I have a distant relative in Croatia who just contacted me about a horrible situation happening to his family just because his grandfather had been Jewish. His family is being discriminated against and is facing eviction from their palatial home on the 12th of January at 9:00am.
The story is that his grandfather, Alfred Krupa, was a Polish Jew living there when the 2nd World War broke out unlike my grandfather who had left and had come to Oregon. Alfred Krupa could be a possible relative to Gene Krupa, the drummer. His family found themselves caught in the holocaust and had been moved from one Nazi death camp to another. His sister was burned alive by the Germans. He survived the gas chamber by a fortuitous act of G-d. Just as the guard was about to close the chamber door, a Russian air force squadron dive-bombed the camp and blew it into oblivion, but not where he was standing.
Alfred escaped amidst all the terror and mayhem but later found himself recruited into the Afrika Korps who, of all things, trained him for desert combat by sending him to a barracks nestled in the Tirolean Mountains. Once he had finished his induction, he was whisked off to the Balkans where his regiment was supposed to quell partisan insurgency and connected with the Ustazi and the Hungarians to assist with the extermination of the Jewish population!
A couple of days into his tour of duty his company was annihilated by a platoon of Croatian partisans. Again, Alfred managed to cheat death by hurling himself over a large rock only to find himself staring down the barrel of a partisan's rifle.
Alfred tried to explain to the lad that he was Polish but to no avail. Just as the chap was about to pull the trigger, a little old lady from the Red Cross suddenly jumped up, punched the partisan, and the gun discharged in mid-air. Discussions ensued and Alfred began his career as a Croatian partisan in charge of heavy gun batteries.
During this latest stage in his military vocation, Alfred assisted in the rescue of Winston Churchill's son, who had been shot down by German anti-aircraft guns, and he loyally served his adopted nation with honor and distinction. When he retired after the war he was feted as a highly decorated Croatian national hero.
Alfred Krupa moved to Karlovac, Croatia, married a local ethnic Croatian girl and spent the rest of his remaining years as a celebrated artist, considered to be one of the best watercolourists of the 20th century.
What happened to his growing family in Croatia, a country who had allied itsself with Hitler and had established a Nazi state? The Croatians had exterminated hundreds of thousands of Serbs and tens of thousands of Jews. If you visit the Yasenovatz death camp in Croatia, you will find Jews and Serbs buried there together in mass graves.
Alfred Krupa's family had converted to Catholicism. His son, Mladen continued the family's loyal military tradition. During their Balkan conflict of the early 1990's Major Mladen Krupa co-founded the Karlovac County regiment of the Croatian Army of Liberation and organized their engineering units. As the war continued, Mladen's son, Alfred Krupa Jr. managed to defect from the Yugoslavian forces and join his father as a non-commissioned officer. Both men served the Croatian Republic with loyalty and distinction as their sire, Alfred Sr. had done before them.
For the past three generations this Tarnawa-Krupa family have been lauded as prominent Croatian intellectuals and artists. Alfred is a leading professor of fine art, his works are displayed in Karlovac Museum and are a part of many private collections both in Croatia and across the world. He is a member of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce in London, the Croatian Society of Arts and the Croatian Society of Art Historians in Zagreb. His work has been exhibited in 16 single-artist exhibitions across Croatia and have formed part of many other exhibitions in Croatia and Germaniy.
Though they were once Jewish, they are now baptised Catholics who descended from an ancient Polish noble and royal family. Alfred Krupa Jr. introduced and established the Western European Catholic Order of Knights Templars in Croatia. He held the office of Grand Prior, assisted by his father. He was bestowed the title of Imperial Chevalier by HIH Crown Prince Jacobe Wossen, received a titular Duchy of Jerusalem and later served in the Knights Templars as Chief of Protocol in the Grand Preceptory of La Rochelle. All this hasn't prevented them from also receiving a terrible punishment for this past Jewish connection.
They had established a successful business, AutoKrupa Ltd. They had a beautiful home in the beautiful Palace of Karlovac. They had a perfect record of being excellent business men, paying its overheads, being financially sound and debt free. The family was financially well off and owned desirable property, were well liked and respected.
Their bankers, Zagrebacka Banka d.d. Of Zagreb invented a debt of 30,000 euros and charged it to their business, the guarantors being Major and Mrs. Mladen Tarnaawa-Krupa. Their home, worth some 250,,000 Euros was offered to their bank as surety.
On April 14, 2003, the bank filed a suit against them and have been trying to get their business and home. Now they face eviction on January 12, 2010. They have been fighting this ever since then.
They feel that even though they are baptised Catholics and having been excellent citizens of the Republic, they are known to be ultimately of Hebrew descent and this fact seems to have been enough of an excuse for racial hatred fueled by greed, jealousy and envy of the Croatian Mafia. The judges in the case are low paid who use their powers to do the bidding of their mob masters who use the police as their own private militia.
At the same time, Croatia hopes for absorbtion into Pan Europa and is to negotiate membership of the European Union. Are Europeans going to go along with this oppressive bankrupt regime that is governed by such a mafia-operating government?
This family faces complete anniliation and do not want to leave. They now fear for their very safety and physical existence. They may have to seek refugee status in Europe. Three generations away from being Jewish, and they they still may be paying the price for this country's anti-semitism. This is why to me Israel is so important a haven for Jews. There seems to be no end to anti-semitism in the world. Germany reacted the same way. If a person had one ancestor that was found to be Jewish, they were thrown into the concentration camps. It didn't matter what religion they were professing to be.
Until Croatia shapes up, tourists should think twice before contributing to their tourist industry by visiting there. We don't want to let them think that their behavior is acceptable and condoned.
Anyone interested in helping this family can write to the following:
European Commission on anti-racism :
combat.racism@coe.int
Just to let America know what Croatia is like, write to the following:
United States congress at:
www.house.gov/writerep/
Reference: writing from Mladen Krupa, Croatia
Victor Sharpe, author of Politicide Volume 2 dealing with Croatia.