• Memorial Plaque Kerestinec
In the village of Kerestinec near Zagreb a memorial plaque remembers dozens of prisoners who were killed by members of the Ustaša in the camp there.
Image: Kerestinec, 1880, The castle was severely damaged during an earthquale, Ministry for Culture, Republic of Croatia
Kerestinec, 1880, The castle was severely damaged during an earthquale, Ministry for Culture, Republic of Croatia

Image: Kerestinec, 2010, Memorial plaque, Tamara Banjeglav
Kerestinec, 2010, Memorial plaque, Tamara Banjeglav
Kerestinec is a small village near Zagreb. In the 16th century the Hungarian noble family Erdődy who then ruled the area built a castle there. After World War I the Kingdom of Yugoslavia converted the castle into a prison. After the attack of the Axis powers on Yugoslavia in the beginning of April 1941, the fascist Ustaša organization seized power in Zagreb and proclaimed the Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatsk, NDH). Shortly afterwards the Ustaša set up camps for their opponents all over the country. From April 19, 1941 the Ustaša used the Erdődy castle in Kerestinec as a concentration camp for Serbs, Jews and communists from Zagreb. The administration of the Kerestinec camp was put under the control of the Zagreb police which was controlled by the Ustaša. The Ustaša divided the camp into three sections: A »Jewish«, a »Serbo-Yugoslavian« and a »communist« section. The prisoners were assigned to the three sections but first the guards took away all their money and valuables. In the night of July 13, 1941 89 prisoners from the communist section of the camp attempted to escape: 14 prisoners escaped, 31 were shot on the run, 44 prisoners were sentenced to death by the Ustaša and executed. Few days after the escape the Ustaša dissolved the camp. The remaining Jewish prisoners were abducted to the Gospić camp and from there to the Jasenovac killing centre. About 900 people passed through the camp in its three months long existence, the majority of them Jews.
Image: Kerestinec, 1880, The castle was severely damaged during an earthquale, Ministry for Culture, Republic of Croatia
Kerestinec, 1880, The castle was severely damaged during an earthquale, Ministry for Culture, Republic of Croatia

Image: Kerestinec, 2010, Memorial plaque, Tamara Banjeglav
Kerestinec, 2010, Memorial plaque, Tamara Banjeglav
The exact number of people detained in Kerestinec is not known since the Ustaša only registered people whose money or valuables they took. The detainees were mainly Jews, Serbs and political opponents of the Ustaša regime in Zagreb.
Image: Kerestinec, 2010, Names on the memorial plaque, Tamara Banjeglav
Kerestinec, 2010, Names on the memorial plaque, Tamara Banjeglav

After the dissolution of the camp the Ustaša used the castle as a training location for members of their militia. In the 1990s the Croatian side once again used the castle as a prison and as a torture facility in the post-Yugoslavian wars. The castle itself is now a ruin and not publicly accessible. On the main road from Kerestinec, immediately at the entrance to the castle grounds is a plaque remembering the victims of the Ustaša. It was destroyed during the 1990s and had to be repaired in 2010.
Image: Kerestinec, 1880, The damaged inner yard of the later concentration camp, Ministry for Culture, Republic of Croatia
Kerestinec, 1880, The damaged inner yard of the later concentration camp, Ministry for Culture, Republic of Croatia

Image: Kerestinec, 2010, Detail of the memorial plaque, Tamara Banjeglav
Kerestinec, 2010, Detail of the memorial plaque, Tamara Banjeglav
Name
Gedenktafel Kerestinec
Address
Kerestinečka cesta 59
10431 Kerestinec
Open
The memorial plaque is accessible at all times