Aleksandar Licht and Hinko Gottlieb in Gestapo Prisons in 1941
Experiences and Reflections
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23777/sn.0425/ART_Vulesica01.pdfKeywords:
Gestapo, Independent State of Croatia, Zagreb , The Key to the Great Gate, Aleksandar Licht , Hinko GottliebAbstract
This article examines the arrests and imprisonments of Aleksandar Licht (1884–1948) and Hinko Gottlieb (1886–1948), two leading figures of the Jewish community in Zagreb, in the spring of 1941. Drawing on surviving letters, fragmented archival records, and Gottlieb’s autobiographical novel The Key to the Great Gate, the article explores both the strategies of Nazi repression and the personal responses of the prisoners. While Licht emphasised dignity and responsibility in his correspondence, Gottlieb transformed trauma into literature through irony and imagination. Their contrasting testimonies shed light on Gestapo practices in southeastern Europe and highlight the need for further research on this underexplored region.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Marija Vulesica
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