Book on the Righteous - Jevrejska opština Zemun

Righteous Among The Nations - Serbia
Stories About The Righteous
questioning to the army commander.
When they told him to leave the commander’s room
and wait in the corridor, he was as alarmed as when he
had been apprehended. His face lit up when he saw the
county prefect approaching. Through his connections
Živan had learnt of Jacques’s whereabouts and had immediately
come to talk with the commander.
“Have no fear,” was all he said in passing.
Živan left the commander’s office and sometime later
Jacques was released. Jacques was forbidden to leave
his house from six in the evening till nine in the morning.
To keep his friend safe, prefect Živković made out
a permit for him stating that in the capacity of supervising
official Jacques could move round Negotin and its
surroundings without any restriction regarding the time
of day.
It was evident by now that Jacques had to flee Negotin
immediately. On the other hand, he was loath to part
with his family and leave them at the mercy of the Germans.
Jacques came up with a new plan. He and major
Jakovljević made an agreement to leave Negotin together,
taking their families with them. They would reach
Belgrade by way of Niš and head for Italy from there.
Dearly paid for fake documents provided by major
Jakovljević’s daughter awaited them in Belgrade. The
night before their departure was sleepless for the Levis.
The town grammar school was across the street from
their house. Since the occupation the building had been
turned into quarters for German soldiers. The heavy
tread of sentries guarding the building pierced the night.
When Jacques noticed that the sentries had crossed the
street and were standing in front of their house, he was
confused. Early next morning he tried to leave the house
but he was ordered to go inside and stay there. It was evident
that the plan to escape to Italy had fallen through.
Raids throughout Negotin were initiated that same
morning. Major Jakovljević and his son were arrested
and sent to camp. Seeing that women and children were
not being taken yet, Jacques instructed Anka to tell the
Germans, should they come looking for him, that prefect
Živan knew where he was. He said ‘goodbye’ to his
family. Then he jumped over the garden wall and found
himself in the garden of his neighbour, Tihomir –Tića
Tihomir Jovanović, Rina Levi, Djordje Stojanović
and Milka Jovanović, 1991
Jovanović and his wife, Milka.
The town was cordoned off. No one was allowed to
leave or enter Negotin. Aware that in search of Jacques
Germans would be ransacking close neighbours first,
Tića placed him with a friend, Velja Nikolić, who lived
at a distance from them. Jacques stayed at Velja’s for
some time, but once the raids stopped, he returned to
his neighbours, Tića and Milka. Tića had been searching
for a way to take Jacques out of the blocked town. He
finally remembered the coachman, Voja. He could drive
Jacques to a nearby village where he had a friend who
would take Jacques in and hide him. Since it had been
snowing for a couple of days, the roads were deep in
snow. Voja’s fiacre was designed for fair weather only.
151