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JEWS IN SERBIA
Nik_Srb:
"learned serbian or croatian languages..."
yes,croatian language,if thats the case,i know,montenegrian,bosnian,croatian,south serbian,central serbian,serbo-croatian,srbo-bosnian-croatian aswell, etc etc...
Lewinsky Stinks, Dr. Brennan Rocks:
You are a Serbian Jew, correct, Boyana?
Boyana:
http://srbskipatriotskifront.webs.com/apps/videos/channels/show/609502-jasenovac
JASENOVAC CAMP :'( :'( :'(
Boyana:
The poet of Sarajevo, by Resad Gogolija
In the splendid, for a wonder, preserved hall of the museum of litrature and theatrical Art, in the still besiedged town of Sarajevo, those september daus was excetionally festive scene. Organized by the Jewish cultural and humanitarian society " La Benevolitia " the exibition : Isak SAMOKOLLIJA -POET OF SARJEVO, opened on the occasion of 40 years of his death, of our eminent citizien, doctor of medecine, a man loved by us, a great writer. An introductory word was held by Mr.Jakob Finci, president of of la " Benvelotia " and Mrs Miriam Samokovlija ", the poet's daughter, while the exibition was opened by Dr.Razija Lagumdzija, writer, who spoke in a most inspired way about the poet's life and work.
The exibition contains many of Samokovlija's manuscripts, documents, correspondance, photographs, posters, periodical in wich Samokoclija published his essays and papers, reviews, a selection of litterature and writings on Samokovlija, items and art pieces. A cosy nook, which pleased us particulary, a place dedicated to Jewish extraction, where among different items was to be found a prayer book in German and Hebrew, a messum for his home ; Samokoxlija was a Jew from Bosnia, his literary work is primiraly Jew, because he wrote about the life of the Jewish-Sephardim, actually Jews from Sarajevo, but from the lowest scales of life.
Isak Samokovlija according the register in the town of Gorazde, Bosnia-Herzegovina, was born the 3rd September, 1889, son of Mosha and Rifka Samokovlija of Jewish religion. His parents who settled won at Gorazde, after the progroms in the Bulgarian town of Samokovo, give birth to four other sons : Haim, Baruch, Jakov, Leon.
As an eight years old boy Samokovlija left for Sarajevo to stay with his grandfather from the maternal side to complete meldar. His grandfather lived in the part of Bjelave being the first approach with the town and people, who will be in his work.
In the year 1902 he was enrolled for the Great Gymnasium in Sarajevo, he will finish all eight grades with full marks. Also he did a class of the Israeli Sephardim Community in Sarajevo. He has writing poems and published them in the periodical Zora (Dawn), almanacs of the Jewish schoolchildren society " Jehuda Makabi ", his prose and poetic texts in calligraphy letters were most distinguished.
He was given the scholarship of " La Benevolentia ", 1910, to study at the medical Faculty in Vienna. He was graduated in the year 1917, he started sonn to work at the Military Hospital, Department of Infectious Diseases in Sarajevo. He married a young woman of Vienna, Hedda Brunner, in the course of three years were born his children, son Mosha, duaghters Miriam and Rikica. He published poems and his literary career was about to come.
An anonymous writer spoke of Samokovlija as a honourable person, because he is the only poet in our country whose poems " ...express a strong lyrical temperament, a sonorous cadance, very important for the Jews of Bosnia, such a rich and harmonious language... " The first reviewer of Samokovlija's work believed that Samokovlija will join " the round dance of the Serbo-Croat poets of our days ".
He was editor of the cultural column in the periodical JEVREJSKI ZIVOT (Jewishlife), in wich he used to publish his literary and theatrical reviews, prosa texts, yexts related to Jews (From talmud, Hanuka). He translated the works of Jewish writers Shalom Asha, Tereca and Elejham.
The journal Srpski knjizevni glasnik (Serbian Literary Herrald), the issue of 1st July 1927 published Samakovlija's first story RAFINA AVLIJA (Rafo's Courtyard) inspired by the events of the same name.
He wrote stories : DRINA, JEVREJIN KOJI SE SUBOTOM NE MOLI BOGU (A Jew who on saturdays doesn't pray), KADISH, PLAVA JEVREJKA (A blond Jewish Girl) and HANKA.
His first collection of stories : OD PROLJECA DO PROJLECA (From Spring to Spring appeared in April 1929, edited by a group of Sarajevo writers. He wanted the book to have the best oufit, his friends helped him and " La Benevolentia " and he supported the publishing himself. The essay on the end of the book " The Jewish Soul of Isak Samomokovlija " was written by Boro Jeftic, a writer, illustrated by painter Roman Petrovic. The critics addressed warmly his first collection of stories, while the write Jovan Krsic pointed out that " Samokvlija is the first Yugoslav writer who puts down an art sonde to the unexamined depth of the Jewish soul ".
Ivo Andric, the only Yugoslav Nobel Prize Winner for literature, wrote in Madrid : " I read everything what is being written by the young writer, so I see, you, among them have an excellent part as a bosnian and Jewish Tchekov, a fine and strong story teller ".
His stories were put on stage : Hanka, A blonde Woman, performed at the People's Theatre in Sarajevo on the 26th March 1932. In some issues of the newspaper Jewerjski Glas (The Jewish Voice) was a bitter discussion among the Jewish intellectual people about the reliability of the " Jewish Milleau " of the story. Dr. Vita Kajon published a pamphlet " The Jewish Ideals and people in Samokov's drama " Samokovlija published DJECA ULICE (Street Children), ZGAZENO DUGME ( A button Stepped On), GAVRIEL GAON I VODJA (Gavriel Gaon and the Leader). A premiere of his comedy in three acts ONA JE LUDA (She is foolish) was performed in the theatre of sarajevo directed by Lidija Mansjetova. The second collection of his histories came to existance, the criticism was good " ... Samokovlija succeded to develop spiritually and artistic to become a very sure and extraordinary fine, emotion full observer of life... " " What is being so good with Mr Samokovlija is his beautifull expression of a feeling for it... "
On the eve of the World War 2 he published his famous story Nosac Samuel (Porter Samuel) wich will be, after the war, incluted into the collection of stories under the same name. The story was dedicated to his mother Rifka, he said :" This collection is dedicated by the author to memory of his mother Rifka. She died in the year 1939 - two years prior to the horrible and cruel fascist devastation in our home country ". Her memory makes in him a joy because she died before the events ".
Samokovlija was dismissed from his duty in the year 1941, later mobilized by the croatian army. The family is in exile, everywhere, he was in the provinces of Bosnia. He came back to Sarajevo in the year 1942 and worked in the hospital to wipe out the thyphus fever also in the camp for refugees of Eastern Bosnia. His daughters for a time were in the same camp. His daughter Rikica said : " daddy worked hard, there were so many diseased, daddy was the only doctor in the place. And, the typhus fever pillaged... ".
In seldom free time he curved wood figures successfully and noted the prescriptions of the popular medecine.
After the World War 2 he lived with his family in their house in Sarajevo. He suffered on nephritis, a consequence a chronic disease.
He wrote stories o, Jews who where killed in the past war, feeling to be his own debt, it dare not be forgotten. The editors of periodicals all over the country asked for his cooperation. The great lady writer Isidora Sekulic asked him for a paper fo the Letopis Matice Srpske (Chronical of the Serbian Cultural Society), she said in her letter : " What a strenght, what a vocation you have ! You can't make errors ! You, personally, today, have a strenght to write. If there were so much joy as the stones on earth are. Therefore, you should write, only the cry to be heard, we are so much indebted to consciouness and responsabilities ".
PRAZNICNO VECE (An Evening of the Fetival) is a storu dealing with the snd World War, published separately.
He was selected to the president of the Union of Writers of Bosnia-Herzegovina and editor-in-chief of the journal Brazda (Furrow), where he published his stories, critics and reviews.
In the year 1948, he was awarded, the prize for litterature by the committee of Culture and Art, Governement of Jougoslavia.
At the congresss of writers of Yougoslavia he was elected to the Managing Board of the Union of writers.
In Beograd he published new collections of stories SOLOMONOVO SLOVO (Solomon's letters) and IZABRANE PRIPOVJETKE (Selected Stories), while in Sarajevo PRIPOVJETKE (Stories), in Zagreb a collection PRICA O RADOSTIMA (A story on Joy). He was author of the screen play Anka, buth the film was performed after his death.
In April, 1953, he travelled officially to Israël.
From the daily newspapers was khnow that Samokovlija had been preparing a novel on the life of the Bosnian Jews-Sephardim. He said about his novel : "The war put the last link to the long chain of my impressions and knowledge. The war raised off the small place of my childhood, heroes of my remembrance... I decided not to be forgotten, to write a novel of reminiscence, wich in a way will be the work of my life... "
Some of this stories were translated int german, hebrew, Hungarian, Slowakian, Slovene, Czeck, French, English and greek.
In the year 1954 he intended to visit France officially, but he his very sick, suffered on uremia.
Isak Samokovlija died on 15th January 1955, 66 years old in the Clinical Hospital of the Medical Faculty in Sarajevo. He was burried on 17th January in the old Sephardic cemetery in Sarajevo.
At the time I was ten years old, I felt so sorry unable to comprehend that death is a truth of life. I could then hardly read and write. I was full of sorrows because my dear neighbour died, Keridu Isak, a great writer and a good man. On the day of his burrial it was raining in Sarajevo, but the funeral procession was endless. With my parents and many Sarajevans we said farewell last to our most beloved writer and a dear man going tho his eternal home.
When I say DEAR MAN, so I think and khnow that those who new him personnally and we, who were told about him, all of us have a memory of him as a person of high ethnical principales, expressed in all his deeds. The stories are alive, retold frequently in this town where he had spent his life, left traces never to fade out. Now, while walking in the exibition hall dedicated to the forty years of his death, I feel that in those items is a silent story of this man's life ans work.
About his literary work a great deal was written, the criticism was interesting in his work. It was written by some meritorious people here and abroad, but the last word hasn't yet been said, because his literary work will always be a topic of new researches. The readers troughout the world will remember his heroes : Rafo, Simha, Raphael, Samuel, Sarchi, Jachiel, Rifka and so many others, whom the writer Samakovlija knew as well, their soul, wrote about their innocent fate ordered by destiny. The silent word of the Jewish poor people, khnowing then so well, who never have a great joy, if it appears is uncertain in little annoucements of a sheer luck, often destroyed by will and power of others. Those rich people of wich they were depending. In there expections is always an illsionary peace. They dare not to go along the slippery path, often dangerous of the contrary. Often they were deceived, had comforts " The God's wish, the order of the world for...after all this is the life...
Their life was shaded by their peace, above all there were some false ideas. They become transformed into a tragic living with destiny, only to live.
Besides of Samokovlija's most common topics where described the life of the Jewish poor people, he found topics in his lyric reminiscences related to some ohter places, being another thematic circle of literay work. None the less Samokovlija is known by his Jewish stories. He is the first writer to introduce it to our literarure.
To Samokovlija and his excellent stories on Sarajevo Jews the exibition is dedicated.
Warm and cosy are those towns which keep the homes of their known artists.
Therefore, I think, one day in Sarajevo when the war attrocities come to an end, when all of us, the Serbs, Croats, Moslem and Jews stay to live together, the homes and museum of those lived and worked here, will have a nisham (top of a grave stone) of our cultural life. I hope it will be a museum of Isak Samokovlija. This exibition being a reason, a possible indicator to do something to remember or beloved man.
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- Copyright © 1997 Moïse Rahmani <[email protected]> -
Boyana:
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/media_ph.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10006802&MediaId=4650
Tower of Sephardic faces: The Jewish community of Monastir, Macedonia
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