Remembrance at refurbished memorial
The Victorian Association of Jewish Ex and Servicemen and Women was involved in three events to commemorate Remembrance Day 2016.
THE Victorian Association of Jewish Ex and Servicemen and Women (VAJEX) was involved in three events to commemorate Remembrance Day 2016, the 98th anniversary of the 1918 armistice that ended World War I, and a day of reflection about the fallen and the survivors of all wars.
VAJEX joined with the Caulfield RSL (Returned and Services League) sub-branch and the New Zealand RSL sub-branch on November 6 for a combined service open to the general community.
“It is the only one, worldwide, that is run by the Aussies, Kiwis and Jews jointly,” stated VAJEX president Judy Landau on the VAJEX website.
On November 13, Brigadier Neale Bavington, chairman of the Reserve Forces Day Council (Victoria) addressed a VAJEX luncheon. Earlier in the day, a ceremony, including a wreath laying, was conducted at the Victorian Jewish World War I and World War II memorial.
The monument, located in a Ripponlea park, has been refurbished to correctly display the years of World War II as “1939-1945”, after an earlier version stated the years as “1938-1945” in multiple places.
The error had drawn the ire of the Victorian branch of the Australian Jewish Historical Society and of Melbourne Ports MP Michael Danby after the monument was unveiled in 2015.
Landau told The AJN earlier this year that “1938” had been used in order to include Kristallnacht, but acknowledged the historical error, as the events of Kristallnacht occurred well before the outbreak of World War II.
A plaque honouring the victims of Kristallnacht has been added to the monument.
PETER KOHN
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