NUMERICAL INDICATORS OF THE VICTIMS OF THE JASENOVAC CAMP, 1941-1945 (ESTIMATES, CALCULATIONS, LISTS)

Abstract

The unresolved and most controversial question of human losses for both Yugoslavia and Croatia in the Second World War is the number of fatalities at the Jasenovac camp. Name lists of human losses in Yugoslavia, and Croatia, in the Second World War and estimates made by historians as well as calculations by demographers often differ considerably. This is because the tallies proffered by estimates, calculations and/or lists of fatalities in the Jasenovac camp fall within an excessively broad range from complete minimization to megalomaniacal claims and they differ greatly from scholar to scholar, and are often rather contingent upon the (current) political climate. Based on the most important sources, historiographic and publicistic, and also statistical/demographic and victimological works, the numerical indicators of the Jasenovac camp fatalities are presented. First the initial, most often arbitrary estimates and claims on the number of fatalities at the Jasenovac camp are shown, followed by statistical/demographic calculations on the Jasenovac camp fatalities. Finally, it is demonstrated that the numerical indicators based on individual names of the Jasenovac camp fatalities based on more systematic research are much more reliable.