Reinterpretacija sjećanja na Drugi svjetski rat na primjeru spomen obilježja od 1990. godine do danas u sjeverozapadnoj Hrvatskoj
Re-interpretation of Memories on the Second World War: A Case-study of Monuments in Northwestern Croatia since 1990

Summary/Abstract: The unofficial politics of memory of the Second World War in the public space since 1990 was carried out in the form of a reckoning with monuments and memorials dedicated to persons and events connected with the People's Liberation Struggle. This policy tacitly tolerated almost everything to which these memorials were exposed: demolition, destruction, desecration, damage, relocation, removal, transfer to museums, neglect, and all other forms of devastation. At times, memorials were removed by order of municipal and city authorities, while in cases of removal, destruction, or theft of memorials where the perpetrators were unknown, the police rarely sought or found them. In the region of Northwestern Croatia, where Croats form the majority, the main cause of the removal and desecration of memorials was the “reckoning” with the ideology and legacy of the People's Liberation Struggle and the socialist revolution. The period after the year 2000 was marked by the continuation of the demolition, removal, and devastation of memorials, but also, and more significantly, by the beginning of their restoration and reinstallation, particularly those connected to the People's Liberation Struggle. Simultaneously, memorials began to be erected to the defeated quisling forces: the Ustaša and the Home Guard portraying them as “innocent victims” and “Croatian soldiers” within the framework of a new memory of the Second World War. This article analyses these processes, providing figures and examples that demonstrate the character of this unofficial politics of memory.

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