[Cz-L] Gary Rogovin Traian Popovici plaque - my revised suggested inscription; 20K Jews

5-18-08

Dear Miriam and List members,

Miriam. I agree with Gabriele, Hardy, Cornel, David, Eytan, Lehaci and the others who feel the number of Jews saved by Mr. Popovici should be listed as 20,000 on the plaque. The goal is to put in perspective the relative magnitude of his accomplishment. For example, it is widely perceived in a historical context that six million Jews perished in the Holocaust. Does it really matter for the sake of historical accuracy whether that number is somewhat more or less than six million? Rounding off a number within a reasonable limit is not a distortion of history, but rather an attempt to convey in numerical terms, the significance of that history.

Miriam, you indicated in your email of today to the List that "the city authorities have questioned me on this matter". You also said in your email to the List of 5/15/08 "Basically, Hardy is correct. Yet negotiations with administrative authorities are complex, things have been set in motion and it would be more trouble or even impossible to change things again. The experts say the number was 19600 and we shall leave it at that".

Miriam, I don't think we should cave in just for the sake of getting the plaque done. I can't see how, under any circumstances, they would be able to justify denying permission for the plaque based on a differential of 400 in the number, unless they are intentionally trying to create barriers to prevent the plaque from happening in the first place. If this should be the case, tremendous moral and ethical pressure could be brought to bear upon them by this List and other Jewish groups that we could coordinate with. I would be happy to personally correspond with the City's legal Counsel and argue the case, should the administrative authorities reject the 20K number. I would need that person's contact information at that time and perhaps you, Miriam, could ascertain that information in the course of your on-going correspondence with the City's authorities.

On the matter of the size and extent of the inscription wording for Mr. Popovici's plaque, you wrote to me on 5/4/08 and stated "As you write your suggested inscription, it is much too long to fit on a suitable size plaque. Ideally it should fit into a rectangle, wider than high, without large gaps. Please format your suggested inscription in such a way and send it to the list".

Miriam, immediately below is my revised suggested inscription:


DEDICATED TO TRAIAN POPOVICI (1892-1946), A
RIGHTEOUS MAN OF COURAGE WHO LIVED IN
THIS HOUSE AND WHO, IN 1941, WHILE MAYOR
OF THIS CITY, SAVED NEARLY 20,000 JEWS FROM
DEPORTATION TO TRANSNISTRIA AND ALMOST
CERTAIN DEATH. IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE
BY THOSE RESCUED, THEIR DESCENDANTS AND
HUMANITY.

NOTES:
1) The words "while Mayor of this City" could be replaced with the words "while Mayor of Cernauti".
2) The words "..and Humanity"could be omitted to save a line. A period would be required after the word "..Descendants". However I would strongly recommend leaving in the words "..and Humanity"
As I stated in my email of 5/13/07 to the list, to include the wording "FROM THE JEWS OF CZERNOWITZ", could be a turn off to non-Jews, especially Ukrainians. That is why I preferred the wording "In grateful remembrance by those rescued, their descendants and humanity". I think that most everyone is concerned about offending the Ukrainians, particularly since they are sensitized by the role they played in the Holocaust and may take "FROM THE JEWS OF CZERNOWITZ" as guilt being thrown in their face by the survivors and descendants. By including the word "humanity", all peoples (including Ukrainians) are given equal opportunity to be inclusive.

Thank you,
Gary Rogovin


Below, for purposes of comparison, are the five other suggestions submitted by List members:

 From Hard y:
--------------------------------------------
HERE LIVED TRAIAN POPOVICI (1892 - 1946)
IN 1941 AS MAYOR OF CZERNOWITZ, HE SAVED
20 000 JEWS FROM DEPORTATION TO TRANSNISTRIA.
TO HIS MEMORY FROM THE JEWS OF CZERNOWITZ

 From Gabriele:
------------------------------
TRAIAN POPOVICI
RIGHTEOUS AMONG NATIONS
HE SAVED THE LIVES OF 20 000
MEN WOMEN AND CHILDREN

 From Berti:
------------------------------------------
IN THIS HOUSE LIVED TRAIAN POPOVICI(1892-1946).
AS MAYOR OF OUR CITY, DURING WORLD WAR TWO, HE
SAVED MORE THAN 20 000 JEWS FROM BEING DEPORTED
TO TRANSNISTRIA AND PROBABLE DEATH
IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE FROM THOSE HE SAVED,
THEIR DESCENDANTS AND ALL WHO CARE.

 From Mimi:
----------------------------------------
HERE LIVED TRAIAN POPOVICI (1892-1946)
IN 1941, AS MAYOR OF CZERNOWITZ,
HE SAVED 20 000 JEWS FROM DEPORTATION
TO TRANSNISTRIA AND PROBABLE DEATH.
IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE,
FRO M THE JEWS OF CZERNOWITZ.

 From David:
----------------------------------------
DR TRAIAN POPOVICH
MAYOR OF THIS CITY (1941-1942)
LIVED HERE.
HE SAVED 19600 JEWS
 FROM DEPORTATION TO TRANSNISTRIA
AND PROBABLE DEATH.
IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE.
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Received on 2008-05-18 23:01:12