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Yugoslav veterans of the Spanish Civil War attend the Sutjeska commemoration in 1978 ( from the book Za mir i progres u svijetu )
removed . Croatian Serb rebels in Korenica destroyed the monument to one of the most famous Spanish volunteers , Marko Orešković “ Krntija ”, because he symbolized cooperation between Croats and Serbs . The local government in Nevesinje ( Bosnia- Herzegovina ) moved the massive monument to Blagoje Parović to the outskirts of his hometown , even though the central square where he used to sit still bears his name . In the Croatian town of Plaški the bust of Robert Domany , a Jewish volunteer killed while leading a Partisan unit in 1942 , was stolen along with several others in the 1990s and finally restored in 2016 .
Although the majority of the monument destructions took place in the 1990s , the struggle to preserve the antifascist cultural heritage continues to this day . This is another reason why it was important that this exhibition should emphasize the value of transnational remembrance . When the local government attempted to remove the centrally located Partisan memorial and ossuary in the town of Perušić , activists and the Croatian antifascist association reacted to prevent the ongoing removal from the public space of those who fought against fascism . The monument is not just dedicated to fallen Partisans and civilian victims of fascist terror from Perušić , but includes names of twelve volunteers who died in Spain . Interestingly , two of the most vocal advocates for preserving the monument are veterans of the Croatian War of Independence , as noted in a recent article with the headline “ They won ’ t give up their Spaniards ” ( Ne daju svoje Špance ). 8 Although monuments of the 1990s war compete with antifascist memorials in public space and veterans ’ organizations have been among the sharpest critics of memorializing the Partisans , this is an example of cooperation and evidence that the memory of all tragic conflicts of the twentieth century can be commemorated within the proper historical context .
8 Novosti , 3 July 2020 , https :// www . portalnovosti . com / ne-dajusvoje-spance . overview
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