Jasenovac

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Greetings to the 11th Jerusalem Conference from John Ranz, Chairman, Buchenwald Survivors Association, USA
29 December 2002
Dear Friends,

I send you my warmest greetings and hopes for success at this historic conference which will deal in part with the problems of the concentration camp of Jasenovac and the barbarism of the Nazi and Ustashe occupation of Yugoslavia.

As we know, the majority of the victims at Jasenovac were the Serbian people. But at the same time a majority of the Jewish people of Yugoslavia along with a large number of Romas were also murdered during the Holocaust, many of them (at least 25,000 Jews) at Jasenovac. And not only were people of the above mentioned nationalities victims of this camp, but so too were thousands of genuine antifascists of all of the nationalities inhabiting Yugoslavia.

We here in the US and particularly in New York are endeavoring to create a memorial to remember all of the victims of Jasenovac, which we regard as the Auschwitz of the Balkans. We consider such a memorial to be a necessary tribute for remembering those terrible days of Nazism and Ustashe fascism in Yugoslavia. And if we are successful this memorial shall serve as a focal point for Serbs, Jews and Romas to pay homage once a year to the victims of this neglected concentration camp.

It will also remind all Survivors and their families of the constant need to guard the peoples of the world from the dangers of Nazism and fascism as well as the constant need for education and vigilance in these matters.

On behalf of the Buchenwald Survivors Association USA, the Generation After, and the Jewish-Serbian Friendship Society, and as a Director of the Jasenovac Research Institute, I wish your conference great success and I look forward to continued cooperation with you in the future.

Yours truly,
John Ranz, Chairman, Buchenwald Survivors USA and
Director of the Jasenovac Research Institute