JBD alarmed by alleged Nazi link to Wollongong identity
The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD) is alarmed by revelations that the late Lithuanian migrant Mr Bronius ‘Bob’ Sredersas, a well known Wollongong identity, may have been a member of the Nazi Party’s Schutzstaffel (SS) and their intelligence apparatus, the Sicherheitsdienst (SD).
JBD CEO Darren Bark commented, “The JBD has written to Wollongong City Council Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery AM on Monday stating the NSW Jewish community’s deep concerns about these allegations.
“The allegations against Mr Sredersas are extremely serious and claim he was intimately involved in the Holocaust and the barbaric mass murder of millions of Jews and other minorities, people with a disability and political prisoners.
“We call on Wollongong City Council to join with the Sydney Jewish Museum to investigate the veracity of these claims and, should they be proven, we call on Wollongong City Council to do the right thing and distance the Wollongong community from Mr Sredersas, including removing his name and image from any public monuments commemorating his life.
“The Sydney Jewish Museum is ideally placed to undertake further research if deemed necessary given its access to significant historical data and close relationships with historians who specialise in the Holocaust and World War II.
“The JBD has offered to meet with Wollongong Council and we look forward to working with them to establish whether Mr Sredersas deserves a place in Wollongong’s history.”
