I typically get around Kragujevac on foot, as most destinations are within a 15-minute walk of my apartment. The longest walk I usually consider is the 36-minute journey to Big Fashion Shopping Mall, which, unlike many American malls, remains an important retail and social hub for local residents.
I have taken the bus a few times as well. In Belgrade, public transportation is free, while in Kragujevac, a bus ride is supposed to cost 75 RSD, or approximately 72 U.S. cents. However, in my experience, most people simply board without paying, and the drivers rarely ask for payment.
I wanted to visit the October Memorial Park/ Šumarice Memorial Park this week as it marked the anniversary of the October 21, 1941 massacre in that park. Kragujevac was the site for one of the most vicious and violent Nazi retaliatory atrocities in occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. On October 21, 1941, German Wehrmacht forces carried out the mass execution of nearly 2,800 civilians from Kragujevac, largely targeting Serbian men and boys, along with hundreds of school students, teachers, Roma and local Jews.
The morning of October 21st, thousands of detained civilians, particularly high school students, were marched to execution sites in the park. Over approximately seven hours, German soldiers executed the captives maliciously and mercilessly in successive groups using heavy machine guns. I frequently attend the park, but I wanted to take a moment to remove myself from the quiet beauty it embodys now, and remember the tragedy that had happened there.
