Dotrščina is a forest park in the northeast 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 ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. It is a protected area as the Dotrščina Memorial Cemetery and Park of the Revolution, because it is the historical site of mass executions in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It is located north of the

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 ...

forest park and south of the

Medvednica Medvednica () is a mountain in central Croatia, just north of Zagreb, and marking the southern border of the historic region of Zagorje. The highest peak, at is Sljeme. Most of the area of Medvednica is a nature park (''park prirode''), a type ...

mountain, and includes 365 cadastral acres (approx. 2 km²), mostly of forested area.

History

During the time of

Zagreb in World War II When World War II started, Zagreb was the capital of the newly formed autonomous Banovina of Croatia within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which remained neutral in the first years of the war. After the Invasion of Yugoslavia by Germany and Italy on ...

, starting from May 1941, the Ustasha brought their victims here day and night, and killed them systematically. Victims were most often thrown into common pits, and therefore there is no insight into where anyone was buried. According to the latest research from 1985, it was estimated that around 7,000 anti-fascists were executed here, including around 2,000 members of the

Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...

and the

League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia , SKOJ mk, Сојуз на комунистичката младина на Југославија, СКМЈ sl, Zveza komunistične mladine Jugoslavije, ZKMJ , colorcode = red , founded = 1919 , dissolved = 1948 , succeeded by = League of S ...

. Some notable Croatian intelectualls who were executed here were Ivan Krndelj, Dr

Božidar Adžija Božidar Adžija ( sr-Cyrl, Божидар Аџија; 24 December 1890 – 9 July 1941) was a Yugoslav communist politician and publicist. Biography A native of Drniš in the Kingdom of Dalmatia (present-day Croatia), of Croat and Serb descent, ...

Otokar Keršovani Otokar Keršovani (23 February 1902 – 9 July 1941) was a Croatian and Yugoslav journalist, literary critic, publicist and communist politician. He was born in Trieste, which was part of Austria-Hungary at the time. The collapse of the Habsburg ...

Ognjen Prica Ognjen Prica (27 November 1899 – 9 July 1941) was a Yugoslav communist politician and journalist known for his roles in the League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia and the League of Communists of Croatia. He was a victim of the Nazi-backed ND ...

Viktor Rosenzweig Viktor Rosenzweig (1914–1941) was a Croatian-Jewish communist, poet and writer. Rosenzweig was born in Ruma in 1914. During high school education he became a member of the Young Communist League of Yugoslavia - SKOJ (from Serbo-Croatian: ...

Zvonimir Richtmann Zvonimir Richtmann (22 November 19019 July 1941) was a Croatian-Jewish physicist, philosopher, politician and publicist who was killed during World War II by Ustaše. Biography Richtmann was born on 22 November 1901 in Zagreb, where he achieved ...

, Ivo Kuhn, Simo Crnogorac and

August Cesarec August Cesarec (4 December 1893 – 16 July 1941) was a Croatian writer and communist activist from the interwar period. Cesarec was born in Zagreb, then part of Austria-Hungary. He was the son of a carpenter who was a member of the Socialdemocr ...

.Dotršćina Memorial Site
/ref>

Park landscaping

In 1963, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of the City of

signed a contract with sculptor

Vojin Bakić Vojin Bakić ( sr-cyrl, Војин Бакић; 5 June 1915 – 18 December 1992) was a prominent Yugoslav sculptor. Educated at the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts and by Ivan Meštrović and Frano Kršinić, Bakić's early works were dominated by ...

, Dr Josip Seissel, Silvana Seissel and Angela Ratković for the spatial design and conceptual horticultural solution of the Dotrščina park, which included the conceptual solution of the Valley of Graves, conceptual solution of the old entrance area from Svetošimunska road and models of two sculptures made of provisional material. The arrangement of this park was completed in 1968 when Bakić's monument to the Dotršćina victims was finally erected on the plateau at the entrance from Svetošimunska road. In addition to the central crystalline shaped monument made of stainless steel, Bakić created six to seven crystalline sculptures in the Valley of Graves, one of the largest execution grounds in Dotrščina. The entire area and the slopes are covered with ivy so that the victims would be more peaceful. In addition to the memorials, along the road that goes through the Valley of the Graves, there are marble plaques with carved verses by

Ivan Goran Kovačić Ivan Goran Kovačić (; 21 March 1913 – 12 July 1943) was a Croatian poet and writer. Early life and background He was born in Lukovdol (part of Vrbovsko), a town in Gorski Kotar, to a Croat father, Ivan Kovačić, and Transylvanian Jewi ...

and

Jure Kaštelan Juraj "Jure" Kaštelan (18 December 1919 – 24 February 1990) was a Croatian poet and writer. Education and career Juraj "Jure" Kaštelan was born on 18 December 1919 in Zakučac in Dalmatia. He attended primary school in Split and then matricu ...

. All surfaces and lines on the central sculpture in Dotrščina are reduced to a minimum and simplicity, which creates a certain play of light and shadow, depending on the angle of observation. With this sculpture, Bakić does not define for the visitor what happened here, the sculpture is only an abstract dedication to all those shot there, devoid of any narrative or ideology.

Park content

Dotrščina Memorial Park consists of the following memorial complexes:Spomenik database: Dotršćina
/ref>

Unrealized plans

The plan also included the creation of memorials to the people of Zagreb who died in the People's Liberation Movement on other fronts in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, on the allied fronts outside Yugoslavia, in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, in the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

, memorial museum and a commemorative area with the names of the victims. Due to economic and political changes in the

1990s File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War ...

, further construction of the monuments in the park was suspended.

References

Literature

* Dr Stipe Ugarković and Ivan Očak. ''Zagreb grad heroj: Spomen obilježja revoluciji''. Publisher: August Cesarec, Zagreb 1979 * Mario Šimunković and Domagoj Delač. ''Sjećanje je borba'', Publisher: SABARH, Zagreb 2013

External links

Dotršćina Memorial Site

Spomenik database: Dotršćina
{{coord, 45.857, 16.015, type:landmark_region:HR_dim:3000, display=title Buildings and structures in Zagreb World War II memorials in Croatia Massacres in the Independent State of Croatia