Mapping the Holocaust in
Croatia

After the Axis powers created the Independent State of Croatia and installed the Ustaša movement to head the new state, requiring “contribution” or “tribute” payments became a common method of extortion against Jewish communities in localities across Ustaša Croatia. Promising protection and cessation of persecution, Ustaša authorities baited local Jews to deposit large sums of money and valuables as one of the first steps in targeted, all-encompassing transfer of Jewish property to so-called “Aryan” hands. Economic dispossession was therefore one of the first steps in the genocide against Croatia’s Jews.

Many local officials of the Ustaša regime were appointed from the ranks of local activists, considered more trustworthy if they joined the movement during the interwar period, when it was illegal. Ivan Kostenac was one such official, serving the regime as Adjutant Commander of the Ustaša District of Vuka, headquartered in Vukovar. Kostenac gave this testimony about two months after the Independent State of Croatia had been defeated and reintegrated into a reestablished Yugoslav state, led by Kostenac’s wartime enemies, the communist Partisans. Given to a war crimes commission established by the Partisan authorities, Kostenac’s testimony is colored with fear of repercussions for his participation in Ustaša structures. Speaking as prisoner of Yugoslavia’s Military Tribunal in Vukovar, Kostenac minimized his strong prewar connections to the Ustaša movement, the significance of his official positions in the Independent State of Croatia, as well as his role in and knowledge of Ustaša decision-making during the war. Consider, for example, the testimony of Rosa Oberson regarding Kostenac’s engagement with Jewish “contribution” payments, which Vukovarian Jews had been forced to collect in May 1941; his mere presence at the “contribution” meetings ranks him among top Ustašas in Vukovar. Kostenac also neglected to mention the ways in which he benefitted from systematic dispossession that the Ustaša regime carried out against Jews, Serbs, and Roma; in 1941, for example, Kostenac took possession of one of several pianos expropriated from local Jews and Serbs, but his testimony blames the regime for expropriations and remains silent on local beneficiaries, including himself.

After Nazi Germany’s attack against the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, communists joined Jews, Roma, and Serbs as one of Ustaša Croatia’s chief enemy groups. Those whose state-imposed, allegedly “inferior” racial or ethno-confessional identity intersected with Ustaša suspicions of communism stood in special danger. Jews and Serbs especially were therefore the first victims of Ustaša anti-communist campaign. In this document, the town of Gospić signified the nearby death camp complex Jadovno-Pag. The great majority of people deported to Gospić under suspicion of communism were never heard from again.

During Ustaša rule (April 1941 – May 1945), the regime prohibited a number of religions and religious institutions, most notably Judaism, the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the Old Catholic Church of Croatia. This policy was both socio-political and demographic: on the one hand, it intended to extinguish primarily Jewish and Serbian socio-political influence in the Independent State of Croatia; on the other hand, it aimed to herd large segments of the Serb non-elite population into religious conversion to “approved” religions, preferably Catholicism, and, by extension, make them ethnonational Croats, hence increasing the slim Croat majority in the newly-formed state. As part of that policy, the regime placed all religious conversions under its direct control, adding “rectitude confirmations” to the list of documents required for a legally valid conversion. “Rectitude confirmations”—background checks focused on an individual’s past engagement, or lack thereof, in “anti-Croat activity”—could be issued only by local Ustaša authorities. The regime did not plan for its religious-ethnonational conversion campaign to encompass Jews. However, caught between a rock and a hard place, and hearing the promises of safety that the regime issued to Serbs it targeted for conversion, Jews across the Independent State of Croatia reached for religious conversion as a potential avenue of evading Ustaša persecution. Although the regime in Zagreb discouraged and eventually prohibited Jewish and Roma conversions—since all Jews and Roma were slated for annihilation rather than assimilation, the latter policy having been reserved only for a portion of Croatia’s Serbs—local authorities often approved Jewish requests in exchange for high fees and bribes, using the process as another way to lay hands on Jewish property. This document represents an example of a Jewish request for a “rectitude confirmation” as a prerequisite for conversion to Catholicism. Ustaša authorities in Vukovar confirmed Ljudevit Pollak’s “rectitude;” he converted on December 12, 1941, to be deported and killed in Jasenovac death camp the following year.

During Ustaša rule (April 1941 – May 1945), the regime prohibited a number of religions and religious institutions, most notably Judaism, the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the Old Catholic Church of Croatia. This policy was both socio-political and demographic: on the one hand, it intended to extinguish primarily Jewish and Serbian socio-political influence in the Independent State of Croatia; on the other hand, it aimed to herd large segments of the Serb non-elite population into religious conversion to “approved” religions, preferably Catholicism, and, by extension, make them ethnonational Croats, hence increasing the slim Croat majority in the newly-formed state. As part of that policy, the regime placed all religious conversions under its direct control, adding “rectitude confirmations” to the list of documents required for a legally valid conversion. “Rectitude confirmations”—background checks focused on an individual’s past engagement, or lack thereof, in “anti-Croat activity”—could be issued only by local Ustaša authorities. The regime did not plan for its religious-ethnonational conversion campaign to encompass Jews. However, caught between a rock and a hard place, and hearing the promises of safety that the regime issued to Serbs it targeted for conversion, Jews across the Independent State of Croatia reached for religious conversion as a potential avenue of evading Ustaša persecution. Although the regime in Zagreb discouraged and eventually prohibited Jewish and Roma conversions—since all Jews and Roma were slated for annihilation rather than assimilation, the latter policy having been reserved only for a portion of Croatia’s Serbs—local authorities often approved Jewish requests in exchange for high fees and bribes, using the process as another way to lay hands on Jewish property. This document, in tandem with the following one, represents internal Ustaša communication regarding the request of Elsa Klein, a Jewish resident of Vukovar, for conversion to Catholicism.

During Ustaša rule (April 1941 – May 1945), the regime prohibited a number of religions and religious institutions, most notably Judaism, the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the Old Catholic Church of Croatia. This policy was both socio-political and demographic: on the one hand, it intended to extinguish primarily Jewish and Serbian socio-political influence in the Independent State of Croatia; on the other hand, it aimed to herd large segments of the Serb non-elite population into religious conversion to “approved” religions, preferably Catholicism, and, by extension, make them ethnonational Croats, hence increasing the slim Croat majority in the newly-formed state. As part of that policy, the regime placed all religious conversions under its direct control, adding “rectitude confirmations” to the list of documents required for a legally valid conversion. “Rectitude confirmations”—background checks focused on an individual’s past engagement, or lack thereof, in “anti-Croat activity”—could be issued only by local Ustaša authorities. The regime did not plan for its religious-ethnonational conversion campaign to encompass Jews. However, caught between a rock and a hard place, and hearing the promises of safety that the regime issued to Serbs it targeted for conversion, Jews across the Independent State of Croatia reached for religious conversion as a potential avenue of evading Ustaša persecution. Although the regime in Zagreb discouraged and eventually prohibited Jewish and Roma conversions—since all Jews and Roma were slated for annihilation rather than assimilation, the latter policy having been reserved only for a portion of Croatia’s Serbs—local authorities often approved Jewish requests in exchange for high fees and bribes, using the process as another way to lay hands on Jewish property. This document, in tandem with the previous one, represents internal Ustaša communication regarding the request of Elsa Klein for conversion to Catholicism. Ms. Klein was a Jewish resident of Vukovar and spouse of Oton Klein, brother of a known local attorney Daniel Klein. Contrary to the Grand Parish Police District instructions, Elsa Klein’s request was eventually approved—likely due to a bribe—and she converted on April 8, 1942. In summer 1942, together with her sister-in-law Leona Lili Klein and her niece Liza Klein, who had also converted, Elsa was deported to Jasenovac death camp where all of them were killed.

During Ustaša rule (April 1941 – May 1945), the regime prohibited a number of religions and religious institutions, most notably Judaism, the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the Old Catholic Church of Croatia. This policy was both socio-political and demographic: on the one hand, it intended to extinguish primarily Jewish and Serbian socio-political influence in the Independent State of Croatia; on the other hand, it aimed to herd large segments of the Serb non-elite population into religious conversion to “approved” religions, preferably Catholicism, and, by extension, make them ethnonational Croats, hence increasing the slim Croat majority in the newly-formed state. As part of that policy, the regime placed all religious conversions under its direct control, adding “rectitude confirmations” to the list of documents required for a legally valid conversion. “Rectitude confirmations”—background checks focused on an individual’s past engagement, or lack thereof, in “anti-Croat activity”—could be issued only by local Ustaša authorities. The regime did not plan for its religious-ethnonational conversion campaign to encompass Jews. However, caught between a rock and a hard place, and hearing the promises of safety that the regime issued to Serbs it targeted for conversion, Jews across the Independent State of Croatia reached for religious conversion as a potential avenue of evading Ustaša persecution. Although the regime in Zagreb discouraged and eventually prohibited Jewish and Roma conversions—since all Jews and Roma were slated for annihilation rather than assimilation, the latter policy having been reserved only for a portion of Croatia’s Serbs—local authorities often approved Jewish requests in exchange for high fees and bribes, using the process as another way to lay hands on Jewish property. This document, a government-issued fillable form, shows the ad-hoc nature of Jewish conversions. Central authorities prepared the form for the portion of Ustaša Croatia’s Serbs slated for assimilation into Croat ethnonationality, but local officials used those forms for Jewish conversions, as well, crossing off the pre-printed references to the “Greek-Eastern faith” (denoting members of the Serbian Orthodox Church) and penciling in “Moses’.” Seventeen-year-old Vjera Herzog, who filled out this form, converted on November 28, 1942, several months after the largest deportation of Vukovarian Jews to Jasenovac death camp; it remains unclear whether Ms. Herzog survived the Holocaust.

In the months following the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia, the Ustaša regime introduced the policy of public marking of Jews by requiring Jewish individuals to wear “Jewish signs” when appearing in public. “Jewish signs” usually took the form of patches sown on outer articles of clothing, often as letter “Ž” for “Židov,” meaning “Jew.” As an added injury to their individual integrity, Ustaša authorities forced Croatia’s Jews to purchase these signs from the state. Reflecting Ustaša ingroup social policy—measures of social support for those deemed “Aryan”—the money collected by the sale of “Jewish signs” was meant to be used for socially useful purposes.

The Ustaša regime declared Jews the enemy of the Croat nation and state, defined them racially, and implemented a comprehensive, homegrown policy of genocide aimed at their physical annihilation. Destruction of Croatia’s Jews began with internment and murder of Jewish elites from localities across the state. Some Jews, such as medical doctors, the regime judged as temporarily useful and drafted them into the ranks of regular army. Others fled their homes in attempts to evade persecution. By 1942, therefore, Jewish communities across Ustaša Croatia had been reduced in size, prompting he regime to issue a call for a ‘Jewish census’ to its local representatives to make the forthcoming deportations to concentration and death camps more efficient. This document, connected to the two that follow, portrays the process of the Ustaša headcount of the Jews of Vukovar in February 1942.

The Ustaša regime declared Jews the enemy of the Croat nation and state, defined them racially, and implemented a comprehensive, homegrown policy of genocide aimed at their physical annihilation. Destruction of Croatia’s Jews began with internment and murder of Jewish elites from localities across the state. Some Jews, such as medical doctors, the regime judged as temporarily useful and drafted them into the ranks of regular army. Others fled their homes in attempts to evade persecution. By 1942, therefore, Jewish communities across Ustaša Croatia had been reduced in size, prompting the regime to issue a call for a ‘Jewish census’ to its local representatives to make the forthcoming deportations to concentration and death camps more efficient. This document, connected to the previous one and the one that follows, portrays the process of the Ustaša headcount of the Jews of Vukovar in February 1942.

The Ustaša regime declared Jews the enemy of the Croat nation and state, defined them racially, and implemented a comprehensive, homegrown policy of genocide aimed at their physical annihilation. Destruction of Croatia’s Jews began with internment and murder of Jewish elites from localities across the state. Some Jews, such as medical doctors, the regime judged as temporarily useful and drafted them into the ranks of regular army. Others fled their homes in attempts to evade persecution. By 1942, therefore, Jewish communities across Ustaša Croatia had been reduced in size, prompting the regime to issue a call for a ‘Jewish census’ to its local representatives to make the forthcoming deportations to concentration and death camps more efficient. This document, connected to the previous two, portrays the process of the Ustaša headcount of the Jews of Vukovar in February 1942.

Đuro Oberson, son of Rosa Oberson, was a physician in interwar Vukovar and one of the town’s well-known and well-connected citizens. Like other Jews, Oberson was subjected to Ustaša persecution, but was fortunate that the regime was in desperate need of medical doctors. Drafted into Croatian Home Guard as a military physician, Oberson and his family members—mother Rosa, née Gottlieb, and grandmother Berta, née Weil—were spared from deportation. Note that Oberson’s prewar connections with Croat notables such as Dr. Pušić and highly-placed Franciscan friars helped him evade Ustaša attempts to incriminate him as an enemy of the Croat nation, which speaks to the continuation of prewar intergroup ties into the wartime; such connections, however, represented an advantage that most Jews unfortunately did not have. In 1943, Oberson defected from Home Guard to the Partisans and contributed to the antifascist resistance as military physician in Partisan ranks. He survived military service and the Holocaust, but never made Vukovar his home again.

Rosa Oberson, née Gottlieb, like her son Đuro Oberson, was a well-known citizen of Vukovar before the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia. Involved in local charities and intergroup initiatives aiming for social welfare and improvement of the town’s common spaces, Oberson left a felt presence in pre-1941 material record of Vukovar’s public life. Together with her mother-in-law Berta, née Weil, she received a stay of deportation due to her son Đuro serving as an army doctor in the Croatian Home Guard. In 1943, after Đuro defected from Home Guard to the Partisans, Oberson and her mother-in-law fled Vukovar and joined him in “the forest”—swaths of countryside liberated by the Partisans—where they remained until the end of the war.

Antun Velić was an industrialist hailing from a prominent Vukovarian Jewish family. His father Lavoslav was a known local attorney who was active in the political life of the city, Vukovar’s Red Cross, and the Jewish community. Baptized on July 11, 1941, Antun Velić was among the earliest converts to Catholicism after the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia. Ha was married to Vera, a Catholic Croat woman, which allowed him to receive a stay of deportation. This privilege did not extend to Antun’s mother, Matilda Velić, née Weiss, who was deported to Jasenovac death camp in summer 1942 and killed there. Antun and Vera had two children during the Second World War: Ljerka, born in 1941, and Ratko, born in 1943. It appears that Velić family remained in Vukovar until the liberation in April 1945; shortly thereafter, they emigrated to Israel.