Voćin massacre
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| Croatian War of Independence |
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| Plitvice Lakes – Borovo Selo – Vukovar (Battle, Massacre) – The Barracks – Dubrovnik – Gospić – Otkos 10 – Škabrnja – Orkan 91 – Voćin – Miljevci – Maslenica – Medak Pocket – Flash – Storm |
Voćin massacre was a massacre of about 60 Croatian civilians in the village of Voćin, perpetuated by Serb paramilitary units in December 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. Its significance is in the fact that it is the most documented atrocity in the war, as foreign medical experts were on the scene as soon as it was recaptured by Croatian forces and managed to conduct forensic examination.
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[edit] War comes to Voćin
Voćin is a village situated in Western Slavonia, one of the three major areas of lcoal Serb revolt against the new Croatian government in the 1990-91 period. The arrival of the Yugoslav Army (JNA) into the area in mid-1991 signaled the beginning of an offensive to capture areas outside Serb control (i.e. with Croatian majority). One of the villages captured during these offensive operations was Voćin which was shelled heavily and captured on the morning of August 19. These forces were assisted by local Serb civilians, which pointed the Serb forces to the Croat targets. Before the war, the village had a population of 426, which was now down to 80 Croats that were captured.
According to testimonies by survivors, the village was put under military occupation by the paramilitary unit White Eagles (calling themselves Chetniks) and its occupants "treated like slaves", abused, exploited and killed. By December, the Croatian army in the area regrouped and launched Operation Orkan 91 in the area. Serb forces were on the general retreat and decided to abandon the village. Before they left, the massacre was committed on December 13. Voćin was recaptured the following morning by Croatian forces. When they entered the village, bodies were found on the streets, in their burned houses and in yards.
United States Congressman Frank McCloskey (Indiana, Democrat) and Pat Mackley had been in the vicinity, when they received reports about what had taken place in Voćin and rushed to the scene. While the bodies were still warm, they were among the first to arrive. A number of the villagers survived by hiding and now gave them telling testimony within hours of the event, along with captured Serb paramilitaries. Contacting doctor Jerry Blaskovich of the University of Southern California, an American physician in Croatia at the time, they arranged for him to conduct a forensic examination of the victims in Zagreb.
[edit] The massacre
With one exception, all the victims were Roman-Catholic Croatian villagers. A large number was elderly - half the victims were over 62 and the eldest was 84 years old. Most of the young people, especially the males of the village had fled; or were rounded up by the Serb invaders and shipped to parts unknown.
Almost all of the victims were abused, tortured and then massacred. Two of the victims, a husband and wife, were found bound with chains and burned. Subsequent chemical tissue analysis performed at the University of Zagreb Medical School laboratories revealed that they were burned alive. Others had their skulls split open by axes or chain sawed in half while still alive. A large number of victims were murdered by chain saws, knives, axes and other cold weapons.
One of the victims, Marija Majdandžić (72), was an American citizen born in Erie, Pennsylvania. She was trapped in her house which was torched down. She was probably the first American causality of the conflict. The only non-Croat victim of the massacre was a 77-year old Serb who tried to intervene on behalf of his Croatian co-villagers to stop the massacre. He was tortured and beaten to death.
The historic, Our Lady of Voćin Catholic Church, built 750 years ago, was also not spared. The Serbs decided to try to cover up the massacre by stacking some of the bodies in the Church that they attempted to destroy by explosives - the church’s basement was loaded with munitions of almost every description since it had been used as a central ammunition depot by the Serb occupiers - but failed due to the thickness of the walls. Despite the massive destruction, 58 bodies were eventually found there; a great number of others, including children, disappeared without a trace.
[edit] Aftermath
There were less then 20 survivors from the 80 people who were in the village at the time of the massacre. They survived by hiding in basements and cornfields and were witnesses to what happened.
Several of the Serbs failed to retreat on time and were captured and interrogated. Aside from giving details about the slaughter they committed, the Serb soldiers admitted to being members of Vojislav Šešelj’s infamous "White Eagles" and that they had been acting under direct orders from Belgrade.
The two US Congressmen arranged for a press conference in Zagreb where they revealed what has happened. Until the Battle of Vukovar and Siege of Dubrovnik, the world media was very unobjective in reporting events from Croatia; influenced by Belgrade propaganda. The Voćin massacre was important in that it was fully documented and reported to the media by neutral observers.
[edit] Later events
The extensive documentation of the massacre meant that it was included in the ICTY indictments against Serb President Slobodan Milošević [1] and Chetnik "Duke" Vojislav Šešelj [2]. Milošević died in prison. As of 2007, the Šešelj trial is still on-going.
[edit] References
- Jerry Blaskovich, Anatomy of Deceit: An American Physician's First-hand Encounter With The Realities Of The War In Croatia
- Milos Judas and Ivica Kostović, Mass Killing and Genocide
