22 April 1945 - The Liberation of Jasenovac

On 22 April 1945, Partisan forces liberated the Jasenovac concentration camp. But liberation came too late for most - only a few days earlier, the Ustaša (Ustascha) had murdered hundreds of prisoners.

The situation in April 1945

At the beginning of April 1945:

• Nazi Germany - collapsing, the Red Army in Berlin
• NDH (Independent State of Croatia) - surrounded by Partisans on all sides
• The Ustaša in Jasenovac - knew the end was near
• Prisoners - about 1,073 people (mostly men fit for labour)

Liquidation of the camp (16-20 April)

Order from Dinko Šakić (commandant): "All prisoners must be eliminated before the Partisans arrive. There must be no witnesses." 16-19 April:

• The Ustaša began killing prisoners in smaller groups
• Burning of documents
• Preparations for flight

• The Ustaša plan to kill ALL remaining prisoners during the night
• The prisoners overheard the plan

The prisoners’ uprising (20-21 April)

20 April, around 22:00:

A group of prisoners organised an uprising - they decided to attempt an escape, as the alternative was certain death.

• Use the darkness
• Cut the electric fence
• Break through the wire
• Flee toward the Sava and the forest

• 1,073 prisoners attempted to escape
• The Ustaša opened machine-gun fire
• Searchlights lit up the area
• Dozens were killed immediately
• Some reached the Sava - the Ustaša fired from the bank
• Some reached the forest - hunted for days

The outcome of the uprising

Of the 1,073 who attempted to escape:

• About 80-90 people survived (7-8%)
• The rest were killed - during the escape or later captured and shot

• Egon Berger (later gave crucial testimony)
• Đuro Schwartz (a child who survived)
• Ilija Ivanović (later a guide at the Memorial Site)

The testimony of Egon Berger

Egon Berger, a survivor: "We knew we had to try. Death was certain if we stayed. Perhaps we had a chance if we ran. I heard gunfire, screams. I saw people falling around me. Somehow I reached the Sava, dived in, swam underwater. Exhausted, I crawled out on the other bank. I fled through the forest for three days. At last I met the Partisans. Saved."

The last days of the Ustaša in the camp (21-22 April)

21 April:

• The Ustaša killed the remaining prisoners who had not taken part in the uprising
• They set the barracks on fire
• They threw dynamite into parts of the camp
• They tried to cover over the mass graves
• Around 18:00 - the Ustaša abandoned the camp and fled toward Zagreb

Liberation - 22 April 1945

22 April, around 10:00 in the morning:

The 11th Assault Division of the Yugoslav Army (Partisans) entered the Jasenovac camp.

• About 100-200 surviving prisoners - exhausted, sick
• Burning barracks - still ablaze
• Mass graves - partly dug up (the Ustaša had tried to cover them over)
• Bodies everywhere - people killed in the last few days
• The stench of death - unbearable
• Evidence of the crimes - srbosjeks (a curved blade strapped to the hand, used to slit throats), a mallet, an instrument of torture

The report of the Partisan commander

Colonel Mirko Rupčić, commander of the 11th Assault Division: "We entered the camp on 22 April around 10:00. The scene was apocalyptic. Barracks burning. Bodies everywhere. We found a group of about 150 people - more dead than alive. Some were in such a state that they could not even speak. One woman came up to me, kissed my hand, said 'Thank you, you have saved us', and died in my arms. Never in my life have I seen such suffering."

Medical aid for the survivors

The Partisans immediately organised:

• A field hospital on the spot
• Transport of the most seriously ill to Zagreb and Sisak
• Food and water - carefully, because they had been starving
• Doctors - treated typhus, dysentery, wounds

• Many survivors died in the days after liberation from the effects of torture and starvation
• Some could not digest food after months of starvation

Forensic investigations (April-May 1945)

Immediately after liberation:

• The War Crimes Commission began its work
• Exhumations - digging up the mass graves
• Photographs - documenting the crimes
• Testimonies - collecting statements from survivors

Proclamation of the Day of Remembrance

22 April was proclaimed:

• The Day of Remembrance for the victims of Jasenovac
• The Day of the camp’s liberation
• An annual commemoration is held on this day

The fate of the Ustaša

Dinko Šakić (commandant):

• Fled on 21 April toward Zagreb
• Onward via Austria to Argentina
• Convicted only in 1999

• Fled toward Austria (the "Bleiburg" column)
• Some were captured and shot at once
• Most were never punished

The number of survivors

In total, those who survived Jasenovac:

• 80-90 people from the uprising (20-21 April)
• 100-200 people found in the camp (22 April)
• IN TOTAL: about 200-300 survivors

Survival rate: 0.3%

The significance of 22 April

• The end of the horror - after almost 4 years
• The revelation of the truth - the world saw what had been happening
• The beginning of documentation - the gathering of evidence
• A day of remembrance - for all the victims

"22 April 1945 is the day when Jasenovac ceased to be a death camp. But that day came too late for the 80,000 people who never saw freedom."

Eternal glory to the victims. Eternal remembrance. 🕊️