[REVISION HISTORY]

Croatia WWII memory controversy

Updated 1 time since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-07-27 20:50 UTC → 2026-07-29 21:09 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In early July 2026 local authorities in a Croatian city, together with Montenegrin officials, publicly confronted symbols deemed hateful or extremist. Within the same ~~month,~~ month the dispute broadened as two Croatian mayors became embroiled in heated debates over the portrayal of World‑War‑II heritage. Mayor Dario Zurovec of Sveta Nedelja insisted that Kerestinec Castle had never served as an Ustaše detention site, rejecting historical accounts of communist killings and calling them myths. Meanwhile, Rijeka’s mayor Iva Rinčić was ~~criticized~~ criticised for permitting the repeated “Za dom spremni” graffiti—a slogan associated with the Ustaše—to remain after a performance, prompting accusations that she was equating fascist imagery with anti‑fascist values. On 29 July 2026, parliamentary deputy Dragana Jeckov condemned the resurgence of Ustaše symbols at the Glina memorial. Speaking at the Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, she recalled three waves of Ustaše violence in 1941, highlighted the role of Catholic priest Franc Žužek in opposing the regime, and warned that the reappearance of such symbols in public spaces is dangerous. Human‑rights activist Vesna Teršelič criticised Croatian officials for denying the Ustaše genocide and for allowing the memorial’s name to be changed without acknowledging the crimes. These ~~events~~ episodes illustrate a ~~growing~~ deepening political ~~conflict~~ and societal clash in Croatia over how wartime ~~symbols and~~ symbols, sites and memories are represented and remembered.

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