Banski Grabovac massacre
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| Banski Grabovac massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of World War II in Yugoslavia | |
| Location | Banski Grabovac, Independent State of Croatia |
| Date | 24-25 July 1941 |
| Target | Serbs |
Attack type | Summary executions |
| Deaths | 1,100–1,200[1][2] |
| Perpetrators | Ustaše |
The Banski Grabovac massacre was the mass killing of 1,100-1,200 Serb civilians by the Croatian fascist Ustaše movement on 24-25 July 1941, during World War II.
After the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, Adolf Hitler set up the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a puppet state ruled by the fascist Croatian Ustaše regime led by Ante Pavelić.[3] The Ustaše then embarked on a campaign of genocide against the Serb, Jewish and Roma population within the borders of the state.[4]
The massacre occurred after acts of resistance against the NDH by armed Serbian peasants.[5] The first major clash between the Ustaše and anti-fascists in the territory of Croatia took place in the village of Banski Grabovac on July 23-24 when 42 rebels charged a municipal building and train station, seizing more than 50 rifles.[6] On July 24-25, the Ustaše captured the village and arrested more than 1,200 Serbs from surrounding villages.[6][1] Approximately 800 people were shot and killed on the spot while others were taken to the Jadovno concentration camp and killed there.[5] Nearly the entire village's Serb population was annihilated.[1] Those killed on location were buried in mass graves near the village's station.[5]
