Sljedece, prevedeno na hrvatski jezik, neki su izvatci iz knjige:
"Jedan Dan u Svibnju - Bleiburg 1945" ("One Day in May-Bleiburg 1945")
Autor: Jean Lunt Marinovic, listopad 2016., Melbourne Australija)
Engleska verzija slijedi ovaj hrvatski izvod.
Odgovori na pitanja nastavku nisu misljenje autora. Te su cinjenice preuzete iz dokumenata, istrazivanja ili misljenja razlicitih autora mnogih nacionalnosti.
Koliko je Hrvata doslo na polje Bleiburga? (stranica 264)
Na ovo pitanje svatko zeli odgovor. Stvarni broj Hrvata koji su se povlacili, koji su stigli u Bleiburg ili Libuce polje (Loibach polje) razlikuje se od brojeva koji su se povlacili.
Na temelju dostupnih informacija procjenjujem da je nekoliko desetaka tisuca hrvatskih vojnika i civila dospilo do Bleiburga. U NDH su bili katolicki i muslimanski vojnici i to je ilustrirano na spomeniku Bleiburg.
Neki (autori) kazu desetke tisuca, a drugi procjenjuju do oko 150.000. Alternativno, drugi (autori) pocinju na 20.000 do 30.000 Hrvata na polju Bleiburg. Broj je vjerojatno negdje izmedju.
Preostale osobe u hrvatskom egzodusu vec su preusmjerile bugarske i jugoslavenske trupe na "Smrtne Marseve" prema Mariboru prije dolaska na austrijsku granicu.
Nasuprot tome, na krajnjem kraju, najveci broj koji je navodno stigao do Bleiburga je 700.000, ili citamo o mnostvu, pa cak i citavoj hrvatskoj naciji koja je tamo, ali ove prekomjerne brojke mogu biti iskljucene iz cinjenica.
Koliko je Hrvata zapravo bilo masakrirano na polju Bleiburga, nakon njihove predaje Jugoslavenima? (stranica 264)
Jos jedanput, broj ubijenih u Bleiburgu varira prema autoru.
Postoji previse vladajuci konsenzus medju izvorima koji su razmotreni (u ovoj knjizi) da mnogi nisu umrli u Bleiburgu i da tamo nije bilo masovnih ubojstava, a to podupiru i pouzdani racuni ocevidaca.
Na groblju Libuce nekoliko je Hrvata pokopano.
Neki (autori) pisu da su "Smrtni Marsevi" ili masovna ubojstva 'zapoceli' u Bleiburgu i nastavili ponovno u Jugoslaviji. Drugi (autori) pisu da su u Bleiburgu ubijeni izmedju 1.000 i 3.000 Hrvata. Neki kazu da se u Poljani (Slovenija) nalazi masovna grobnica, a ne na Bleiburgu.
Na drugom ekstremu citamo da su se na Bleiburgu poceli masakrirati od desetina tisuca do oko 600.000 ili vise.
Zasto mnogi autori integriraju sve dogadjaje, cinjenice i brojeve u jedan dogadjaj, jednu predaju i jednu britansku repatrijaciju jugoslaviji? (stranica 265)
Ovdje cu pokusati sazeti ovu 'integriranu verziju'. Ova emocionalna izmisljotina, u svojim razlicitim verzijama, prozima kolektivnu memoriju hrvatskih zajednica. Ova vrlo zbunjujuca integracija dogadjaja jedan je od glavnih razloga zasto sam odlucila napisati ovu knjigu!
Kada ispitamo svjedocenje o sudbini Hrvata u Bleiburgu, ili u Maria Elend i Rosenbach, razlike su jasne.
Od Bleiburga, Hrvati su znali da se vracaju u Jugoslaviju nakon nihove predaje Jugoslavenima. Hrvati su marsirali pjesice po cijeloj zemlji od Bleiburga do Jugoslavije, i odmah su bili opljackani od svoje imovine. Od Bleiburga Hrvati su marsirali pjesice kukuruznim poljima, jarkima, rijekama i preko zidova.
Ovo svjedocenje trebalo bi jednom i zauvijek razrijesiti, razliku izmedju repatrijacije u Bleiburgu i Marie Elend i Rosenbachu, gdje su Hrvati izvadjeni iz kamiona i stavljeni na vlakove prema Jugoslaviji nakon sto su im (British) rekli kako je njihova destinacija bila Italija.
Kada i kako je pocela ova izmisljena inacica? Vjerujem da je to zapocelo zato jer je fokus hrvatskog naroda na "Smrtne Marsove", a ne na raznim dogadjajima koji su doveli do masakra. Tako su Hrvati u inozemstvu zapoceli rezoluciju da je Bleiburg simbolican za sve "Smrtne Marsove" ("Krizni Put") i sve masakre hrvatskog naroda. Mozda je tako pocela zbrka. Jos mi je to tajna, ali kad se stavlja u kontekst vremena 'hladnog rata' lakse je razumjeti.
Medjutim, tesko je racionalizirati zasto je netocna Bleiburgova pripovijest ostala netaknuta u 21. stoljece. Mozda se vjeruje da se spajanjem svih dogadjaja ogroman broj zrtava moze bolje izraziti. Ili, kada se svjedocanstvo o britanskoj repatrijaciji od 26.000 Hrvata iz Rosenbacha i Marie Elend u Jesenice pripisuje dogadjajima u Bleiburgu, mozda bi to moglo ukazati na to da su Britanci na slican nacin vratili "sve" Hrvate u Bleiburgu.
Ali dok Hrvati vjeruju da je spajanje dogadaja pod naslovom britanskih repatrijacija pokazuje veci broj zrtava, suprotno je istinito za Jugoslavene, koji iskoristavaju zbrku.
Jugoslaveni ukazuju na manje brojeve spajanjem dogadjaja, zato jer Britanci nisu vratili Hrvate od Bleiburga.
Isto tako, ako postoji samo jedan veliki dogadjaj, lako se pozivati na slucajnu jugoslavensku 'osvetu', i sakriti svoje masovne pogubljenja, bez sudjenja, na planiranoj i namjernoj osnovi. Drugim rijecima, ono sto se dogodilo Hrvatima natrag u Jugoslaviju bilo je orkestrirano i dobro koordinirano masovno ubojstvo.
Ili mozda neki autori ne mogu gledati iza britanske prijevare na postaji Maria Elend i Rosenbach gdje su Hrvatima (British) rekli da idu u Italiju u vlakovima, umjesto u Jugoslaviju.
Alternativno, mnogi od onih koji spajaju dogadjaje u jedan dogadjaj, mogu fokus odvratiti od odvojenog puta za bijeg clanova hrvatske (NDH) vlade.
Takodjer, buduci da je nejasan o onome sto se dogodilo u Bleiburgu (citati posvuda), moze se dati tvrdnja da dokumenti jos uvijek cuvaju tajnu.
Konacno smo dosli do pitanja odgovornosti i krivnje. Tko je odgovoran za takve masovne zlocine na genocidnom mjerilu? (stranica 265)
Tisuce ljudi napunilo je dvoranu u Zagrebu 31. listopada 2015. za Eticki tribunal i osudu protiv Tita. Ovaj nesluzbeni Tribunal privukao je velike guzve od 1990. godine. Kod te hrvatske skupine, jasno je da su Tito i komunisticka Jugoslavija krivi za genocid. Tito i/ili Sredisnji odbor Jugoslavije koji su organizirali ova ubojstva na raznim mjestima.
Znamo za Titovu naredbu 13. svibnja 1945. da likvidiraju Hrvate na povlacenju prema Dravogradu preko Celja. Jugoslaveni su u Bleiburgu koji su vojno kontrolirali mjesto i koji su prijetili Hrvatima i Britancima da ce poceti pucati za 15 minuta. Petnaest minuta kasnije je produljeno do jednog sata. U Bleiburgu, jugoslovenski (srpski) komesar iskoristio je zlostavljanje i prijetnje kako bi uvjerio Britance da je ozbiljan zbog onoga sto je rekao. Bio je jugoslavenski cilj stvoriti vecu Jugoslaviju u Koruskoj do rijeke Drave.
Neki autori izravno krive Srbe unutar Vojske Jugoslavije, osobito oko podrucja u blizini Bleiburga. Doista, jugoslaveni kao sto su Tito ili Djilas kasnije su priznali da je bilo masovnih ubojstava ili insinuiralo da Hrvati zasluzuju umrijeti ili morali umrijeti zbog uzroka revolucije. Ipak, neki tvrde da su Britanci trebali zastititi Hrvate od Jugoslavenske osveta, ali cak i Tito je rekao Ivanu Mestrovicu da cak ni on nebi mogao zastititi Hrvate od srbijanske osveta. Zanimljivo je da i sam Tito krivi Srbe za osvetu ili pripisuje svu odgovornost visokom Rankovicu.
Koji god bio jugoslavenski operativac, bila je Vojska Jugoslavije koja je izravno pretvorila Hrvate na "Smrtne Marseve", pocinila masovne pogubljenje (bez suda), a zatim skrivala masovne grobnice s dinamitom ili cementom ili otpadnim proizvodima, itd. Lokalni ljudi se uplasili za svoje zivote, ili zivote njihovih obitelji, da govore o genocidu kojim su bili svjedoci, desetljecima, sve do raspada Jugoslavije.
Ali pregledala
sam jos jednu temu, u mojoj recenzije knjigi, tko je kriv za genocid.
Odabrana grupa autora i dalje krive neke britanske zapovijedi za Titove
zlocine protiv covjecnosti, tvrdeci da je sve moglo biti sprijeceno!
Cak i Djilas koristi ovu temu, da su Britanci pogresno predali Hrvate,
a Jugoslaveni su pogrijesili da ih ubiju.
S obzirom na broj lokacija, razlike u onome sto se zapravo dogodilo, i ta cinjenica je da vecina Hrvata nikad nije ni presla austrijsku granicu, ovo je nesretna i fiktivna interpretacija dogadjaja. Ta pogresna tumacenja dogadjaja zapravo sabotiraju sansu zrtavama za pravdu.
To je tragedija da su Britanska vojska vratili 26.000 Hrvata na vlakove na stajalistima Marie Elend i Rosenbach, ali oni nisu imali predvidjanje o tome sto ce se dogoditi kasnije. Doista nitko ne bi mogao zamisliti takav uzas! I prije, u Bleiburgu, Britanci nisu imali predvidjanje o genocidu, koji ce se odvijati kad izvan vida, pa cak i prevoditelj (hrvatski/engleski-Robert Plan, Croatian-American) u Bleiburgu potvrdio je to.
U dodatku, nije bilo pokolja na polju Bleiburgu. Prosao je broj dana ili tjedana, prije no sto su informacije o masakrima, ili losem tretmanu, filtrirano kroz britanski vojni zapovjedni lanac, nakon cega su se repatrijacije odmah zaustavile. A ako Britanci podnose bilo kakvu moralnu odgovornost, sto je s Bugarima koji su Hrvata vratili? (pages 47, 199-200) Zar ne i Bugari, ili Jugoslaveni, imaju moralnu odgovornost?
Neki autori takodjer krive Veliku Britaniju za stvaranje obje jugoslavenske drzave, ili za priznavanje Titove drzave. Kao da lojalni hrvatski pripadnici koalicijske vlade Tito-Subasic ne sudjeluju u tome (Vis, 16 lipanj 1944). U to vrijeme Saveznici su pokusavali poraziti Hitlera uz pomoc partizana. Da je Hrvatska drzava promijenila strane (za vrijeme Drugog Svjetskog Rata, na primjer kao Bugari, Rumuni, i ostali) mozda bi doslo do drugacijeg ishoda.
Neki autori cak tvrde da dokumenti jos nisu otkriveni, tvrdnja koja izgleda slaba, kada su mnogi autori (od svih nacionalnosti) od 1970-ih, i jos ranije, su citirali zapadne dokumente, novine i dokumentarne filmove.
S obzirom da se vodstvo hrvatske vlade vec odselilo iz regije (ukljucuje Hrvatsku, Sloveniju, i juznu Austriju), prije nego sto hrvatska vojska i civili mogu doci do sigurnosti. Ali na sudu nije dopusteno kriviti zrtvu zato jer su na pogresnom mjestu u pogresno vrijeme.
English Version:
Excerpts from the book: "One Day in May-Bleiburg 1945",
Author: Jean Lunt Marinovic, October 2016, Melbourne, Australia
How Many Croats came to the Bleiburg field? (page 264)
This is a question everyone wants answered. The actual number of retreating Croats who arrived at the Bleiburg, or Libuce field (Loibach field) is different to the numbers who were retreating.
Based on the information available I estimate that some tens of thousands of Croatian soldiers and civilians made it as far as the Bleiburg field. In the NDH there were both Catholic and Moslem soldiers and this is illustrated on the Bleiburg monument.
Some (authors) say tens of thousands, and others estimate up to around 150,000. Alternatively, others (authors) begin at 20,000 to 30,000 Croats at the Bleiburg field.
The number is probably somewhere in between.
The remaining people in the Croatian exodus had already been re-routed by Bulgarian and Yugoslav troops onto "Death Marches" towards Maribor before reaching the Austrian border.
In contrast, at the extreme end, the highest number alleged to have reached Bleiburg is 700,000 ,or we read of multitudes, or even the entire Croatian nation being there, but these excessive figures can be ruled out by the facts.
How many Croats were actually massacred at the Bleiburg field, after their surrender to the Yugoslavs? (page 264)
Once again the numbers killed at Bleiburg vary according to the author.
There is an over-ruling consensus amongst the sources reviewed (in this book) that not many died at Bleiburg and there was no mass killing there, and this is supported by reliable eye-witness accounts. At the Libuce Cemetary a few Croats are buried.
Some (authors) write that the "Death Marches" or mass killings 'began' at Bleiburg and continued once back inside Yugoslavia.
Others (authors) write that between 1,000 and 3,000 Croats were killed at Bleiburg. Some say that there is a mass grave nearby in Poljana (Slovenia) rather than at Bleiburg. Some also say that as few as 60 people were killed at Bleiburg.
At the other extreme we read that from tens of thousands to about 600,000 or over were massacred at the Bleiburg field.
Why do many authors integrate all events, facts and numbers into one event, one surrender, and one British repatriation to Yugoslavs? (page 265)
Here I will try to summarize this 'integration version'. This emotional fabrication, in its various versions, has permeated the collective memory of Croatian communities. This very confusing integration of events into one is one of the main reasons I decided to write this book!
When we examine the testimony about the fate of Croats at Bleiburg, or at Marie Elend and Rosenbach, the differences are clear.
From Bleiburg Croats knew they were returning to Yugoslavia, after surrender to the Yugoslavs. Croats were marched on foot across country from Bleiburg towards Yugoslavia, and soon robbed of their possessions. From Bleiburg Croats were marched through corn fields, ditches, rivers and over walls.
This testimony should clear-up for once, and for all time, the difference between the repatriations at Bleiburg, and at Marie Elend and Rosenbach train stations, where Croats were taken from trucks and put onto train cars towards Yugoslavia, after being told (by the British) their destination was Italy.
When and how did this fabricated version begin? I believe it began because the focus for Croatian people is on the "Death Marches" rather than on the various events which led to the massacres. Thus Croats abroad began a Resolution that Bleiburg is symbolic for all of the "Death Marches" ("Way of the Cross") and all of the massacres of Croatian people. Perhaps this is how the confusion began. It is still a mystery to me but when put in the context of the Cold War era it is easier to understand.
However it is difficult to rationalize why the inaccurate Bleiburg narrative has remained intact well into the 21st century. Perhaps it was believed that, by merging all the events, the huge number of victims can be better expressed. Or, when testimony about the British repatriation of 26,000 Croats from Rosenbach and Marie Elend to Jesenice is attributed to events at Bleiburg, perhaps this is to suggest that the British repatriated 'all' Croats at Bleiburg in a similar way.
But while Croats may believe that this merging of events under the heading of British repatriations shows a greater number of victims, the opposite is true for the Yugoslavs who take advantage of the confusion.
The Yugoslavs can point to fewer numbers by merging the events, because the British did not repatriate Croats at Bleiburg.
Also, if there is just one major event, then it is easy to refer to random Yugoslav 'revenge', and hide their mass executions, without trial, on a planned and intentional basis. In other words, what happened to Croats back inside Yugoslavia was an orchestrated and well-coordinated mass murder.
Or perhaps some authors cannot look beyond the British deception at Marie Elend and Rosenbach station where Croats were told (by British) they were going to Italy in train cars, instead of Yugoslavia.
Alternatively, many of those who merge events into one event, are able to take focus away from the separate escape route of the Croatian (NDH) government members.
Also, by being vague about what happened at Bleiburg (read everywhere) the claim that documents are still being kept secret can be given.
Finally we come to the question of accountability and responsibility. Who is responsible for such mass atrocities on a genocidal scale? (page 265)
Thousands of people filled a hall in Zagreb Croatia on 31st October 2015 for an Ethical Tribunal and conviction against Tito. This unofficial Tribunal has drawn large crowds since 1990. Clearly Tito and Communist Yugoslavia are to blame for the genocide, amongst this Croatian group. It was Yugoslavia's Tito and/or the Central Committee which organized these killings at various locations.
We know of Tito's order of 13th May 1945 to liquidate Croats on retreat towards Dravograd via Celje. It was the Yugoslavs at Bleiburg who controlled the location militarily, and who were threatening both the Croats and the British that they would begin shooting within 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes was later extended to one hour. At Bleiburg the Yugoslav (Serbian) Commissar used bullying and threats to convince the British he meant what he said. It was a Yugoslav goal to create a greater Yugoslavia in Carinthia up to the Drava River.
Some authors directly blame the Serbs within the Yugoslav Armies, especially around the area concerned near Bleiburg. Indeed Yugoslavs such as Tito or Djilas both later admitted that there were mass killings, or insinuated that Croats deserved to die, or had to die for the cause of the revolution. Still, some allege that the British should have protected Croats from Yugoslav vengance, but even Tito himself had said to Ivan Mestrovic that even he could not have protected the Croats from Serbian vengance. Interestingly, Tito himself blames the Serbs for their revenge-taking or attributes all responsibility to the high ranking Rankovic.
Whichever Yugoslav operative it was, it was the Yugoslav Army which directly turned Croats onto "Death Marches", committed mass executions (without trial), and then concealed the mass graves with dynamite or cement or waste products, etc. Local people were afraid for their lives, or the lives of their families, to speak of the genocide they witnessed, for decades, until the collapse of Yugoslavia.
But I have reviewed another theme, in my book reviews, about responsibility for genocide. A select group of authors continue to blame some British orders for Tito's crimes against humanity, alleging that it all could have been prevented! Even Djilas uses this theme, that the British were wrong to hand over Croats and the Yugoslavs were wrong to kill them.
Given the number of locations, the differences in what actually happened, and the fact that most Croats never even crossed the Austrian border, this is an unfortunate and fictitious interpretation of events. These misleading interpretations of events, in effect, sabotage the victims' chance for justice.
It is a tragedy that 26,000 Croats were turned back by the British army onto trains at Marie Elend and Rosenbach stations, but they had no real foreknowledge of what happened later. Indeed, no one would imagine such a horror! And days earlier, in Bleiburg, the British had no foreknowledge of the genocide, which was to take place once out of sight, and even the (Croatian/English-Robert Plan, a Croatian-American) interpreter at Bleiburg castle verified that. Also, no massacre actually occurred on Bleiburg field.
It took a number of days or weeks, before information about the massacres, or bad treatment, filtered up the British army chain-of-command, after which the repatriations were halted immediately.
And if the British do bear any moral responsibility, what of the Bulgarians who also turned Croats back? (pages 47, 199-200) Do not the Bulgarians, or Yugoslavs bear moral responsibility too?
Britain is also blamed by some authors for creating both Yugoslav states, or for recognizing Tito's state. It's as if the loyal Croatian members of the Tito-Subasic Yugoslav coalition government had no part in it (Vis, 16 June 1944). At the time the Allies were trying to defeat Hitler with the help of the Partisans. Had the Croatian state changed sides (during WWII, for example like Bulgarians, Romanians, and others) perhaps there could have been a different outcome.
Some authors even allege that documents are not yet declassified, a claim that looks weak, when many authors (of all nationalities) since the 1970s, or earlier, have been quoting western documents, newspapers and documentaries.
A third group of authors attribute some blame to the Ustasha Croatian army for the tragedy, for the Croatian government decision to retreat instead of disperse, and for the Croatian (NDH) failure to change sides during the war.
After all the Croatian government leadership was out of the region (including Croatia, Slovenia, Southern Austria), before the Croatian army and civilians could reach safety. But in a court of law it is not permissable to blame the victim for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
