Tanja Tuleković

Biography

Tanja Tuleković (b. 1980, Split) completed her secondary education at the Gymnasium in Kozarska Dubica. She earned her degree from the Department of Prehistoric Archaeology at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade (2005). She has been employed at the Public Institution "Memorial Area Donja Gradina" since 2007. She obtained the professional title of curator after passing the professional examination before the Commission of the National Museum in Belgrade (2008). She achieved the title of senior curator based on her professional work before the Commission of Parent Museums of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo (2013) and was awarded the title of museum advisor in 2023. She is responsible for studying the history of the Independent State of Croatia, the establishment of the Jasenovac Concentration Camp and its largest execution site, Donja Gradina, collecting oral testimonies from surviving witnesses, visiting execution sites in the municipality of Kozarska Dubica, and giving lectures on this topic. She is the chief editor of the professional scientific journal Topola, published by the Public Institution "Memorial Area Donja Gradina."

THE SUFFERING OF CHILDREN IN THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF CROATIA: CONSEQUENCES OF USTASHA IDEOLOGY

Abstract: The creation of a "pure Croatian space" was the foundation of Ustasha ideology in the Independent State of Croatia. In practice, this meant the removal of the Serbian, Jewish, and Romani populations from the entire territory, regardless of gender or age. In this context, the Ustashe did not spare children, forcibly separating them from their parents or murdering them together. The suffering of children serves as further evidence of the genocidal policies of the Independent State of Croatia. This paper aims to document Ustasha ideology through photographs and biographies of innocent children who lived in the territory of the Independent State of Croatia, illustrating its devastating impact on Serbs, Jews, and Roma with the ultimate goal of eradicating all traces of their existence.