DAY OF MOURNING – CITIZENS FROM ALL REGIONS ARRIVE IN DONJA GRADINA

A large number of citizens from all parts of Republika Srpska are arriving at the memorial site Donja Gradina near Kozarska Dubica, where the Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Ustaše genocide in the concentration camp Jasenovac and its largest execution site – Donja Gradina in the Independent State of Croatia – is being marked.

PHOTO: Nezavisne novine

Many primary and secondary school students from Republika Srpska are also arriving in Donja Gradina.

The commemoration will be attended by the highest officials of Republika Srpska and Serbia.

Numerous media crews from Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and abroad are already present at the site.

As part of the commemoration, wreaths will be laid at the Topole burial field, followed by a memorial service, after which officials will deliver speeches.

According to data from the Donja Gradina Memorial Area, 700,000 victims perished in the notorious Jasenovac camp during World War II, including 500,000 Serbs, 40,000 Roma, 33,000 Jews, and 127,000 antifascists. A total of 20,000 children were killed in Jasenovac.

The Government of Republika Srpska has declared April 19 a Day of Mourning in connection with the remembrance of victims of the Ustaše genocide in the Jasenovac concentration camp and its largest execution site, Donja Gradina, in the Independent State of Croatia from 1941 to 1945.

The Day of Remembrance for the victims of genocide against Serbs, Jews, and Roma in the Independent State of Croatia (1941–1945), as well as the 81st anniversary of the prisoners’ breakout from the Jasenovac concentration camp, is jointly marked by the governments of Republika Srpska and Serbia.