Croatian Holocaust
by Ante Beljo

It was painful to read through all of those pages full of suffering and tears, pages on which the most innocent people were degraded to the lowest point of human dignity.

Unbelievable! Unbelievable if for no other reason than because of the astronomical proportions of their suffering. Where was mankind's conscience at that time? Perhaps those circumstances during mass destructions and uncompromised force overpowered it, and people began reacting as a herd whereby each individual pushed towards the centre, waiting in the hope that he wouldn't be the next victim. Every movement in that mass puts one at the risk of being the first sheep in line to be butchered.

The study of these tragic events have been of special interest to sociologists and psychologists. Dictatorships, dictatorial regimes and wars are destroying everything that is human in man; both in those who are governing by force and those who are governed. They are debasing themselves to a subhuman level where there are those who wield great power and those who are oppressed - so downtrodden that they soon lack the will to live.

Other nations experienced similar tragedies; and we Croatians understand as well as anyone.

The motto of this book is "never again" and if the book fulfills this aim even to the slightest degree, I will be satisfied. And if the consciences of even only a few individuals become more human and more responsible toward their brothers and toward mankind as a whole, it will be an accomplishment.

The destructive forces present in today's world are very strong and the conscience and humanity of the people must conquer them. These humane forces must grow at least to the same proportions or else the fate of mankind will be catastrophic.

Man's power, though it be in the hands of saints or criminals, depends upon the responsibility of each individual to choose who will wield this very power. An active humanism today is more necessary than all science and technology combined. A humanism in which man will be more than a number or a pile of flesh. Human rights are universal and every human being is accountable for them. There is no room for apathy. Those who are passive are guilty; guilty because of those who are oppressed and because of those whose spirit is enslaved. If your spirit is enslaved, there is no force which can free you, and when you simply accept atrocities being forced upon you as the norm, you are not far from being a tyrant yourself.

When you tolerate the human rights of others being swept away, you are not far from having your own swept away either. These are facts! The facts of history! The world will never be so inhumane that there won't be a place for a struggle.

Dear readers, I strongly believe that none of you would like a future for yourselves and for your children as is described on the pages of this book. The number of norms stated and accepted by the highest forums are more than enough to achieve a better society. However, on the contrary, humanitarian forces are still inadequate.

As for us Croatians, in order to secure a better future, a collective solidarity, more responsibility, a lesson from the past and a determination to reach our goals are required. For what is rightfully yours requires no begging, mercy or approval. You just have to take it into your own hands. Once we start behaving like this, we will gain respect from our friends as well as our enemies; from our friends because they can count on us and from our enemies because they will have a fair partner. In the opposite case we will be looked upon with contempt.

In compiling the documents for this book my intention was to say as little as possible and allow the readers to draw their own conclusions. The eyewitnesses and victims herein are presented with their own accounts. Originals and translations were put in this book to allow the reader to consider both. In each topic covered I preferred using quotations rather than my own words so that no misinterpretation of mine would inadvertently occur.

In the chapter "The Bleiburg Tragedy Isn't Over" I only referred to cases in which the victims in the attempted murder plots survived or in which the perpetrators were arrested and sentenced. Thus each of these cases is clear and easily verifiable in every instance.

Throughout the entire book I was led by the concept of both human dignity and rights as the holiest possession of every human being.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to the people who assisted me in the countless tasks associated with the publication of this book the collection of materials, translation, grammatical and linguistic corrections, typing, editing, technical and artistic design, etc.

Sadrzaj - Foreword - Croatian Holocaust - A Short Survey of Croatian History