The Serbian Orthodox Church’s Involvement in Carrying the Memory of the Holocaust

Abstract

The Holocaust has become a globally recognized reference for suffering and has often been appropriated as a framework for (re-)understanding collective identities. This article examines the agenda of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) in relation to the memory of the Holocaust in post-Milošević Serbia. It focuses on the Jasenovac Committee of the SOC and the role of its head, Bishop Jovan (Ćulibrk), in the memorialization of Staro Sajmište, a distinguished place of the Holocaust in occupied Serbia. Based on primary sources encompassing Orthodox media, official statements, and interviews with mnemonic agents in the region, the author argues that the SOC has established itself as an acknowledged actor in the remembrance of the Holocaust in Serbia and beyond. Such a position allows it to point out Serbian martyrdom as part of the Holocaust imaginary, reinforce Serbian victimhood-oriented collective identity, and capitalize on the symbolic advantages of ultimate victimhood for its own regenerative ends.

Orthodoxy in Serbia: between its public image and the everyday religiosity of its believers

“…20 Verdery 1999, 95-110. 21 Karin Hofmeisterová (2020) elaborates on this most important public intervention by the SOC. Lea David (2017aDavid ( , 2017b also provides arguments.…”