THE STORY OF ZRIN

80 years ago, on the 9th and 10th of September 1943, under the orders of the then Croatian General Staff headed by Vladimir Bakarić, local Serbian partisans and Chetniks from neighbouring villages attacked Zrin under the pretext that it was an Ustaše village. Zrin was a peaceful village, mainly inhabited by peasant farmers. It had all the facilities that the surrounding villages lacked. There were two schools, Upper and Lower, a village parish Church, and St Marija Magdalena Church on the hill. There were several stores, the council, a post office, and other trades. Testimonials from survivor’s state that everyone got along with everyone, and the surrounding Serbians would come into town for the things they needed. The 1910 census reports 777 Catholic Croats, 3 Orthodox Serbians, and 1 Hungarian.

 

In 1943, the village was destroyed, with all homes and shops burnt and looted, including the parish church. From the beginning of World War II, 291 out of a total of about 800-850 were killed, the large majority of whom died in the September 1943 massacre. Very few men escaped this tragedy. They were tragically surrounded, attacked, and slaughtered during the event. The attackers had access to mortars and automatic weapons, making the situation even more perilous for the people of Zrin, who were significantly outnumbered and defenceless against the aggression. Those who remained alive were rounded up and marched out of the town - banished, displaced, forbidden from returning, and forbidden from speaking of the events. Even after World War II, the people of Zrin and their descendants were officially forbidden from returning to their own lands.

 

They even renamed Zrinska Gora to "Samarica", other places were also renamed.

 

The then court officials reasoned that due to the destruction of the town, they could not determine whose property was whose property, that is, the property of war criminals and enemies of the people, and because of this, the property is confiscated from all residents of the town of Zrin, and they are forbidden to return, because the return of Croats would upset the local Serbian population.

 

​

These are the official documents.

 

The documents are held at the Military Historical Institute of the JNA in Belgrade

 

We have made an unofficial translation of the old documents to the best of our ability. We acknowledge that it may not be perfect and encourage feedback if any mistakes or shortcomings are identified.