Remains of 36 Croatian victims killed in 1945 excavated near Novi Marof

The Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Veterans Affairs Minister visited the excavation sites of the remains of Croatian victims from World War II and the post-war period, in the Kipišće area near Novi Marof in the northwest of Croatia, where so far the remains of 36 victims have been found.

Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Veterans Affairs Minister Tomo Medved was in the area of Novi Marof on Thursday, where nine new WWII and post war mass graves have been uncovered: "In the past ten days, we have conducted intensive excavations at three micro-locations. So far, 36 remains of 35 males and one female have been found from two of them. These are mostly young people, three of whom were under 20 years old, while the rest were between 20 and 35 years old."

Minister Medved noted that the vast majority of the victims were not only young, but that they were bound with wire and met a violent end. He stressed that based on the items found, it is clear that the victims were bound with wire with their hands behind their backs, and that gunshot wounds and injuries from blows with blunt objects were visible on the skulls of the killed: "The fact is that these people were violently killed."

Minister Medved announced that the Veterans Affairs Ministry would not stop with the work and exhumations and that it would continue to investigate all locations in the Novi Marof area. Namely, according to records, testimonies and memories of witnesses, many Croatian victims were wounded people who were taken from the hospital in Novi Marof by Yugoslav partisans and summarily executed.

"For decades, the families of Croatian victims have been guarding the truth in fear, and now more and more people are speaking out and helping us find their remains. Our obligation is to find all of the victims, conduct an exhumation and provide them with a dignified final farewell," Medved said.

According to previous estimates, there are nine locations in the aforementioned area near Novi Marof, where partisans and Yugoslav communists dumped more than 600 executed Croatian soldiers and civilians after the end of the war in 1945. Varaždin County Prefect Anđelko Stričak said that there are around 60 mass graves in Varaždin County, with an estimate that more than 5,300 victims are buried there: "The families never learned their fate, they did not know where to light a candle. That is why it is our obligation to investigate all mass graves, collect the remains and provide them with a dignified burial."

The mayor of Novi Marof, Siniša Jenkač, recalled that the city has initiated discussions with locals and the location of all micro-locations of graves of Croatian victims: "According to testimonies, these are mostly Croatian soldiers, some of whom were brought from Varaždin, placed in the prison at the time as part of today's hospital in Novi Marof, from where the columns were driven into the forests. Along with the soldiers, there were also civilians, women, and even minors, which is confirmed by the results of the bone examination."

Source: HRT