Yechiel Bar-Chaim and Ivan Čerešnješ Lecture on Jewish Resilience and Resourcefulness During the War in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1992-1995

As war broke out in Sarajevo in April 1992, the small Jewish Community there found itself in a strange position. Trusted at home by all sides to the conflict and connected internationally for years with the Joint, the local Jewish leadership moved quickly into action: pulling in volunteers to help from all ethnic groups; setting up a significant program of humanitarian aid (food, water, clothing, pharmaceuticals, and medical care) for people of all faiths; organizing evacuations of those endangered by air and land; setting up an overland supply system during the siege of the city; and establishing radio-telephone and mail communication with the outside world for all to use. At the very center of these efforts was the Community President, Ivan (Ivica) Čerešnješ. Coordinating supply efforts and assuring housing and care for the evacuees from the outside was the JDC Country Director, Yechiel Bar-Chaim. Together they tell their stories in this special JDC Archives Webinar.

The photographs included in Yechiel Bar-Chaim’s presentation are copyright Edward Serotta.