stored in their warehouses. An official register for 1862/3 shows that two Jewish families were vendors of fruit and vegetable while the other six families were registered as traders. Catching of leeches in the outskirts of Smederevo and trading with that merchandise was organized somewhere about 1833 by Solomon Weiss, Isac Henig, and Joseph and Solomon Rus. Jews who came to Smederevo from Austria. Their bonds and invoices were cashed by the Consulate of Austria in Belgrade. During the years 1856-1870, the number of Jewish families in Smederevo and in the provinces of Serbia has increased considerably. To make it impossible for them to own houses or other real estate special restrictions were enacted in 1856 and 1861. However, several Austrian subjects were granted permission to register as traders or craftsmen thanks to special steps taken by the Consul of Austria. Among these were Simon Colb and Paul Lebl (1864) and Estela and Avram Sason (1877). An interesting administrative act is dated in that same war year of 1877 when Jews granted permission to register as traders. The document relates to Joseph Hason, a Jew from Austria, who was engaged in trade. The correspondence relating to the construction of synagogue from 1850 till 1858 is given particular attention. The oldest document which relates to the tuition of Jewish children in Serbian elementary-schools is dated 1870. In Radovanj near Smederevo, the teacher in 1912 was a Jew, Isak Izrailjević. During the occupation in 1916 in the Smederevo elementary-schools, 15 Jewish children were registered. Also, in 1926/7 a few High School students were Jews. In the private Jewish school 14 pupils attended classes in religious instruction and passed the final examination in 1932. The Smederevo Jewish quarter was in the city's uptown, near the Danube port and the Fort. In 1896 the number of Jews registered in Smederevo was 139. The Jewish cemetery on the Karadjordje Hill has today only 17 tombstones which were mostly erected between 1906 and 1945. Between the two world wars most of the Smederevo Jews were engaged in trade. But not all. Jelena Redinger, for instance, was a High School professor enjoying great popularity and respect in the city. She was accused to be ideologically communist minded and executed in 1941. It was also well known that Bora Baruh, the painter and revolutionary, made sketches in India ink of the remains of the Fort after the explosion of ammunition on June 5, 1941. Bulina Baruh, Bora's mother, was in hiding in Drugovac near Smederevo in the house of the Brkić family. It was there where she found herself when that part of the country was liberated.