A week after Americans and Europeans joined together through virtual events in commemorating the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe (V-E Day 2020), remembering the significant sacrifices of an entire generation fighting for freedom against tyranny, the Croatian parliament co-organized an annual event honoring pro-Nazi Ustasha soldiers of the Independent State of Croatia a fascist regime which forged strong ties with Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
On Saturday, May 16, 2020 in Sarajevo, Bosnia, the Croatian parliament sponsored an event to further fuel anti-Semitism and Holocaust revisionism in the Balkans. A separate event was held in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.
During the Holocaust, 80% of Croatia’s Jews were murdered under the rule of the pro-Nazi Croatian Ustasha government. In Sarajevo alone, 7,000 out of 10,000 Jews were murdered under the rule of the Croatian Ustasha government.
While these public events for May 2020 were reported in advance, the majority of Western diplomats residing in the capital city of Zagreb remained silent.
The Western diplomatic appeasement tactic has emboldened Croatia’s anti-Semitic figures.
The diplomatic corps using Western taxpayer funds continue to wine and dine Croatia’s politicians mired in corruption.
EU and NATO member Croatia is dependent on American taxpayer funds through billions of dollars in direct aid, grants, and favorable loans via the World Bank, EBRD and other entities.
How would Americans and Europeans respond if the modern-day Bundenstag — Germany’s parliament would sponsor an event commemorating Nazi soldiers and glorify Adolf Hitler and the country’s dark history? The West must not remain silent in the face of evil when facing Croatia’s anti-Semitic figures fueling Holocaust revisionism.
Dr. Ognjen Kraus, president of The Coordination of Jewish Communities said, “The HDZ government has failed to address the rise of anti-Semitism and the display of fascist symbols. It is lenient towards those sympathetic to the WWII Croatian fascist Ustasha regime.”
Over the years, Croatia’s politicians have used anti-Semitic laws to block the return of Jewish property and currency stolen during the rule of the Croatian Ustasha government from 1941–1945. Some $3 billion dollars worth of stolen private property and currency ought to be returned to Croatian Jewish families, their descendants and the Jewish community.
A principled approach from the West should include legislative action to freeze all taxpayer funded aid sent to Croatia via EBRD, The World Bank and NATO related military assistance and to censure Croatia’s politicians. The US State Department ought to block the visit of Croatian politicians, anti-Semitic figures, and individuals tied to Croatia’s criminal and corrupt networks to enter the United States of America.
Croatia’s government officials have been lobbying through Washingtom, D.C.-based groups including think tanks to expedite its entrance into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. America’s elected officials should block Croatia’s entry into this special designated visa program. The US Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ought to take a leadership role in carefully vetting visa applicants from Croatia.
The world is watching. Principled leaders and engaged citizens within strong rule of law nations have a responsibility to act. We owe it to the six million Jews and the 80% of Croatian Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust.
Further reading:
Sarajevo Mass For Pro-Nazi WWII Collaborators Draws Widespread Condemnation
https://www.rferl.org/a/sarajevo-mass-for-pro-nazi-wwii-collaborators-draws-widespread-condemnation/30614272.html
Radio Free Europe - "The Bosnian and Croatian churches have stepped in and are organizing the event under the auspices of the Croatian parliament, which in 2016 reintroduced state sponsorship of the commemoration after having revoked it in 2012 amid criticism that it was rehabilitating the Nazi-allied Ustasha regime."
Thousands in Sarajevo protest against Mass for Nazi collaborators: https://www.timesofisrael.com/thousands-in-sarajevo-protest-against-mass-for-nazi-collaborators/
'By glorifying Ustasha, Croatia is deliberately falsifying history': https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/wjc-general-counsel-speaks-to-al-jazeera-about-commemoration-ceremony-honoring-ustasha-forces-5-5-2020
Croatia ignores charges by Jewish leaders of rewriting history of Holocaust: https://www.jns.org/croatia-ignores-charges-by-jewish-leaders-of-rewriting-history-of-holocaust/