Ceremony of 60th anniversary of the break of Jasenovac’s camp inmates, holocaust and victory over fascism took place in Donja Gradina

In Donja Gradina, the major scaffold in the system of Jasneovac camps, where were martyred 366 thousand Serbs, Jews, Roma’s and anti-fascists, today was held the ceremony of 60th anniversary of the break of Jasenovac camp inmates, victory over fascism and holocaust. After the liturgy serviced in the Church of Saint Apostles Peter and Paul in Kozarska Dubica by Archbishop of Banja Luka Jefrem, in presence of the highest clergy of the Serb Orthodox Church, the wrenches and flowers were laid at the memorial thumb at the grave field "Topole" in Donja Gradina.

After this, in presence of nearly ten thousand citizens and believers, at the grave field “Košute” was serviced the memorial liturgy by the Metropolitan Dabrobosanski Nikolaj.

"In the Second World’s War, at this region and wider, without knowing why and what they have done wrong, Serbs, Jews and Roma’s were taken from their warm homes and sent to the concentration camps, where they were killed in various most terrible ways, both in Jasenovac and here in Donja Gradina", said Bishop Nikolaj in his speech.

He added that today’s service, and other parts of the ceremony are to mark 60 years from the breakout from Jasenovac camps "by not many inmates who survived, out of 700 thousand of them who were tortured and killed innocent".

Prayer for victims of holocaust and prayer for dead "“Kaddish" were serviced by Rabin Isak Asiel from Belgrade.

Rabin Asiel reminded to the terrible tragedy of the Jewish people in Europe during the Second World’s War and expressed his hope that such monstrous crimes will never happen again.

"We will all come to the God for His judgment, since He is the one to judge whole world and universe, and there is no one who can escape His judgment", said Asiel.

The representatives of the World Roma’s Congress Dragoljub Acković serviced prayer for perished Roma’s.

“I say this prayer in a language of people with, unfortunately, no survivors. In a language of my grandmothers and grandfathers, and all others who have perished with them, only because they were what they were”, said Acković. He added that only only few Roma’s survived the scaffold in Donja Gradina and Jasenovac, but there is no more alive Roma's survivors at this moment.

After the prayer for victims who have perished in Donja Gradina, before nearly 10 thousand citizens, have spoken the representative of inmates survivors Gojko Knežević, representative of the Roma’s World Parliament Dragoljub Acković, President of the Republic of Srpska Dragan Čavić, and the special representative of the World Jewish Congress for countries of the former Yugoslavia Arie Livne was reading the speech of the President of the Memorial Center “Yad Vashem” from Jerusalem Avner Shalev.

Many guests attended today’s commemorative ceremony in Donja Gradina from country and abroad. Besides domestic official among which were the Speaker of the National Parliament of RS Dušan Stojičić, Vice President of RS Ivan Tomljenović, Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska Pero Bukejlović, Chairman of the BiH Presidency Borislav Paravac, the commemoration was also attended by the President of Serbia Boris Tadić, Minister of Justice of Serbia Zoran Stojković, Ambassadors of Serbia and Monte Negro, Slovenia and China to BiH, as well as Heads of Banja Luka Office of several other Embassies in BiH.

Commemoration in Donja Gradina was also attended by the Vice President of the BiH Federation Desnica Radivojević, number of ministers in the Council of Ministers of BiH, among which the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mladen Ivanić and ministers of the RS Government.