Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Third Commemoration Takes Place at JASENOVAC [Sunday April 24, 2016] / "Total Croatia News" April 24, 2016

Total Croatia News
By Vedran Pavlic
April 24, 2016


After a commemoration organized by the Jewish Communities last week [April 15] and the official state commemoration on Friday [April 22, 2016] the third commemoration takes place at Jasenovac camp.



https://twitter.com/hkresic

As many as two thousand people came to the commemoration for the victims of the Ustasha camp at Jasenovac which was organized by the Union of Anti-Fascist Fighters, together with the Anti-Fascist League of Croatia, the Serbian National Council, the Association of Roma in Croatia Kali Sara, the Council of Roma of Zagreb and civil society organizations. Among them were former President Stjepan Mesić and SDP leadership led by party president Zoran Milanović, reports tportal.hr on April 24, 2016.


The commemoration began with the gathering of participants at the Memorial Museum of Jasenovac and continued with a walk to the "Stone Flower" monument.


Former President Mesić gave a speech and said that they had gathered at Jasenovac to pay tribute and honour the victims. "We must not forget! And we are talking here, because silence at Jasenovac today would not mean just that we are avoiding the condemnation of the crimes committed here. It would also be a suicide for a democratic and antifascism based Croatian state. And therefore we are here once again to tell the truth to all those who are bombarding us with lies about the Pavelić state", said Mesić.


He added that the fact that this year there were two separate commemorations, in addition to the official state commemoration, was a consequence of politics, just as Jasenovac itself was a reflection, expression and instrument of politics.


"Today, there is a policy of concealment, denial, or at least relativization of these crimes. But, if someone talks like an Ustasha, if someone represents and promotes ideas that the Ustasha promoted, if someone emphasizes their signs and symbols, if someone sings their songs, then he or she is an Ustasha", said Mesić.


The official state commemoration with Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković, Parliament Speaker Željko Reiner and Branko Lustig, envoy of the President, was held on Friday [April 22], while the commemoration organized by the Coordination of Jewish Communities in Croatia was held on 15 April [2016].


https://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/11558-third-commemoration-takes-place-at-jasenovac


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If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com


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Monday, April 25, 2016

Вучак: Папа Фрања лично зауставио канонизацију Степинца / Vučak: Papa Franja lično zaustavio kanonizaciju Stepinca / "Politika" April 24, 2016

Politika
April 24, 2016


Папа Фрања лично је зауставио канонизацију Алојзија Степинца након писма које му је упутио патријарх Иринеј, изјавио је бивши хрватски амбасадор у Ватикану Филип Вучак.


(Фото Ројтерс)

Према његовим речима, заједничка комисија Католичке и Православне цркве почеће расправу о томе „пре лета”, али не може да се предвиди када би могла бити донета одлука.


Он је за Вечерње Новости нагласио да је патријарх Иринеј у писму јасно рекао да сматра да је реч о високом свештенику који је подржавао НДХ, насилно покрштавао православне вернике и подржавао расне законе.


То је други такав случај у Католичкој цркви, каже Вучак, а сигурно је само да до краја рада комисије папа Фрања неће доносити одлуке о Степинцу.


Описујући дешавања у априлу 2014., Вучак је рекао да је било „крајње драматично” и да је један део кардинала био сигуран да ће Степинац бити канонизован, али је за папу Фрању то писмо било сигнал за узбуну, и проверу информација из Београда.


Он је додао да је потом на адресу Ватикана стигло и писмо председника Србије Томислава Николића, а онда још једно писмо патријарха Иринеја.


„Папа је тада одлучио да предложи оснивање мешовите комисије која ће детаљно размотрити живот и рад кардинала Степинца”, рекао је Вучак, а пренео Танјуг.


http://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/353731/%D0%92%D1%83%D1%87%D0%B0%D0%BA-%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B0-%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%9A%D0%B0-%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%BE-%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%83%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BE-%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%98%D1%83-%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BF%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B0


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Politika
April 24, 2016


Vučak: Papa Franja lično zaustavio kanonizaciju Stepinca


Papa Franja lično je zaustavio kanonizaciju Alojzija Stepinca nakon pisma koje mu je uputio patrijarh Irinej, izjavio je bivši hrvatski ambasador u Vatikanu Filip Vučak.


Photo: Reuters

Prema njegovim rečima, zajednička komisija Katoličke i Pravoslavne crkve počeće raspravu o tome „pre leta”, ali ne može da se predvidi kada bi mogla biti doneta odluka.

On je za Večernje Novosti naglasio da je patrijarh Irinej u pismu jasno rekao da smatra da je reč o visokom svešteniku koji je podržavao NDH, nasilno pokrštavao pravoslavne vernike i podržavao rasne zakone.

To je drugi takav slučaj u Katoličkoj crkvi, kaže Vučak, a sigurno je samo da do kraja rada komisije papa Franja neće donositi odluke o Stepincu.

Opisujući dešavanja u aprilu 2014., Vučak je rekao da je bilo „krajnje dramatično” i da je jedan deo kardinala bio siguran da će Stepinac biti kanonizovan, ali je za papu Franju to pismo bilo signal za uzbunu, i proveru informacija iz Beograda.

On je dodao da je potom na adresu Vatikana stiglo i pismo predsednika Srbije Tomislava Nikolića, a onda još jedno pismo patrijarha Irineja.

„Papa je tada odlučio da predloži osnivanje mešovite komisije koja će detaljno razmotriti život i rad kardinala Stepinca”, rekao je Vučak, a preneo Tanjug.




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If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com

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Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Miroslav Michael Djordjevich, President of the Studenica Foundation, remembers the 6th of April, 1941 in Belgrade as the bombs began falling early that morning.

Miroslav Michael Djordjevich
Director and President of the Studenica Foundation

Aleksandra's Note: Mr. Michael Djordjevich is someone I've known many years now, who epitomizes what it means to be a real Serb. 75 years after the bombing of Belgrade by the Germans on an early Sunday morning in the spring of 1941, Michael Djordjevich still remembers a childhood in which he woke up to the nightmare of the Nazi attack on his homeland.

Sincerely,
Aleksandra Rebic
April 2016

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Miroslav (Michael)
 and his father Dragoslav Djordjevich [Georgevich]
in Belgrade, early 1941.
Photo courtesy of Michael Djordjevich

"This date, April 6, I will never forget in this (or any other) life. Early that morning, I woke up petrified by the sound of bombs being dropped on Belgrade by the German air force, the Luftwaffe. Our house was shaking as if in a great earthquake.  I was only 5 years old, but I still essentially recall everything that took place that day. My life changed in a minute, as did the lives of millions of Serbs.  A new life, a tragic one began.

So much for that anniversary. I believe that this criminal Nazi attack on civilians without a declaration of war against the Serbs should not be forgotten. Moreover, it should also not be forgotten by Serbs that NATO, with the participation of the Luftwaffe and once again without a declaration of war, also bombed Belgrade and Serbia  on the same date some 17 years ago, in 1999.

Michael
April 6, 2016

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Miroslav Michael Djordjevich was born in Belgrade, Dorcol, where he graduated from high school “Prva muška gimnazija”, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1956. Working as a manual laborer, he saved enough money for his education and enrolled the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated in Banking and Finance in 1960, and met his future wife Marie from San Francisco. When he finished his post-graduate studies in 1993, they got married. They have three children.

During the 80’s, with the partnership of the several major financial companies in America, he founded two financial firms: USF&G Financial Security and its successor - Capital Guaranty Company, which entered at the New York Stock Exchange in 1993. During the first decade, under his leadership, Capital Guaranty was involved in financing $18 billion in various infrastructure projects in America.  Later on, he founded an international bank in the United States and expanded operations successfully in former Yugoslavia.

In late 1999, to help unite the democratic opposition to implement the transition to democracy in Serbia, he initiated and organized the Sentandrea Congress in Hungary, which was the first official meeting between all-Serbian diaspora and democratic leaders in Serbia since 1944.

Together with two distinguished Serbian families, Vidak Chelovich’s from Detroit and Bora Vukovich’s from Denver, in 1993, he founded the
Studenica Foundation, and has been its chairman since.

In 1969, Djordjevich received the Americanism Medal from the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and in 1967 the Excellence Award of the American Security Council.

Djordjevich’s endeavors were also recognized in his homeland.  In 2002, he was honored with The Order of the Yugoslav Flag of the second degree for his patriotic work abroad, and later he was awarded with the Order of Nemanja (II Degree) for “nurturing and expanding ties between the Serbian Diaspora and the Homeland and for selfless aid and humanitarian contributions to his people.”

Since 1983, he has been included in Who’s Who in America.

Along with his extremely active business and public life, Djordjevich was the author of many professional and other publications. Among them is his book of essays, “About Happy Living” and book of poetry.



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If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com

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Wednesday, April 06, 2016

360 Tons of Bombs in a Single Day / The Bombing of Belgrade April 6, 1941 / "Serbia.com" April 6, 2016

www.serbia.com
April 6, 2016




It was 1941, April, when the smell of gunpowder, smoke and ashes ruined one of the most beautiful months in Belgrade. The serenity of this spring morning was disrupted by the sounds of German planes and death-dealing projectiles. The streets were resonating with spine-chilling sounds and deafening fear. The most devastating attack in the history of the Serbian capital – the Nazi bombing of Belgrade – had just begun.


[Without war being declared or a warning sent by the Nazis, the Germans attacked on the 6th of April, 1941], and the capital of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia lost a significant part of its residential buildings and infrastructure as well as many cultural monuments. Over 200 German bombers flew over Belgrade on that hellish morning. In four air strikes they deployed over 360 tons of bombs. However, the devastation didn’t end here.




In the following two days, 484 aircraft took part in the attack on Belgrade and of these, 234 were bombers and 120 were fighter aircraft. The precise number of casualties remains unknown but it is supposedly around the 2,274 mark. The German estimates of the Yugoslav casualties were between 1,500 and 1,700.


In these cruel attacks on Belgrade, the parts of the city around the Main railway station, Slavija, Senjak, the city centre and the Terazije square, governmental buildings in Nemanjina street and those in Knez Miloš street, and most of the residential area in Dorćol were severely damaged. The National Library, once located in Kosančićev venac, was completely destroyed, with over 300,000 books (which was the entire library fund) including invaluable copies, lost in the fire.




According to Darko Ćirić, a renowned historian, out of 19,641 buildings which existed in Belgrade before the war, 9,365 were destroyed or damaged. 8,000 families were left without a roof over their heads.


According to numerous historical experts, the April attack was Hitler’s retribution for the 27th of March, 1941 when the ruling trio of Cvetković-Maček and the regent Pavle Karađorđević were overthrown [in a coup] for signing a pact with Germany. This is why many think that the bombing was Hitler’s personal vengeance and therefore had a political-terrorist character.


The coup of March 27 basically determined the fate of Yugoslavia and paved its road to the group of countries opposing Nazi Germany. As soon as news of the coup reached the people, in Belgrade and in the whole of Yugoslavia, mass street demonstrations took place in support of the coup.


"Bolje rat nego pakt” (roughly translated “Better a war than the pact”) and “Bolje grob nego rob” (“Better the grave than a slave”) were the words that marked the famous coup. Soon after, Winston Churchill, Britain’s leader, stated that “Yugoslavia found its soul.” [Shortly after that, the brutal attacks by Germany began.] Yugoslavia was torn into pieces and the Nazi occupiers formed the so-called Independent state of Croatia...



The Yugoslav army capitulated on the 17th of April.


http://www.serbia.com/360-tons-bombs-day-75-yrs-since-devastating-belgrade-bombing/




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If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com


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Tuesday, April 05, 2016

ОТВОРЕНО ПИСМО СРПСКОЈ ЈАВНОСТИ ПОВОДОМ ПРОЦЕСА МИЛАНУ НЕДИЋУ / Александар Недић y Београду, 5. априла 2016.


ОТВОРЕНО ПИСМО СРПСКОЈ ЈАВНОСТИ
ПОВОДОМ ПРОЦЕСА МИЛАНУ НЕДИЋУ


Други светски рат на простору Југославије објекат је политичких и идеолошких интерпретација већ дуже од 70 година. Прво се о њему писало према партијском диктату, на начин који је прописао лично Јосип Броз Тито у свом реферату на 5. конгерсу КПЈ 1948. године. Упрошћено речено, политички диктат гласио је да су сви учесници рата осим партизана фашисти, чиме је одузета част и право на будућност. Комунистичка историографија деценијама је следила ову инструкцију, истовремено се борећи да се ослободи идеолошких стега. Из времена комунизма остало је и, за тоталитарне режиме и друштва, каратеристично уверење да су политичари позвани да коментаришу догађаје и процесе који иначе спадају у домен историјске науке и судова. Тиме се, и након 70 година од краја рата, он и даље изнова догађа и тумачи према актуелним политичким потребама. Да ли ће прошлост у Србији икада бити остављена на тумачење професионалцима остаје да видимо.

Схватање прошлости, а посебно Другог светског рата, прошло је у Србији неколико ревизија. Она прва, антикомунистичка, с почетка 90-их година прошлог века, такође је била обележена идеолошким тумачењима и прекрајањем истине према потребама актуелног политичког тренутка. Она је само продубила поделе у друштву и поново удаљила прошлост од науке. Чини се, ипак, да у последњих 10–20 година, расте број оних који се према прошлости односе поштено, стручно и научно, што се може посматрати и као ревизија ревизије историје.

Но ревизија историје ипак није појава која се јавља само код Срба и других југословенских народа. На примеру недавних обележавања 100-годишњице Видовданског атентата и почетка Првог светског рата видело се колики су политички интереси појединих савремених европских држава да своју прошлост прикажу другачијом и лепшом него што је била. Сведоци смо да се сличан процес одвија и у вези са Другим светским ратом, и то већ извесно време. У њему доминира немачки утицај на ревизију прошлости, који представља комбинацију усиљене политичке коректности и малициозних, неутемељених интерпретација чији је циљ да релативизују немачку одговорност за догађаје из Другог светског рата. На овој активности, свесно или несвесно, ангажован је велики број историчара, политиколога, социолога, као и готово све фондације немачких политичких партија (Роза Луксембург штифтунг, Хајнрих Бел штифтунг, Конрад Аденауер штифтунг и друге).

Први резултат је политичка коректност о нацистима и Трећем Рајху. Тако ћете у интернационалним уџбеницима за средњу школу, у лекцијама посвећеним нацистичкој Немачкој, обавезно наћи и податак да нису сви Немци били нацисти, него свега око 10% њих. Исти уџбеници садрже и лекције о одређеним тајним анти-нацистичким друштвима и покретима, иако ни једно од њих није имало ни бројност, ни јасан политички програм, ни већи историјски значај.

Други резултат је много више уочљив и у Србији. Српски национализам готово се без изузетка тумачи као нешто блажа верзија нацизма, уз извлачење „историјских вертикала злочина“ које сведоче о тобоже геноцидној природи Срба током целе њихове историје. Овако паушалне и малициозне интерпретације могу се наћи и у тиражним памфлетима америчког лекара Филипа Коена, али и у књизи Холма Зундхаузена, који је до скоро био један од највећих живих европских историчара. У њиховим књигама, али и новијим издањима које у Србији претежно финансира фондација Роза Луксембург, Срби су одговорни за геноцид над Ромима и Холокауст Јевреја, иако су и сами, уз поменуте народе – српске пријатеље и комшије – били процентуално међу највећим жртвама Другог светског рата, нацизма и фашизма. Четници су, у овим књигама, као и у делима с почетка Титове владе, поново фашисти и кољачи, а њихов антифашистички ангажман и допринос минимизују се или уопште и не помињу. У пројекту око београдског Сајмишта (заправо немачког логора „Земун“) говори се о одговорности Недића и његове владе за Холокауст, а кривица окупатора и усташа (на чијој се територији, узгред буди речено, поменути логор и налазио) умањују се и релативизују.

Кривицу и историјску улогу Милана Недића одредиће суд и историјска наука. Крајње је време да се Други светски рат заврши, политички притисци утихну и прошлост остави онима који се њоме професионално баве.


Александар Недић
У Београду, 5. априла 2016.



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If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com

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Monday, April 04, 2016

75 Years Ago - The "Unlucky Fisherman" and three Serbian schoolmates protesting against Yugoslavia joining the Tripartite Pact in March of 1941 / Memories of Stevan Pirocanac

Aleksandra's Note: 75 years ago, on March 25, 1941, in an attempt to save herself from the onslaught of the Nazi war machine, Yugoslavia joined the Tripartite Pact, the Axis military alliance forged by Germany, Italy, and Japan in September of 1940, which was subsequently joined by Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and later, the Independent State of Croatia. This action taken by the Yugoslav government in Belgrade on March 25, 1941 inspired massive protests and demonstrations in Serbia against joining the Axis Pact, and "the people" were successful. On March 27, 1941, just a couple of days later, the Yugoslav government was overthrown in a coup d'état that would have massive ramifications for all the peoples of Yugoslavia in the weeks and years that followed. Although many who were witnesses to that tumultuous period of time are no longer with us, we are blessed that some of those witnesses are still living to tell their own personal story of a pivotal few days in history that continue to have profound implications today, 75 years later.


Many thanks to Mr. Stevan Pirocanac of Wisconsin who shared these memories of March 1941.


Sincerely,
Aleksandra Rebic


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Fountain with the "Unlucky Fisherman" by Serbian sculptor  Simeon Roksandic was placed in Kalemegdan Park in Belgrade, Serbia in 1912.


The "Unlucky Fisherman" and three Serbian schoolmates protesting against Yugoslavia joining the Tripartite Pact in March of 1941.

By Stevan Pirocanac

Whenever I see this photograph I remember March 26th, 1941.


On that day in Beograd and in many cities of Serbia, people demonstrated against the signing of the pact with Germany, and we, the students of different schools, took part in the demonstrations. We, from the Third Male Gymnasium, were unable to do it before noon, since we were stopped and forced to flee, when together we tried to leave our school yard and march toward the center of the city. Nearby was a police station, and the gendarmes, using the butt end of their guns and clubs, did their "job" very successfully. So, we were told that we all should meet after lunch in the big park in Belgrade called Kalemegdan.


After lunch, this time going down the side streets, my schoolmates Branko Boranijasevic and Aleksandar Zurzul and I arrived at the park. To our surprise, we were the only ones there. Uncertain what to do, we stood close to that fountain of the "unlucky fisherman", and all of a sudden we were surrounded by police agents who were yelling at us and clearly ready to arrest us. We managed to, for a moment, escape. We ran to the streetcar that had just stopped at the stop closest to us and jumped on. But, the agents got to the streetcar, too, and yanked us out. They put a thick chain around my and Branko's wrists, while around Zurzul's wrists they clamped a pair of regular handcuffs. We were taken to the main police station, where we spent at least 7 hours, until they let us go home.

So, you can judge for yourself that I have really good reasons to remember what happened on that particular day in March of 1941 so many years ago. Later, Branko was killed by the Yugoslav Partisans in May 0f 1944, while he was with the Chetniks, and Zurzul lost his life as a political commissar, also in May, but in 1945, as a Partisan.


Stevan Pirocanac
April 4, 2016
Wisconsin, U.S.A.




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If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com


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