Img. ID: 513664

Monument Name

Memorial to Jews of Bačka Palanka and the Surrounding Area Fallen as Freedom Fighters and Victims of Fascist Terror

Who is Comemmorated?

Jews of Bačka Palanka and its surrounding who perished in World War II and the Holocaust.

Description

The memorial is shaped like an upright stele standing on an elevated platform. Three steps that lead to the high platform are inscribed with verses from the poem “Bright Graves” by poet Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj (1833–1904). On this platform, a memorial plaque made of black stone (granite?) is mounted that commemorates fallen Jewish fighters and Jewish victims of the fascist terror of Bačka Palanka and its surrounding area. The plaque features the five-pointed star.

The vertical section, also made of black stone, is divided into three sections. It is crowned with the tridimensional Ner Tamid. It features the engraved Menorah (the top sections) and the Magen David with a commemorative inscription in Hebrew to the Bačka Palanka community in the middle section. The top section is hexagonal-shaped with a flat bottom and stands on two small columns. On the bottom section is inscribed a verse from the poem “My Night” by poet Aleksa Šantić (1868–1924).

Inscriptions

Inscription in Serbo-Croatian on the steps, from the poem “Svetli grobovi” [Bright Graves] by Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj:

„Gde ja stadoh — ti ćeš poći!”
|„Što ne mogoh — ti ćeš moći!”
„Kud ja nisam — ti ćeš doći!”
„Što ja počeh — ti produži!”
„Još smo dužni — ti oduži!”

Translation: ‘Where I stopped – you will go!’ / ‘What I couldn’t – you will do!’ / ‘Where I couldn’t – you’ll arrive!’ / ‘Whatever we owe – you pay it off!’

The vertical section at the bottom in Serbo-Croatian, from the poem “Moja noći” [My Night] by Aleksa Šantić:

Moja noći kada ćeš mi proći?
- Nikad!
Moja zoro kada ćeš mi doći?
- Nikad!

Translation: My night, when will you pass me by? / - Never! / My dawn, when will you come to me? / - Never!

Vertical section in Hebrew:

זכרון
לארבעה מאות יהודים יושבי
ק"ק" [קהילה קדושה] פאלאנקא
שנפלו כקורבנות הפשיזם
בשנות 1941-1945
יזכרם אלהינו לטובה עם שאר צדיקי העולם
תנצב''ה [=תהי נשמתם צרורה בצרור החיים] 

Translation:  In memory / of four hundred Jewish residents / of the Palanka Jewish community / who fell as victims of fascism / in the years 1941-1945 / May our Lord remember them for good / together with the other righteous of the world / May their souls be bound in the bundle of life

Horizontal part in Serbo-Croatian:

Spomen i sećanje na 400 Jevreja iz Bačke Palanke i okoline, palih kao borci za slobodu i žrtve fašističkog terora

Translation:  In memory of 400 Jews of Bačka Palanka and the surrounding area, who fell as freedom fighters and victims of the fascist terror

Inscription on the side in Serbo-Croatian:

Ovaj spomenik podiže
Jevrejska opština B. Palanka
uz saradnju Saveza boraca narodno oslobodilačkog rata.
20. oktobar 1955. god

Translation: This monument is erected by / the Jewish Community of B. Palanka / with the cooperation of the Association of Fighters of the National Liberation War. / October 20, 1955

Commissioned by

Jewish Community of Bačka Palanka and the Association of Fighters of the National Liberation War.