NEW YORK – The World Jewish Congress announced its satisfaction that the Austrian Parliament has adopted a resolution, initiated by the Green Party, to ban the annual Ustashe glorification gathering at Bleiburg in Carinthia. That event has become a flashpoint for the glorification of the “heroes” of the Fascist pro-Nazi movement that ruled wartime Croatia and was guilty of appalling acts of mass murder on Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croats. For many years, that annual happening, attended by thousands and supported by successive Croatian governments and the Roman Catholic Church in Croatia, was one of the most repugnant displays of World War II history obfuscation anywhere in Europe.
Commenting on the Austrian stance, Executive Vice President of the World Jewish Congress Maram Stern said, “This bold move by the Austrian legislators sends a clear message that there is no place in Austria for such flagrant acts of historical revisionism. There can be no place in the national pantheon of any country for perpetrators of or accomplices in genocide. No society can avoid a reckoning with the unsavory chapters of its past. Sadly, Croatia has repeatedly eschewed such a confrontation, though recent actions of its newly-elected president, Zoran Milanović, suggest a break with this deep-seated repugnant attitude. I trust that the Austrian Ministry of Interior will take all necessary steps to implement this resolution, in order to make sure that this disgraceful event will never again take place on Austrian soil.”
The World Jewish Congress has been at the forefront of the struggle against the widespread rehabilitation of war criminals in post-Communist European countries.
