From Zagreb to Palestine: Yugoslav Zionist Aid Networks for European Jews, 1933-1941

In the spring of 1933, Yugoslav Jewish communities founded several local aid committees for Jewish refugees from Germany. Very soon, the Zionistled Zagreb local committee took over the management and organisation of all refugee help. Its staff built up connections with Jewish organisations at home and abroad. However, contacts with the HICEM and the JDC inParis proved to be decisive. The nerve-wracking refugee work often led to battles over the distribution of funds, Palestine certifi cates, legal travel documents and safe escape routes. This study examines what concrete forms the aid measures of the local committees took, which specific obstacles aid workers had to overcome, how Zionism shaped their strategies, and what expectations refugees expressed toward the assistance provided. Based on research in numerous international archives, it analyses the scope for action of Yugoslav Jewish actors in the 1930s, provides new insights into refugee numbers, and the functioning of aid networks, and corrects outdated narratives. By focusing on the still neglected area of Southeast Europe, this study offers an original contribution to the Holocaust scholarship.