The Search for a New Identity: The Hungarian-Jewish Literary Scene in Vojvodina and Graphic Works by Michael Kara and Klára Geréb

The Jews of Vojvodina, the province in northern Serbia, perceived themselves as Magyars with a low tendency towards acculturation to the Serbian language. They appeared as a double other both in the eyes of local Sephardi Jewish communities and the host Slavic population.

After the dissolution of the Dual Monarchy, owing to the sudden break of their connection with Hungary and their rather insecure position in local society, Jews of Vojvodina sought to redefine their identity. Many continued to nurture their allegiance to the Hungarian nation, while others turned to socialism or Zionism, in search for a new identity which will replace the lost Jewish one.

Jewish authors had a prominent role in the Hungarian literary circles in Vojvodina and demonstrated great openness to progressive literary movements. The majority of Hungarian daily newspapers were owned by Jewish entrepreneurs and many editors’ positions were occupied by professionals of Jewish descent. In my presentation, I will focus on book and journal illustrations by two artists of Jewish origin, Michael Kara (1885-1964) and Klára Geréb (1897-1944), to investigate the larger topic of “negotiating identities” of Vojvodinian Jews in the interwar period. While Kara’s illustrations for books by Jewish authors reflect upon their moral idealism, a strong belief in justice, and a quest for a new “socialist” identity, Geréb’s work for the Jewish-owned publishing house Minerva, made in the spirit of Hungarian Secession, stresses the ongoing identification with the Hungarian nation, nurturing the memory of the Golden Age of Hungarian Jewry.