MALAGURSKI RELEASES NEW FILM ON JASENOVAC: FROM ZAGREB TO ISRAEL, HE SEEKS ANSWER TO ONE IMPORTANT QUESTION

BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 16 /SRNA/ – What remains when crimes take place, witnesses disappear, and memory begins to fade - it is precisely the question Boris Malagurski poses at the beginning of his new documentary, “Born From Persecution | The Truth About Jasenovac”, dedicated to Jasenovac, the suffering of Serbs, Jews and Roma in NDH, as well as to the way this past is discussed today.

The film, released yesterday, takes viewers from the Jasenovac Memorial Site, through Zagreb and Serbia, to Republika Srpska and Israel. Along the way, Malagurski combines historical facts, interviews and personal observations, trying to show how events from the Second World War continue to shape collective memory today. At the beginning of the documentary, attention is focused on Jasenovac and the system of persecution that existed under the Ustasha-led NDH. The primary focus is on Serbs, Jews and Roma, as well as on the question of how it is possible that sharp disputes still surround one of the darkest chapters in the wartime history of this region. Malagurski then travels to Zagreb, where, through conversations with residents, he checks how much today's population knows about Jasenovac. This part of the film also addresses the issue of historical revisionism and differing views of the NDH's legacy. The trip to Israel adds a particular dimension to the story. There, the author connects the experience of the Jewish people during the Holocaust with the suffering of Serbs in the NDH and raises the question of whether their shared experience of persecution created a bond between the two peoples that continues to this day. One of the chapters is titled “Final Solution for Serbs,” through which Malagurski discusses the systematic persecution of Serbs in the NDH. The film then changes tone, moving toward a story of survival, reconstruction and the perseverance of communities that suffered enormous losses. The documentary also touches on the breakup of Yugoslavia, as Malagurski does not view the past as a closed historical episode. Instead, he attempts to show the ways in which wartime trauma, memories and differing interpretations of history continue to influence relations and identities across the former Yugoslavia. In the final section, the film returns to Jasenovac and the issue of remembrance. As the film suggests, the issue is not only what happened, but also what future generations will know about it. "Born From Persecution" is therefore not simply a story about a single prison camp. It is a documentary about persecution, survival and remembrance, as well as an attempt to use the experiences of Serbs and Jews to answer the question of what happens when societies begin to forget some of the darkest chapters of their own history. Malagurski concludes the film with the message that Jasenovac is not only a place of death and suffering, but also a warning to future generations. For now, the documentary has been released on YouTube, where it has attracted significant viewer attention since its release.