Dr. Aleksandar Licht (1884−1948) was a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

leader and founder of the Zionist movement in Croatia. Licht was born in village Sokolovac, near

Koprivnica Koprivnica () is a city in Northern Croatia, located 70 kilometers northeast of Zagreb. It is the capital and the largest city of Koprivnica-Križevci County. In 2011, the city's administrative area of 90.94 km2 had a total populati ...

to a Croatian

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. As a child he moved with his family to

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. Licht was educated in Zagreb where he finished elementary and high school. He graduated as a lawyer at the Faculty of Law,

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

. In 1909 he was promoted to a

Doctor of law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

at the University of Zagreb. In 1913 he opened a

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

in Zagreb, but in 1914 he was drafted to the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

. Upon completing military service, Licht returned to Zagreb where he practiced law at his firm. He was the founder and spiritual leader of Zionism in Croatia. As a young man he was elected chairman of the Jewish youth circle "Literarni Sastanci" (''Literary Meetings''), which soon became a Zionist society. He was also the editor of "Židovska smotra" (''The Jewish review''). In Vienna he was the chairman of "Bar Giora", a group of Zionist students from

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. After its foundation, in 1909, he was the elected secretary of the "Zionist federation of South Slavic countries". In 1919 he was one of the leading Zionists, with

Šime Spitzer Šime Spitzer (born Shimon Spitzer; 18 October 1892 – October 1941) was a Croatian Zionist, notable member of the Jewish community Zagreb and general secretary of the "Federation of Jewish confessional communities of Yugoslavia" (Savez jev ...

, who founded the "Union of the Jewish confessional municipalities in the Kingdom of SHS" (Savez jevrejskih vjeroispovjednih općina u Kraljevini SHS) in Zagreb. In 1919 Licht also helped to found the "Zionist federation of Yugoslavia" (SCJ - Savez cionista Jugoslavije) in Zagreb, where Licht first served as a secretary and later as an elected president. He also befriended Croatian politician

Frano Supilo Frano Supilo (30 November 1870 – 25 September 1917) was a Croatian politician and journalist. He opposed the Austro-Hungarian domination of Europe prior to World War I. He participated in the debates leading to the formation of Yugoslavia as ...

. Under Licht leadership Zagreb was the strongest Zionist center in the newly founded

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

. He was also the only Zionist from

who was a member of the action committee of the

World Zionist Congress The Zionist Congress was established in 1897 by Theodor Herzl as the supreme organ of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization (ZO) and its legislative authority. In 1960 the names were changed to World Zionist Congress ( ''HaKongres ...

. Lich was the founder of the so-called "Zagreb school" of Zionism which represented uncompromised and radical Zionism. Under his leadership Croatian Zionists, through the years, raised over 50-60% of total funds collected in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia for the

Jewish National Fund The Jewish National Fund (JNF; , ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael''; previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') is a non-profit organizationProfessor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion ...

. Although he was not a wealthy person, Licht was a great philanthropist who often aided various Zagreb, students, sport and charitable societies. Licht was among the financiers who funded the "Society for building a monument of

Tomislav of Croatia Tomislav (, ) was the first king of Croatia. He became Duke of Croatia and was crowned king in 925, reigning until 928. During Tomislav's rule, Croatia forged an alliance with the Byzantine Empire against First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria. Croati ...

". Licht believed that the major hate toward the Jews in Croatia was spread by the Serbian press in Croatia, and that some Serbs have antisemitism in a depth of their soul. During the 1930s riots in the

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

, Licht always advocated peaceful solution over armed conflict. Licht openly criticized the rising wave of antisemitism in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

during the 1930s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Licht was arrested by

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

with the other notable Zagreb Jews like;

Hinko Gotlieb Hinko is a Croatian given name, Croatian masculine given name. Notable people with this name include: * Hinko Bauer (1908–1986), Croatian Jewish architect * Hinko Hinković (1854–1929), Croatian lawyer, publisher and politician * Hinko Juhn ( ...

, Lavoslav Šik, Slavko Mayer,

Robert Deutsch-Maceljski The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

(of a notable Deutsch-Maceljski family), Branko Alexander (of a notable Alexander family) and others. All of them were taken to

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

where they were questioned about the Croatian Jewish community. They all were soon released except Mayer who was never seen again. Upon his return to Zagreb, Licht managed to get his

identity document An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). ...

back and soon escaped to

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. From Slovenia Licht immigrated to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

through

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in Autumn, 1943. In Switzerland, at first, he was placed in a refugee camp. With help from the Croatian sculptor

Ivan Meštrović Ivan Meštrović (; 15 August 1883 – 16 January 1962) was a Croatian and Yugoslav sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pa ...

, Licht soon found a permanent residence. While in Switzerland Licht actively collected financial aid for the Zagreb Jewish community which was then transmitted to Zagreb by various channels. Licht died in

Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...

on 27 June 1948 as one of the rare Croatian Jews who managed to survive the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. His body was moved from Switzerland to

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

where he was buried in 1955.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Licht, Aleksandar 1884 births 1948 deaths People from Sokolovac, Koprivnica-Križevci County Croatian Jews Jews from Austria-Hungary Croatian Austro-Hungarians Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb alumni Lawyers from Zagreb Croatian Zionists Croatian emigrants to Switzerland Yugoslav emigrants to Switzerland Jews who emigrated to escape Nazism Yugoslav lawyers Croatian philanthropists Croatian lawyers Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Burials at Har HaMenuchot