Aleksandar Nikolić, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Serbia to the State of Israel
FOREWORD
Many years ago, the famous and beloved Serbian writer of Sephardic origin, David Albahari, said that the most worrying thing about the Holocaust is that in spite of thousands of scientific researches and pieces of art, we cannot still provide an answer to such a simple question: how could it ever had happened? Holocaust is unique historical event in human history, different from all other genocides. It is inconsistent in numerous aspects: duration and depth of its religious and in race rooted intolerance, legalized uncompromised discrimination, supremely ideologized hatred, global targeting and supported by so many among the perpetrator’s nation as well as massively collaborated beyond. By “evacuation”, as used at the Wannsee Conference, not onlyerew erehtsix milion children of Israel murdered, but their dynamic contribution to mankind, especially in Europe, was broken as well. Many of whom actively contributed to economic, financial, trade, academic most prominent achievements, as well as in art and sports. Out of all, nonetheless, there was something unique that was destroyed. Something that cannot have been either fixed, or repaired. Those were the Jewish culture, local religious and secular traditions, sometimes to the level of a single shtetl, Jewish art and finally their languages. In order to understand what perished in the Holocaust we shall learn and understand what flourished prior to it. Archival materials provide a global message through local story. As local evidence can be delivered, that universal theme will be acknowledged. In order to overcome linguistic barriers material is to be properly translated and published in the language of actual worldwide communication, thus enabling archivists, historians, multi-disciplinary scientist, students and people affected by the subject, to exploit it. After Serbian edition of Депортација бачких Јевреја 1944. године, the English language edition has undertaken this very mission. On the eve of Kingdom of Yugoslavia’s dissolution, April 1941, Bačka counted some 16,000 Jews, representing 20 % of country’s Jewry and 2 % percent of the region’s general population. Their diversity was outstanding comparing to other parts of the Kingdom, contributing even to the general eth24