A History of the Jews in Macedonia

Abstract

The history of the Jews of the Balkan Peninsula represents the least-studied part of the history of the Jewish people. Simon Dubnow, the noted historian of the Jews, has admitted that he is least familiar with the history of the Jews of the Balkans, and even more particularly with that of the Jews of Macedonia. Numerous wars have destroyed those few artefacts and written sources which existed, while, because of the disinterest of the previous regimes or perhaps due to the cultural standards of the time, the archives of the Jewish communities of the Balkan Peninsula, including Macedonia, remained unexamined and unstudied even until the last world war, when not only were the Jews exterminated, but also their communities where the historical archives had been kept. Archives, communities, synagogues and Jewish cemeteries were demolished, while national and historical treasures were plundered. Thus, after the war, it became all the more difficult to write about the history of the Jews of Macedonia.

Istorija Jevreja Balkanskog poluostrva predstavlja najmanje proučavan deo istorije jevrejskog naroda. Simon Dubnov, poznati istoričar Jevreja, priznao je da je najmanje upoznat sa istorijom Jevreja na Balkanu, a još više sa istorijom Jevreja Makedonije. Brojni ratovi uništili su i ono malo artefakata i pisanih izvora koji su postojali, dok su, zbog nezainteresovanosti prethodnih režima ili možda zbog tadašnjih kulturnih standarda, arhive jevrejskih zajednica Balkanskog poluostrva, uključujući i Makedoniju, ostale neispitane. i neproučeni čak do poslednjeg svetskog rata, kada su ne samo Jevreji istrebljeni, već i njihove zajednice u kojima su se čuvali istorijski arhivi. Srušeni su arhivi, opštine, sinagoge i jevrejska groblja, a opljačkano nacionalno i istorijsko blago. Tako je posle rata postalo sve teže pisati o istoriji Jevreja Makedonije.