Croatian Righteous - Hrvatski Pravednici© by Darko Žubrinić, Zagreb (1997)Ninety eight Croatian Righteous:
I know of several Croatian families who certainly deserve to enter the category of the Righteous, but for various reasons do not wish to be nominated. According to information I obtained from the Jewish community in Zagreb, as well as by the opinion of Ljubica Štefan, the overall number of Croatian Righteous could be several times larger. Not only the Catholic Church, but also many individuals, families, and the whole villages in Croatia were involved in saving the Jews during WW2. For example:
For more details see [Krišto]. Also Croatian partisans were saving Jews (like 3500 Jews saved in 1943 from the island of Rab, with the help of local population; see below); and even high ustasha officials, like Slavko Kvaternik and Boľidar Cerovski (chief of the ustasha police), both sentenced to death in 1947.
Mr Natan Baruh, an American Jew, wrote a book "Detainee No. 179986"
(published by the Union of Yugoslav Jewish communities in Belgrade in 1985).
The author claims that he was saved by `Serbian peasants' on the island
of Korčula (yes, `Serbian peasants' on Croatian island!). We hope that the
Jewish community in Belgrade will correct this obvious misrepresentation
in a new edition.
Saving the Jews in the town of Trpanj (Peljesac
peninsula) and Korcula, written by professor Pero Cesvinić (Trpanj).
After capitulation of Fascist Italy in September 8, 1943, due to large scale German military operations in the region of Adriatic sea, the lifes of Jews in Fascist concentration camps on the island of Rab were in danger. Namely, it is well known that the Jews in these camps were treated with much care with Italian Fascists, alowing them to organize schools, orchestras, usage of local library, sweeming on beautiful beaches, which is well documented in archives of the Jewish community in Zagreb. Unfortunately this could not be said for nearby concentration camps for Slovenians and Croats, also held by Italian Fascists, led by infamous war criminal Mario Roatta. The death rate in these camps for non-Jews was about 30%, almost as in Nazi camps. See [Štefan, "Mitovi..."]. Upon the initiative of Croatian antifascists (partisans) and their highest
political body called ZAVNOH, which had formed a special Commitee for
evacuation and care for Jews (Komisija za evakuaciju i skrb Židova),
a transportation of 3500 Jews from the endangered island of Rab had been
organized in 1943 to the safe mainland in the region of Lika, across the
largest Croatian mountain Velebit. This was possible only due large scale
cooperation of local Croatian population, which took active part in this
very complicated and extensive operation with their boats, food and everything
else, see [Štefan, "Mitovi..."]. This operation
seems to be much more complex and dangerous than the one in which the
entire Jewish population was saved in Denmark in September 1943, with
active secret participation of several German Nazi officials.
Though the number of Croatian Righteous does not show it, it seems that saving the Jews in Croatia was among the most intensive in the occupied Europe during WW2. Indeed, we know of individuals and families involved in saving the Jews, as well as whole villages, sportsmen, sport clubs, cultural and scientific institutions, clergy and convents led by Alojzije Stepinac, hospitals, ustashas (from prison guard to high officials, even ministers), and as we saw, the whole Croatian population of Croatian Primorje, and partisans.
I express my gratitude to the staff of the library of the
Jewish community in Zagreb for their list of Croatian Rightous. The list
is revised in 1998 according to the book "Stepinac i Židovi" by Ljubica
Štefan. I express my gratitude also to Ljubica Štefan for her generous
help.
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