GRAIF: 700,000 SERBS, JEWS AND ROMA KILLED IN JASENOVAC CAMP

KOZARSKA DUBICA, APRIL 22 /SRNA/ - Israeli historian Gideon Greif has said today that 700,000 Serbs, Jews and Roma were brutally murdered in the Jasenovac concentration camp.

"I am here because it is our moral obligation to the hundreds of thousands of murdered people who can no longer speak. We are their voice, to remember, remind and teach the world and to warn the world that Jasenovac, Auschwitz and other extermination camps never happen again," Greif told the press in Kozarska Dubica. Greif said that until 12 years ago he had no connection with the history of the Balkans, the history of the Serbs, but also of this area. "Now I can say with certainty, without hesitation, that I have become a very good friend of the Serb people, who have a lot in common with the Jewish people through the history of suffering, tradition and heritage", assessed Greif and added that when he first came to this area, he felt the wind of freedom and friendship. He has pointed out that remembering historical facts is very important for international remembrance and reminded that the Israeli people remember and commemorate all historical events. Georgije Engelhart, a senior advisor at the Russian House in Belgrade, says that Jasenovac is a concept in itself, but that the truth about that concentration camp is not known as much as it should be due to the scale of the crime. "More should be known about Jasenovac and all the horrors that happened during the Second World War in the areas under the NDH at the time because it was the largest genocide in the Balkans in the 20th century. It should be studied as much as possible and people must learn about it," said Engelhart. He added that interest in this topic is now growing in Russia as well. Norwegian historian and writer Knut Flovik Thoresen said that this gathering is very significant as it gathers a large number of historians, emphasizing that this important issue will be raised in common history. He stated that the history of Jasenovac is connected with Norway, where he comes from, because 1,700 prisoners from Jasenovac were deported to his country. "It is important to make these facts known to the Norwegian public because it is also our war history. It is one of the darkest chapters of European history, not only the Balkan’s, which teaches us what happens if basic human rights are not respected," Thoresen told the press. He pointed out the importance of visiting the Donja Gradina Memorial Zone in order to pay tribute to the victims and that the historians dealing with this topic could exchange information. A two-day international scientific conference "NDH and the Jasenovac concentration camp in the light of modern research" was opened today in Kozarska Dubica, which brought together 20 participants from all over the world. Experts from Republika Srpska, Serbia, Italy, Hungary, Israel, Russia and Norway will participate in the conference, which was opened by the director of the Donja Gradina Memorial Zone Public Institution, Tanja Tuleković. The gathering is organised by the Donja Gradin Memorial Zone Public Institution under the auspices of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik.