The bombing of
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
in World War II was carried out by the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
from 1944 until 1945. According to a 1950 census of war victims, a total of 327 people were killed by bombing.
Over the course of the bombing, the areas of
Črnomerec,
Borongaj Borongaj is a neighborhood the Peščenica – Žitnjak district of Zagreb, Croatia. It is situated south of the main railway along Branimir Branimir () is a Slavic male given name. It is a combination of the ( Slavic) verb ''braniti'' ("to defend ...
and
Pleso
Zagreb Franjo Tuđman Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Franjo Tuđman Zagreb) or Zagreb Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Zagreb) () is an international airport serving Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest and busiest airport in Croatia. In 2019 it handled 3. ...
were hit the hardest. Borongaj was targeted as a location of a military airfield.
On February 22, 1944, a Dominican monastery was hit by the bombing, resulting in the deaths of eight theology students. In response to these deaths, archbishop of Zagreb
Aloysius Stepinac
Aloysius Viktor Cardinal Stepinac ( hr, Alojzije Viktor Stepinac, 8 May 1898 – 10 February 1960) was a senior-ranking Yugoslav Croat prelate of the Catholic Church. A cardinal, Stepinac served as Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 until his de ...
sent a letter to the British ambassador to the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
.
On May 30, 1944, 100 bombs were dropped on Borongaj, each weighing 250 kg.
In 2007 and 2008,
unexploded ordnance was found in
Maksimir
Maksimir () is one of the districts of Zagreb, Croatia, population 48,902 (2011 census). Maksimir stadium and Maksimir Park are located in it. It was named for Bishop Maksimilijan Vrhovac.
The urban center of the Maksimir district is located arou ...
during construction. In 2008 a bomb was found in the nearby town of
Sveta Nedelja.
Timeline
*February 22, 1944 –
Fifteenth Air Force
The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...
attacked.
[Kit C Carter, Robert Mueller, ''The Army Air Forces in World War II: Combat Chronology, 1941–1945''. DIANE Publishing, 1975]
*April 6, 1944 – Fifteenth Air Force attacked, six US aircraft downed.
*May 24, 1944 – Fifteenth Air Force attacked.
*May 30, 1944 – Fifteenth Air Force attacked.
*June 30, 1944 – Fifteenth Air Force attacked.
*July 7, 1944 – Fifteenth Air Force attacked.
*January 5, 1945 – Fifteenth Air Force attacked.
*January 19, 1945 – Fifteenth Air Force attacked.
*February 13, 1945 – Fifteenth Air Force attacked.
*March 4, 1945 – Fifteenth Air Force attacked.
*March 12, 1945 –
Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Force attacked.
*March 14, 1945 – Fifteenth Air Force attacked.
References
Bibliography
*
{{Yugoslav Front
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
1940s in Zagreb
Croatia in World War II