Croatian Leader
Apologizes For Book
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"Best Teen Shopping — 1993" — Detroit Monthly
HARD MALL ellARD TARE
Washington (JTA) — Croa-
tian President Franjo Tud-
jman apologized this week to
the Jewish community for
sections of a book he wrote
that are widely viewed as
anti-Semitic.
In a letter to B'nai B'rith
President Kent Schiner, Mr.
Tudjman pledged that the
English-language version of
the book, soon to be
distributed in the United
States, will not contain the
offending sections.
In his letter, Mr. Tudjman
said the negative reaction
from Jews around the world
to his book "has affected me
deeply and has caused me to
re-examine my statements
and to re-evaluate those
parts of the book in which I
cited documents and per-
sonal views of some writer or
participant."
His letter was presented to
B'nai B'rith representativs
by acting Croatian Ambas-
sador Kresimir Cosic at the
Croatian Embassy here.
Mr. Tudjman's book,
Wastelands of Historical
Reality, was published in
1989 and consists of Mr.
Tudjman's reflections on
history.
In it, Mr. Tudjman made
statements such as thanking
God that neither he nor his
wife are Jewish or Serbian.
He also alleged that the
fact that 6 million Jews died
in the Holocaust "is based to
the greatest extent on emo-
tionally biased testimonies
as well as on one-sided and
exaggerated data on postwar
calculations of war crimes
and on the settling of ac-
counts with the defeated
perpetrators of war crimes."
In the past he has claimed
his statements or writings
were mistranslated.
Sidney Clearfield, B'nai
B'rith's executive vice presi-
dent, who received the letter
from the Croatian ambas-
sador, said Mr. Tudjman's
book is "full of" anti-Semitic
statements.
The B'nai B'rith leader
said in an interview that the
book takes the perspective
that Jews brought the Holo-
caust and other persecutions
on themselves.
But in a statement, Mr.
Clearfield called Mr. Tud-
jman's letter "a first step
toward mending fences."
Mr. Tudjman has long
been viewed as controversial
by Jews. Last year, the U.S.
Sidney Clearfield:
Received ambassador's letter.
Holocaust Memorial Muse-
um came under fire from
many Jewish groups for in-
viting Mr. Tudjman to its
opening ceremonies, along
with other world leaders.
A spokesperson for the
museum said the point was
to educate him.
In his letter to B'nai
B'rith, Mr. Tudjman wrote,
"It is in terms of my evolv-
ing relationship with and in-
creased understanding of the
Jewish people that I now
realize the hurtfulness of
certain of the portions of this
In the past he
claimed his
writings were
mistranslated.
book and the misunderstan-
ding they have caused.
"For this I offer an
apology, both as the presi-
dent of a newly independent
state which wishes to forge a
firm and enduring friend-
ship with the Jewish people,
and as a human being who
desires to make amends."
He added that he would
"work toward an ever better
understanding between the
Jewish communities and the
Republic of Croatia."
Croatia, once part of
Yugoslavia, became in-
dependent in 1991. During
World War II, it was an ac-
tive ally of Nazi Germany
and was the site of a noto-
rious death camp,
Jasenovac, in which Serbs,
Jews and Gypsies were
slaughtered in the most
bestial manners, sometimes
by Croatian priests. ❑