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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 a ...

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. Most of it is encompassed by the Medvednica Nature Park. The highest peak, at is Sljeme. Most of the are ...

mountain, and includes 365 cadastral acres (approx. 2 km²), mostly of forested area. The southern side of the area is also a mixed-use neighbourhood of the Maksimir district. The area of the local city council of Dotrščina has a population of 1,983 (census 2021). The northern part of the area is administered by the local council of Markuševec, in the

Podsljeme Podsljeme () is a city district situated in the foothills 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, n ...

district.

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 Nazi Germany, German ...

, 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 a research project conducted up to 1986, around 7,000 people were identified to have been executed here. Some notable Croatian intellectuals who were executed here were

Ivan Krndelj Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the Bul ...

, Dr

Božidar Adžija Božidar Adžija ( sr-Cyrl, Божидар Аџија; 24 December 1890 – 9 July 1941) was a Croatian 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,

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

, Zvonimir Richtmann, Ivo Kuhn,

Simo Crnogorac Simo or SIMO may refer to: People * Simo (given name), a given name * Simo (surname), a surname * Simone "Simo" Teti, of Paris & Simo * Simo (footballer) (Wassim Keddari Boulif), Spanish footballer nicknamed ''Simo'' Other uses * SIMO (band), a ...

and

August Cesarec August Cesarec (4 December 1893 – 17 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 Social Democ ...

. It is believed that around 2,000 members of the

Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats a ...

and the

League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia The League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia (SSOJ) was the youth movement, member organisation of the Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia (SSRNJ). Membership stood at more than 3.6 million individuals in 1983. It was originally est ...

were shot at Dotrščina. According to historian and documentary film author Jadran Boban, the project to analyze archive data about the victims at Dotrščina was never completed and it's not possible to state any number of victims with certainty, as it is known that even their raw data of 18,627 deaths in Zagreb during World War II does not include all the Jewish people. It is estimated that most victims at Dotrščina were Croats, largely those executed after various

summary judgement may refer to: * Abstract (summary), shortening a passage or a write-up without changing its meaning but by using different words and sentences * Epitome, a summary or miniature form * Abridgement, the act of reducing a written work into a shor ...

s and those killed in retribution for the Partisan insurgency (in direct violation of the

Hague Convention of 1907 The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 are a series of international treaties and declarations negotiated at two international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands. Along with the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions were amon ...

), as well as

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

executed under the racial laws. Unlike most victims of the Ustaše regime who were shipped off to far away concentration camps, the executions in the forests of Dotrščina and

Rakov potok Rakov Potok is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D1 highway. The area is known to have several mass graves from World War II. In 2011, it emerged that the area likely contained the remains of the last government of the Independent Sta ...

were generally publicly announced in the city of Zagreb.

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 Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb, Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts and by Ivan Meštrović and Frano Kršin ...

, Dr

Josip Seissel Josip Seissel (10 January 1904 – 19 February 1987) was a Croatian architect and urban planner, who under the pseudonym of Jo Klek was a constructivist artist, graphical designer and theatrical designer. A member of the influential avant-garde ...

, 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 the town of Lukovdol, Vrbovsko municipality, in Gorski Kotar, to a Croat father, Ivan Kovačić, and Transylvani ...

and Jure Kaštelan. 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 , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, on the allied fronts outside Yugoslavia, in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, in the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, memorial museum and a commemorative area with the names of the victims. Due to economic and political changes in the 1990s, 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 Zagreb in World War II Podsljeme Maksimir