History

Jews from Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia and Poland began settling in the region around Subotica in the 18th century. The Jewish population in the area prospered and grew quickly, with many Jews remaining in villages and small towns.
Jewish settlement in Subotica dates from 1775, and by 1786, twelve Jewish families were living there. The Jewish grew rapidly in the 19th century, and by 1845, more than 600 Jews lived in the town, out of a total population of 41,000. They played a significant role in local trade, industry and finance and, after 1845, they were permitted to purchase land.

The Jews in Subotica backed the 1848/49 Hungarian revolution against the Hapsburgs, and a monument in the Jewish cemetery commemorates Jews who were killed during the revolt.

The Jewish population continued to increase during the second half of the 19th century, and by 1910, more than 3,200 Jews lived in the town - 3.7 percent of the total 85,000 population. They generally lived in harmony with their neighbors in a town that was made up of many different ethnic groups.

Jews played an important role in the growth of industry, trade and commerce in Subotica, particularly following the creation of the Dual Monarchy in 1867 and the coming of railway lines that made the town an important trade and communications junction. They owned steam mills, factories, printing houses, and brickworks, and by the end of the century, Jewish doctors, lawyers, journalists, editors and cultural figures emerged.

The Jews of Subotica lived at first in the northern part of town, where the first synagogue was built in the early 19th century. In 1835 local authorities allowed them to spread out toward the center of town. The synagogue was renovated and rebuilt in 1850 and eventually demolished in 1913, a decade after the grand new Synagogue designed by Komor and Jakab was inaugurated.

Before the Holocaust, Subotica was home to about 6,000 Jews, almost all of whom were deported to Auschwitz. A Holocaust memorial was dedicated in front of the Synagogue in 1994, on the 50th anniversary of the main deportation. There is also an impressive Holocaust memorial in the Jewish cemetery.

Today, with about 200 members, the Subotica community is the third largest among Yugoslavia's eight Jewish communities. Only Belgrade - with more than 1,800 members - and Novi Sad, with 600, are bigger.