Jasenovac i Gradiška Stara

"Jasenovac i Gradiška Stara" (Jasenovac and Stara Gradiška) is a Croatian song promoting the Ustaše, the World War II fascist Nazi puppet government.[1] The lyrics celebrate the World War II persecution of Serbs in Herzegovina.[2]

In 2003, Matija Babić criticized the Croatian band Thompson for performing such a song, and he also criticized Croatian Radiotelevision, Croatia Records and the rest of the media for continuing to cover Thompson as a mainstream artist.[2]

In 2007, Efraim Zuroff, while reporting in the Jerusalem Post on a Thompson performance at Maksimir Stadium, said that Perković gained notoriety for having performed the song which was overtly fascist, and criticized Thompson concerts as an occasion for a display of extremist nationalists.[3]

Perković himself denies writing or even performing the song,[2] stating that "he is a musician, not a politician".[4] An organizer for a Thompson tour of New York City also defended Perković, saying he did not write the song nor is a copy available on any of his albums.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Gorin, Julia (2007-06-23). "Nazis Rock on in Croatia". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Matija Babić (2003-12-18). "Thompson - domoljub ili fašist? Konačan odgovor je..." (in Croatian). Index.hr. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  3. ↑ Zuroff, Efraim (2007-06-25). "Ustasa rock n' roll". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  4. ↑ "Backgrounder: Marko Perković and Thompson". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
  5. ↑ Lando, Michal (2007-10-27). "Croatian singer's alleged Nazi sympathies strike a sour note". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2008-10-21.