- by croatiaweek
- April 16, 2026
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(Photo: Ministarstvo hrvatskih branitelja)
Field investigations are currently underway at five locations in the Zagreb areas of Gornja Dubrava and Sesvete, where authorities suspect the presence of mass graves dating back to the aftermath of the Second World War.
The research is being carried out under the organisation of the Ministry of Croatian Veterans, with initial findings already confirming the discovery of the remains of three victims from the wartime and immediate post-war period in Gornja Dubrava.
The investigations, which began in mid-April, include planned trial excavations across all five sites.
According to available information, the locations are believed to contain victims of crimes committed during 1945 and 1946.
Officials have stated that the public will be kept informed as further findings emerge from the ongoing work.
The Zagreb investigations form part of a broader national effort to locate and identify victims from the Second World War and its aftermath.
Recent completed fieldwork in the Split-Dalmatia County uncovered the remains of at least 15 victims. Thirteen were exhumed from a pit on Mount Biokovo near Zagvozd, while two were found in individual graves in the Imotski and Vrgorac areas.
(Photo: Ministarstvo hrvatskih branitelja)
Anthropological analysis of the recovered remains from these Dalmatian sites is currently in progress. Preliminary findings suggest that at least three of the victims may be Franciscan friars from Å iroki Brijeg.
Authorities have stated that every effort will be made to determine the identities of those exhumed.
Over the past decade, the Ministry of Croatian Veterans has investigated more than 630 locations across Croatia. Excavations have been conducted at over 90 sites in 16 counties, resulting in the exhumation of 2,205 victims from the Second World War and post-war period.
(Photo: Ministarstvo hrvatskih branitelja)
Of those, 2,046 individuals have been given a dignified final burial.
The latest discoveries in Zagreb highlight the continued efforts to address unresolved historical cases and provide closure for families of victims decades after the events.