In the Donja Gradina Memorial Area today, the Remembrance Day for the victims of the genocide against Serbs, Jews, and Roma in the Independent State of Croatia was observed, in an atmosphere that from the very beginning was marked by silence, dignity, and a pronounced sense of piety.
Already in the early morning hours, the gathering of citizens, students, families, and descendants of the victims began, arriving in organized groups at the memorial complex to pay their respects to the 700,000 innocently perished Serbs, Jews, and Roma in the Jasenovac concentration camp.
As the day progressed, the space of Donja Gradina filled with delegations from Republika Srpska and Serbia, representatives of institutions and the Serbian Orthodox Church, as well as numerous visitors. Among the officials were the president of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, the Serbian member of the Presidency of BiH Željka Cvijanović, the president of Republika Srpska Siniša Karan, as well as the leader of the SNSD Milorad Dodik, while the presence of international representatives added further weight to the event itself.
The program began with a liturgy and a memorial service, served in the spirit of remembrance and prayer for the fallen. This was followed by the laying of wreaths and flowers on the memorial fields, every inch of which is soaked in the blood of the innocent, which was one of the most powerful visual moments of the commemoration, while those gathered paid their respects to the victims in silence.
The addresses by officials were dominated by messages about preserving historical truth and warnings that the suffering must not be forgotten or relativized.
The president of Republika Srpska Siniša Karan said:
“Today we stand on holy ground, because Donja Gradina is not an ordinary execution site, but consecrated Serbian land sprinkled with the blood of martyrs.”
He emphasized that the genocide against Serbs is a historical fact, not a matter of interpretation, with a warning about the danger of revisionism and attempts to distort history.
The Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, in his address, emphasized the spiritual dimension of the place of suffering and the importance of prayerful remembrance:
“We have been gathered by this holy place – Donja Gradina, land soaked in human tears and human blood, but also sanctified by prayer.”
He added that remembrance is necessary, not leading to hatred, but to humility and responsibility towards life and the future.
While messages of peace and a call for forgiveness could be heard in Donja Gradina, it was also pointed out that one must not forget, and that such crimes must never be allowed to happen again.
A special international weight was given to the commemoration by the president of Israel Isaac Herzog, whose message was read at the gathering:
“History has taught us that we must never allow acts of depravity and rhetoric of hatred to pass without a response, because otherwise they may be repeated.”
He warned of the lasting obligation to fight against hatred and discrimination.
The special envoy of US President Donald Trump for monitoring and combating antisemitism, Yehuda Kaplun, said:
“We stand today on holy ground, a place of unspeakable horror that is a reminder of what happens when evil is not kept in check.”
He added that remembrance is a key obligation so that historical tragedies are never repeated.
The commemoration proceeded in a peaceful and dignified tone, with a shared message from all speakers that the truth must be preserved, victims respected, and history must not be forgotten.
We remind you, according to data from the Donja Gradina Memorial Area, about 700,000 victims perished in the Jasenovac camp during World War II, among whom were about 500,000 Serbs. They were killed systematically – men, women, children, and the elderly, and the cruelty of this death camp is also evidenced by the fact that the victims were killed in 52 ways.
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Author / Photo: Ognjan Veselinović