The Jewish community of Novi Sad was allowed to build its first synagogue in the early 18th century. The local Jewish community belonged culturally to the Hungarian Jewry. Only about a quarter of the more than 4,000 Jews of Novi Sad survived the Holocaust that followed the German invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941 and the annexation of Novi Sad to Hungary. Over 800 Jews of Novi Sad - men, women and children of all ages - were murdered during massacres conducted by the Hungarian police against Jews and Serbs in January 1942. In May 1944, the synagogue of Novi Sad served as an arrest house for the Jews of Novi Sad and it was from there that they were deported to the Nazi extermination camps. The synagogue was consecrated again in 1945 when it became the focal point of the revived Jewish life in the city. The Jewish population of Novi Sad dwindled further as many members of the local community chose to immigrate to Israel and other countries in the 1950's. There were an estimated 400 Jews in Novi Sad in the early years of the 21st century.
Check out other destinations in Serbia
Comments
Stef
11. 2. 2026
You describe this building as one of the Must See sights. This infers that you can visit the temple but that's not the case. I attempted to enter the building today only to be shooed away and told that it was NOT open to the public. It is a beautiful building from the outside.
Anat Topel
11. 2. 2026
My name is Anat Topel.I live in Israel. My father, Yaakov (Ali) Shebbe was born in Novi Sad (1924-1991)and never stopped talking and telling us stories about his hometown.My beloved aunt Vera Malesev (born Shebbe)lived in Novi Sad untill she deid in February 2009.Both my father and his sister were Holocaust survivers who came back to Novi Sad after reliesed from Auschwitz.I visited my family there a few times and fell in tove with this city .
Edna Lovy-Shalev
11. 2. 2026
my mother, Malka Weiss Lovy (born Milka Weiss, parents Malvina and Julius Weiss), (1922-2004) a Holocaust survivor, was born and grew up in Novi Sad (1922). She and her family were among those in the Synagogue waiting deportaton to Auschwitz. only half her family returned, 2 young kids were among the victis of the concentration camps. Her personal story was recorded in the Spielberg Oral History project inthe 1990s and is available in various Holocaust museums. Her life in Novi Sad is a part of the story.There are few if any survivors alive from that generation to my knowledge.