Gračani massacre

The Massacre of Gračani occurred in May 1945 in Gračani, a neighborhood of Zagreb, Croatia.

After the end of World War II, Yugoslav partisans and communists started to persecute "national enemies" in Croatia, mostly civilians and captured Croatian and German soldiers. From May 10, 1945, until July 1945, partisans killed around 6,000 people. Most of the victims were civilians who didn't agree with the communist regime. All executions were committed by the 6th Lika Proletarian Division "Nikola Tesla" and members of Yugoslav police (milicija).

All victims were killed in the area of Medvednica. Later, during investigations in the late 1990s, witnesses described the process of torture and killing. They confirmed that victims were fastened with chains and killed by asphyxiation, shooting or decapitation.[1]

The first victims were exhumed in October 2012, when forensic experts found and identified 783 bodies in one mass grave.[2] In another grave, experts found the bodies of 30 teenagers (16–17 years of age) that were bound by chains and appeared to have been shot.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Željko Tomašević, Hidden graves, Croatian Association "Benedict", published December 2, 2012, retrieved February 1, 2017 (in Croatian)
  2. ↑ Vukic, Ina. "Croatia: Catholic Church set on ending distressing injustice for victims of communist crimes". Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  3. ↑ HINA, Excavating of mass graves started in Gračani, Slobodna Dalmacija, published October 22, 2012, access date February 1, 2017 (in Croatian)

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