History of the Jews in Slovenia
Encyclopedia
The small Jewish community of Slovenia
is estimated at 400 to 600 members , with most living in the capital, Ljubljana
. The Jewish community was devastated by the Shoah
, and has never fully recovered. Until 2003, Ljubljana
was the only Europe
an capital city without a Jewish place of worship.
pre-dates the 6th century Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps
, when the Slavic
ancestors of present-day Slovenes conquered their current territory,. The first Jews arrived in present-day Slovenia
in Roman
times, with archaeological evidence of Jews found in Maribor
, and in the village of Škocjan
in Lower Carniola
. In Škocjan, an engraved menorah dating from the 5th century AD
was found in a graveyard.
In the 12th century, Jews arrived to the Slovene Lands
fleeing poverty in Italy
and central Europe
. Even though they were forced to live in ghetto
s, many Jews prospered. Relations between Jews and the local Christian
population were generally peaceful. In Maribor
, Jews were successful bankers, winegrowers and millers. Several "Jewish Courts" (Judenhof) existed in Styria
, settling disputes between Jews and Christians. Israel Isserlein
, who authored several essays on medieval Jewish life in Lower Styria
, was the most important rabbi at the time, having lived in Maribor. In 1397, Jewish ghettos in Radgona and Ptuj
were set ablaze by anonymous anti-Jewish assailants.
The first synagogue in Ljubljana
is mentioned in 1213. Issued with a Privilegium, Jews were able to settle an area of Ljubljana located on the left bank of the Ljubljanica
River. The streets Židovska ulica (“Jewish Street”) and Židovska steza (“Jewish Lane”), which now occupy the area, are still reminiscent of that period. The wealth of the Jews bred resentment among the Inner Austria
n nobility and the burghers, with many refusing to repay Jewish money-lenders. The Estates
of the single provinces (Carniola
, Styria
and Carinthia
) began expelling their Jews already in the 16th century, with the last Jews expelled by 1718.
Charles VI
, ruler of the Habsburg Monarchy
, issued a decree allowing Jews to return to Inner Austria
. Nevertheless, Jews in that time settled almost exclusively in the commercial city of Trieste
and, to a much smaller extent, in the town of Gorizia
(now both part of Italy
). The decree was overturned in 1817 by Francis I, and Jews were granted full civil and political right only with the Austrian
constitution of 1867. Nevertheless, the Slovene Lands remained virtually without a consistent Jewish population, with the exception of Gorizia, Trieste, the region of Prekmurje
, and some smaller towns in the western part of the County of Gorizia and Gradisca (Gradisca
, Cervignano), which were inhabited mostly by a Friulian-speaking population. According to the census of 1910, only 146 Jews lived in the territory of present-day Slovenia
, excluding the Prekmurje
region.
Rampant anti-Semitism
was among the causes why few Jews decided to settle in the area, maintaining the overall Jewish population at a very low level. In the 1920s, after the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia
), the local Jewish community merged with the Jewish community of Zagreb
, Croatia
.
According to the 1931 census, there were about 900 Jews in the Drava Banovina
, mostly concentrated in Prekmurje
, which used to be part of the Kingdom of Hungary
prior to 1919. This was the reason why in the mid 1930s Murska Sobota
became the seat of the Jewish Community of Slovenia. During that period, the Jewish population was reinvigorated by many immigrants fleeing from neighouring Austria
and Nazi Germany
to a more tolerant Kingdom of Yugoslavia
. Nevertheless, the anti-Jewish legislation, adopted by Milan Stojadinović
's pro-German regime, and the anti-semitic discourse of Anton Korošec
's conservative Slovene People's Party
, made Slovenia a less desirable destination.
According to official Yugoslav data, the number of self-declared Jews (according to religion, not to ancestry) in Yugoslav Slovenia rose to 1,533 by 1939. In that year, there were 288 declared Jews in Maribor
, 273 in Ljubljana
, 270 in Murska Sobota
, 210 in Lendava
and 66 in Celje
. The other 400 Jews lived scattered around the country, a quarter of them in the Prekmurje
region. Prior to World War Two, there were two active synagogues in Slovenia, one in Murska Sobota and one in Lendava. The overall number of Jews prior to the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia
in April 1941 is estimated to around 2,500, including baptised Jews and refugees from Austria and Germany.
and the Shoah
, was further reduced by the Nazis
occupation between 1941 and 1945. The Jews in northern and eastern Slovenia (the Slovenian Styria, Upper Carniola
, Slovenian Carinthia, and Posavje
), which was annexed to the Third Reich, were deported to concentration camps as early as in the late spring of 1941. Very few survived. In Ljubljana
and in Lower Carniola
, which came under Italian occupation, the Jews were relatively safe until September 1943, when most of the zone was occupied by the Nazi German forces. In late 1943, most of them were deported to concentration camps, although some managed to escape, especially by fleeing to the zones freed by the partisan resistance.
The Jews of Prekmurje
, where the majority of Slovenian Jewry lived prior to World War Two, suffered the same fate as the Jews of Hungary. Following the German occupation of Hungary
, almost the entire Jewish population of the Prekmurje region was deported to Auschwitz. Very few survived.
in Yugoslavia
, the Jewish community in Socialist Slovenia
numbered fewer than 100 members. In 1953, the synagogue
of Murska Sobota
, the only remaining after the Shoah, was demolished by the local Communist authorities. Many Jews were expelled from Yugoslavia as "ethnic Germans", and most of Jewish property was confiscated.
The Judovska občina v Ljubljani (Jewish Community of Ljubljana
) was officially reformed following World War II. Its first president was Artur Kon, followed by Aleksandar Švarc, and by Roza Fertig-Švarc in 1988.
In 1969, it numbered only 84 members and its membership was declining due to emigration and age.
In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a revival of Jewish themes in Slovenian literature
, almost exclusively by women authors. Berta Bojetu
was the most renowned Jewish author who wrote in Slovene
. Others included Miriam Steiner and Zlata Medic-Vokač.
and Sephardi
descent. In 1999, the first ever Chief Rabbi for Slovenia was appointed after 1941. Before that, religious service was provided with help from community of Zagreb. The present chief rabbi for Slovenia, Ariel Haddad, resides in Trieste
and is a member of the Lubavitcher
Hassidic school. The current president of the Jewish Community of Slovenia is Andrej Kožar Beck.
Since the year 2000, there has been a noticeable revival of Jewish culture in Slovenia. In 2003, the synagogue was opened in Ljubljana. In 2008, the Association Isserlein was founded to promote the legacy of Jewish culture in Slovenia. It has organized several public events that have received a positive response from the media, such as the public lightening of the hanukiah in Ljubljana in 2009. There has also been a growing public interest in the Jewish historical legacy in Slovenia. In 2008, the complex of the Jewish Cemetery in Rožna Dolina
near Nova Gorica
restored due to the efforts of the local Democratic Party
politicians and the pressure of the neighboring Jewish Community of Gorizia
and the American Embassy in Slovenia. In January 2010, the first monument to the victims of Shoah
in Slovenia was unveiled in Murska Sobota
.
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
is estimated at 400 to 600 members , with most living in the capital, Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
. The Jewish community was devastated by the Shoah
Shoah
Shoah may refer to:*The Holocaust*Shoah , documentary directed by Claude Lanzmann * A Shoah Foundation...
, and has never fully recovered. Until 2003, Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
was the only Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an capital city without a Jewish place of worship.
History of the community
Ancient community
The Jewish community of SloveniaSlovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
pre-dates the 6th century Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps
Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps
Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps region was a historic process that took place between the 6th and 9th century AD, having culminated in the final quarter of the 6th century...
, when the Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
ancestors of present-day Slovenes conquered their current territory,. The first Jews arrived in present-day Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
in Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times, with archaeological evidence of Jews found in Maribor
Maribor
Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants . Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor....
, and in the village of Škocjan
Škocjan
Škocjan is a settlement and a municipality in the traditional region of Lower Carniola in southeastern Slovenia. It should not be confused with Škocjan Caves, which is located in a different part of the country, near Divača...
in Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola was a kreis of the historical Habsburg crown land of Carniola from 1849 till 1919 and is nowadays a traditional region of Slovenia. Its center is Novo Mesto, while other urban centers include Kočevje, Grosuplje, Krško, Trebnje, Mirna, Črnomelj, Semič, and Metlika.-See also:* Upper...
. In Škocjan, an engraved menorah dating from the 5th century AD
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
was found in a graveyard.
In the 12th century, Jews arrived to the Slovene Lands
Slovene Lands
Slovene Lands or Slovenian Lands is the historical denomination for the whole of the Slovene-inhabited territories in Central Europe. It more or less corresponds to modern Slovenia and the adjacent territories in Italy, Austria and Hungary in which autochthonous Slovene minorities live.-...
fleeing poverty in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
. Even though they were forced to live in ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
s, many Jews prospered. Relations between Jews and the local Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
population were generally peaceful. In Maribor
Maribor
Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants . Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor....
, Jews were successful bankers, winegrowers and millers. Several "Jewish Courts" (Judenhof) existed in Styria
Duchy of Styria
The history of Styria concerns the region roughly corresponding to the modern Austrian state of Styria and the Slovene region of Styria from its settlement by Germans and Slavs in the Dark Ages until the present...
, settling disputes between Jews and Christians. Israel Isserlein
Israel Isserlein
Rabbi Israel Isserlein ben Petachia, also Israel Isserlin, Israel of Neustadt, Israel of Marpurk was a Talmudist, and Halakhist, best known for his Terumat HaDeshen, which served as one source for HaMapah, the component of the Shulkhan Arukh by Moses Isserles.- Biography :Even though...
, who authored several essays on medieval Jewish life in Lower Styria
Lower Styria
Lower Styria or Slovenian Styria is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of Styria. The population of Lower Styria in its historical boundaries amounts to around 705,000 inhabitants, or 34.5% of the population of Slovenia...
, was the most important rabbi at the time, having lived in Maribor. In 1397, Jewish ghettos in Radgona and Ptuj
Ptuj
Ptuj is a city and one of 11 urban municipalities in Slovenia. Traditionally the area was part of the Lower Styria region. The municipality is now included in the Podravje statistical region...
were set ablaze by anonymous anti-Jewish assailants.
The first synagogue in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
is mentioned in 1213. Issued with a Privilegium, Jews were able to settle an area of Ljubljana located on the left bank of the Ljubljanica
Ljubljanica
The Ljubljanica is a river in the southern part of Ljubljana Basin in Slovenia. The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, is situated on the river. The Ljubljanica rises to the south of the town Vrhnika and outflows in the Sava River about downstream from Ljubljana. Its largest affluent is Mali graben....
River. The streets Židovska ulica (“Jewish Street”) and Židovska steza (“Jewish Lane”), which now occupy the area, are still reminiscent of that period. The wealth of the Jews bred resentment among the Inner Austria
Inner Austria
Inner Austria was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the duchies of Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and the Windic March, the County of Gorizia , the city of Trieste and assorted smaller possessions...
n nobility and the burghers, with many refusing to repay Jewish money-lenders. The Estates
Estates of the realm
The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian Europe; they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by...
of the single provinces (Carniola
Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...
, Styria
Duchy of Styria
The history of Styria concerns the region roughly corresponding to the modern Austrian state of Styria and the Slovene region of Styria from its settlement by Germans and Slavs in the Dark Ages until the present...
and Carinthia
Duchy of Carinthia
The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....
) began expelling their Jews already in the 16th century, with the last Jews expelled by 1718.
The modern era
In 1709, the Holy Roman EmperorHoly Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
Charles VI
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
, ruler of the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
, issued a decree allowing Jews to return to Inner Austria
Inner Austria
Inner Austria was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the duchies of Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and the Windic March, the County of Gorizia , the city of Trieste and assorted smaller possessions...
. Nevertheless, Jews in that time settled almost exclusively in the commercial city of Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
and, to a much smaller extent, in the town of Gorizia
Gorizia
Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...
(now both part of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
). The decree was overturned in 1817 by Francis I, and Jews were granted full civil and political right only with the Austrian
Cisleithania
Cisleithania was a name of the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in 1867 and dissolved in 1918. The name was used by politicians and bureaucrats, but it had no official status...
constitution of 1867. Nevertheless, the Slovene Lands remained virtually without a consistent Jewish population, with the exception of Gorizia, Trieste, the region of Prekmurje
Prekmurje
Prekmurje is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region settled by Slovenes and lying between the Mur River in Slovenia and the Rába Valley in the most western part of Hungary...
, and some smaller towns in the western part of the County of Gorizia and Gradisca (Gradisca
Gradisca
Gradisca d'Isonzo is a town and comune of 6,600 inhabitants in the province of Gorizia, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, north-eastern Italy...
, Cervignano), which were inhabited mostly by a Friulian-speaking population. According to the census of 1910, only 146 Jews lived in the territory of present-day Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, excluding the Prekmurje
Prekmurje
Prekmurje is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region settled by Slovenes and lying between the Mur River in Slovenia and the Rába Valley in the most western part of Hungary...
region.
Rampant anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
was among the causes why few Jews decided to settle in the area, maintaining the overall Jewish population at a very low level. In the 1920s, after the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
), the local Jewish community merged with the Jewish community of Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
.
According to the 1931 census, there were about 900 Jews in the Drava Banovina
Drava Banovina
The Drava Banovina or Drava Banate was a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of most of present-day Slovenia and was named for the Drava River...
, mostly concentrated in Prekmurje
Prekmurje
Prekmurje is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region settled by Slovenes and lying between the Mur River in Slovenia and the Rába Valley in the most western part of Hungary...
, which used to be part of the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
prior to 1919. This was the reason why in the mid 1930s Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota is a city in northeastern Slovenia. It is located in the eponymous municipality near the Mura River in the region of Prekmurje and is the regional capital.-Name:...
became the seat of the Jewish Community of Slovenia. During that period, the Jewish population was reinvigorated by many immigrants fleeing from neighouring Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
to a more tolerant Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
. Nevertheless, the anti-Jewish legislation, adopted by Milan Stojadinović
Milan Stojadinovic
Milan Stojadinović was a Yugoslav political figure and a noted economist.Stojadinović was born in Čačak in central Serbia, and went to school in Užice and Kragujevac. In 1910 he graduated from the University of Belgrade's Law School, and gained a Ph.D. in economics in 1911...
's pro-German regime, and the anti-semitic discourse of Anton Korošec
Anton Korošec
Anton Korošec was a Slovenian political leader, a prominent member of the conservative People's Party, a priest and a noted orator....
's conservative Slovene People's Party
Slovene People's Party (historical)
The Slovene People's Party was a Slovenian political party in the 19th and 20th centuries, active in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Between 1907 and 1941, it was the largest and arguably the most influential political party in the Slovene Lands...
, made Slovenia a less desirable destination.
According to official Yugoslav data, the number of self-declared Jews (according to religion, not to ancestry) in Yugoslav Slovenia rose to 1,533 by 1939. In that year, there were 288 declared Jews in Maribor
Maribor
Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants . Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor....
, 273 in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, 270 in Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota is a city in northeastern Slovenia. It is located in the eponymous municipality near the Mura River in the region of Prekmurje and is the regional capital.-Name:...
, 210 in Lendava
Lendava
Lendava is a town and a municipality in Slovenia in the region of Prekmurje. It is close to the border crossing with Hungary at Dolga vas-Rédics, and Hungarian is one of the official languages of the municipality, along with Slovene...
and 66 in Celje
Celje
Celje is a typical Central European town and the third largest town in Slovenia. It is a regional center of Lower Styria and the administrative seat of the Urban Municipality of Celje . The town of Celje is located under Upper Celje Castle at the confluence of the Savinja, Ložnica, and Voglajna...
. The other 400 Jews lived scattered around the country, a quarter of them in the Prekmurje
Prekmurje
Prekmurje is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region settled by Slovenes and lying between the Mur River in Slovenia and the Rába Valley in the most western part of Hungary...
region. Prior to World War Two, there were two active synagogues in Slovenia, one in Murska Sobota and one in Lendava. The overall number of Jews prior to the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia
Invasion of Yugoslavia
The Invasion of Yugoslavia , also known as the April War , was the Axis Powers' attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II...
in April 1941 is estimated to around 2,500, including baptised Jews and refugees from Austria and Germany.
The Holocaust
The Jewish community, very small even before World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the Shoah
Shoah
Shoah may refer to:*The Holocaust*Shoah , documentary directed by Claude Lanzmann * A Shoah Foundation...
, was further reduced by the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
occupation between 1941 and 1945. The Jews in northern and eastern Slovenia (the Slovenian Styria, Upper Carniola
Upper Carniola
Upper Carniola is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jesenice, Tržič, Škofja Loka, Kamnik, and Domžale.- Historical background :...
, Slovenian Carinthia, and Posavje
Posavje
The Lower Sava Valley is a region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia. It has three major urban centers: Brežice, Krško, and Sevnica. Its borders are almost identical with those of the Lower Sava statistical region....
), which was annexed to the Third Reich, were deported to concentration camps as early as in the late spring of 1941. Very few survived. In Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
and in Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola was a kreis of the historical Habsburg crown land of Carniola from 1849 till 1919 and is nowadays a traditional region of Slovenia. Its center is Novo Mesto, while other urban centers include Kočevje, Grosuplje, Krško, Trebnje, Mirna, Črnomelj, Semič, and Metlika.-See also:* Upper...
, which came under Italian occupation, the Jews were relatively safe until September 1943, when most of the zone was occupied by the Nazi German forces. In late 1943, most of them were deported to concentration camps, although some managed to escape, especially by fleeing to the zones freed by the partisan resistance.
The Jews of Prekmurje
Prekmurje
Prekmurje is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region settled by Slovenes and lying between the Mur River in Slovenia and the Rába Valley in the most western part of Hungary...
, where the majority of Slovenian Jewry lived prior to World War Two, suffered the same fate as the Jews of Hungary. Following the German occupation of Hungary
Operation Panzerfaust
Operation Panzerfaust, known as Unternehmen Eisenfaust in Germany, was a military operation to keep the Kingdom of Hungary at Germany's side in the war, conducted in October 1944 by the German military...
, almost the entire Jewish population of the Prekmurje region was deported to Auschwitz. Very few survived.
Post-war community
Under CommunismCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
, the Jewish community in Socialist Slovenia
Socialist Republic of Slovenia
The Socialist Republic of Slovenia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1943 until 1990...
numbered fewer than 100 members. In 1953, the synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
of Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota is a city in northeastern Slovenia. It is located in the eponymous municipality near the Mura River in the region of Prekmurje and is the regional capital.-Name:...
, the only remaining after the Shoah, was demolished by the local Communist authorities. Many Jews were expelled from Yugoslavia as "ethnic Germans", and most of Jewish property was confiscated.
The Judovska občina v Ljubljani (Jewish Community of Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
) was officially reformed following World War II. Its first president was Artur Kon, followed by Aleksandar Švarc, and by Roza Fertig-Švarc in 1988.
In 1969, it numbered only 84 members and its membership was declining due to emigration and age.
In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a revival of Jewish themes in Slovenian literature
Slovenian literature
Slovene literature, meaning the literature in the Slovene language, starts with Freising manuscripts around 1000. From first printed Slovene religious books in 1550 it is followed by these literary periods and notable authors:-Middle Ages:-Folk poetry:...
, almost exclusively by women authors. Berta Bojetu
Berta Bojetu
Berta Bojetu, also Berta Bojetu Boeta, was a Slovene writer, poet and actress. She was one of the first Slovenian authors in the second half of the 20th century to address the question of Jewish identity in her literature....
was the most renowned Jewish author who wrote in Slovene
Slovenian language
Slovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...
. Others included Miriam Steiner and Zlata Medic-Vokač.
After 1990
The Jewish community today is estimated at 400-600 members, although there are only 130 members of the Jewish Community of Slovenia. The community is mixed AshkenaziAshkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
and Sephardi
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
descent. In 1999, the first ever Chief Rabbi for Slovenia was appointed after 1941. Before that, religious service was provided with help from community of Zagreb. The present chief rabbi for Slovenia, Ariel Haddad, resides in Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
and is a member of the Lubavitcher
Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...
Hassidic school. The current president of the Jewish Community of Slovenia is Andrej Kožar Beck.
Since the year 2000, there has been a noticeable revival of Jewish culture in Slovenia. In 2003, the synagogue was opened in Ljubljana. In 2008, the Association Isserlein was founded to promote the legacy of Jewish culture in Slovenia. It has organized several public events that have received a positive response from the media, such as the public lightening of the hanukiah in Ljubljana in 2009. There has also been a growing public interest in the Jewish historical legacy in Slovenia. In 2008, the complex of the Jewish Cemetery in Rožna Dolina
Rožna Dolina
Rožna Dolina is one of the four suburbs of the town of Nova Gorica in western Slovenia . It is located on the border with Italy...
near Nova Gorica
Nova Gorica
Nova Gorica ; 21,082 ; 31,000 ) is a town and a municipality in western Slovenia, on the border with Italy...
restored due to the efforts of the local Democratic Party
Slovenian Democratic Party
The Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenian centre-right liberal conservative and Christian democratic party...
politicians and the pressure of the neighboring Jewish Community of Gorizia
Gorizia
Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...
and the American Embassy in Slovenia. In January 2010, the first monument to the victims of Shoah
Shoah
Shoah may refer to:*The Holocaust*Shoah , documentary directed by Claude Lanzmann * A Shoah Foundation...
in Slovenia was unveiled in Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota is a city in northeastern Slovenia. It is located in the eponymous municipality near the Mura River in the region of Prekmurje and is the regional capital.-Name:...
.
Famous Jews from Slovenia
- Mišo Alkalaj, Computer scientist, writer and journalist
- Katja BohKatja BohKatja Boh was a Slovenian sociologist, diplomat and politician.-Early life and career:She was born in a wealthy middle class family in Ljubljana, Kingdom of Yugoslavia . Her father was an Austrian Jew who had converted to Roman Catholicism, her mother was Slovene. During World War II, she was...
, Sociologist and politician, founding member of the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia - Berta BojetuBerta BojetuBerta Bojetu, also Berta Bojetu Boeta, was a Slovene writer, poet and actress. She was one of the first Slovenian authors in the second half of the 20th century to address the question of Jewish identity in her literature....
, Writer and poet - Israel Isserlin, Medieval rabbi from MariborMariborMaribor is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants . Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor....
- Klemen Jelinčič Boeta, Anthropologist, philologist, historian translator
- Pavle Kornhauser, Pediatrician
- Lev Kreft, Philosopher and politician
- Paul ParinPaul ParinPaul Parin was a Swiss psychoanalyst, author and ethnologist.He was born in Polzela , near Celje, Slovenia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, into a family of assimilated Jews. He studied medicine in Zagreb, Graz and Zürich. In Zürich, he met Goldy Matthèy-Guenet who became his wife...
, Psychoanalist - Hannah Starman, Scholar
- Dušan ŠarotarDušan ŠarotarDušan Šarotar is a Slovenian writer, essayist, literary critic and editor.Šarotar was born in the town of Murska Sobota in northeastern Slovenia. He studied sociology and philosophy at the University of Ljubljana. He has published several essays and columns in renowned Slovenian journals, such as...
, Writer - Mirjam Štajner, Writer
- Mladen Aleksander Švarc, Philosopher, Journalist and political activist
- Polona Vetrih, Actress
- Igor Vojtic (Woititz) , Veterinarian and university professor
See also
- Jewish Community of Trieste
- Carlo MichelstaedterCarlo MichelstaedterCarlo Michelstaedter was an Italian writer, philosopher, and man of letters.- Life :Carlo Michelstaedter was born in Gorizia, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian County of Gorizia and Gradisca, as the youngest of four children of Albert and Emma Michelstaedter Coen Luzzatto: Gino , Elda , Paula ...
- Graziadio Isaia AscoliGraziadio Isaia AscoliGraziadio Isaia Ascoli was an Italian linguist.- Life and work :Ascoli was born in an Italian-speaking Jewish family in the multiethnic town of Gorizia, then part of the Austrian Empire...