The Roma Memorial Center Uštica commemorates the

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

victims of

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

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 ...

during

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 ...

Uštica Uštica is a village in central Croatia, in the municipality of Jasenovac, Sisak-Moslavina County. It is located just west of the confluence of the Una into the Sava, and connected by the D47 highway to Jasenovac in the north, and Dubica in t ...

, located near Jasenovac, where thousands of Roma were executed by 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 ...

regime, the site was largely neglected until recent years. Initially marked by a memorial plaque in 1971, the area gained renewed attention in 2012, leading to efforts by the

Croatian Romani Union "Kali Sara" The Croatian Romani Union "Kali Sara" (, ) is a political and self-government organization of the Romani people in Croatia. Its seat is located in Croatian capital city of Zagreb. History The organization was established in July 2007 and its fir ...

to establish a permanent museum. Opened on August 2, 2020, the center serves as a site of remembrance and education, coinciding with the International Roma Genocide Remembrance Day. Uštica, situated approximately 110 km southeast 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 ...

, was a site of mass executions where

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 ...

deported to the

Jasenovac concentration camp Jasenovac () was a concentration camp, concentration and extermination camp established in the Jasenovac, Sisak-Moslavina County, village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in occupied Yugoslavia durin ...

by the

regime of the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

during the

History

The exact number of Roma killed under the Nazi-allied Ustasa regime in the

remains unknown. Estimates from the Jasenovac Memorial Site suggest over 16,000 victims, but the true figure is likely higher. The Roma genocide has been largely overlooked, both during and after the war. The post-war Yugoslav Communist authorities emphasized "

brotherhood and unity Brotherhood and unity was a popular slogan of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia that was coined during the Yugoslav People's Liberation War (1941–45), and which evolved into a guiding principle of Yugoslavia's post-war inter-ethnic policy. ...

," downplaying ethnic-specific victimhood. The Uštica site, part of the

Jasenovac Memorial Area Jasenovac () was a concentration and extermination camp established in the village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. The concentration camp, one of the ten ...

, was opened in July 1971 with the installation of a memorial plaque. The area covers 4,700 m² and contains 21 mass graves with the remains of most of the 16,173 Roma victims identified by name, who were murdered within the

system. Despite its historical significance, no commemorations were held at Uštica until 2012. In 2011, representatives of the

, including its then-president Veljko Kajtazi, visited the site and found it in a neglected state. In 2014, Kajtazi, as a member of the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

, successfully proposed the recognition of August 2 as the International Day of Remembrance for Roma Genocide Victims. In 2018, in collaboration with the

Government of Croatia The Government of Croatia (), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia (), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government (), is the main executive branch of government in Croatia. It is led by the Prime Minister of Croatia, president o ...

and the City of

, Kali Sara launched campaign to establish the Roma Memorial Centre Uštica as a permanent museum. The Roma Memorial Center Uštica was inaugurated on August 2, 2020, to mark the International Roma Genocide Remembrance Day. The center was officially opened by Suzana Krčmar, Veljko Kajtazi and

Milan Bandić Milan Bandić (22 November 1955 – 28 February 2021) was a Croatian politician and the longest-serving mayor of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Bandić was mayor almost continuously from 2000 to 2021, except during the time between his resignati ...

with presence of religious leaders from

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

community.

References

{{reflist Romani in Croatia Romani genocide Jasenovac concentration camp World War II memorials in Croatia 2020 establishments in Croatia

History

See also

References