Book on the Righteous - Jevrejska opština Zemun

Righteous Among The Nations - Serbia
Stories About The Righteous
TO THE HILLS FOR SALVATION
Before World War Two a large Jewish Community lived
in the territory of Sandžak and its town, Novi Pazar.
Isak Papo was a successful merchant, who, in keeping
with Jewish norms, married Rena of the Bahar family in
1937. When their first daughter, Lea was born, Isak, decided
to move to Raška with his family. His mother and
father, four sisters, and three brothers stayed in Novi
Pazar, at the time a multi-ethnic environment where
Muslims, Serbs, Jews, and others lived together. Rena’s
parents and sister also stayed behind
in Novi Pazar. Lea’s sister, Rahela,
was born in Raška just before the war.
When in April 1941 German troops
invaded Sandžak after the capitulation
of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the
first to feel the brunt of Nazi ideology
and brutality were Jews. They were
marked with yellow bands. The more
prosperous among them were immediately
persecuted. Unprecedented plundering
of Jewish property was under
way. Isak dared not open his store;
even if he had wanted to, there was
no point to it. The store was of little
use to him now and he and his family
were soon forced to seek shelter outside
Raška.
For several days Isak had lived in fear
of leaving the house when one night
an ox-drawn cart stopped in front of it. The neighbours
had learned that the Germans were coming to seize
Isak; therefore, he had to be taken out of Raška. He was
moved to Jošanička Banja. The Orthodox Church parish
priest there, valuing the life of the persecuted above his
own safety, received him in his home. Rena and the chil-
Isak Papo alias Jovan Kosić dressed
as a Serbian peasant
54
dren arrived the next day. Only a few days passed when
someone informed the priest that the Germans were on
the trail of the Papo family and were moments away
from Jošanička Banja. The priest called a villager, who
took Isak to the dense forests of mountain Kopaonik.
When the Germans arrived, they only found Rena and
the children in the priest’s house. At the time, Germans
were only searching for Jewish men and did not inquire
about the women-folk, so they left. However, a solution
for the Papo family had to be found quickly. Once
shelter was provided in the village of Jelakce, the priest
organized the transfer of the Papo family to the village.
In Jelakce, rather its hamlet Protići,
sited at the very summit of mountain
Željin, stood the family house
of Simeon - Sima Protić. The house
could only be reached by ox or horsedrawn
carts. It took more than an hour
to reach the hamlet from the dirt road.
If a stranger were to appear in the
neighbourhood, he would be noticed
immediately. As Sima led Rena with
the baby in her arms, and little Lea,
worn out from the steep climb to the
house, the perceptive villagers asked
no questions. That evening Isak also
arrived at Sima’s house bringing their
luggage with him. However, when
the Papo family ventured from the
house the next morning, they were all
dressed in country clothes identical to
those worn by the villagers. The clothes, made of wool
and a stout home-made fabric made from hemp, were
prepared by Sima’s wife, Miroslava, and her mother
replaced the town clothes the fugitives had arrived in.
Overnight the family Papo had acquired a new surname
and was now the Kosić family. The villagers, who had
seen them the previous day, were told that the Kosićs