of the Holocaust in Yugoslavia to be held at the Holocaust Memorial Park in Brooklyn on April 20, 2003 at 3 PM…
Press Releases
JASENOVAC RESEARCH INSTITUTE
“LET THE TRUTH BE KNOWN”
PO BOX 10-0674 BROOKLYN, NY 11210
www.jasenovac.org
webmaster@jasenovac.org
JRI Press Release
APRIL 14, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
SECOND ANNUAL COMMEMORATION OF THE HOLOCAUST IN YUGOSLAVIA HELD AT THE HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL PARK IN BROOKLYN ON APRIL 20, 2003
On Sunday, April 20, 2003 the Jasenovac Research Institute [held] its second annual Holocaust commemoration ceremony to honor and remember the victims and Survivors of the Holocaust in Yugoslavia and their families. The ceremony will include a wreath laying, religious service and speeches by Survivors, scholars and political leaders. The ceremony comes one year after the approval of an inscribed monument dedicated to the memory of those who perished in the largest Nazi camp in the Balkans, Jasenovac, by the Holocaust Memorial Park Committee.
April 22nd marks the fifty-eighth anniversary of the heroic attempted breakout by the imprisoned victims of the Jasenovac camps. The memorial is timed to coincide as closely as possible with that date. Among those invited to attend are Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner and other elected officials from Brooklyn. Representatives from governments from the region of former Yugoslavia, as well as UN officials, are expected to attend.
This is one of the least recognized communities of Survivors in the world. It is felt that ours is a forgotten chapter of the Holocaust. The tragedies of recent years in the Balkans have made this felt even more. But we believe that this annual event and the efforts being made to recognize the Holocaust in Yugoslavia are a necessary and beneficial part of the healing and recovery process and a necessary correction to past neglect. All who support justice and recognition for Yugoslav Holocaust victims and Survivors are encouraged to enrich this commemoration with their participation.
What was Jasenovac?
Following the Nazi invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia in April 1941, the “Independent State of Croatia” was established by Hitler as a pro-Nazi regime. Dedicated to a clerical-fascist ideology, it commenced on a systematic policy of racial extermination of all Jews, Serbs, and Romas living within its borders. From August 1941 to April 1945 hundreds of thousands of these three groups along with anti-fascists of other nationalities were killed at the complex of camps known as Jasenovac which lay along the Sava River in central Croatia. Jasenovac was among the largest and most brutal of concentration camps during the Holocaust.
The Holocaust Memorial Park, which is located at West End Avenue between Emmons Ave & Shore Blvd in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn, is the only monument park commemorating the Holocaust in the New York City area.
TRAVEL DIRECTIONS TO THE COMMEMORATION
By Car From Manhattan: Take the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) Westbound to the Belt Parkway. You will travel on the Belt Eastbound and exit at Exit 8 (Coney island Ave.). Follow signs for Kingsborough. Be warned that Exit 8 follows closely upon Exit 7.
The exit leaves you on Guilder Ave. You will take Guilder straight – past Coney Island Ave – and to its end at East 12th Street. Make a right turn on East 12th St. Then make an immediate left turn (at the light) onto Neptune Ave. You will then make another rapid turn – your first possible right – onto Cass Place (also at a light). Take Cass Place about 2 blocks past the light. West End Ave. and the Park are immediately on your left. You can find parking on the streets adjoining the park. Please follow posted parking regulations.
By Car From New Jersey: Take any of the 3 or 4 bridges going to Staten Island and head onto the Verrazano’s Narrows Bridge (no toll out of Staten Island). Exit the bridge onto the Belt Parkway going East. Now follow the directions from Manhattan.
By Car From Queens or Long Island: Take the Belt Parkway West to Exit 8 (Coney Island Ave.). At the end of the exit turn right onto Voorhies Ave. Make another right from Voorhies onto Sheepshead Bay Road at the first light. Take Sheepshead Bay Road to the end (2 lights) and make a right turn. Make your first possible left turn at the second light onto West End Ave. The Holocaust Memorial Park is on this block on your left. You may park on any of the adjoining streets. Please follow posted parking regulations.
By Bus: The B-49 Bus stops within one block of the Holocaust Park. Any bus connection to the B-49 bus is good.
By Subway: The best lines to take are the D or the Q trains. Both go to Sheepshead Bay Station. Remember to get a transfer ticket at the token booth. In front of the train station is a bus stop for the B-49 bus.
We at the JRI know of your heartfelt commitment to the cause of Jasenovac awareness and look very much forward to your presence at the ceremony. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions