The Banski Grabovac massacre was the mass killing of 1,100-1,200 Serb civilians by the Croatian fascist Ustaše movement on 24-25 July 1941, during World War II. After the Axis

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was p ...

, Adolf Hitler set up the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a puppet state ruled by the fascist Croatian Ustaše regime led by Ante Pavelić. The Ustaše then embarked on a campaign of genocide against the Serb, Jewish and

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

population within the borders of the state. The massacre occurred after acts of resistance against the NDH by armed Serbian peasants. The first major clash between the Ustaše and anti-fascists in the territory of Croatia took place in the village of Banski Grabovac on July 23-24 when 42 rebels charged a municipal building and train station, seizing more than 50 rifles. On July 24-25, the Ustaše captured the village and arrested more than 1,200 Serbs from surrounding villages. Approximately 800 people were shot and killed on the spot while others were taken to the

Jadovno concentration camp The Jadovno concentration camp was a concentration and extermination camp in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II. Commanded by Juco Rukavina, it was the first of twenty-six concentration camps in the NDH during the war. Est ...

and killed there. Nearly the entire village's Serb population was annihilated. Those killed on location were buried in mass graves near the village's station.

References

Massacres in the Independent State of Croatia 1941 in Croatia Massacres in 1941 History of the Serbs of Croatia Mass murder in 1941 Massacres of Serbs {{massacre-stub