[Cz-L] Gary Rogovin two alternative suggestions to my prior TP plaque wording and to Mimi's of 5/21/08.

5-22-08

Dear Miriam and List members,

Please find below two alternative versions to my prior writing and to the
one in your email of 5/21/08, regarding suggestions for the wording on Mr.
Popovici's plaque.

In accordance with the plaque dimensions, number of rows and number of
letters and spacing as specified by Miriam in her 5/21/08 email to the List,
I have eliminated Mr. Popovici's years of birth and death, in favor of the
words "RIGHTEOUS MAN". I believe these words maximize the tribute to Mr.
Popovici, which after all, is the main purpose of the plaque. Every person
has a birth date and has or will have a death date, but not everyone is or
was righteous. I believe that Gabriele had suggested the word "righteous"
and if I am not mistaken, Hardy had as well, albeit a while back.

While the wording that Miriam used resulted in no more than 36 characters
(including spacing) per line, both suggestions below have up to 37 characters
(including spacing) per line, as indicated by the count to the right of each
line. However, as can be seen in Suggestion 1 for example, the last line,
which contains 37 characters (including spacing) appears visually smaller
than the line above it, due to a period and more spaces despite a greater
number of words and thus, even with up to a total of 37 characters and
spaces, the wording will still fit on the plaque.

In Suggestion 2, line 2, I intentionally left out a comma after the word
"...Cernauti" as well as after "...who in 1941", in order to fit the
wording within the plaque size limitation. Such omission does not constitute
poor punctuation, since inscriptions for plaques are generally limited as to
number of characters and this is a common way of getting around the issue.
Anyone who reads the wording will understand it despite the lack of absolutely
correct punctuation.

I have included, for purposes of comparison, Miriam's wording immediately
below the two proposed suggestions.

As I stated in earlier emails, to include the wording "FROM THE JEWS OF
CZERNOWITZ", could be a turn off to non-Jews, especially Ukrainians. 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.

A point which I did not previously raise is that the wording "FROM THE JEWS
OF CZERNOWITZ", is too all-encompassing. Which Jews of Czernowitz? Do Miriam
and all the other CZ members of this list constitute the entirety of the Jews of Czernowitz? or are they only a handful of Czernowitz Jews compared to those living all around the world, as those still living in Czernowitz?

So in my opinion, that wording is not appropriately factual. One could drop
the word "THE" in "FROM THE JEWS OF CZERNOWITZ", so as to read "FROM JEWS OF
CZERNOWITZ". That would be appropriately factual, reflectiong those involved
in creating the plaque, but there is still the possible issue of offending
the Ukrainians.

Finally, I used Cernauti rather than Czernowitz for historical accuracy. Should Czernowitz be the preferred choice, it can be substituted for Cernauti and still retain the required number of characters (including spaces).

I appreciate and invite any comments (positive or negative) and suggestions.

Thank you all,
Gary Rogovin



SUGGESTON 1

HERE LIVED TRAIAN POPOVICI, MAYOR OF 36
CERNAUTI. IN 1941 HE RESCUED NEARLY 35
20,000 JEWS FROM DEPORTATION AND A 34
PROBABLE DEATH IN TRANSNISTRIA A 32
RIGHTEOUS MAN GRATEFULLY REMEMBERED 35
BY THOSE SAVED AND THEIR DESCENDANTS. 37

SUGGESTION 2

HERE LIVED TRAIAN POPOVICI, MAYOR OF 36
CERNAUTI WHO IN 1941 RESCUED NEARLY 35
20,000 JEWS FROM DEPORTATION AND A 34
PROBABLE DEATH IN TRANSNISTRIA A 33
RIGHTEOUS MAN GRATEFULLY REMEMBERED 35
BY THOSE SAVED AND THEIR DESCENDANTS. 37




 From Miriam
_______________

HERE LIVED TRAIAN POPOVICI (1892-1946) 36
IN 1941, AS MAYOR OF CZERNOWITZ, 32
HE SAVED 19,6000 JEWS FROM DEPORTATION 35
TO TRANSNISTRIA AND PROBABLE DEATH. 35
IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE, 24
 FROM THE JEWS OF CZERNOWITZ. 28
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Received on 2008-05-23 03:34:17