Maja Gojković, former president of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, has stated that the Old Fairgrounds for 78 years has been a place of shame, a place of oblivion and a site that no one can be proud of its appearance. „At the end of the mandate of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia in 2020 and as the then president, at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, a law was passed on the establishment of the state institution of culture, the Memorial Center ‘Old Fairgrounds’, which was founded a year later. We chose Krinka Vidaković Petrov as the first director of the institution, who, together with the Ministry of Culture, made this cultural monument look so magnificent today,“ Gojković recalled.
She pointed out that all the work relating to the central tower will soon be completed, followed by the creation of a permanent exhibition for which data is being collected. „We invite all citizens of Belgrade, Serbia, and former Yugoslavia to freely submit their contributions and data about this place of suffering of Jews, Serbs, and Roma, so that this exhibition can have its rightful magnificent edition. We sincerely hope that next year, perhaps on this important world historical day of remembrance of the suffering of all peoples who were victims of Nazism, fascism and the Holocaust, we will succeed in having the opening of this exhibition,“ said Maja Gojković.
She added that work will also be done on the construction of a memorial wall in front of this important historical building, and that the names and all data about the victims who lost their lives in this death camp „Old Fairgrounds“ are being collected. She thanked the director of the Memorial Center of the Old Fairgrounds for her dedicated work, together with the Ministry of Culture, and the Government of the Republic of Serbia for their support on this, as she said, „fascinating, magnificent building and project, which truly evokes great emotions.“
The director of the Memorial Center, Krinka Vidaković Petrov, said that this cultural institution is dedicated primarily to the research of the Nazi camp at the Fairgrounds, which existed from December 1941 to July 1944 and was the largest Nazi camp in today’s territory of Serbia, both in terms of the number of prisoners, around 40,000, and the number of victims, some 17,000. „Today, as we commemorate the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust, I want to emphasize that the Memorial Center ‘Old Fairgrounds’, which includes the Topovske šupe camp, where 5,000 Jewish men suffered, and the Jewish camp at the Fairgrounds, where 6,500 Jewish women and children suffered, represents the most powerful symbol of the Holocaust in Serbia under Nazi German occupation, as well as the future focal point of memorializing their suffering,“ added Vidaković Petrov.
She noted that 78 years after the end of World War II, not only the first phase, when it was a Jewish camp but also the second phase, when significantly more people suffered, including mostly Serbs and Roma, and in which there were 32,000 prisoners and 11,000 victims, the camps and the Fairgrounds as a place where they are located are inscribed on the map of Nazi camps in Europe and introduced into national and international culture of remembrance. „The mission of the Memorial Center ‘Old Fairgrounds’ is not only the renewal of the camp buildings. We are the youngest national institution in our country now and our job and our mission are to preserve the place of suffering, such as this one which was neglected for 78 years, to research the camp, victims, and historical context that allowed the rise of intolerance, racism, and genocide, to organize and carry out education, to work on spreading the truth and better understanding, especially for young generations, and, of course, to fight against any attempts to distort the facts of suffering or belittle them. And also to fight against manipulation of such facts,“ concluded Vidaković Petrov and thanked the Government of the Republic of Serbia, which made it possible to pass the law on the Memorial Center, which was adopted in the Assembly, and especially the deputy prime ministers and the Minister of Culture Maja Gojković for their support.
The reconstruction of the Central Tower within the „Memorial Center“ Old Fairgrounds in Belgrade began on July 27, 2022, 78 years after the dissolution of the camp and 35 years after it was declared a cultural monument. The Central Tower is intended to be the central exhibition space within the Memorial Center, which will cover all historical phases of the Old Fairgrounds – from the fair, through the camp, to the present day. The reconstruction of the „Central Tower“ and the Memorial Center „Old Fairgrounds“ is of great importance for the Republic of Serbia in terms of nurturing the culture of remembrance.
