Wiesenthal Center Demands Dismissal of Croatian High School Director Who Refused to Display Anne Frank Exhibition Which Also Depicted Ustasha (Croatian Fascist) Crimes

January 24, 2017

Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today sent a letter of protest to the Croatian charge d'affaires in Tel Aviv demanding the immediate dismissal of the director of a high school in Sibenik, who refused to display an exhibition on Anne Frank, because it also included panels on crimes by Croatian Ustasha against Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-Fascist Croatians.

The exhibition, which was prepared by the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, and focused on the story of the well-known diarist Anne Frank, included several additional panels to explain the context of the Holocaust in Croatia, highlighting the role of the Ustasha in the mass murder of local minorities and those opposed to their regime.

In the letter sent to Croatian charge d'affairs Tina Krce this morning by chief Nazi-hunter and director of Eastern European affairs Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the center noted the danger of entrusting the education of high school students to Ustasha sympathizers.

According to Zuroff's letter:
"I assume that you are well aware of the crimes committed by the Ustasha and recognize the importance of teaching Croatian children about the dangers of nationalist extremism. We therefore urge you to convey our strongest sense of outrage that Ustasha supporters are entrusted with the education of high school students in Sibenik and hope that Mr. Belamaric will be removed from his post as soon as possible. A failure to do so will indicate that Ustasha nostalgia is perfectly legitimate in today's Croatian school system."


For additional information please contact the Israel Office of the Wiesenthal Center:
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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).