When western companies appropriate other people’s pain, history and culture

 

It has come to this: images of monuments to victims of Holocaust at the site of former death camp in Croatia in which tens of thousands of Jews, Bosniaks, Serbs, Roma and Yugoslav resistance members were put to death are used to sell sunglasses.

To whom it may concern,
With this letter the Institute for Research of Genocide Canada would like to file a formal complaint against your company’s use of images of monuments to victims of Holocaust.
The use of such images for commercial use such as selling sunglasses or any other for that matter is strictly prohibited and proper complaints against your company will be filed.
Sincerely,
Alena Demirovic
Communications Specialist
Institute for Research of Genocide Canada

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“To Whom It May Concern:
I write to express dismay and disgust over your use of a monument to Holocaust victims on a commercial website. While you might find monuments across Eastern Europe “cool”, for many of us they are sacred objects that testify that thousands of people have been imprisoned under horrific conditions, tortured and murdered. Do you even know what Jasenovac Camp was? Do you care? What is next? Trail of Tears blankets? Auschwitz clothing? I am sorry, but this truly is off limits. I will be sharing my letter with Anti-Defamation League, Institute for Research of Genocide Canada, Southern Poverty Center and other organizations working to preserve the memory of Holocaust and learn from it. You clearly have learned nothing.
Respectfully,
Tanja Softić
Professor of Art
University of Richmond”