Wollongong political leaders are demanding further investigation into claims a key figure in founding the city's art gallery was linked to Nazi Holocaust crimes.
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In 1976, Lithuanian steelworker Bronius "Bob" Sredersas gifted the city more than 100 notable paintings, ceramics and artefacts which became the founding pillars for Wollongong Art Gallery to open in 1978.
In January this year, Wollongong City Council - who are responsible for the gallery - were made aware of documents linking the much celebrated immigrant to involvement with the intelligence arm of the Nazi SS, which was instrumental in the mass killing of Lithuanian Jews during World War II.
At the time, council chose not pursue any further investigation.
"In no other city would we honour the contribution of a benefactor by turning a blind eye to their involvement in the worst atrocities of the 20th Century," said Stephen Jones, Member for Whitlam.
Deputy Mayor Tania Brown said she would be writing to council's general manager to call for an independent review of the documents to determine their validity and then make a decision as to what should be done.
"You don't want to honour someone if that is truly the history ... we have to take action, but equally I want to know for sure," Cr Brown said. "We need to get all the evidence first and make a decision as a community."
Councillor Cath Blakey took to social media, labelling the revelations as "disturbing', also vowing to push council and the gallery to review the veneration of the foundational benefactor.
Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery gave a brief statement, acknowledging the allegations were "a source of concern" but said the organisation was "waiting for further advice".
Wollongong Council was also approached for comment, though are yet to provide a response.
The Holocaust matters to all of us, not just to Lithuanians or Germans or Jews, it matters to everybody.
- Michael Samaras
In a letter to council, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies said they were "alarmed by the revelations" and has offered their assistance in further research of the claims.
"We are working with the Sydney Jewish Museum [SJM] to deem if further research is necessary," wrote their President Lesli Berger and CEO Darren Bark.
"The SJM is ideally placed to assist council in determining the most appropriate way forward with respect to any commemoration of Mr Sredersas. The museum has access to significant historical data and close relationships with historians who specialise in the Holocaust and World War II."
The man who uncovered Sredersas' dark past was former Wollongong councillor Michael Samaras, whom after seeing a 2018 exhibition honouring the life of the Lithuanian felt something was odd about a lack of information on his whereabouts during WWII.
"In the publicity [for the exhibition] they said he was a secret policeman in Lithuania, and I knew just from my general knowledge what the police battalions got up to in Lithuania - I thought 'hang on, I need to look into this'," Mr Samaras said.
It took Mr Samaras nearly four years of research to find archived documents showing Sredersas has been employed by the "SD" (Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsfuhrers) which was the intelligence section of the Nazi SS during the 1940s.
"It was established by the mass murderer Reinhard Heydrich, and was deeply involved in the Holocaust," Mr Samaras said.
Around 95 per cent of Lithuania's Jewish population was killed over the three-year German occupation during the war, with many non-Jewish local paramilitaries assisting.
Mr Samaras sent copies of the documents, along with an assessment from Holocaust researchers at the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Jerusalem to Wollongong Art Gallery, only to receive a response from council (on the gallery's behalf) stating they would not pursue it further.
"I was feeling really distressed and agitated and profoundly disappointed in Wollongong Council, as I thought this was an opportunity for them to demonstrate the best way to manage a cultural institution," he said. "The Holocaust matters to all of us, not just to Lithuanians or Germans or Jews, it matters to everybody."
One of the spaces inside Wollongong Art Gallery is currently named after Sredersas along with a plaque upon the wall, historical essays have been written about the man while personal items have also been preserved.
This led Mr Samaras to take this information to the public, starting with the national publication The Guardian Australia, as what we know about this beloved philanthropist could be a complete fairytale.
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