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Disfiguring Jasenovac

The Jasenovac concentration camp, often described as the “Auschwitz of the Balkans” for the raw brutality exhibited by its fascist commanders and guards who ran the camp from 1941 to 1945 in the Independent State of Croatia, continues to stir strong emotions. But, shamefully, often the wrong ones and for the wrong reasons.

Instead of grief and sorrow, a morbid debate about the number and ethnic background of the victims, many of whom died most brutally by having their throats cut with a special knife known as the “Srbosjek” or “Serbcutter,” is still overshadowing the darkest chapter of Croatia’s history.

The latest episode, reflecting the confusion surrounding this unfortunate story, happened in Spain, where a TV documentary about Croatian fascist commander Maks Luburic, known as “Maks the Butcher” who fled to Spain after World Wwar II, failed to mention Serbs as victims of the Jasenovac camp.

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