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FARRELL
TH IS is THE W O R K O F “ C A T H O L I C A C T I O N ” IN 1942.
L D H A P P E N I N A U S T R A L I A I N 19??
9 4 0 .5 4 0 5
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IN T R O D U C T IO N
T hat the b lissfu l ignorance of th e ordinary A ustralian,
regarding even ts in Europe prior to, and during the recen t
W orld W ar, m akes him an ea sy prey to th e V atican p ropa
ganda, w a s very evid en t in the recent ou tcry regarding the
arrest and im prisonm ent . of Cardinal M indszenty, and the
stran ge silence w hich p revails regarding o\ir persecuted
brethren in Spain.
The strict censorship exercised over p ress and radio in
the in terests of the R om an Church h as n ot only hidden from
our people the crim es com m itted by the church of R om e in
Europe and A frica, but also h as prevented them from seein g
th e sin ister plan s being laid in th is country.
E very day practically, see s som e lib erty sn atch ed from
our people or som e new restriction introduced.
In the m idst o f th e confusion of strik es, shortages,
restrictions, sabotaged food and fruit, crim inals released to
com m it m ore crim e w hile hardw orking m en are fined h eavily
for trivial offences. P ew people stand back far enough, or
think deeply enough, to see an over-all V atican p olicy w o rk
in g out in the m idst o f the jig -sa w puzzle:
• To reduce the resistan ce o f the people by sa b o ta g in g
their food.
• B y a w ar of nerves.
• B y seek in g to place R om an C atholics in k ey position s
and perm anent G overnm ent em ploy.
• B y seek in g to deliberately bring about conditions of
depression.
• B y u sin g regulations a g a in st P ro testa n ts to squeeze
them out of business and lea v in g the R om an C atholics to
go scot free.
• B y talk in g about peace but preparing for war.
• B y talk in g about b ringing 50,000 B ritish im m igran ts
to this land but pouring in Southern E uropeans,
• B y keeping m ost o f those im m igrants in labour cam ps
w here th ey are in readiness to tak e orders.
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consented to an a c t carried out in their nam e, are rudely
aw akened to the fa c t th a t th ey h ave u nconsciously betrayed
their country, their people, and their God.
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guarding ag a in st a C om m unist uprising. In v illa g e s people
w ere called to assem ble for instructions, and k n ew nothing
of w hat w as aw aitin g them . T hey w ere eith er sh o t down
011 the sp ot or tak en to concentration cam ps to be tortured
and starved. In desperation som e fled to the h ills and put
up a brave defence under the leadership o f G eneral D raza
M ihailovich. T h is brave General, in a p ath etic p lea to the
A llies, to do som eth in g to stop the sa v a g e butchery o f his
countrym en by the R om an C atholic A ctio n ists said:
“Yugoslavia is drenched with Serb blood, and yet our
Allies cannot or will not stop the flow of this blood and the
mass murder of the Serbs. I do not believe it Is in the
interest of the Allies, that the Serbian people should cease to
exist; I beg the Y ugoslav Minister to interest our Allies in
the fact that the Serbs In Y ugoslavia are being exterm inated
— could not something more be said in broadcasts about the
slaughter of the Serbs? The number so far approaches one
million."
T hese w ords w ere w ritten in a despatch se n t by the
General on 5th February, 1943. W hy w ere w e n o t told the
fa c ts over the air? N ev er a word w a s m entioned about the
butchers w ho w ere led by p riests and friars, w ho th em selves
assisted in the tortures and sla u g h ters o f poor S erb s? The
explanation is, th a t the pow er of Rom e, in A m erica, B ritain
and the dominions, is such that, in sp ite o f w ireless, telegrap h
and supposedly free P ress all th ese fa c ts h ave been k ep t
behind the scarlet curtain o f Rom e, w hich is every b it as
soundproof as the iron curtain o f R u ssia. W e now k n ow th a t
1,700,000 Serbs w ere slaughtered b y the R om an C atholic
A ction ists betw een 1941-1945.
T RUSTWORTHY EVIDENCE
E ven tu ally a book w a s com piled from "docum ents and
reports from trustw orthy U nited N ation s and eye w itn esses
and issued by the Serbian E astern Orthodox D iocese fo r the
U n ited S ta tes of A m erica and Canada” in an a ttem p t to let
the world know the traged y w hich w a s being en acted in the
so-called “Independent S ta te o f C roatia”. The title o f th is
book is “The M artyrdom of th e Serbs”. The Church o f R om e
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has done a ll in her pow er to keep th is book and th ese fa cts
from the people of A u stralia. It w ould be a p ity for her
future plans, to let the poor silly sheep in A u stralia, sm ell
th e blood in the slau gh ter yard s of Croatia; or see the k n ife
b eing sharpened by the "Catholic A ctio n ” butchers, preparing
for “the big d ay ” w hen th ey can jum p into action here. W e
sh all le t th e book sp eak fo r itse lf by quoting la ter directly
from its pages.
In a book w ritten by the Y u g o sla v A m b assad or in W ash
ington, entitled "The Case o f A rchbishop S tep in a c” abundant
evidence is g iv en of the g u ilt o f the A rchbishop and m any o f
h is clergy. A rchbishop Step in ac h as since been sen tenced
to 16 y ea rs’ im prisonm ent for h is gu ilt. The pope raised
th e cry o f persecution and excom m unciated every R om an
C atholic connected w ith h is trial and condem nation (th ey
w ere a ll R om an C atholics w h o conducted the tr ia l). From
th is book w e quote th e follow in g:
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VOJNIC. Oil July 29, 1941, there arrived in this
district Bozidar Gerovski, chief of the Ustashi police in
Zagreb, Avho with a strong unit of Ustashi police
rounded up some 3,000 Serbs from Krnjak, Krstinje,
Siroka Reka, Slunj, Rakovica and other villages which
were within reach.
All were killed in Pavkovich, near a village mill,
but by a strange twist of fate there was one survivor
w h o gave a horrible testimony to the atrocities which
preceded the butchery. Thereafter the massacre of the
inhabitants in all the villages followed.
D V O R N A UNI. F r o m July 30, 1941, the units
of the Ustashi traversed this district from village to
village and systematically killed off all the Serbs on
w h o m they could lay their hands, looting the homes and
buming everything in sight. Those w h o were not
killed escaped into the forests.
K O S T A J N I C A . The bloody orgy had already begun
on the 20th of April, 1941, in the village of Svinjica.
The Ustashi 'arrested a minister, Babic, tortured him
and buried him in an upright position to his waist in
the ground. A martyr’ s death saved kirn from unheard
of tortures, but not until several hours later.
B y the same methods the orgy of madness of the
Ustashi laid waste the entire village, slaughtering all
those living w h o were Serbs. Some food which had been
s;ived by the peasants was confiscated from the houses
and carried away to Stara Gradiska.
There the w o m e n and children were left but the
men were taken to Z e m u n Avhere those able to Avork
Avere shipped off to Germany, while the rest Avere simply
executed. Children Avere separted from their mothers
and sent to a concentration place near Zagreb, obviously
to be made over into a neAv sort of Jannicharies.
P E T R I N J A . In the district of Petrinja the m a s
sacre of the Serbs Avas executed by the local Ustashi
Avithout any outside assistance. B y the same usual
methods the people Avere gathered together, from nearby
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villages and executed, thus forming graveyard after
graveyard.
Those w h o did not save themselves by fleeing into
the forests were liquidated or shipped off to concen
tration camps on the pattern of the district of Kostaj-
nica.
K O R D U N , SL U N J , O G U L I N , V R B O V S K O . The
martyr’ s death of the minister Branko Dobrosavjevich
from Veljun began a long list of bloody sacrifices. The
Ustashi, w h o had come from Bosnia, Ogulin and the local
m e n from Cetinj Grad first killed the son of the minis
ter, Dobrosavljevich, in his presence.
The wretched father then had to read the obituary
for his o w n son, after which the Ustashi tortured him
horribly and finally killed him also. Thereafter mass
executions of the Serbs in several places were begun,
in the Serbian churches in Kladusa, in Veljun, Slusnica,
Primislje and other places. Looting, burning and violent
destruction followed.
SISAJL Here in the most bestial manner was
killed the manufacturer Milos Teslich, w h o w as literally
cut to pieces. The Ustashi gloated over his body even
photographing themselves with their dead victim.
G R A C A C . Documentary evidence of one of the
most cruel of all crimes was found in this town. Besides
the mass executions of the Serbs, there, as in other
parts, the Ustashi. committed unheard of crimes. Thus
a physician, Dr. Torbica, was cut to pieces while still
alive. The Ustashi poured salt into his wounds pretend
ing that they were performing an “operation”.
In their Ustashi headquarters they held hundreds
of Serbs, women and children in prison, torturing them
fearfully. They gave the women some food which made
them suspicious. At first they were given cooked
entrails, but later they were offered cooked meat and by
the bones they could tell that they were eating the flesh
of their own children.
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After being tortured both tlie living and the dead
were thrown into a pit k n o w n as “Tueica”. After a
few days some Italian soldiers rescued one of the victims
still living from this pit. H e was lying there tied to a
heap of corpses. Because of his great pain, he had
chewed up his sleeves while both his arms and legs
were broken. It is a singular wonder h o w he kept
alive and was saved.
B O S A N S K A K R A J I N A . A long scries of fearful
crimes forms a prelude to the cruel murder of Bishop
l’laton and Prota (Arch-priest) Subotich. After bestial
tortures such as the pulling of beards and the building
of tires on their chests, they were murdered and thrown
into the Vrbas river which later on washed up their
mutilated corpses. '
In Banja Luka the “Stozernik” (Ustashi official)
Dr. Victor Gutic, harassed the townfolks fearfully. H e
has certainly distinguished himself as being one of the
most bloodthirsty of all Ustashi, second to none but
Eugen Kvaternik. Publicly at gatherings he would
order the butchering of the Serbs and would post
rewards for all Serbian decapitated heads brought in.
Mass murders, deportations to camps, plunder,
arson, extortion, rape and all possible crimes and
atrocities m a r k the activities of Gutic in Banja Luka
and in all Bosanska Krajina.
There is one example of extraordinary savagery
in Kladanj. There, over a hundred Serbs were interned
by the Ustashi in a small gaol. Because of the heat,
m e n dropped unconscious. They were there several
days without food or water. W h a t followed in the w a y
of h u m a n misery, cruelty and bestiality cannot be
described in this report publicly.
In Tuzla the Ustashi drove nails into a huge barrel,
threw certain Serbian prisoners into it and rolled it
around while blood gushed out in streams.
DEPORTATIONS
O n the nights of July 4-5, 1941, Ustashi patrols
made the rounds of the Serbian homes in Zagreb. It
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was (leerced that all families had to prepare to leave
within a period of ten minutes. It was especially
emphasised that they take along their money and
precious articles of value. Those families were trans
ported by trucks to Zagreb T o w n Hall. There all of
their precious articles and m o n e y were taken away
from them with the exception of 500 dinars per person.
In the course of the first night there w'ere about
200 families thus rounded up. Their houses were p a d
locked blit only after being looted by the Ustashi. Only
the bare wooden Avails remained. All of the loot Avas
later sold at aiiction and the proceeds pocketed by the
Ustashi. The first party to be deported had the fortune
of being taken directly by train across Bosnia and
transported to Serbia. The folloAving night a neAV party
Avas rounded up from the hoxises and so it Avent until
all of Zagreb Avas purged of Serbs. Only n o w it Avent
m u c h harder Avith the deportees. Instead of being sent
directly to Serbia, some of the parties Avere sent to a
concentration camp in Caprag. There they usually
Avaited tAVO or three Aveeks for trucks to carry them to
Serbia.
Their treatment Avas exceedingly cruel—aimless
forced labour, bad food, and bad sleeping quarters,
though fortunately there Avere no killings. In that camp
Avhich operated until late in 1942, Serbs, especially
clergy, Avere brought from m a n y parts of the Indepen
dent Croatian State. F r o m the remaining parts of the
Independent State of Croatia the deportees were
gathered together in the concentration camp of Slav.
Pozega. There Avere abandoned army sheds there Avliieh
served their purpose to good advantage. Their treat
ment Avas m u c h more bmtal—forced labour, Avorse food,
and maltreatment every day.
In one night all of the deportees, 490 of them, from
Doboj, Avere executed in the nearby Avoods. That action
represents the acme of sadism and resulted in fearful
looting. It should be knoAvn th a t before April G, 1941,
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there were in Zagreb about 15,000 Serbs. Of these,
1,000 were independent merchants and the remainder
public and private employees, and. professional men,
representing the middle class. These forced deporta
tions caused property, both real and personal, vast
estates and valuables to fall into the hands of the
Ustashi. In these were included stores valued at more
than ten million dollars.
If all could be computed the grand total value
would be fabulous, counting the City of Zagreb only.
But there were m a n y other cities, towns and villages
similarly looted, robbed and pillaged. As far as cash
money is concerned not m u c h was gained. For the
greater part, Serbian property was kept by the plun
derers, but m u c h of it was sold for a trifle, and the
rest presented as gifts to certain Ustashi w h o had dis
tinguished themselves. A great portion of the loot was
swallowed up by specially appointed Receivers, ( C o m
missioners) w h o took charge for liquidation purposes,
of enterprises belonging to the Serbs.
THE CAMPS
J A S E N O V A C . This was one of the most horrible
places of tortures and executions. In Jasenovac arrived
the remainder from the camps of Gospic and Kopriv-
nica, while daily newer and newer groups arrived from
all parts of the country. At first the camps were estab
lished in three different places. One of them was in
Jasenovac itself, in the brick factory of Ozren Bacicli,
the second, was to the left of the highway leading to
Novska, and the third was in the village of Krapje, five
kilometers away.
The commander of all of these camps was an
Ustashi officer, Lubaric, and the commander of the camp
at Jasenovac was one Ljubo Milos, an Ustashi lieu
tenant, a. native of Hercegovina. The Ustashi, Croats
and Moslems, were from Hercegovina, though some
came from the vicinity of Osijek.
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That which was seen and endured there by those
rare fortunates who succeeded in saving themselves goes
beyond any fantasy or imagination.
The prisoners worked at horribly strenuous tasks
at the hydro-electric plants, working at top speed
beyond their strength from early d a w n to late in the
night. The food consisted of a boiled potato from time
to time or watery gruel. Beatings, clubbings and tor
tures continued while death haunted every step.
• The Ustashi killed off the Serbs both in groups
and individually day and night, using all possible
means of murder and torture.
• Machine guns, rifles, revolvers, knives, axes,
hammers, all were used to destroy Serbian lives.
• In order to save on ammunition the Ustashi
would drag certain groups of Serbs to the fiery furnaces
of the brick factory.
• There they would stun each man, one by one,
with a h a m m e r and throw him alive into the roaring
furnace. The first of the group would be shoved into
the furnace from behind by liis fellow sufferers, so that
they could be throivn in instantly, and thus quickly
meet their end.
Others again were butchered along the beaches of
the Sava river and thrown into the water. The most
cruel and the most bloodthirsty of them was one Ljubo
Milos. He himself has killed at least three thousand
Serbs. He slaughtered his victims with a knife and
later licked their blood, jesting and crying out: “ How
sweet is the Serbian blood.”
“T H E FR E E D O M OF W O R S H IP ” : T H E C A T H O L IC
P O S IT IO N
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