The 80th anniversary of the breakout of the Ustasha concentration camp from World War II was marked in Jasenovac today, in the presence of representatives of the state leadership, representatives of the peoples of the victims, anti-fascist associations, and surviving camp inmates.
The commemoration entitled "80 years, 80 destinies" under the auspices of the Croatian Parliament was organized in the Jasenovac Memorial Area near the "Flower" monument, and participants arrived at it in the Column of Remembrance from the Memorial Museum, reports N1.
The column was led by Croatian President Zoran Milanović, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, paying tribute to the victims of the Ustasha regime.
"We pay tribute to the innocent victims and clearly condemn the crimes of the Ustasha regime. For the sake of new generations and historical truth – we do not forget," Plenković wrote on the X network.
He stressed that the government will continue to support the activities of the Public Institution of the Jasenovac Memorial Area.
Unlike previous years, this year's commemoration was attended by all state officials, representatives of the victim nations, anti-fascist associations, and surviving camp inmates.
It was one of the rare events in recent years where both President Zoran Milanović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković attended without avoiding each other. They shook hands and had a brief conversation, according to N1.
The president and prime minister, who come from different political options, have had extremely strained relations for years, often exchanging insults in public, and in recent years have largely avoided each other at the rare events they were present at at the same time.
Several ministers attended the commemorative gathering in Jasenovac, including foreign affairs minister Gordan Grlić Radman, interior minister Davor Božinović, and culture minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek. The victims were represented at the commemoration by the president of the Serbian National Council Boris Milošević, the representative of the Jewish community Ognjen Kraus, and the representative of the Roma minority Veljko Kajtazi.
The Alliance of Anti-Fascist Fighters and Anti-Fascists was represented by Franjo Habulin, and former Croatian President Stjepan Mesić also came to Jasenovac, as well as representatives of political parties, institutions, associations and several cities.
As part of the commemorative program, a musical program was performed and excerpts from the testimonies of surviving camp inmates were read.
Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek told reporters that it is important to send a message that these "terrible crimes must not be forgotten, because if they are forgotten, if they are not learned about, there is a fear that they will happen again."
"That's why it's important to cultivate a culture of remembrance," said the minister.
In recent years, there has been a lot of disagreement about the commemoration and its holding, so people went to Jasenovac in several columns.
For several years, representatives of the victims' people and anti-fascists went to Jasenovac separately, and last year the Jewish community did so, refusing to be part of the official state commemoration.
They then laid wreaths separately, as did representatives of the opposition parties Mozome and the Social Democratic Party.
The main reason for the boycott was dissatisfaction with the lack of an explicit ban on the Ustasha salute "Ready for Homeland".
The commemoration in Jasenovac is dedicated to the breakout of the 600 remaining Jasenovac camp inmates on April 22, 1945, of whom about 100 survived.
The Jasenovac concentration camp was a death camp and the largest execution ground in Croatia. It was established during World War II as a place of imprisonment, forced labor, and liquidation primarily of Serbs, Roma, Jews, but also anti-fascist Croats and others with the aim of creating an ethnically pure territory of the quisling NDH.
In that camp, from August 1941 to April 22, 1945, people were killed because of their religious, national or ideological affiliation. It included camps in Bročice, Krapje, Jasenovac and Stara Gradiška.
The Jasenovac Memorial Area Public Institution has collected the names of 83.145 victims. Of these, 47.627 are Serbs, 16.173 Roma, 13.116 Jews, 4.255 Croats and 1.128 Bosniaks.
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