My pal u/IvanMirkoS, the creator of the science fiction audio drama r/ProgramAudioseries, is promoting a fundraiser to help rebuild a statue in his home town of Gradac, Croatia. The statue was built in 1972, and vandalized in 1992, commemorates the brave Croatians who fought against Nazi occupation during World War II.

I’ll let IMS explains about all of this in his own words:

My family hails from Gradac, a small town on the Croatian corner of the Adriatic. Every summer as a child, I would play next to this toppled statue at the bottom of what was for a 6 year-old me an impossibly tall pedestal (in fact 10 metres high).

It was only later that I learned the monument was erected in 1972 to honour the bravery of local populace, who rose against the invaders that tried to occupy these lands in WWII.

Exactly 20 years after it had been erected, the monument was destroyed by lesser men, certainly lesser than those it had been forged to commemorate.

Another 30 years had passed since then. And the municipal government, led by a youthful councillor with a vision, has finally decided to restore the glory to the monument, and mend the scar at the heart of Gradac since that ignominious day in 1992.

Gradac is not an affluent town. So to help cover the cost of re-casting the statue in bronze and of the tricky installation process (again, that pedestal is 10 metres high!) they started a crowdfunding campaign. I pledged 2000 kunas, but donations start at 100 kunas (13.5 USD / EUR) – which for those of us fortunate enough to work in Western economies can be considered symbolic.

But what a glorious symbol it is! Not only of the commitment to the anti-fascist struggle the monument honours, but also a symbol that in the battle between two types of men – those who forge statues, and those who destroy them – it is the former who will always emerge victorious.

You can learn more and make your donations [here](https://croinvest.eu/kampanja/obnova-spomenika-slobodi-antuna-augustincica-u-gradcu/) (Croatian only, but Google translate works).

8 comments

  2. Yeah, not gonna happen. Too many people in Croatia who genuinely dislike any association with winning side of WWII.

  4. >the monument was destroyed by lesser men, certainly lesser than those it had been forged to commemorate

    You just insulted literally thousands of people and their dead relatives. Off to a great start.

    Fun fact: in those times soldiers came to my [civillian relative]’s house, dragged him out at gun point, took him to a pit, shot his legs, watched him fall a few dozen meters and let him bleed to death. We didn’t recover the body till ~2015

    Thanks for reminding me of that. I’ll be sure to donate for a monument dedicated to those “brave” people. Then consider the fact that almost everyone has a family story like mine. Relatives killed at the hands of one side or another. Way to perpetuate the grudge cycle bud.

    >those of us fortunate enough to work in Western economies

    Get off your patronizing high horse. Seriously. That’s all we need right now. The digital nomad expat ekipa to start dictating lessons on ustase and partizane.

  5. I’ve just made a donation. 200hrk, not much but I hopw it helps.

    Good luck with the project.

  6. What Nazi occupation? Germany/third Reich didn’t occupy Croatia.
    What liberty when Croatia was occupied by and dissolved in blood into communist Yugoslavia?

    Yes we need to have monuments to remember this terrible war and its victims, but not to continue with false yugocommunist history.

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