Survival in Sarajevo: Friendship in a Time of War (Centropa)

Middle School (Grades 6-8)

High School (Grades 9-12)

A Centropa documentary and lesson plans about how Sarajevo’s Sephardic Jewish community turned its synagogue into an aid center for all its neighbors during the Bosnian war.

Overview

During the siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian war of 1992 to 1995, the city’s small Jewish community refused to take sides. Through La Benevolencija, its historic humanitarian society, the community turned its synagogue into an aid center that delivered food, medicine, and messages to Muslims, Croats, Serbs, and Jews alike, and helped many residents leave the besieged city. Sarajevo’s Jews descended largely from Sephardic families who settled there after the expulsion from Spain. This short documentary from Centropa tells their story, a powerful example of a minority community choosing to help all of its neighbors.

Questions Students Explore

  1. How did Sarajevo’s Jewish community respond when war divided the city’s Muslims, Croats, and Serbs?
  2. How did memory of past persecution shape the community’s choices?
  3. What can one community’s actions teach about courage and coexistence?

What Students Do

  • Watch a short documentary about La Benevolencija during the siege of Sarajevo.
  • Learn how Sephardic Jews came to the Balkans after 1492.
  • Discuss and write about how individuals and communities can act across lines of conflict.

At a Glance

Grade level: Grades 6 to 12
Format: Short documentary film with teacher created lesson plans
Source: Centropa

About this resource

This film and its lesson plans were created by Centropa, an educational nonprofit that preserves Jewish family stories from Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. It is not a JIMENA lesson. JIMENA recommends it as a companion to our lessons on Sephardic communities. The film and lesson plans are free on Centropa’s website.

Watch the film on Centropa  Opens on centropa.org

Procedures

Before You Teach

Body of Lesson

Suggested Sequence

  1. Before viewing (10 min). Locate Spain, the Ottoman Empire, and Sarajevo on a map. Explain that many Sephardic Jews settled in the Balkans after the expulsion from Spain in 1492.
  2. Watch the film (15 min). Students note one person, one action, and one question.
  3. Discuss (20 min). Why did the Jewish community refuse to take sides? What risks did people take? How did the community’s own history shape its choices?
Conclusion

Reflection

Students write a short response: What does it mean to help “everyone” during a conflict? Give one example from the film and one from history, current events, or their own community.

Assessment Ideas

  • Formative: viewing notes and discussion.
  • Summative: the written reflection, or a short presentation on La Benevolencija’s work during the siege.
Extension Activities
  • Before Sarajevo. Watch Centropa’s El Otro Camino 1492 to learn how Sephardic Jews reached the Ottoman lands and kept Ladino alive.
  • Jews in Muslim lands. Use JIMENA’s Jews in the Islamic World lesson to compare Jewish life under Ottoman rule with life elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa.
  • Upstanders. Students research another person or group that helped neighbors across religious or ethnic lines during a conflict and present their story.
Resources and External Links