Jastrebarsko concentration camp
Encyclopedia
Jastrebarsko Concentration Camp was a concentration camp that housed Serbian
children between the ages of one month to fourteen years during World War II
, located in Jastrebarsko
, Croatia
. It was open for two months in 1942. The camp was set up specifically for children from Kozara
and from Croatia. During its operation 1,018 children died in the camp. Ilovara Francis, a gravedigger who was paid "per piece", buried 768 children in a six week period.
About 1,300 prisoners were transported to Jasenovac
. On August 26, 1942, the partisans freed 700 children from the camp.
The camp was situated in a castle that belonged to Hungarian noble family Erdoedy until 1922, and in a former monastery near the town. The last owner of the castle was Stjepan Erdoedy. The merchant Ehrman bought the castle in 1922 and after his bancrupcy in 1936 the castle was turned into an orphanage. During World War II, the Croatian
Ustasha government, being an ally of Nazi Germany
, implemented the same methods of genocide. Only Serbian children were kept in the concentration camp. Catholic nuns of the Holy Congregation were the guards in the camp.
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
children between the ages of one month to fourteen years during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, located in Jastrebarsko
Jastrebarsko
- Antiquity :In 1865, remnants of a Roman settlement were uncovered in Repišće, Klinča Sela, a village in Jastrebarsko metropolitan area. Further archeological investigation in the late 20th century classified them as a villa rustica and a necropolis consisting of six tumuli, both dating to...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. It was open for two months in 1942. The camp was set up specifically for children from Kozara
Kozara
Kozara is a mountain in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosanska Krajina region. It is bounded by the rivers Sava - north, Vrbas - east, Sana - south and Una - west...
and from Croatia. During its operation 1,018 children died in the camp. Ilovara Francis, a gravedigger who was paid "per piece", buried 768 children in a six week period.
About 1,300 prisoners were transported to Jasenovac
Jasenovac
Jasenovac is a village and a municipality in Croatian Slavonia, in the southern part of the Sisak-Moslavina county at the confluence of the river Una into Sava.The name means "ash tree" or "ash forest" in Croatian, the area being ringed by such a forest....
. On August 26, 1942, the partisans freed 700 children from the camp.
The camp was situated in a castle that belonged to Hungarian noble family Erdoedy until 1922, and in a former monastery near the town. The last owner of the castle was Stjepan Erdoedy. The merchant Ehrman bought the castle in 1922 and after his bancrupcy in 1936 the castle was turned into an orphanage. During World War II, the Croatian
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
Ustasha government, being an ally of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, implemented the same methods of genocide. Only Serbian children were kept in the concentration camp. Catholic nuns of the Holy Congregation were the guards in the camp.