The Voćin massacre was the killing of 350 Serb civilians in

Voćin Voćin is a village and municipality in western Slavonia, Croatia, located southwest of Slatina and east of Daruvar. The population of the municipality is 1,911, with 956 people living in Voćin itself (census 2021). Geography Voćin, a pilgrima ...

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, ...

, 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 ...

Croatian

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 ...

organization on 14 January 1942, 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 ...

. The massacre was carried out as retaliation against the partisans' action in

Papuk Papuk is the largest mountain in the Slavonia region in eastern Croatia, near the city of Požega, Croatia, Požega. It extends between Bilogora to the northwest, Krndija to the east, and Ravna Gora (Slavonia), Ravna gora and Psunj to the south ...

Background

On 12 January 1942, in a direct fight between the Partisans and the

, five Ustaše were killed, and two wounded, one of whom died later. The Partisans withdrew to Papuk, and Ustaše returned to Voćin and waited for reinforcements from

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

Belišće Belišće () ( sr-Cyrl, Белишће, ) is a town in Croatia, located in the region of Slavonia, Osijek-Baranja County, at the altitude of 93 m. The population of the town is 6,518 (2011), with 10,825 in the municipality. In 2011 census, the maj ...

and

Virovitica Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungary, Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,688, with 21,291 people in the municipality (census 2011). I ...

Massacre

On 13 January, some 300 Ustaše and Domobran soldiers began with plundering and burning Serbian houses. Civilians who tried to escape or resisted were killed and all others were arrested and taken to Voćin. On the Serbian New Year, January 14, the biggest slaughter of the innocent population in

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

at that time started. Almost all the male inhabitants of the villages Jorgići, Zubovići, Dobrići, Kometnik and Sekulinci were killed. During the massacre, a total of 350 civilians were killed.

Acts of individual heroism

In addition to the victims, some managed to save many Serbs from Voćin and its surroundings. The Croat gendarme sergeant Luka Mustafić managed to save the lives of 10 Serbs during the massacre.

Aftermath

On the following day, Ustaše transported Serb

corpse A cadaver, often known as a corpse, is a dead human body. Cadavers are used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a li ...

s to a

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...

that was excavated east of Voćin, along the Voćinka river. The most significant consequence of this crime was the strengthening of the partisan movement in the area of Voćin and Podravska Slatina, exactly the opposite effect of what NDH's authorities tried to achieve. Although during 1941 and early 1942 there were not many local residents in favor of active resistance, due to increasing existential threats, a large number of Serbs from the surrounding villages joined the partisan units. A memorial to the victims of this massacre was erected in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vocin Massacre Mass murder in 1942 Massacres in 1942 Massacres in the Independent State of Croatia Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia Independent State of Croatia Massacres in Yugoslavia Massacres of Serbs January 1942 in Europe 1942 in Croatia Yugoslavia in World War II