Obj. ID: 40400
Modern Jewish Art Plaque commemorating the looting of the synagogue in Split, Croatia, 2018
Name
No official name
Who is Commemorated?
Looting of the synagogue of Split in June 1942.
Description
A bronze plaque is placed in the pavement of Narodni Square (Pjaca), near Židovski prolaz (Jewish Path), where the 18th-century synagogue of Split is situated.
“The plaque is designed in the form of an open book, thus representing a symbol of the destruction of books and other property of the Jewish community of the city of Split. There are spikes on the open book, as a strong symbol of suffering and destruction, and they are positioned in such a way that they corrode the book from the bottom side, thus expressing an ambiguous symbolism: the element of fire used to burn property and, at the same time, the violence and danger that was a reality for the Jews in those years.” [“Spomen ploča” 2018].
Inscriptions
In Croatian, on the open book
Usred molitve na Šabat 12. lipnja 1942.
skupina fašista devastira je sinagogu.
Židovsku općinu i obližnje židovske trgovine.
Opljačkanu židovsku višestoljetnu baštinu
zapalili su na ovome mjestu.
Ne zaboravilo se i ne ponovilo se!
Grad Split, 12. lipnja 2018. godina.
Translation: On Shabbat, June 12, 1942, in the middle of the prayer, a group of fascists devastated the synagogue, the Jewish community, and nearby Jewish shops. The looted centuries-old Jewish heritage they set on fire on this place. // We will not forget and will never let it happen again! / The city of Split, June 12, 2018.
Commissioned by
The municipality of Split
4 image(s)
sub-set tree:
On Shabbat, June 12, 1942, Italian fascists armed with batons broke into the synagogue, beat both the old and the young, and looted Torah scrolls, prayer books, ceremonial objects, synagogue furniture, as well as library books, documents, and records from the office of the Jewish community. Everything was thrown out of the windows into the street and set on fire, with the fire being further fueled by books from the nearby Morpurgo bookstore. The fascists and their supporters danced mockingly around the destructive flames (Lulić 2018).
The Mayor of Split, Andro Krstulović Opara (b. 1967, mayor in 2017-2021), instantiated the project to install a plaque commemorating the shameful event in 2017. The city council decided on the installation in April 2018 and chose the design by Damir Morpurgo, which was cast by the foundry “Ujević.” The contractor was the firm “Neir.” The Department for the Old Town Center and Heritage oversaw the project (Lulić 2018).
The plaque was inaugurated on June 12, 2018 in a ceremony attended by the mayor, the Israeli Ambassador Zina Kalay Kleitman, the Chief Rabbi of Croatia Luciano Moše Prelević, the President of the Jewish Community Ana Lebl, representatives of the County, national minorities and Muslim and Orthodox religious communities. Entries from the diary of Lucian Morpurgo and the memories of Rifka Vostrel from the Altarac family were read (Lulić 2018).
Lulić, Nikolina, "Na Pjaci otkrivena spomen-ploča u znak sjećanja na tragediju iz 1942. godine; Svečanosti nije nazočio nitko iz Splitsko-makarske nadbiskupije," Slobodna Dalmacija, June 12, 2018, https://slobodnadalmacija.hr/dalmacija/na-pjaci-otkrivena-spomen-ploca-u-znak-sjecanja-na-tragediju-iz-1942-godine-svecanosti-nije-nazocio-nitko-iz-splitsko-makarske-nadbiskupije-551119 (accessed September 30, 2022)
"Spomen ploča za sjećanje na stradanje splitskih Židova," Vijesti Grada, April 27, 2018, https://www.split.hr/clanak/spomen-ploca-za-sjecanje-na-stradanje-splitskih-zidova (accessed September 30, 2022)