Book on the Righteous - Jevrejska opština Zemun

Righteous Among The Nations - Serbia
Stories About The Righteous
although they feared that in an ensuing barrage of bullets
some of the prisoners might get shot. Fortunately,
by the time night had fallen, the prisoners were still in
Kuršumlija and the guard had left his post to have his
dinner. The doors of the premises
were broken into and one of the saviours
exclaimed:
“Rise up Jews, Moses has come to
lead you to the Holy Land!”
Despite their anguish, the saved
Jews laughed. Predrag took the
entire group to his house in village
Dankovići. Although he came
from a well-to-do Serbian family
who owned a substantial house, he
found it difficult to accommodate
the large group of refugees. Some
were placed inside rooms, others in
the corridors; there were even some
sleeping in the pantry. For a month
the Jews stayed and were boarded
by Predrag. Although the community
they now lived in was large, Predrag Vasić with his wife
only some of the Jews staying with
Predrag knew that in the days that followed their escape,
Predrag had provided shelter for some sixty Jews who
had subsequently arrived from Belgrade. It transpired
that Dr. Pijade had begun to send Jews from Belgrade to
Predrag’s address. However, the newly arrived Jews did
not want to stay in the villages on the slopes of Kopaonik.
Their principal goal was to reach Albania. But the
presence of Germans in the territory had disrupted all
liaisons and it had taken Predrag some time to renew
contact. For the time it took to find reliable Albanians,
Predrag had provided shelter for the newly arrived Jews
in neighbouring villages. At last, two Albanians from
Podujevo, willing to take on the assignment, came forth.
In a matter of days, all the Jews were transferred to Al-
102
bania, in groups or one by one, along roads known only
to the men from Podujevo.
Predrag took care of “his” Jews, but when a new German
expedition was launched, the group had to be
divided and urgently transferred
further on into Kopaonik since the
village Dankovići was only four
kilometres from Kuršumlija. It was
left to the Jews to decide which
route they would take. The Rubens
chose to go with Raša Nikolić to the
hamlet of Preskoće, actually a part
of village Konjuva. They rented a
house from Ljuba Nikolić near the
market and stayed there up to the
autumn of 1942. On learning that a
search for Jews and Partisans was
again initiated by the Germans,
the Rubens moved on to villages
in county Blace. For a couple of
months they shifted from one house
to another until they could return to
Preskoće. Although not a wealthy
Jew, Raka Ruben still possessed a
camera and photo equipment, tools of trade he could
not part with. People came to him to have their picture
taken for identity papers, both false and proper; he was
asked to take pictures of funerals, weddings, etc. Each
photo was compensated with a šajkača i.e., a cap of
wheat. With his stock of photo material running out,
Flora, who over time had shed her city garments and
wore only peasant clothing, went to Belgrade to ask Raka’s
colleagues from “Politika” for help. “Uncle” Diša
Stevanović, his son, Mire, and daughter-in-law, Vida,
Jure Isakov and other “Politika” co-workers generously
donated to the survival of their friend Raka. While the
material for Raka was being prepared, Flora stayed with
Stanka and Dr. Djordje Marinković. A chauffeur from