Bishop Nicholai and the Jewish People — “Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich and the Jewish People” was the title of a lecture given by historian Miloš Damjanović at the Cultural Center “Aquarius” in Kosovska Mitrovica on September 7, 2021. The lecture was organized on the occasion of the European Day of Jewish Culture, which also was dedicated to the topic of dialogue.

Damjanović addressed some controversial topics. Namely, there are various controversial narratives about the attitude of Bishop Nicholai towards the Jewish people, related to the post-war propaganda of former Socialist Yugoslavia — which demonized Bishop Nicholai, unjustifiably connecting him with Nazi ideology and anti–Semitism.

Such stereotypical foundations served during the civil war in Yugoslavia, but also today, to further expand the propaganda image of Bishop Nicolai’s personality and work, which indirectly stigmatized the Serbian people in the international community. However, the historical truth is quite the opposite: Bishop Nicholai himself was a victim of the Nazis, and he was involved in saving at least two Jewish people from the Holocaust, although the occupier foresaw the death penalty for such a humane act. More information is available at the website of the Cultural Center “Aquarius” — https://galerijaaquarius.files.wordpress.com/.