ABSTRACT

This book presents state-of-the-art discussions around the concentration camp Jasenovac. Initially one of the largest camps of the Second World War, Jasenovac became a symbol of supra-national unity during the Yugoslav period and in the 1990s re-emerged as a contested symbol of narrational victimhood. By analyzing some of the most controversial topics related to the Second World War in south-eastern Europe – the Holocaust, the genocide of Serbs and Roma, the issues of political prisoners and state-sponsored crimes, censorship during Communist Yugoslavia, the use of memory in war propaganda, and representation of tragedies in museums and art – the book allows for a greater understanding of the development of intergroup violence in the former Yugoslavia. It will be of interest to scholars and students of history, genocide studies, memory studies, and sociology as well as professionals working in the field of conflict resolution and reconciliation.

part I|93 pages

Naming

chapter 1|30 pages

Jasenovac Uses and Misuses of the Past

Manipulations and Historical Revisionism Surrounding the Biggest WWII Camp in the Balkans

chapter 2|22 pages

The Road to ‘Serbian Yad Vashem'

Manipulations of the History of the Sajmište and Jasenovac Camps

chapter 3|19 pages

Racial Laws in the Independent State of Croatia

Social and Legal Aspects

chapter 4|20 pages

Crime and Punishment, or – What is the Connection between Jasenovac and Bleiburg?

Biographical Excerpts on War Criminals from the Jasenovac Camp

part II|129 pages

Counting

chapter 6|50 pages

Jasenovac Concentration Camp and Its Role in the Destruction of the NDH People

Calculation of the Possible Number of Victims Based on the Partially Revised 1964 Census

chapter 7|36 pages

Forgotten Victims of World War II

The Suffering of Roma in the Independent State of Croatia, 1941–1945

part III|73 pages

Describing

chapter 8|28 pages

Contested Cultural Memory in Jasenovac

A Post-Communist/Post-Socialist Memorial Museum in an Era of Historical Revisionism

chapter 9|21 pages

Jasenovac on Film

Manipulations of Identities and the Performance of Memory