Univerzita PardubiceFakulta filozofická

Univerzita Pardubice

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English

Publikace detail

Shifting Borders, Changing Identities: Yugoslav Jews and the Question of Central Europe

Autoři: Lavrenčíková Jindra

Rok: 2025

Druh publikace: ostatní - přednáška nebo poster

Strana od-do: nestránkováno

Tituly:

Jazyk	Název	Abstrakt	Klíčová slova
eng	Shifting Borders, Changing Identities: Yugoslav Jews and the Question of Central Europe	"The identity of Central Europe is a concept that changed throughout the 20th century, depending on geopolitical changes, national policies and cultural ties. One of the groups affected by these changes were the Jews living in inter-war Yugoslavia. Their historical experience reflects a broader debate about the borders of Central Europe – both geographical and symbolic. This paper focuses on the question of whether and how interwar Yugoslav Jews identified with the Central European space, and what factors shaped this identity. Attention is given to migration and mobility, which played a key role in Jewish life in the region. After the First World War, there were significant population movements, with some Yugoslav Jews migrating between cities such as Zagreb, Sarajevo or Belgrade, while others sought economic opportunities in Austria, Czechoslovakia or Hungary. Political developments in Germany after 1933 affected the Jewish community in Yugoslavia, the attitudes of the local population and the neighbouring states. Yugoslavia was one of the few countries to offer shelter to Jewish refugees in the 1930s, but at the same time it was itself struggling with growing anti-Semitism under the influence of Nazi propaganda and nationalist movements within the state. The role of Czechoslovakia and other Central European countries was ambivalent – on the one hand, there were solidarity ties between Czech, Austrian and Yugoslav Jewish communities, while on the other, Jewish migration was often restricted by strict immigration policies. The research is based on the analysis of archival materials, contemporary printed materials and memoir literature. It aims to contribute to the discussion on the transformation of identity in Central Europe and to show how this identity was constructed not only by state entities and dominant nations, but also by minority communities that were o