Memorijalni park "Kragujevački oktobar"

The Memorial park October in Kragujevac was established in 1953 on site where in October 1941 a few thousand citizens from Kragujevac were shot – Serbs, Jews, Roma people, Muslims, Macedonians, Slovenians and members of other nationalities. This terrible crime was committed in Kragujevac and the surrounding villages, over the male population aged between twelve and sixty five.

The Memorial park takes up the area of 352 ha where there are 30 mass tombs. The area has been laid out by the urban project of two architects Mihailo Mitrovic and Radivoje Tomiæ. Up till today over ten tombs there are ten sculptural-architectonic unities. One of them, the Monument to the shot pupils and teachers is a true symbol of the city.

The Museum 21st October was founded within the Memorial park on 15th February 1976 with the aim of gathering, processing, keeping and presenting the documents concerning the shooting and the victims, through exhibitions and printed material. Apart from that, The Memorial Park organizes the traditional manifestations, whereas the exhibitions the modern art exhibitions are organized in the City gallery The Balkan Bridges, opened on 7th April 2005.

Every year since 1971 the central manifestation of paying tribute has been held next to the Monument of shot pupils and teachers by the name of The Great School Lesson. Original works with peaceful messages, made by renowned domestic and foreign authors and composers are chosen for the occasion, and among the performers there are most famous actors, opera soloists and choirs.

The traditional music manifestation The Pilgrimage of October- OKTOH has been held since 1975. Young artists from the country and abroad perform the works of famous composers.

For over thirty years an open literary-visual arts competition One Šumarice is enough to the world is held for pupils of elementary and secondary schools from the territory of ex- Yugoslavia. Each November the ceremony of giving awards is organized and the first prizes on the topics of anti-war character or the topics about children`s rights, with the aim to encourage the young people to think about the right, ethical values.

During the period 2002 and 2007 there was the International Visual Arts Colony The Balkan bridges in Šumarice, and from 2008 it turned into the International Biannual of digital graphics. Our institution promotes the idea of open-mindedness, tolerance and versatility as a way for reconciliation among young people.

The Memorial Park was declared the cultural heritage of extreme importance on 27th December 1979.

The October in Kragujevac Memorial Park`s mission is to nurture and keep the memory of this tragic event; to raise the awareness and educate the coming generations so that such a crime is never repeated again.

The Steering Board of the Memorial park governs the Memorial park, makes the statute of the Memorial park and other general regulations which are determined by the law and the statute, determines the business and development policy of the Memorial park, makes decisions about the work of the Memorial park, the program of dealings and the calendar of events, as suggested the Memorial park, makes the annual financial plan, adopts the annual report of work and business, gives suggestions about the changes of the statute in line with the law, by the head of the Memorial park, gives suggestions to the founder of the memorial park about the head of the Memorial park, which is not a permanent position, signs the working contract with the head of the Memorial park for a specific period of his / her election or dismissal, and in cases when the head of the Memorial park is a person already employed permanently in the Memorial park, signs the annex to the contract, in line with the Labor Law, makes the Rules book, and does others activities determined by the law and statute.

The Supervision Board of the Memorial park supervises the dealings of the Memorial park, reviews the annual report and the annual financial report of the Memorial park and other legal documents which are important for the work of the Memorial park, and reports about the results of the Memorial park the Steering board of the Memorial park and the head of the Memorial park, and does other dealings as determined by the law and atatute.

The Head of the Memorial park manages the Memorial park, organizes and manages the work of the Memorial park, makes the act about the organization and work systematization of the Memorial park, makes general and specific regulations which are in his / her jurisdiction and as determined by the statute, represents the Memorial park, takes care of the legality of dealings of the Memorial park, is responsible for the implementation of the working program of the Memorial park, suggests the financial plan of the Memorial park, is responsible for the material and financial dealings of the Memorial park, signs the contracts on behalf of the Memorial park, empowers within the scope of his work to the employees in cases determined by the law and statute, submits reports to the Steering board about the periodical and annual report financial report, takes security and health protection measures for his employees, and does other activities as determined by the law and the statute.

At the very entrance into the Memorial park there is the building of the Museum 21st October, which is the work of Ivan Antic, architect. It is a building with a few symbolic meanings. The red bricks it is made of are a symbol of the blood shed on site, and 33 vertical towers of different heights unite into one unique unity 33 tombs in Šumarice and three neighbouring villages. There no windows in the towers, the celestial wells which points to the impossibility of the situation which these people found themselves in, brutally destined to death. The base of the museum is in the shape of a cross, the general Christian symbol of suffering. Within the building, on its lower level, there is a gallery where there is a permanent display of painting cycle by the painter Petar Lubarda called Kragujevac 1941. From time to time there is a mobile exhibition artistic and documentary character from other museums, anti- war centers, peace movements and associations for the protection of human rights from the country and from abroad. On the upper level the new, permanent exhibition was placed in 2003, named The Tragedy of Kraguejvac 1941 by a group of authors historians Staniša Brkiæ, Nenad Djordjeviæ, Milan Koljanin, M.A., academic painter-graphics artist Irena Paunoviæ, and the academic painter Igor Stepancic. Within the building, on its lower level, there is a gallery where it is constantly displayed.

The Museum has a collection of original personal documents of the victims shot in the Kragujevac massacre, including Roma and Jews. There are other collections not connected to the Holocaust (monuments, Lubarda fund, anti-war cartoons)