Macelj massacre
1945 massacre in Macelj, Croatia
title: "Macelj massacre" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1945-in-croatia", "massacres-in-1945", "independent-state-of-croatia", "massacres-in-world-war-ii", "aftermath-of-world-war-ii-in-yugoslavia", "massacres-in-croatia", "massacres-in-yugoslavia", "political-and-cultural-purges", "political-repression-in-communist-yugoslavia", "may-1945-in-europe", "june-1945-in-europe", "1945-mass-murders", "massacres-of-croats"] description: "1945 massacre in Macelj, Croatia" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macelj_massacre" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 1945 massacre in Macelj, Croatia ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox civilian attack"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| title | Macelj massacre |
| partof | the Bleiburg repatriations |
| image | M 023.JPG |
| caption | A cross in Macelj |
| location | Macelj, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia |
| (now Croatia) | |
| target | NDH prisoners of war and civilians |
| date | May and June 1945 |
| type | Mass executions |
| fatalities | 1,163+ |
| perps | Yugoslav Partisans |
| :: |
| title = Macelj massacre | partof = the Bleiburg repatriations | image = M 023.JPG | caption = A cross in Macelj | location = Macelj, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia (now Croatia) | target = NDH prisoners of war and civilians | date = May and June 1945 | time = | timezone = | type = Mass executions | fatalities = 1,163+ | perps = Yugoslav Partisans
The Macelj massacre occurred in May and June 1945, at the end of World War II in Europe, in the forests near Macelj, a village in northern Croatia. At the site, a large number of soldiers, women, and children were shot during the Bleiburg repatriations.
Events
In 1992, after Croatia became independent, 1,163 bodies were excavated from 23 mass graves in the region, leaving around 130 possible mass grave locations unexplored.
Among those executed in Macelj were 25 Catholic priests from the Franciscan monastery of Široki Brijeg, who were temporarily hiding in nearby Krapina. In 2008, the Croatian Ministry of the Interior launched an investigation into Stjepan Hršak's possible involvement in that event. Some of the executions have been investigated, but no one has ever been prosecuted.
Reburial of the exhumed bodies in 2005 was followed by a public mass led by Cardinal Josip Bozanić, at the time Archbishop of Zagreb.
References
References
- (2012-05-16). "Macelj - gora zločina!". [[Večernji list]].
- (2008-02-09). "Stjepan Hršak: Nisam sudjelovao u likvidaciji 25 svećenika u Macelju". [[Jutarnji list]].
- (7 June 2020). "Biskup Gorski o maceljskim žrtvama: 'Nepravda nije ispravljena, ona se obnavlja i raste'".
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