Obj. ID: 52328
Memorials Warsaw Uprising Memorial in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1953-1955
Name of Monument
Warsaw Ghetto Heroes and Martyrs Monument
(Homenaje a los héroes y mártires del Gueto de Varsovia)
Who is Comemmorated?
The Heroes and Martyrs of the Warsaw Ghetto
Description
The monument is in the Parque Centenial (Centennial Park), at the intersection of two paths near on the south side of the park, between the lake and the perimeter. The monument is a free- standing relief sculpture set in a concrete frame facing outward from the center of the park. In front is an unrelated marker, celebrating the 110 anniversary of the park itself, and erected in 2019. This distracts from the view of the Warsaw Ghetto monument.
The relief sculpture is a reduced size adaptation of the famous bronze relief by Nathan Rapoport on the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Monument in Warsaw, Poland, erected in 1948. This Buenos Aires version appears to be made of plaster or concrete painted to look like bronze. The figures are more cruder modeled, with more angular forms and less expressive features than the original.
Plaques either of bronze or a material painted to look like bronze, are affixed to low bases to each side of the monument. Additional metal (zinc?) dedicatory plaques have been added to each side of the concrete frame at different dates.
Inscription
Narrative Plaque (Spanish)
EL 19 DE ABRIL DE 1943, UN GRUPPO DE
JOVENES DEBILES MAL ARMADOS DEL GHETTO
DE VARSOVIA, POLONIA, SOLO CON CORAJE SE LEVANTARON CONTRA EL
PODEROSO EJERCITO NAZI
PREFERIRIENDO LA MUERTE EN COMBATE AL SOMBRIO
DESTINO DE LOS CAMPOS DE CONCENTRACION.
EN 1948 SE LEVANTO ALLI UN MONUMNETO AL
HEROISMO DE LOS COMBATIENTES.
ENTRE 1953 Y 1955 REALIZA ESTA OBRA REPLICA
DE AQUELLA EL ARTISTA ARGENTINO
CARLOS BISCIONE 2007
Translation: On April 19, 1943, a group of poorly armed youth of the ghetto of Warsaw, Poland, rose up against the powerful Nazi army only with courage, preferring death in combat over the gloomy destination of the concentration camps. In 1948 a monument was raised there to the heroism of the fighters. Between 1953 and 1955 the Argentine artist Carlos Biscione made this replica work. 2007
Dedicatory Plaque (Spanish)
A LOS HEROES Y MARTIRES DE LA ORGANIZACION
JUDIA DEL GHETTO DE VARSOVI
QUE PERECIERON LUCHANDO CONTRA EL EJERCITO NAZI
COMO LO EXPRESARON EN LA PROCLAMA DE DU LUCHA
"POR NUESTA Y VUESTRA VOLUNTAD"
"POR NUESTRA Y VUESTRA LIBERTAD"
19- ABRIL – 1943
"NO OLIVIDAR! NO PERDONAR!
NUCA MAS AL NAZISMO
Translation: To the heroes and martyrs of the Jewish organization of the Warsaw ghetto who perished fighting against the Nazi army / As they expressed it in the proclamation of their fight “By our and your will”, “For our and your freedom” / April 19 – 1943 / “Don't forget! Do not forgive! / Never again to Nazism
Plaque on left side of monument #1
IDISHER CULTUR FARBAND
FEDERACION DE ENTIDADES CULTURALES JUDIAS DE LA ARENGTINA
A 75 ANOS
DEL HEROICO LEVANTAMIENTO DEL
GHETTO DE VARSOVIA,
EL ICUF REAFIRMA SU LUCHA
ANTIFASCISTA
POR NUESTEA Y VUESTRA LIBERTAD.
19 DE ABRIL DE 2018
Translation: Idisher Culture Farband / Federation of Jewish Cultural Entities of Argentina / On [the] 75 TH Anniversary OF the heroic Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the ICUF reaffirms its anti-fascist fight / For our and your freedom. / April 19, 2018
Plaque on left side of monument #2
MAREK EDELMAN
1918 – 2009
Al heroic comandante del
Levantamiento del Ghetto de Varsovia
POLO DEL JUDAISMO PLURAL
Translation: MAREK EDELMAN / 1918 – 2009 / To the heroic commander of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising /POLE OF PLURAL JUDAISM
The plaque on the left side of monument (#3) was added in 2023 on the 80th anniversary of the Ghetto Uprising. It is inscribed in Spanish and Yiddish and has logotypes of Yiddisher Kultur Farband (ICUF) and Federación de Entidades Culturales Judías de la Argentina (Federation of Jewish Cultural Entities of Argentina).
In Spanish:
A 80 anos del Levantamiento del Ghetto De Varsovia
19-0401943 ǀ 19-04-2023
Sublevación que será siempre la expression más acabada
De quienes no se rinden ante la opresión.
Símbolo de lucha y resistencia.
Nuestro homenaje a lo heroica rebellion en honor a la vida.
Memoria, dignidad y justicia.
¡Por nuestra y vuestra Libertad!
Translation: 80 years after the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising / 19-0401943 │19-04-2023 / [The] Uprising that will always be the most complete expression of those who do not surrender to oppression. / Symbol of fight and resistance. / Our tribute to the heroic rebellion in honor of life. / Memory, dignity and justice. / For our and your Freedom!
In Yiddish:
!מיר זײַנען דאָ
Mir zainen do! !
[followed by logos]
Translation: [In Hebrew alphabet and transliterated in Latin alphabet]: We were there!
[Quote from the Partisan Song or Partizaner lid or Zog nit keyn mol, a Yiddish song considered on the anthems of Holocaust survivors, is often sung in memorial services)
Plaque on right side of monument #1
ICUF desde 1941.
Idisher Cultur
Farband.
Homenaje a los Héroes
Translation: ICUF since 1941 / Idisher Culture Farband / Tribute to Heroes
Plaque on right side of monument #2
Donación del
CENTRO
CULTURAL
VARSOVIA
Adherida al ICUF
Translation: Donation Cultural Center Warsaw, Member of the ICUF
Comissioned by
Federación de Entidades Culturales Judías de la Argentina (Federation of Jewish Cultural Entities of Argentina)
Yiddisher Kultur Farband (ICUF)
sub-set tree:
| Parque Centenario Av. Díaz Vélez, C1414 Buenos Aires, Argentina
J | Jewish man
J | Jewish woman
F | Family | Mother | Mother and child
S | Soldier, warrior
W | Weapons
|
painted plaster (?)
bronze? (plaque)
1.38 m wide
47 cm thick
Plaque base 70 x 42 cm
Bronze plaque 62 x 421 cm
Not visible, name mentioned on plaque inscription.
The monument was created by Argentine sculptor Carlos Biscione, presumably to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It was presented by the Federation of Jewish Cultural Entities of Argentina to the city of Buenos Aires and installed as a monument in 2003, on the 60th anniversary of the Uprising.
The relief is a less than full-size adaptation of the famous bronze relief sculpture by Nathan Rapoport that is the central part of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Monument installed on the site of the Ghetto in 1948.
Additional commemorative plaques have been added to the side of the monument at different times.
The inscriptions multiple times mention the motto "For our and your freedom!" based on the Polish resistance mottos (for example used during the Uprising in 1831) and used by the Fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto.
A plaque added in 2023 on the 80th anniversary of the Ghetto Uprising quotes the Yiddish refrain of the popular Hymn of the Jewish Partisans, written in 1943 by Hirsch Glick:
Zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg. Mir Zainen Do (Never say it's the end of the road. Here we are!).
"Mi Buenos Aires judío: sites to remember and honor,"
Google Arts & Culture, https://artsandculture.google.com/story/mi-buenos-aires-judío-sites-to-remember-and-honor-amia/GgUR2UobVSgCIA?hl=en.