Reading numerous newspaper stories regarding the 510th anniversary of the Krbavskoj Battle at Udbina. While they were informative and interesting the political views expressed by various Serbian spokesmen were especially fascinating.

From their comments one can conclude that they have a major psychological problem dealing with a Croatian historical event that occurred over a half a millennium ago. For instance, after plans were revealed to build a Catholic Church at the site to commemorate the Croatian dead, Serb spokesmen stated that such a move is provocative and would “rehabilitate fascism and the Ustashe.” How the building of a Catholic Church dedicated to dead warriors of a 1493 battle against the Ottomans could be interpreted as such not only defies logic, it also comes close to pathological paranoia.

Perhaps Serbs subconsciously fear that reviving Croatian history may open a Pandora’s box of facts that they may wish would remain forever forgotten. From the time the Serbs ruled the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes until Croatia’s independence, the Serbs and then the communists had suppressed most of Croatian history. Since independence, there is a new movement to remember once forbidden Croatian historical events.

Given this circumstance, perhaps now is the time to open a dialog to commemorate all of the victims of the communist regime. Doubtless, this suggestion will provoke protests from those who continue to adhere to the so-called glorious days of Communism and their ongoing commemoration to Victims of Fascism.

Separating the rhetoric from the substance, the number of people who fell as a result of fascism is a drop in the bucket when compared to the ocean of victims caused by communism. Aside from the various purges and mass murders they committed,
communism caused the largest mass exodus in Croatian history. Croats left their native land seeking freedom of thought and freedom of religion. For the generation of adults who cannot now relate to the days of Communistic rule, it would be instructive to provide a little more background.

Communism, objectively, was a philosophy that affected more lives detrimentally than any other force in history. Even Adolph Hitler’s tally sheet of murder does not come close to matching the 100 million who were murdered in the name of communist progress. And Belgrade based communism was among the most notable in that regard.

According to human rights organizations, Yugoslavia had the distinction of having one of the worst records among the world’s totalitarian countries. They held more political prisoners than all the former Eastern Bloc countries combined.

The definitive work on Communism,” The Black Book of Communism” (Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Massachusetts 1999) articulated the situation in Yugoslavia best: “Rarely in the course of history had the arrival of a new regime been preceded by a bloodbath on the scale of the one seen in Yugoslavia, where out of a population of 15.5 million, 1 million died. A series of ethnic, religious, ideological, and civil war tore the country apart, and many of the victims were women, children, and old people. This was truly a fratricidal war, and the genocide and purges ensured that at the moment of liberation, Tito and the Communist Party had hardly any political rivals left. They swiftly set about eliminating them all the same.” (pp 397-398)

The human toll in Croatia was especially horrific. The wholesale slaughter of Bleiburg and Krizni Put were portents of what was in store for Croatians. The untold story is just how many Croatians were shot at the borders trying to escape tyranny. Likewise, the number who were caught and imprisoned because of their efforts is also unknown. Those hundreds of thousands of Croats that successfully fled ended up in refugee camps in neighboring countries. Most of them eventually settled in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The escapees all told the same stories—swimming across the Drava, passing over snow capped mountains, rowing across the Adriatic—all at great personal risk to life and limb.

The Catholic Church also suffered enormously. The Communists perceived the Catholic Church of Croatia as its arch-nemesis and greatest threat to the regime. They systematically persecuted and decimated the clergy. The tactic was to scatter the flock by killing the shepherds. For example, Yugoslav forces entered the Franciscan Monastery of Siroki Brijeg, doused fourteen friars with petrol and set them afire. In another example, only 88 priests of the 151 in Senj’s diocese survived the Communist policy. Half the parishes were left with no clergy. The then Bishop of Zagreb Alojis Stepinac was arrested after publishing a pastoral letter declaring 273 clergy had been killed, 169 imprisoned and 89 were “missing” since the communist takeover. Yet there are those who continue to pay homage to Communism. Among them the Croatian Ambassador to Washington, who claims that it was “the red star” that led Croatia to independence? At least the a dherents of that failed and criminal system could be objective and acknowledge the excesses and slaughter visited upon their fellow Croatians. Instead they remain steadfast and committed to communist ideals—despite their crimes.

It is extremely doubtful that the present regime will ever face the truth. Especially when you have a Croatian Premier who was the defining force of the Graduate school of Marxism at Kumrovac and whose favorite blame-word are far-rightists, which he equates with “fascists”, when discussing his dealings with an opposition that represents the biggest percentage of Croats.

By Dr. Jerry Blaskovich (In the United States)