This is a photograph of Ladislav Ivan Hacker and a group of other children at a Purim party in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (present-day Serbia). Ivan and his family were born in Novi Sad and were involved in Jewish life and observed Jewish traditions. The photograph was taken in 1936 when Ivan was 11 years old at a party organised by the Jewish community. The photograph shows a group of five children dressed in Purim costume, all wearing fake beards (it is not known which one is Ivan). The boy seated in the front is dressed as a king and wearing a crown. The other four children are wearing cone-shaped hats and are standing around the king. Some of the children have large Stars of David sewn on their costumes, and two are carrying sceptres topped with Stars of David. When young, Ivan was very active within synagogue and Jewish youth activities.
Ivan studied painting and violin in high school. While in high school, he joined a secret communist youth group, which led to his arrest for causing trouble with the Hungarian Occupation Forces. While in prison, the Hungarians allowed the boys to celebrate Jewish holidays, resulting in their mothers coming to the prison and bringing them special holiday foods. Ironically, being in prison is what saved Ivan’s life during the Holocaust. He was in prison throughout most of the war, but he escaped with friends in 1944 and fought with the partisans. Many members of his family were deported and. His father died when working in a work battalion. His mother and sister survived camps in Hungary, Austria, and finally in Theresienstadt. After the war, Ivan finished school and worked as a teacher. He became disillusioned with the Communist Party and left it; as a result, he could not advance in his career. Ivan died in 1983 at the age of 59.
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Jewish Community of Novi Sad – Novi Sad is located on the banks of the Danube River in what is now Serbia. Jews settled in Novi Sad as early as the sixteenth century but were expelled in 1699 and not allowed to return until the eighteenth century. Institutions such as synagogues and schools were built in the early 1800s, and by 1940, the community had grown to 4,000. The Jews of Novi Sad suffered greatly first at the hands of the Hungarians and then the Germans during the Holocaust. About a quarter of Novi Sad’s Jews survived the Holocaust, and many moved to Israel after liberation. Currently it is estimated that fewer than 500 Jews live in Novi Sad.
Purim - Purim is celebrated on the 14 Adar as the day the Jewish people were saved from destruction during the fourth century BCE. The heroine of the Purim story, Queen Esther, worked together with her uncle, Mordechai, to reverse the decree of genocide issued against the Jewish people by Haman, the vizier of Persia. It is the tradition on Purim to dress up in costumes, distribute small food packages known as mishloach manot, give charity, and listen to the reading of the Megilla – the Book of Esther.
