On April 22, the last detainees from Jasenovac broke out from the concentration camp. Out of 600 persons, only 106 survived. On the same day, detainees also broke out from Kožara, and out of 186 persons, only 11 survived. Those managing Jasenovac planned to set the whole concentration camp on fire and raze it to the ground in order to hide the crimes committed until then. However, they failed to do so. Partisan forces led by Josip Broz Tito continuously progressed and conquered territories and they also reached this part. An investigation of crimes committed in Jasenovac ensued. After the full disclosure of the Ustasha project called Jasenovac, it was established that a huge number of victims killed in this location were Serbs, Roma, Jews and others, mostly political opponents.
During the initial years after the end of the war, crimes committed in Jasenovac were recognised by the Yugoslav Communist Party. Victims of the Ustasha terror in Jasenovac were characterised as victims of fascism, without mentioning their ethnic and racial background. Over the coming decades, Jasenovac became one of the more important elements of culture of remembrance. This is also confirmed by numerous commemorations. As such, it was included in education and museums. Tito’s death brought social uncertainty that led to a gradual rise of primarily Serb, but also other types of nationalism. The narrative about the crimes committed during World War II therefore got a different dimension. The final views, the results of which we can see today, date back to the 1980s, when historical revisionism appeared.
The rich history of Southern Slavs in this area got a new chapter as a result of wars in the 1990s. It included new battles, concentration camps, mass executions by firing squads, urbicide and many other things. All this now needs to be placed in the relevant political and social context. The situation is becoming even more complicated given the fact that we still have not come to terms with events that date back to an even older period of history than the 20th century. As it happens, we have lots of different narratives in a small geographic area and every of them includes a different interpretation of these terrible events.
When it comes to the narrative about Jasenovac today, there are two dominant, but opposing views of the Serb and Croat part of the society and politics. We can say that both of these are a product of nationalism, and as such, they have their political, but no scientific background. While one of these is focused on minimising the number of victims and creating a picture that suits the nationalism behind it, the other one claims that the number of victims is a single-digit number. In case of both types of nationalism, living persons are not sufficient as a bargaining chip, victims are needed as well.
Examples of ethnic mobilisation in case of Croats and Serbs are more than obvious. The question is how should we really remember the victims from Jasenovac and whether the way this had been done in Yugoslavia was right.
However, when it comes to the Jasenovac Memorial Site, remembering victims of this concentration camp still happens the way it should. The educational programme organised by this institution is intended for children and youth aged 13-18. The key objective is learning about World War II, the Ustasha regime, their victims and the anti-fascist resistance in order to ensure critical thinking and independent identification of social processes that might undermine democratic values.
They mostly focus on small groups and the programme consists of four parts: preparation, visiting the permanent exhibition, working at an educational classroom and the final part.
”The preparation aims to make students acquainted with the Jasenovac Memorial Site and motivate them to participate. The visit to the permanent exhibition takes place through work on six topics presented on worksheets. Students are divided into smaller groups, which enables them to communicate and discuss topics directly. The work at the educational classroom involves answering questions from worksheets and a discussion moderated by a museum educator. The final phase of the programme includes a visit of the monument ‘Flower’ by Bogdan Bogdanović, accompanied by a professional guide. This is an opportunity for students to deepen their knowledge about Jasenovac. After this, they return to the educational classroom and express their views and feelings resulting from their work at the Jasenovac educational centre”, says the text of the educational section of the website of the Jasenovac Memorial Site.
The very existence of Jasenovac, just as that of other concentration camps, is a reminder for everyone who is rational enough to understand what was happening in such locations based on historical facts. In case of those who, on the other hand, ignore historical facts, no educational programme will be sufficient to build a culture of remembrance. Or will it?
This article was written in cooperation with Pro Peace BiH.
