Join us for the opening of our special gallery exhibit, Survival in Sarajevo: La Benevolencija.

Reception: 5:30 p.m.
Talk: 6:30 p.m., Edward Serotta, Director of Centropa

In April 1992, war broke out in Sarajevo. As the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo exemplified the country’s multi-ethnic culture and identity, on the brink of collapse following the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Bosnian Serbs, seeking to form a stronger Serbian nation, attacked Bosnia and began a policy of ethnic cleansing.

Survival in Sarajevo tells the story of La Benevolencija, the non-sectarian humanitarian aid agency through which Jews and Muslims, Serbian Orthodox and Catholic Croats worked together to provide aid—and hope—to an entire city besieged by war.

Based on the book by Edward Serotta, Survival in Sarajevo: Jews, Bosnia, and the Lessons of the Past, this exhibition covers the history of the Jews in the Balkans from 1492 to 1941 before turning to the Bosnian war of the 1990s and the story of La Benevolencija.

Survival in Sarajevo: La Benevolencija will run through September 11, 2016.

About Edward Serotta
Edward Serotta is a journalist, photographer and filmmaker specializing in Jewish life in Central and Eastern Europe and the founder of Centropa.

About Centropa
Centropa is a non-profit, Jewish historical institute dedicated to preserving 20th century Jewish family stories and photos from Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and disseminating these stories and photos through films, books and exhibitions.