"Jasenovac i Gradiška Stara" () is a Croatian song promoting the

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...

massacres 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 ...

. The lyrics celebrate the World War II

holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

and genocide of Serbs in

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...

. In 2003,

Matija Babić Matija Babić (born 1978) is a Croatian journalist and entrepreneur best known for being the former editor-in-chief of the Croatian news website Index.hr. Biography As a student of University of Zagreb's Faculty of Political Sciences, Babić b ...

, a journalist at

Index.hr Index.hr is a Croatian Tabloid journalism, tabloid-like online newspaper, launched in December 2002 and based in Zagreb. It was founded by Matija Babić and was originally designed as a News aggregator, news aggregation website, providing news co ...

, criticized the Croatian band Thompson for performing the song, as well as

Croatian Radiotelevision ''Hrvatska radiotelevizija'' ( HRT), or Croatian Radiotelevision, is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite. HRT is divided into three ...

Croatia Records Croatia Records is a record label in Croatia owned by AUTOR d.o.o., based in Zagreb. Summary Croatia Records d.d. is a joint-stock company currently led by the chief executive officer Želimir Babogredac, a sound engineer. It releases mostly (but ...

and other media for continuing to cover Thompson as a mainstream artist. In 2007,

Efraim Zuroff Efraim Zuroff (; born August 5, 1948) is an American-born Israeli historian and Nazi hunter who has played a key role in bringing Nazi and fascist war criminals to trial. Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center office in Jerusalem, is th ...

, while reporting in the ''

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Je ...

'' on a Thompson performance at

Maksimir Stadium Maksimir Stadium (, ) is a multi-use stadium in Zagreb, Croatia. Named after the surrounding neighbourhood of Maksimir, it is one of the largest stadiums in the country with a current seating capacity of 25,912 and a maximum possible capacity ...

, said that Marko Perković, the lead vocalist, gained notoriety for having performed the song which was overtly

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

, and criticized Thompson concerts as an occasion for a display of extremist nationalists. Thompson Maksimir 17

Perković first acknowledged, then later denied performing the song stating that "he is a musician, not a politician". An organizer for a Thompson tour of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 2007 defended Perković, claiming the musician did not write the song nor is a copy available on any of his albums. According to the Anti Defamation League, "various media accounts report that Thompson's concerts in Europe begin with the traditional 'war cry' of the Ustashe. Concertgoers, mostly young people, many wearing black shirts with Ustashe insignia and carrying banners with

anti-Serb Anti-Serb sentiment or Serbophobia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, србофобија, srbofobija, separator=" / ") is a generally negative view of Serbs as an ethnic group. Historically it has been a basis for the persecution of ethnic Serbs. A distinctiv ...

anti-Jewish Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

and

anti-Roma Anti-Romani sentiment (also called antigypsyism, anti-Romanyism, antiziganism, ziganophobia, or Romaphobia) is an ideology which consists of hostility, prejudice, discrimination, racism, and xenophobia which is specifically directed at Romani ...

rhetoric, often respond with

Nazi salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute, or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened han ...

s. Ustashe paraphernalia is allegedly sold at the concerts, as well."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jasenovac i Gradiska Stara Ustaše songs Year of song missing Persecution of Serbs Anti-Serbian sentiment Fascist symbols Far-right politics in Croatia Race-related controversies in music