The 66th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp in Mauthausen, Austria, was observed on Sunday as respects were paid and wreaths were laid at the central monument to the victims of National Socialism.
Seven thousand people attended the commemoration, including former inmates and delegations from about 40 countries, whose main messages were "Never forget" and "Never again".
The Croatian delegation, led by the parliament speaker's special envoy Miso Munivrana, paid its respects at a memorial plaque set up by Croatia in 2001.
Munivrana recalled that Croats had been among the victims of the Mauthausen camp as well as other execution sites in Europe and the world. "We are proud to have been part of the allied coalition against Nazism and fascism and to have contributed to overthrowing a criminal regime," he said, adding "we should do our utmost so that the horrors of the war never happen again."
There were 200 Croats among the Mauthausen inmates, of whom four were killed just before the camp was liberated by the Americans, it was said today.
