Re: [Cz-L] Report on trip to Chernivtsi

Thanks to Marianne for reporting on the progress made
on the Popovici plaque project. I am currently away from home
and do not have time to give this project much attention.
My initial correspondence about the plaque was with Mr. Kylynych
of the Chernivtsi city council. He wrote me that the city council
had voted on my suggestion to put up a plaque to commemorate
Traian Popovici and his actions to save the Jews of Cernauti,
and that my proposal had been accepted. To my numerous letters
asking for guidelines for making the plaque, I received no reply.

Mr. Zissels then offered to make the arrangements, which I accepted.
At the same time I also asked Maita Prout to look into the matter,
which she kindly did.

I very recently asked Maita to find a city administration official,
who would be willing to give me the necessary guidelines about:
1. the content of the inscription on the plaque.
2. the size and material of the plaque.
3. The location for the plaque
4. the procedure for having the plaque made and placed.

These are the same questions, I previously asked Mr. Kylynych,
to send me the answers to.
When Josef Zissels offered to take care of all the arrangements
concerning the plaque, I did not authorize him to make
the final decision and I had no expectation of a sculptor and
a four figure sum of money being involved.

I am not in the habit of buying a cat in the bag and have no intention
of doing so now, not on my own and not as a representative of this list.
As to Marianne's suggestion that we have a committee to handle this project:
I would like to know the opinions of other members of the list about this.

All the best,

Mimi








Quoting Marianne Hirsch <mh2349_at_columbia.edu>:

> Dear all,
>
>
> when Florence, Leo and I drafted the report to you in Kiev airport,
> we decided to write a separate letter about the plaque. We were
> there about the museum, but the plaque took up much of our time and
> energy. It was a frustrating experience since we arrived there
> ignorant of any arrangements Mimi had made but were treated as
> representatives of the group who had the authority to make decisions
> on its behalf. We agreed by the end that we would report to you on
> how things stand but that we would then hand things back to Mimi
> (and Maita, as you will see below).
>
> Joseph has taken care of the first set of permissions and has
> identified a well-regarded and experienced sculptor (I saw another of
> his plaques). Next, a design has to be presented to the city for
> approval, and then there are another set of approvals to pass,
> concerning the location and probably other matters, I'm not sure. We
> had three meetings with the sculptor Anatoly Piantkovsky. He came
> back with a proposed sketch design and some price quotes. Bronze is
> the most expensive. He suggested black basalt stone with a carved
> text and an attractive subtle design, consisting of a border
> representing lots of people on the street (to symbolize the many
> saved) and also Popovici's signature, signaling the importance of a
> signature in determining life or death. This, with our text (he
> strongly urged us to cut it back significantly) would cost $1000. If
> we added a carving of Popovici's face in bronze on the left corner
> (we gave him all the photos we had ) it would come to $2500. We
> noted that most memorial plaques in Chernvtsi have faces (eg
> Stainbarg, Meerbaum-Eisinger, etc) but we feel that though this is
> definitely part of the city's iconography, it is certainly not a
> requirement. In any case, we would get to approve the design, this
> was just a sketch.
>
> The problem with the conversations was that we could not speak for
> the group. Nor are we an official organization anyway. We left it
> that we would report back to the group and that Maita would be our
> representative onsite. We told Anatoly that he would next hear from
> Maita. If we authorize him in writing to do so, he can take care
> of the entire permission process -- I would recommend that. I
> inquired with Natalya and she told me he was trustworthy. He will
> certainly need a retainer fee before going further. Joseph Zisses
> told me that he himself is not in the position to oversee this
> project, since he only goes to Chernivtsi once per month.
>
> I am committed to this project but I do think we need to simplify our
> process if this is ever going to happen. I'd suggest Mimi forms a
> SMALL committee to work with her. the committee would be charged
> with collecting the funds, communicating with the sculptor through
> Maita, and making the decisions on all our behalf. I am willing to
> contribute $100 but will not serve on the committee.
>
> Finally -- just to underscore how important this is. I had a long
> conversation with an historian there who specializes in Romanian
> history. He had not heard of Popovici.
>
> best, Marianne
>
> [P.S. Maita: his number is 80505551307. He only speaks Russian and
> Ukrainian.]
>

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Received on 2008-06-03 19:25:17