Ministry of defence Republic of Serbia
 
18.08.2016.

Marking 75th anniversary of the crime on Terazije



Aleksandar Vulin, Minister for Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, led the state commemoration and wreath-laying ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the crimes at Terazije against civilians committed by the occupying forces.

After laying a wreath at the Monument to hanged patriots at Terazije square, Vulin said that we should draw the lessons for the future from the ceremony like that, noting that we were proud of the behaviour of our people during the Second World War, as well as in all our wars.

We are proud of behaviour of our heroes who have always known that freedom is more valuable than the life, he said and pointed out that the Serbian people never chose the wrong side or endangered someone else's freedom, but were always ready to defend their own.

The Minister pointed out that 75 years, which have passed since the great crime, is too little time to forget it.

That is why we celebrate this day and every crime, and that is why we will not allow any crime committed to our nation to be forgotten and relativized, Vulin said.

Wreaths and flowers were laid by representatives of the City of Belgrade, associations and citizens.

Period of the Second World War is remembered as time of mass crimes against the civilian population.

In a series of tragic events that took place in the then occupied Serbia, the crime committed at Terazije Square in Belgrade on 17 August 1941 stands out for its effects. On that day, the German occupying authorities hanged to lightning poles five Belgraders accused of being members of the Serbian resistance.

In the memory of the fellow citizens, the City of Belgrade placed a monument to the hanged patriots on Terazije Square, near the Iguman’s palace, in 1983. This representative memorial is a work of academic sculptor Nikola Jankovic.

The monument was placed on a marble pedestal: its height is 400 centimetres, a diameter 80 centimetres. The relief depicts a scene of execution of five Belgraders by the occupation authorities.

 
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