These days, in three countries, three exhibitions of the Genocide Victims Museum are being held - it is possible that this has never happened to any local museum. "Kozara 1942" is in Serbia in the Archives of Vojvodina in Novi Sad, "The Silent Crime: Atrocities of the Albanian Quislings against Serbs and Jews in Kosovo and Metohija in the Second World War" is in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Museum of Herzegovina in Trebinje, and "The Holy New Martyrs of Jasenovac in the light of the Resurrection" is in North Macedonia in the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle for Independence in Skopje.
Dejan Ristić, the director of this institution, told the "Vremena" portal that it was accidental, but emphasized that "when you have a team made up of top experts and true devotees, then even what seems unachievable becomes attainable and possible." The team of experts of the Genocide Victims Museum is exactly like that."
He points out that they carefully choose potential partners and where they visit. He believes that "it should not be surprising why the exhibition about the crimes of the Albanian Quislings against Serbs and Jews in Kosovo and Metohija during the Second World War is in Trebinje, in the Museum of Herzegovina and not in another place", and reminds that "Albanian Quisling formations, especially the infamous 21st Mountain SS Division 'Skenderbeg', which consisted of Kosovo-Metohija Albanians, carried out crimes against civilians, not only in the area of AP Kosovo and Metohija, but also in part of the territory of central Serbia, Montenegro, Republika Srpska and others."
He believes that "it is insufficiently known in our public that, due to the brutality and cruelty of the infamous Albanian Quisling formations in the area of AP Kosovo and Metohija, they committed crimes that are hard for the human mind to imagine against the Serbian and Jewish civilian population during the Second World War", and lists about fifty registered crimes.
The exhibition "Kozara 1942" has so far visited many places in Serbia, but it has not yet been outside the border. Dejan Ristić reminds that "it was presented for the first time in the Memorial Museum in Mrakovica, i.e. in the premises where the events themselves took place. After that, it was presented in several cities in the Republic of Serbia, and it is planned that its contents will be introduced to the public in other countries as well."
Political circumstances, says Dejan Ristić, do not affect the choice of the place where the exhibitions of the Museum of Genocide Victims will be hosted, and that "the museum is exclusively guided by professional and scientific, and by no means political, criteria and mechanisms." Bearing in mind the fact that our Museum is one of the most respected institutions of its type in the world, our international cooperation is diverse, rich and dynamic. It often happens that we have so many invitations for the implementation of our activities abroad that we cannot respond positively to some of them under the given circumstances."
The exhibition of the artworks of the nun Maria (Antić) "Holy New Martyrs of Jasenovac in the Light of the Resurrection" speaks of widespread cooperation with various institutions, which, according to Ristić, is the result of cooperation with the Committee for Jasenovac of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Diocese of Pakračko-Slavonski.
Given that the Museum of Genocide Victims exists, among other things, to spread the truth about the crime, have its exhibitions been offered to countries whose truth is different from here?
"Historical truth is and can only be one, although sometimes it seems that insurmountable obstacles are placed in front of it in terms of different interpretations of the past." However, thanks to the exceptional reputation and influence of our Museum in the world, as well as the dedicated, responsible and professional approach to the realization of activities, we manage to increase the number of countries in which we carry them out", says Dejan Ristić, and enumerates the activities they carry out "in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Montenegro, USA, United Kingdom, China, Italy, France, Slovakia, as well as numerous other countries. Our Museum is one of the few Serbian cultural institutions that actively participates in projects supported by UNESCO, and we are very proud of that, among other things."
In the mission of disseminating the facts, it is impossible to control what the truth that the Museum presents to others will cause, for example the increase of already existing antagonism towards a people. Dejan Ristic says that "several decades of experience of thoughtful and responsible work prove exactly the opposite."
"Namely, the reactions to our programs, regardless of whether we implement them in Serbian ethnic areas or far beyond them, are filled with reverence for the innocent victims." We often witness that members of those nations who are responsible for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Serbs during the Second World War, after participating in our programs, show sincere reverence for the innocent victims. Those moments, touching and poignant, are particularly motivating for us, since they clearly show us that we have succeeded in achieving our goal, which is to reach people, their souls and hearts, based on historical and scientific facts, in order to make a contribution to real and lasting reconciliation of peoples and communities in these areas."
One of the truths is that, apart from the Serbs, other peoples also innocently suffered in the Second World War. Does the Museum of Genocide Victims also study the victims committed by individual members of the Serbian people in the Second World War and in the Wars of Yugoslav Succession?
Dejan Ristić says that "The Museum of Genocide Victims is primarily focused on the period of the Second World War, but its experts, with their scientific and research projects, necessarily look at the wider historical and temporal context aware of the tragic past of the former Yugoslavia during the previous century."
He points out that "like the Yad Vashem Memorial Center in Jerusalem, the Museum of Genocide Victims was founded by a special law, the so-called lex specialis, in 1992. These two institutions were established by special laws adopted by the parliaments of the home countries of the Jewish and Serbian people in order to preserve the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and genocide, that is, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Serbs in the entire territory of the Independent State of Croatia. I believe that this also contains the answer to your question."
According to Dejan Ristić, the support of the Government of the Republic of Serbia is continuous.
"Our budget was increased more than three times during the previous two years alone, and in the same period we increased our expert team by almost five times, including the best and most promising young experts in the fields of history, law, international relations, social anthropology, art... In other words, after almost three decades since its establishment, during which only a small number of our fellow citizens and the general public knew about this cultural institution, now the Museum finally enjoys the full and continuous support of the state, a whole series of institutions, the non-governmental sector, citizens... It could be it is safe to conclude that the Museum now enjoys general social support, which represents a strong motivation for our entire team for even more professional and successful work."
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