President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik emphasized that in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), according to incomplete data, 74,642 children—from newborns to 14-year-olds—were brutally tortured, murdered, and killed. He stated that these innocent little ones are a symbol of the deepest injustice and a cry of humanity’s conscience against hatred and evil.
On the occasion of the Day of Remembrance for the Murdered and Killed Children in the NDH, which will be marked tomorrow in the hamlet of Macure in the Prijedor settlement of Gornji Jelovac, Dodik told SRNA that their suffering must not remain just a number—behind every number stands an innocent child, a name and a surname, a heart violently stopped in the darkness of crime.
“These are names that never heard a school bell, hands that never drew a flower, eyes that saw the world only through fear. They perished simply because they were ‘different,’ because they belonged to other nationalities—when in truth, they were the purest and most innocent. That is why it is our duty, as a people and as a state, not to forget them—because remembrance is resistance to evil and monstrosity, remembrance is justice, and silence is complicity in the crime and human bestiality. Truth is our obligation, and memory our debt,” President Dodik stated.
He stressed that every murdered child is a violently broken dream, a silenced innocent smile, a childhood never lived—killed only because they were Serbs, Roma, Jews, or simply not ‘suitable enough’ in the system of hatred built by the NDH.
“Many of these children perished in horrific torment in camps such as Jasenovac, Stara Gradiška, Jastrebarsko, and Sisak—places where there was no mercy even for innocent children’s souls. The crime committed against children remains one of the darkest chapters in this region’s history,” Dodik emphasized.
He noted that the Ustaša regime took their lives before they even had a chance to discover life.
“In fact, they only saw its dark side. They never learned what love is, never hugged a parent, sibling, or friend. Their suffering and murder at the hands of hatred oblige us not only to remember, but to persistently fight against every form of revisionism, forgetfulness, and denial of crimes,” the president of Srpska said.
He asked how it is possible that hands made to embrace became hands that kill children, and that the human heart could grow so cold as to extinguish the lives of those who had just begun to live.
“That is why it is necessary to cultivate a culture of remembrance—to speak the truth aloud and give voice to those from whom it was violently taken: the children who perished under the Ustaša regime of the NDH. There can be no progress where there is forgetfulness. There can be no peace if it is built on lies. That is why, every day and from every place of atrocity, we must send a clear message: the truth will not be silenced, and the victims will not be erased from memory. Our obligation remains sacred—to speak in their name, to teach future generations what happened, and what must never happen again,” Dodik said.
He noted that remembering these innocent souls is not a call to hatred, but to responsibility.
“We do not seek revenge, but justice. We do not build the future on wounds, but on the truth about those wounds. Time and time again in history, Serbs have been victims of crimes because we were naïve, because we forgot, and most of all because others hid and silenced the truth,” the president of Srpska stressed.
He stated that the suffering of these and all other children in past wars must be an eternal warning that evil can return when people turn their heads and forget the past.
“It is our duty and obligation to remember them, to always feel the wounds of our people, and to never allow anyone to say that the crime did not happen. If we forget, we kill them again. Their sacrifice warns us and teaches us forever that humanity is not a choice, but a sacred duty. We all came into this world to be human—so let us be human,” President Dodik emphasized.
He underscored the importance of the Government of Republika Srpska’s decision to mark this day, stating that every dark date serves as a warning to the Serb people and a constant reminder of the time of evil and the crimes committed against them.
“Such decisions confirm that Republika Srpska and its institutions stand with their people and do not allow forgetfulness. That is why every day—and especially historically significant dates—must remind us of what we have built and what we have: our Republika Srpska and our institutions, which we must defend, because without them, we do not exist. That is our strength and our existence!” the president concluded.
The Day of Remembrance for the Murdered and Killed Children in the NDH will be marked tomorrow in the hamlet of Macure in the Prijedor settlement of Gornji Jelovac.
At 6:00 p.m., a memorial service will be held at the ossuary monument in Macure for the murdered children of the NDH, followed by the laying of wreaths and flowers and a spiritual program.
The commemoration is organized by the Government of Republika Srpska’s Committee for Nurturing the Traditions of Liberation Wars, in memory of the children killed during the genocide against Serbs, Jews, and Roma in the NDH from 1941 to 1945.
Source: RTRS
