The problem of what to do with 141 valuable artworks donated by a man suspected of collaborating with the Nazis during World War II is weighing on the minds of some people in Wollongong.
Key points:
- Wollongong Art Gallery is yet to decide what to do with over 140 artworks donated by Bronius “Bob” Sredersas
- Sredersas collected unique Australian works while he lived in Wollongong after emigrating from Lithuania in 1950
- Sydney Jewish Museum historian Konrad Kwiet says “the artwork is neutral”
Post-war Lithuanian migrant Bronius “Bob” Sredersas donated valuable paintings, wood carvings and ceramics to the city’s art gallery in 1976.
Sredersas died in 1982, but research into his past later revealed it is likely he collaborated with the Nazis during WWII and probably committed war crimes.
The artworks that were on display were removed around a year ago.
“The artwork is neutral,” Sydney Jewish Museum’s resident historian Emeritus Professor Konrad Kwiet said, during a recent visit to Wollongong to deliver a lecture on the topic.
“The artworks have nothing to do with the crimes committed.”
Mr Kwiet is not a lawyer, but he did work as the chief historian with a special investigations unit set up under the Hawke government to prosecute suspected war criminals in Australia.
His research has validated earlier work undertaken by former Wollongong councillor Michael Samaras that found Sredersas served as an intelligence officer in the Nazi security service and was a collaborator during the German occupation of Lithuania.
But Mr Kwiet said the evidence was not conclusive.
“The Australian legislation prescribes a criminal proceeding of murder,” he said.
“So someone must have murdered and for that you need a living witness to testify he or she committed murder.
“We don’t have that in his case.”
Holocaust survivors in Australia
More than 35,000 holocaust survivors made Australia their home up to the 1960s, with the vast majority settling in Sydney and Melbourne.
Sydney Museum chief executive Kevin Sumption told the assembled gallery crowd the case was immensely important for the community he represented.
“Our role really has been to provide the services of Konrad to help investigate these allegations and then, rather than just leaving that as an open investigation, to invite particularly school students to the Sydney Jewish Museum to learn more about this tragic chapter in European and also Australian history,” he said.
Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Darren Bark said the artworks told “a story of art and culture.”
“Now, they can tell a story of history and education,” he said.
“And so what we hope to see is the continuous connection between the Jewish community, the Wollongong community and the institutions here.”
Mr Samaras first raised concerns about the paintings when he noticed in documents that Sredersas’s listed profession was policeman with the Lithuanian government’s department of security.
Many police from Lithuania ended up in the Auxiliary Police Battalion, which did much of the killing in the Holocaust, according to Mr Samaras.
He was pleased that during the lecture, Konrad Kwiet confirmed many of his initial findings.
“I think it’s clear that he was a collaborator … but did he actually kill someone? That’s not proven,” Mr Samaras said.
What happens to the art now is still a matter of considerable debate and negotiation.
Professor Kwiet said the paintings should be used to educate the public about the past.
“I think now that this whole collection has obtained a very important educational function,” he said.
“It could be used to tell the story of immigration or multiculturalism, of the arrival of alleged war criminals, but also of refugees.”
