The Concentration Camp That Scared Even The Nazis: Jasenovac Concentration Camp

It's impossible to imagine, but take a second and think about this: during WWII, there was a camp in
the former Yugoslavia that a Holocaust survivor and historian called “worse than even Auschwitz” in
terms of brutality, and about which the Nazis pushed for the camp leadership to be changed due to its
very public and savage daily routine. It might surprise you, but the Germans did not run this
extermination camp, and it was the third-largest concentration camp in Europe during the war in terms
of area.

After World War 1, a new country was created from many of the territories of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire and the country of Serbia. This was Yugoslavia, “the land of the South Slavs.” Included within
the new nation were Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Montenegrins, North Macedonians, Albanians, and
Bosnian Muslims. There were also smaller numbers of other ethnic groups living within Yugoslavia,
including Jewish and Roma people.
At various times throughout the centuries, the different ethnic groups of the region had been at each
others' throats. This was especially true of the two largest groups, the Croats and the Serbs. One of the
many problems between the many groups in Yugoslavia was that for centuries, they had been
dominated and ruled by other nations, kingdoms, and people, most notably the Turks beginning in the
late 1400s and the Austro-Hungarians starting in the early 1700s when they began to slowly push the
Ottoman Turks out of the northern parts of the region.


As you may know, since the beginning of time, conquerors have used the “divide and conquer” policy
to keep their subject people weak and more focused on one another than on their common enemy. This
was the case with both the Turks and the Austro-Hungarians. Making matters even more interesting
was that many people in Bosnia converted to Islam throughout the centuries of Turkish rule.
Genetically, these people are mostly Serbs and Croats, but in the centuries since the Turks, they have
developed their own culture, and obviously, their religion differs from those around them.
From the 15th century to the 20th, foreign rulers pitted the various people of the lands of the former
Yugoslavia against each other to help maintain their own position.

#jasenovac #history #concentrationcamp #nazis

Music: Epidemic music

Sources:

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[ADayInHistoryOfficial]

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[ZoranMaslic]

My grandfather was murdered there. Thank you for doing this video. I really don't have a stomach to watch even though you probably did not put any horrifying shots

[kurtshirvinski]

Finally we get recognition. 30 million Slavs died but you hear nothing about us.

[nikolapavlovic]

Jasenovac was very tragic for Serbian people, thank you for this clip, the truth must be heard

[JoKleuver]

I was a tourleader from The Netherlands and in mine programm was to visit Jasenovac. I did not no what it was, until i saw it. i went in with my people and us was told to see a movie about the history of the camp. My people run crying out the cinema. It was to brutal and full of terror. i hope i never see that movie again. Its now for me 35 years ago and still think and sometimes i cry about what i saw. Let this never be forgotten.

[AFowkingPanda]

Living in a first world nation allows you to think that evil like this doesn't still exist but it never left. Somewhere in the world something horribly unspeakable is unfolding.

[tombombadil]

Serbs do not use the Russian Cyrillic. they have their own. and they also use Latin script even more (to the point that some are now concerned that Cyrillic may become extinct). and it's the same as the one used by the Croats - which is different from the Latin used in the West.

[RickDanner]

the worst thing about all these videos are the people who say non of this happened

[IWATPITW]

As a Croatian I would like to thank you for making this video. The video and information itself is correct, I would just like that you added the fact that 50000 ethnic croatians who oposed ustase were also among the victims. But all in all realistic and well done documentry. Dark and shameful page of croatian history.

[Weeboslav]

"Serbs can't or wont use Latin script" dude, we use both Latin and Cyrillic alphabets

[robbyrockets]

41 members of my family were murdered in this very place.
My poor dad used to cry every once in a while thinking about his brother Nico, thankfully I found this information out after he passed, I think had he known it would have crushed him.
He often wondered what happened to his little brother, as the last time he saw him was when he went off to war.
Imagine wondering what happened to your brother for pretty much your whole life, he heard rumors that he had died, which made it even worse, because he didn't know where or even if he was buried properly.
I hope the reunion he and his family had was glorious.😢

[gmilisavljevic]

My mother was imprisoned there as a 7-years-old-girl, together with my grandmother and her two young sisters (my aunts). Only my mother survived, since one of her relatives managed to purchase her out of Jasenovac with gold. We Serbs remember everything. Our children and their children and their descendants will always remember. FOREVER.

[urosmilic]

"44 months in Jasenovac" by Egon Berger, a Croatian Jew, captures the gory depths of cruelty that occured in Jasenovac. It's quite disturbing but definitely worth the read. Generally, I think shedding light on human cruelty is an important part of staying vigilant when discussing historical events such as WWII. It is too often that one sees debates about the history of war and conflict turn in to a clash of numbers. The case with Jasenovac is a prime example. Some try to dismiss the savagery that took place in NDH camps by reducing the number of victims as if reducing it from 400 k to 40 k somehow changes the intensity of the killings that happened there.

[joegreen]

My grandmother was held at this concentration camp but managed to escape to Poland and then the UK.

[nemanjazupanjac]

It is important to emphasize that around 1100 Catholic priests participated or supported Ustashe.. Vatican knew about the extermination of Serbs, Jews and Roma.. No apology, no shame till today..

[nathaliebazinga]

I am Serbian. My great grandmother was in a concentration camp as well. My grandfather and his 4 siblings left orphaned. He is still alive today to tell the story.

[tonymctony]

My grandmother was held in this camp for 3 years, she was rescued by Partizans at 1945. She had weight of 19 kilograms, 11 years old. The stories we heard, oh my. My comment would be banned her for sure if i wrote about it.

[NikolaPj]

Correction: In Serbia, both Cyrillic and Latin script are equally used.

[t.y.]

Damn, if the Nazis are appalled and telling you to clean it up!

[Zvrrrrrrr]

Thirteen of my relatives were killed in the yard of their house. And my grandfather was beaten by nuns in the Jastrebarsko concentration camp for children.