Calls to dissolve Sredersas’ ‘gift’
'Given the revelation that Sredersas was a Nazi during the German occupation of his homeland Lithuania, the status of this collection requires re-evaluation'
FORMER director of the Wollongong Art Gallery Peter O’Neill has called for the Bob Sredersas collection to be dissolved, with all funds donated by Wollongong Council to the Sydney Jewish Museum.
Bronius “Bob” Sredersas bequeathed his entire personal collection of over 100 works (all of them local) to the Wollongong Art Gallery before his death in 1982. His donation was known as ‘The Gift’ and was housed in a wing of the gallery named after him, but earlier this year it was revealed that Sredersas was a Nazi collaborator.
Professor Konrad Kwiet, a Dutch Holocaust historian at the Sydney Jewish Museum, was tasked with investigating the past of Lithuanian immigrant Sredersas and concluded that he was a Nazi collaborator during the German occupation of Lithuania. Furthermore, it was revealed that he concealed his wartime service to present himself as a Lithuanian refugee, allowing him to immigrate to Australia in 1950.
In the wake of the revelations, Wollongong Art Gallery has removed a name plaque paying tribute to Sredersas’ donation, while its website has been updated to educate visitors on his past.
But O’Neill, who served as the director of the gallery from 1991-2007, says more must be done.
“Given the revelation that Sredersas was a Nazi during the German occupation of his homeland Lithuania, the status of this collection requires re-evaluation,” O’Neill wrote in a letter to the Illawarra Mercury.
“It is my firm and considered view that the Australian artists represented in this collection, and the gallery itself, deserve their own reputations to remain untainted by this revelation.
“In accordance with this view, I strongly recommend that these works of art be deaccessioned from the collection of the Wollongong Art Gallery and that all funds acquired through this process be donated by the City of Wollongong to the Jewish Museum Sydney.”
Wollongong Council said they are still working through “several other actions”, with ongoing advice and support from the Sydney Jewish Museum and the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies.
“Preliminary advice from these institutions has not included dissolving the collection,” a spokesperson said.
“Several ideas about using the gift and its history as a platform for educative purposes for both our local community and visitors are being explored. This includes holding a public lecture, as well as hosting Courage to Care, an exhibition about the impacts of the Holocaust, in the gallery’s 2023 exhibition program.
“A decision regarding the collection will be made when all relevant advice has been provided and considered.”
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