Towards commemorating the 72nd anniversary of the Novi Sad Raid
The Cultural Centre of Novi Sad organises a programme titled ‘Freezing Silence – memory of victims of the Novi Sad Raid’ under the patronage of the City of Novi Sad. For days, the employees of this cultural institution, along with numerous other citizens of Novi Sad, have been writing the names of the victims of the Novi Sad Raid for the great commemoration organized on Tuesday, 23rd of January, on the Liberty Square. Stones will be placed on the square from 10 o’clock in the morning, until 4 o’clock in the afternoon, bearing the names of our citizens who perished during those cold January days of 1942, giving an opportunity to all the citizens of Novi Sad to commemorate the victims of the most painful event in the history of the city.
With this programme, the citizens of Novi Sad show that they remember each individual that is known to have perished during the Raid. Novi Sad still searches for the names of all the people who were killed. Memory of them is impressed into the soul of each of us, just like their names are impressed on the stones.
Apart from the numerous people who have helped in writing the victims’ names on the stones and with this act showed that Novi Sad does not forget, Cultural Centre of Novi Sad organised the programme “Freezing Silence – memory of victims of the Novi Sad Raid” in cooperation with the Diocese of Bačka, the Jewish Community of Novi Sad, family of Dr. Kosta Hadži, Viktor Lazić, Museum of Vojvodina, Historical Archives of the City of Novi Sad, RTV Vojvodina, Shoah Foundation – the Institute for Visual History and Education.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bleurao_lnk[/youtube]
Nedeljko Mamula, longtime literary editor at the Cultural Centre of Novi Sad:
The only programme that does not need invitations
I was not surprised to see my numerous colleagues at the Cultural Centre writing on the stones. I was not surprised to see numerous other people coming and writing on the stones, either. During the last decades, whenever we organized a programme dedicated to the memorial of the Novi Sad Raid, citizens of Novi Sad appeared even without the special invitations. This sad and horrible event from the history of our city simply bonds us all. It seems that, during those days, a ‘freezing silence’ falls over our city, and we all feel connected in remembering.
Marko Fišer, member of the Youth organization of the Jewish Community of Novi Sad
We forgave, but we do not forget
As a part of the commemoration of the Novi Sad Raid, I was invited to participate in writing the names on the stones at the Cultural Centre of Novi Sad, which was crucial, in my opinion, to be able to preserve the memory of all the victims of the Novi Sad Raid. I and my family appreciate this very much, because my great-grandfather and great-grandmother, Šimon and Lenka Fišer, perished during the Novi Sad Raid in January 1942. As a descendant of the Holocaust victims, I sympathise with all the victims and I am here to show the citizens of Novi Sad that we can forgive, but that all of us must not forget.
