Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2004-07-01 Blank Pages of the Holocaust: Gypsies in Yugoslavia During World War II Elizabeta Jevtic Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the German Language and Literature Commons, and the Slavic Languages and Societies Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Jevtic, Elizabeta, "Blank Pages of the Holocaust: Gypsies in Yugoslavia During World War II" (2004). Theses and Dissertations. 149. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/149 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. BLANK PAGES OF THE HOLOCAUST: GYPSIES IN YUGOSLAVIA DURING WORLD WAR II by Elizabeta Jevtic A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master’s of Arts Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages Brigham Young University August 2004 Copyright©2004 Elizabeta Jevtic All Rights Reserved BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY GRADUATE COMMITTEE APROVAL of a thesis submitted by Elizabeta Jevtic This thesis has been read by each member of the following graduate committee and by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory. _______________________ _________________________________ Date James K. Lyon, Chair _______________________ _________________________________ Date Hans-Wilhelm Kelling _______________________ _________________________________ Date Grant Lundberg BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERISTY As chair of the candidate’s graduate committee, I have read the thesis of Elizabeta Jevtic in its final form and have found that (1) its format, citations, and bibliographic styles are consistent and acceptable and fulfill university and department style requirements; (2) its illustrative materials including figures, tables, and charts are in place; and (3) the final manuscript is satisfactory to the graduate committee and is ready for submission to the university library. _______________________ _________________________________ Date James K. Lyon Chair, Graduate Committee Accepted for the Department _________________________________ Alan F. Keele Graduate Coordinator Accepted for the College _________________________________ Van Gessel Dean, College of Humanities ABSTRACT BLANK PAGES OF THE HOLOCAUST: GYPSIES IN YUGOSLAVIA DURING WORLD WAR II Elizabeta Jevtic Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages Master’s of Arts After a general overview of the persecution of Gypsies (Roma) during World War II, this thesis focuses on the situation of Gypsies on the territory of Serbia and Croatia. The two republics are chosen because of their unique structures during the years 1941 to 1945. Both republics had puppet regimes set up by Germany; however, Croatia was an ally to Germany and strove to mirror the Third Reich in all its policies. The regime’s head, Ante Pavelic, was known as one of the most brutal and merciless men on the territory of Yugoslavia, and with him Croatian paramilitary forces committed great atrocities in concentration camps established in Croatia. Serbia was divided up among Germany and its allies, and its racial policies varied depending on the occupying forces. In Croatia, all Gypsies were annihilated, but in Serbia many survived because of the protection provided by local peasantry and occupying forces from Hungary, Bulgaria or Italy. The thesis points at four main findings: (1) the negligence toward the Gypsies’ plight and persecution; (2) the fact that, according to Nazi definitions, the persecution of Gypsies was based on their race rather than their style of living; (3) the fact that there were multiple concentration camps throughout the territory of Yugoslavia, with the most brutal camp at Jasenovac in Croatia; and (4) the fact that the Holocaust was far more than a Jewish phenomenon. Examining the two regions and highlighting them, the thesis proves that the fate of Gypsies in German-occupied territories of Yugoslavia was the same as the fate of Jews, that they were persecuted under superficial excuses, but with racial sentiments as the primary motivation. This new material, along with little known facts, documents, and stories show how marginalized Gypsies have been since the end of the war, and how little scholarly attention has been paid to their suffering. These new and some unpublished materials also help depict the brutality of Jasenovac, the Auschwitz of Balkans, and prove that the atrocities during World War II were not committed only by German soldiers, but that they reached their peak among people of other nationalities as well. Finally, the thesis claims that Gypsies deserve to be placed in the study of the Holocaust along side of Jews, and to receive the rights and remembrance that Jews have been afforded. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to express appreciation to the Germanic and Slavic Department for allowing me to step out of the ordinary and do research of this kind, and especially for the members of the Committee, Professor Lyon, Professor Kelling and Professor Lundberg, who read and evaluated my work, giving me constructive criticism and feedback. I also want to thank Spencer Green for taking time to read and edit this work, as well as my friends in Serbia who helped me and supported me through the research. I am especially grateful to my father, Milorad Jevtic, for spending countless hours collecting information, stories, maps, and encouraging me to finish this work. Finally, I want to thank my ancestors for their sacrifices, which enabled me to be here today. TABLE OF CONTENTS: A very personal foreword………………………………………………………... 1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………….. 2 Chapter 1: Myths and truths about the persecution of the damned………….. 13 Final Solution and the Question of Gypsies……………………………. 25 Chapter 2: Yugoslavia: the case of Croatia and Serbia….……………………. 48 Life and death in Serbia…………………………………………………. 59 Life and death in Croatia………………………………………………… 75 Chapter 3: Jasenovac: the end station………………………………………….. 86 The beginnings of death at Jasenovac…………………………………... 86 The methods and tools of death at Jasenovac………………………….. 98 The ends of death at Jasenovac…………………………………………. 129 Epilogue to the deaths at Jasenovac……………………………………. 133 Chapter 4: Porrajmos, the Great Devouring………………………………….. 135 Ignorance about the Gypsies’ Holocaust………………………………. 137 The numbers game in Yugoslavia……………………………………… 143 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….. 154 Works Cited………………………………………………………………………158 vii A very personal foreword It is a beautiful snowy morning. My school just celebrated the Christmas season, and I, as a director of the school's play, feel great and important. As I walk home from school with my friends, the snow shines on the heavy pine branches. My dark, black hair stands out as a contrast against the white ambience. The apartment building is in sight. My little group stops. We exchange a few funny, happy words when another group of schoolmates passes us. Suddenly one of the girls from that group shouts out in a provoking conduct: "Hey, you’re wearing Santa's red coat. But, it looks like you stole it from the poor Santa, since its sleeves seem to be too short for you." The group laughs. I smile, thinking it is all meant as a joke. But she continues: "Isn't that the only thing Gypsies are capable of, stealing? Aren’t you one too?" Confused and irritated, I glance at her, turn around and head to home, mumbling goodbyes to my little group. As I open the door to the apartment, the smell of my mother's baking hits my nose. The warmth snuggles me in, and I feel a bit better. I enter the kitchen, still in my coat, backpack on my shoulders, cheeks and nose red from the cold of the winter day. I energetically seek my mother's attention. She is washing the dishes, gazing at them as if they are a piece of some precious memory stored in her mind. She turns to meet my look and tells me to take off my coat and get something to eat. "Mom," I begin slowly "what does it mean that we are Gypsies?" Wisdom personified in the physical body of a big, cheerful woman stops doing the dishes, wipes her hands in a towel and helps me take off my bag and unbutton my coat. She still has that gaze, as if some precious memory is being recalled in her mind, that only she can see and feel. "My coat sleeves are short. Girls were making fun of me, saying I stole it. But, I didn't steal it mom. They know I didn't." I think there is a tear in my eye, caused by the false accusations. There are in fact many tears, piled on the bottom of my eyelids, but I am trying hard not to show my hurt. She just smiles and looks at me. "You know you didn't steal it and that is all that matters. I know you didn't steal it. That matters. You have Gypsy blood. Just as your brother and I have Gypsy blood. That means that we carry in us honor, heritage and the energy of thousands that have gone before us. That means that we laugh at the tides of time, standing anchored in a haven of diversity. It means that we are different and people fear us, because we dare to be different and cherish life. It means that we are an additional piece in God's marvelous mosaic and that we are here to stay." Introduction I have Gypsy blood. Why not? I carry the voices and heritage of thousands within me that shout louder every day, whispering into my ears to tell their story. I have always known who I am, but only recently have I begun discovering who they were, those voices that beg for me to commemorate them. World War II and the phenomena called Shoah, Porrajmos or the Holocaust have always fascinated me. I grew up listening to stories about my father's mother and her survival through the war years as a young teenager.