Rosina's notice about the exhibition in Belgrade reminds me of my visit last fall to the Museum of Vojvodina in Novi Sad. The special exhibition at that time was billed to focus on the Donauschwaben settling in Vojvodina [the western Banat], but that actually took up a rather modest part of the exhibition. In actuality, it was a cultural exhibition encompassing the various ethnic peoples who occupied the Vojvodina region throughout the 18th to 20th Centuries - with some deeper history too. The exhibits were sensitively and thoughtfully executed, yet I still sensed a slight caricature aspect to the various ethnic identities. I wondered if we all tend to do this to other cultures in our own museums, and decided it is probably so. All in all, it was enriching to see the old artifacts and to experience the modern Serbian perspective on the distant past. Occasionally words can become heated on the Banat list from those most directly affected by past events. There remains plenty of bitterness to go around in the old Yugoslavia, but average people strive every day to set aside grievance in pursuit of a better life for themselves and their families. Whatever barbs may remain from the USA bombing their country just 16 years ago, everyone who my wife and I met in Serbia was cordial and even warm to guests who would bother to come see their land. It is not always easy to move ahead, but sincere efforts are afoot in Yugoslavia to learn from the past and see the future with fresh eyes. We should recognize and applaud those efforts. Happy Earth Day. Regards, Charlie Tiller St. Paul, MN > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 15:43:07 -0700 > From: Rosina <[email protected]> > Subject: [BANAT-L] Exhibition in Belgrade > To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-2 > > > > Hello Danube Swabian Research Friends, > > A new exhibition just opened in Belgrade. Its called "U ime naroda! Politicka represija u srbiji 1944-1953" (In the name of the Folk! Political repression in Serbia 1944-1953). > > If you are traveling to that corner of the world in the next little while, don't fail to have a look. It even covers the Danube Swabian expulsion. > > If you go, we would love to hear about your impression. > > Easter greetings and see you in Mt. Angel, Oregon, come September! > > Rosina T. Schmidt > www.hrastovac.net > www.danube-swabians.org/MtAngel > > > > > ------------------------------ > > To contact the BANAT list administrator, send an email to > [email protected] > > To post a message to the BANAT mailing list, send an email to [email protected] > > __________________________________________________________ > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] > with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of the > email with no additional text. > > > End of BANAT Digest, Vol 9, Issue 86 > ************************************