Dr. Ivo Sanader, Croatian Prime Minister: Speech at the opening of the restored monument in the Memorial Center Jasenovac

16 March 2004

Excellences!
Ladies and Gentlemen!

Here in the heart of the Memorial Center Jasenovac where we today unveil the restored memorial, “Jasenovac Flower” designed by the distinguished architect and humanist Bogdan Bogdanovic, we recall his very old but lasting words - a flower symbolizes life, it neither threatens nor offends anybody, and it does not call for revenge or hide the truth.

I am here on behalf of the Croatian Government, and on behalf of the inherited values which are the foundation of the modern, independent Croatian state. I came here to bow before and convey my deepest respect for the victims of the historically irrational deed which at this site of suffering and tragedy showed its most horrific face.

I came here to bow before the victims in front of this restored memorial so that we do not hide and forget the truth and so that these atrocities are never repeated.

There is no such goal, political or other, which can justify these atrocities. This truth is the root of modern, civil Europe, an organized community of countries and people to which the Republic of Croatia belongs and is on the way to becoming a part of its integration. Because our ideals are the same, our aspirations are the same, as well as the values we share. And our future has to be the same – in peace, democracy and prosperity!

That is why we condemn and reject all forms of extremism, radicalism, racial, national and religious hatred, and intolerance independent of the source from which they come. In Croatian history there have been too many senseless killings, tragedies and suffering. Jasenovac was one of the most horrifying! That’s why we must not remain silent. We must not allow for the atrocities that occurred in Jasenovac and elsewhere during the Ustasha regime in the NDH (Independent State of Croatia) to be forgotten. We do not have the right to forget! This especially refers to young generations! It is important to say, especially to generations born after WWII, that history is not erased with time. History does not disappear; it does not vanish with passing generations.

That is why we have to support the efforts of historians to research the exact number of victims of the Jasenovac concentration camp. Exaggeration and minimization blur one’s vision of the truth and it can be harmful. We need the complete truth about the number of victims – Serbs, Jews, Roma, Croats and others who were murdered in Jasenovac. Lies about 700,000 Jasenovac victims with its implicit thesis about the genocidal inclinations of Croats served as one of the justifications to those who conducted the aggressive policy of Greater Serbia. Bogdan Bogdanovic, creator of the Jasenovac memorial, courageously confronted this policy at the time in Serbia in his capacity as an artist and Belgrade mayor.

In addition, we have to support the activities of the Public Institution of the Memorial Center Jasenovac in their efforts to complete the modern concept of a multimedia standing exhibition in the Memorial Museum as well as their efforts in cooperating with the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport in the field of education. I also welcome the establishment of cooperation with relevant institutions in Europe as well as the cooperation with the Holocaust Museum in Washington and Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Out of the Homeland War emerged modern Croatia, which does not forget its past but is turned and orientated toward the future. Victory over crime, victory of life over the tragedy of Jasenovac, victory of anti-fascism over Nazism and fascism is the victory of values which are interwoven in the societies of modern Europe and modern Croatia. Modern Europe has been built upon the tragic experiences of two world wars. Europe as well as Croatia condemned communism as one of the totalitarianism regimes of the 20th century, which must not be identified with anti-fascism. Anti-fascism yes, communism no!

Ladies and Gentlemen!

On this occasion we have to recall that the memorial Jasenovac Flower was unveiled for the first time in 1966 after the original commission and two years of preparations. This memorial was the cornerstone of memorial art and architecture in the former Yugoslavia – it signaled the departure from unimaginative, figurative art of pathetic social realism and the beginning of finding more modern and aesthetically subtle expression. The memorial is located in the middle of the area where building Logor III Ciglana (Camp III Brick Yard) had been situated. This was the largest building of the entire Jasenovac concentration camp from 1941-45. The restoration was conducted in the second half of 2003 and the beginning of 2004. Natural damages and those caused by time, as well as damage caused by a grenade in 1995, were removed.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, I congratulate the Public Institution of the Memorial Center Jasenovac for their completion of the restoration and the Ministry of Culture, which financed the work. I wish them success in fulfilling their ambitious projects for which they will have the support of my government.

Let this Jasenovac Flower forever remind us for the sake of our future. And particularly for our future in Europe, the direction toward which we are irreversibly heading.