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and escaped the machine gun fire. They pretended to be dead, but the
Partisans went from one apparent corpse to another and ran their bayonets through everyone whom they suspected of being alive. Screams rent the air, providing grim evidence that those who had dodged the machine gun fire had not eluded death for long. All of the new victims were thrown into the hole on top of the old corpses. Then the Partisans directed several more bursts of machine gun fire into the pile of bodies, just to make sure that they had not left anyone alive.
507:
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591:(KNOJ) they organized covering of the sites with land and plants. Local authorities were informed to prevent any mourning at the graves. Yugoslav authorities kept them secret; for decades, only limited access was allowed to the area. In 1984, it was designated by the government as a location of military cemeteries.
578:
The executions started on 19 May. Partisan units that conducted them were the
Majevica Brigade, 1st, 2nd, and parts of 3rd Battalion of the 6th Eastern Bosnian Brigade, which were all part of the 17th Eastern Bosnian Division of the 3rd Army. The killings lasted continuously for several days and were
599:
After the collapse of communism in
Yugoslavia, hundreds of unmarked mass graves were found in Slovenia. The Tezno mass graves were found during the construction of a motorway near Maribor in 1999, when workers came upon an anti-tank trench that stretched several kilometres. It was estimated that the
563:
At the transit camps a selection was made among the prisoners. Some were sent to Zagreb and Celje on forced marches or used as forced labour. Others were sent to Tezno near
Maribor, where anti-tank trenches were located that were dug by the Germans during the war. Their length was several kilometers
548:
As the columns moved away from the border with
Austria, the prisoners were stripped of any valuables and given no food or water. To get to the destination more quickly, those who lagged behind were shot. Some were killed for taking a break or for being too tired to continue walking. In the course of
573:
prisoners were lined up at the edge of the hole where the older corpses lay. Next they were looted of what belongings they had. Finally, the hundred prisoners were machine-gunned. I watched this slaughter from a distance of one hundred yards or less. Some of the prisoners threw themselves down flat
611:
reported that their analysis and conducted probing of what is now a forested area in Tezno found human remains at a length of 940 meters. Based on mathematical calculations and comparisons with the excavations in 1999, it is estimated to contain the remains of around 15,000 victims. The collected
568:
Mountains. Prisoners were taken to the trenches by trucks from the transit sites. Their hands were tied behind their backs with wires and many were stripped of their clothes. Upon arrival, they were lined up on the edge of the trenches and shot. A former
Partisan who witnessed the killings gave a
709:
The end of the Second World War also witnessed extra-judicial killings. And it was at
Dobrava at Tezno that one of the major massacres took place. It is appropriate that these crimes are again decisively and clearly condemned today. On every suitable occasion, as the President of the Republic of
603:
Subsequent excavations revealed that there were 1,179 corpses in a 70 meter long part of the trench. On average there were 17 corpses found buried along each meter of it. The trench was covered with gravel and lime was found on top of the human remains. Most exhumed corpses indicated that the
719:
I came here for the people who were killed at the end of a war. This is a tragic, horrible event which puts a stain on a just fight and one should not run from it, nor do I run from it. Places like this always cause uneasiness, but they must be accepted and heads must not be turned away from
410:
began on 19 May, when the first prisoners arrived in the Tezno Forest from nearby prison camps, and they continued until 26 May. Most of the bodies were buried in an antitank trench several kilometers long, which the
Yugoslav authorities concealed and kept secret.
540:
The captured columns were subjected to forced marches from the border area in northern
Slovenia. A large number of prisoners marched towards the town of Maribor, where transit camps were set. The transit centres were located in a military barracks in the
549:
the march, small groups of men were being selected from the columns, led away into the forest and killed. These killings were well organized and the work of entire units of men. Soon the killings of small groups turned into massive scale executions.
579:
delayed only in the case if trucks with prisoners were late. When the trenches were full, special squads were ordered to cover them with soil. Some bodies were dug in separate mass graves or craters. The last murders were carried out on 26 May.
666:
After the discovery of the graves, memorials were erected commemorating the deaths of the victims. In
September 2007, the Slovene government started plans to make the mass grave site in Tezno a memorial park and a cemetery. Croatian president
414:
It is estimated that around 15,000 soldiers and civilians were killed in the massacre. The graves were discovered in 1999 during highway construction. Additional research on the burial sites was conducted in 2007 by the
714:
At the 2015 commemoration, the Croatian leadership condemned all crimes regardless of the ideology in whose name they were committed. After laying a wreath in Tezno, then-Prime Minister Milanović said:
604:
victims' arms were tied with wire. Individual skulls had visible gunshot wounds. In 1999, the Slovenian police initially estimated there were between 7,000 and 10,000 victims buried in the trenches.
41:
1131:
1456:
353:
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The corpses were shallowly buried and in the following weeks and months additional conceals were made. The OZNA made a list of all mass grave sites in Slovenia. Together with the
710:
Slovenia, I condemn all extra-judicial killings, and all forms of war and revolutionary violence. All those acts must be investigated and the whole truth must be told.
552:
The local Partisan headquarters that coordinated the columns was located in Maribor. Organized executions were generally not conducted without the authorization of
1056:
476:, while around 175,000 were spread in nearby columns that were dozens of miles long. However, the British Army refused their surrender on the grounds that all
321:
1436:
346:
1357:
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113:
243:
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1217:[Tezno – The Biggest Hidden Mass Burial Site in Slovenia. On the Research of the Hidden Burial Site in the Antitank Ditch in Tezno (Maribor)].
316:
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339:
306:
301:
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416:
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628:, head of the Commission on Concealed Mass Graves, referred to Tezno as the largest mass grave in Europe following the end of World War II.
190:
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The part of the trench in Tezno in Maribor is officially designated the Tezno Woods 1 Mass Grave. The Tezno Woods 2–6 Mass Graves (
458:
87:
588:
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and shifted to a smaller commemoration at the Tezno site. That year, President Josipović, Prime Minister Milanović and Speaker
1313:
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792:
560:, ordered the Majevica Brigade of the 17th Division to move to Maribor and subordinate itself to the local OZNA Command.
1338:
1330:
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1289:
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1200:
1215:"Tezno – najveće prikriveno grobište u Sloveniji. O istraživanju grobišta u protutenkovskom rovu u Teznom (Maribor)"
1426:
1421:
36:
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documentation and preserved items of victims indicate that they were largely members of the HOS. The historian
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troops should surrender to the armies they were fighting against. The prisoners of war at the border were thus
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17:
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469:(HOS) fought their way to the Yugoslav–Austrian border and surrendered on 15 May to the British Army.
450:
395:
160:
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617:
492:
620:, who were incorporated into the HOS that year, and probably a few members of Muslim militias, the
1233:
Shadows on the mountain: the Allies, the Resistance, and the rivalries that doomed WWII Yugoslavia
1132:"Milanović u Teznom: Ovdje se dogodio ratni zločin, mahom nedužni mladići likvidirani su bez suda"
624:, and the Hungarian and Albanian battalions of the HOS (Hungarista legion and Skanderbeg legion).
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662:, speaker of the Croatian Parliament, lays a wreath at the memorial park in Tezno in May 2015
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1225:. Ljubljana: Oddelek za zgodovino Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani: 539–69.
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hydroelectric plant canal and Maribor, and are part of a former antitank trench.
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were located, with the intention to surrender to them rather than the advancing
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556:(Department of National Security). On 19 May, the Commander of the 3rd Army,
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established a memorial park at Tezno, where an annual commemoration is held.
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1057:"Forgotten Victims: Slovenian Mass Grave Could Be Europe's Killing Fields"
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War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration
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27:
Mass killing of POWs and civilians of the Independent State of Croatia
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545:, an aircraft parts factory in Tezno and several smaller buildings.
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Slovenia 1945: Memories of Death and Survival After World War II
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visited the site in June 2010 and laid wreaths for the victims.
600:
part intended for the motorway contained around 600 corpses.
870:
594:
1457:
World War II prisoner of war massacres by Yugoslav Partisans
616:
notes that among the victims were also some members of the
553:
1254:
Savage Continent - Europe in the Aftermath of World War II
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694:, visited the location and paid tribute to the victims.
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1150:"Speech at the opening of the Memorial Park in Maribor"
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Prostorski sloj Prikrita vojna grobišča na geopedia.si
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At the opening of the memorial park in June 2012, the
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Around 25,000 reached the border, mostly the town of
1114:"Croatian leader to pay tribute to Partisan victims"
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and stretched from the Drava River to the slopes of
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398:. The killings were perpetrated by units of the
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609:Commission on Concealed Mass Graves in Slovenia
417:Commission on Concealed Mass Graves in Slovenia
441:The retreating column approaching the town of
1168:"Prime Minister condemns all crimes in Tezno"
347:
1437:Political repression in Communist Yugoslavia
1308:. Stanford Univ: Stanford University Press.
1298:
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595:Discovery and investigations of the graves
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340:
64:
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682:decided to revoke funding for the annual
1189:Corsellis, John; Ferrar, Marcus (2005).
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457:began retreating towards Austria, where
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690:, as well as Slovenian Prime Minister
1412:Aftermath of World War II in Slovenia
1076:, geopedia.si; accessed 27 July 2016.
793:Mass killings under communist regimes
1339:Tezno Woods 2 Mass Grave on Geopedia
1331:Tezno Woods 1 Mass Grave on Geopedia
1250:
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980:
950:
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607:A new exhumation began in 2007. The
589:People's Defence Corps of Yugoslavia
465:. Together with many civilians, the
1280:(2nd ed.). New Haven; London:
24:
25:
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639:) lie west of the settlement of
531:Location of Tezno on the map of
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70:Memorial to the victims in Tezno
1276:Croatia: a nation forged in war
1219:Journal of Contemporary History
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1432:Political and cultural purges
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488:Forced marches and executions
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569:description of one of them:
455:Independent State of Croatia
384:Independent State of Croatia
196:Bloody Christmas (Macedonia)
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882:Corsellis & Ferrar 2005
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484:to the Yugoslav Partisans.
449:In May 1945, at the end of
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1230:Kurapovna, Marcia (2010).
637:Grobišče Tezenski gozd 2–6
451:World War II in Yugoslavia
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396:World War II in Yugoslavia
378:) was the mass killing of
161:World War II in Yugoslavia
1442:May 1945 events in Europe
1373:46.5178278°N 15.6921250°E
618:Montenegrin National Army
386:(NDH) that took place in
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186:Istrian–Dalmatian exodus
1427:Mass graves in Slovenia
1422:Massacres in Yugoslavia
1272:Tanner, Marcus (2001).
1257:. New York: Macmillan.
1236:. John Wiley and Sons.
783:Mass graves in Slovenia
37:Infobox civilian attack
29:
1378:46.5178278; 15.6921250
1195:. London: I.B.Tauris.
788:Mass graves in Maribor
722:
712:
684:Bleiburg commemoration
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433:Bleiburg repatriations
404:Bleiburg repatriations
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176:Bleiburg repatriations
58:Bleiburg repatriations
42:considered for merging
1417:Massacres in Slovenia
1282:Yale University Press
717:
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699:President of Slovenia
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467:Croatian Armed Forces
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382:and civilians of the
1251:Lowe, Keith (2012).
528:class=notpageimage|
496:Prisoners of war in
421:Slovenian Government
402:in May 1945, in the
181:Expulsion of Germans
114:NDH prisoners of war
1452:Massacres of Croats
1447:Communist terrorism
1369: /
1046:, pp. 564–565.
1034:, pp. 554–556.
1022:, pp. 546–547.
983:, pp. 257–258.
725:Tezno memorial park
680:Croatian Parliament
678:'s government, the
153:Part of a series on
1407:History of Maribor
1136:Slobodna Dalmacija
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463:Yugoslav Partisans
453:, soldiers of the
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408:Summary executions
400:Yugoslav Partisans
143:Yugoslav Partisans
1402:Massacres in 1945
1315:978-0-8047-3615-2
1243:978-0-470-08456-4
1063:. 21 August 2007.
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1221:(in Croatian).
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1156:. 20 June 2012.
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1174:. 15 May 2015.
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1361:46°31′4.18″N
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1172:vlada.gov.hr
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254:KoÄŤevski Rog
228:
158:Aftermath of
139:Perpetrators
56:Part of the
35:
18:Tezno trench
1376: /
1101:Ferenc 2012
1044:Ferenc 2012
1032:Ferenc 2012
1020:Ferenc 2012
1008:Ferenc 2012
996:Ferenc 2012
966:Ferenc 2012
924:Ferenc 2012
894:Tanner 2001
838:Tanner 2001
826:Ferenc 2012
703:Danilo TĂĽrk
692:Janez Janša
688:Boris Ĺ prem
626:JoĹľe DeĹľman
622:German Army
482:repatriated
445:in May 1945
167:Main events
122:Attack type
84:PR Slovenia
31:‹ The
1391:Categories
1182:References
660:Josip Leko
645:ZlatoliÄŤje
427:Background
88:Yugoslavia
1118:dalje.com
1089:Lowe 2012
981:Lowe 2012
951:Lowe 2012
936:Lowe 2012
909:Lowe 2012
865:Lowe 2012
583:Aftermath
558:Kosta Nađ
307:Josipovac
302:Borovnica
234:Huda jama
205:Massacres
40:is being
1302:(2001).
1213:(2012).
777:See also
533:Slovenia
474:Bleiburg
443:Bleiburg
372:Croatian
317:Knićanin
292:Sterntal
259:PeÄŤovnik
244:Hrastnik
94:Slovenia
76:Location
44:. ›
33:template
705:, said:
633:Slovene
566:Pohorje
498:Maribor
392:Maribor
312:Krndija
297:Valpovo
287:Teharje
224:GraÄŤani
219:Jazovka
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641:Dogoše
327:Gakovo
269:Zagreb
264:Osijek
249:Macelj
134:15,000
131:Deaths
110:Target
799:Notes
720:them.
520:Tezno
390:near
388:Tezno
278:Camps
229:Tezno
214:Foibe
92:(now
80:Tezno
1310:ISBN
1286:ISBN
1259:ISBN
1238:ISBN
1197:ISBN
554:OZNA
478:Axis
380:POWs
366:The
102:Date
1393::
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370:(
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20:)
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