Book History
The Sarajevo Haggadah: A Book Saved Twice
How a Muslim librarian carried a medieval Jewish manuscript out of danger and helped preserve it through war.
In 1941, as Nazi troops closed in on Sarajevo, a Muslim librarian hid one of the world’s oldest Jewish manuscripts under his coat and walked it out of the city.
The Sarajevo Haggadah—a 14th-century illuminated Hebrew text—had survived centuries of exile, from Spain’s Inquisition to the Balkans. Now it faced destruction again.
Librarian Derviš Korkut smuggled it to a Muslim village, where it was hidden under a floorboard until the war ended. Decades later, during the Bosnian War, it was rescued again from shellfire.
Today, it rests in the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina—a testament to the people of all faiths who risked everything to protect it. A book saved twice, by those it didn’t belong to.
Last updated 9/15/2026