Bosniak Victims of Jasenovac Camp Ignored

Šerif Biser, Bosnian Muslim survivor of the Jasenovac concentration camp.

Bosnian Muslim Survivor of Jasenovac concentration camp, 80-year old Šerif Biser

In a recent article published by the Sarajevo-based Oslobodjenje daily, 80-year old Bosniak-Muslim survivor of the Jasenovac concentration camp, Mr Šerif Biser, commented:

“Even this year, during the commemoration of Gradina [one of five sub-camps that formed the Jasenovac concentration camp), besides murdered Serbs, Jews, and Roma, the organizers did not even once mention the killed Bosniaks. Nihad Halilbegović wrote a book about murdered Bosniaks-Muslims in Jasenovac, stating all their names."

He protested former Croatian president Tudjman's minimization of the victims of Jasenovac [Tudjman put the number at 35,000] and Serbian nationalist propaganda that over-inflated the figure to unattainable 700,000. Mr Biser said that such political actions are “impermissible”.

More than 100,000 Bosniak-Muslim victims of the Holocaust – many of them killed by Serbian fascist-collaborationist Chetnik forces, as well as Croatian Ustashas and Nazi forces – continue to be forgotten, ignored, and denied.

Mr Biser presides over the Association of Anti-Fascists and Veterans of People’s Liberation War in the municipality of Sarajevo Center. The library of his association contains 3,000 books, including very rare documents containing the names of Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Mr Biser has worked with Jewish community, helping them tally the names of the Holocaust victims.

If you’re interested in helping this NGO association continue its work, feel free to contact them here. The website of the U.S. Holocaust Museum provides 80 minutes long video of the interview with Mr Šerif Biser.