Yugoslavia War - Croatia - Vukovar 1991, Surrendering to the Serbs/Chetniks

Yugoslavia War - Croatia - Vukovar 1991, Surrendering to the Serbs/Chetniks

In memory of the suffering of all civilians in the Croatian War of Independence, the Croatian Parliament declared November 18, 1991, a day of remembrance for all victims of the war in Croatia.

Every year on that day in Vukovar and Škabrnja are held the most massive gatherings called 'Column of Remembrance' when people from all over Croatia but also the regional countries and the Croatian diaspora as well as Croatian politicians and foreign visitors coming in that day in the city of Vukovar in eastern Croatia, and Škabrnja, near Zadar in Dalmatia to pay tribute to all the victims of the Homeland war in Croatia. Around 150,000 people participated in remembrance procession in Vukovar on 2023 Remembrance Day.

History info:
During the Croatian War of Independence, Yugoslav People's Army and Serb paramilitaries besieged and shelled the city of Vukovar from mid-August to the end of November 1991. Vukovar was bombed for 87 days, attacked from the ground, and shelled day and night from the direction across the Danube from the territory of (Vojvodina) Serbia. Fighting between the Yugoslav People's Army and poorly armed Croatian troops lasted exactly 87 days. The first bombed targets in the city were cultural institutions, city museum in Eltz Manor and the Vukovar Hospital, which was shelled daily with thousands of missiles. After months of siege and the demolition and destruction of a city such as Europe has not seen since World War II, the city was finally occupied on November 18, 1991. Over 85% of the buildings in the city were completely unusable, the city was without food, water and basic necessities.

After the fall of the city, many of its inhabitants and defenders of the city found refuge in the Vukovar Hospital, which operated in very difficult conditions. After the fall of the city, paramilitaries and the Yugoslav People's Army took over the hospital, and many who took refuge in the hospital were listed and taken to execution sites.

More than 3,000 civilians were killed during the battle of Vukovar, and many non-Serbs were expelled from Vukovar after the fall of the city, while several hundred non-Serbs were killed at the nearby Ovčara farm near Vukovar and elsewhere, such as the warehouse hangars of the Velepromet.