Memorial park Jajinci

The Memorial Park “Jajinci” is located in the Belgrade municipality of Vozdovac, 11 kilometers away from Avala. It was established on the site of a military shooting range used by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which during World War II became the site of the greatest suffering of innocent civilians in the occupied territory of Serbia.

The Jajinci shooting range stands out compared to other places of suffering due to the massiveness of the victims and the brutally systematic nature of the liquidation and concealment of crimes against innocent civilians. Preserved photographs and testimonies of a small number of survivors bear witness to the suffering and hardships endured by Serbs, Jews, Roma, and other hostages of the fascist regime in Belgrade and Serbia. From November 8, 1943, to April 2, 1944, in an attempt to eliminate traces of mass crimes, the Gestapo carried out organized exhumations and the burning of the victims’ remains. The Commission for the Establishment of War Crimes, formed immediately after the end of World War II, after its investigation, reported that 80,000 people had suffered at the Jajinci shooting range. More recent research suggests a number of 65,000 victims. The first wreaths at the site where mass shootings were conducted were laid by Generals Peko Dapčević and Vladimir Ivanovich Zhdanov, the commanders of the troops that liberated Belgrade on October 20, 1944, marking the first tribute to the innocent victims of fascist terror.

The Jajinci Memorial Park consists of several segments, and its formation began on July 7, 1951, with the installation of a monument at the entrance to the memorial complex. The authors of the monument were the academic sculptor Stevan Bodnarov and the architect Leon Kabilj. The development of the Memorial Park, established in 1960, continued in the following decades, with several unrealized public design competitions for a monument to the victims of fascism. Finally, in 1988, a solution for a monumental monument, designed by the academic sculptor Vojin Stojic, was adopted and implemented. Architects Branko Bon and Brana Mirkovic also participated in the development of accompanying content and green areas of the Memorial Park.

By the decision of the Belgrade City Assembly in 1986, the Memorial Park “Jajinci” was declared a cultural monument – a place of great importance.