Home
   Under Reconstruction!
Object Alone

Obj. ID: 40433
Modern Jewish Art
  Memorial at Tenja concentration camp site near Osijek, Croatia, 1970s

© Center for Jewish Art, Photographer: Levin, Vladimir, 7.2021

Who is Commemorated?

Prisoners of the Tenja concentration camp

Description

The memorial is located off the road between Osijek and the village Tenja, at the place where the Tenja concentration camp was situated. The memorial is a marble obelisk that stands in the middle of an area surrounded by low marble piers, which once had (or intended to have) metal railings between them. The memorial is reached via a small concrete bridge from the shoulder of the road.

Inscriptions

The Croatian language inscription on the upper part of the obelisk was made during the period of unified Yugoslavia and does not mention Jews. 

Na ovom mjestu
bio je fašistički
logor kroz koji
je prošlo na
hiljade rodoljuba
ovog kraja.

Ovaj kamen spomen
u znak sjećanja i
zahvalnosti palim
rodoljubima podigao
je narod ovog kraja.

Translation: In this place was a fascist camp through which thousands of patriots of this region passed. This memorial stone was erected as a sign of remembrance and gratitude to the fallen patriots by the people of this region.

The Croatian inscription on the obelisk's base was made by the Jewish community in 2004 and overtly states that the victims were Jews. In 2016, the municipality added a line about its involvement in the restoration of the memorial.

Židovska općina Osijek
obnovila je prvotni spomenik
povodom dana
stradaja i junaštva
Jom Ha Shoa
na sjećanje
židovskim stradalnicima.
Osijek     27. Nisan 5764.
18. travnja 2004.

Obnovio grad Osijek 2016.

Translation: The Jewish community of Osijek restored the original monument on the occasion of the day of suffering and heroism Yom HaShoah in memory of the Jewish victims. Osijek, 27 Nisan 5764. 18 April 2004. Renovated the city of Osijek in 2016.

Commissioned by

Yugoslav authorities, Jewish community of Osijek (2004), Osijek municipality (2016)

Summary and Remarks
Remarks

8 image(s)

sub-set tree:

Name/Title
Memorial at Tenja concentration camp site near Osijek | Unknown
Object Detail
Monument Setting
Camp
{"1":"Any purpose-built concentration, labor, or death camp established by the Nazis or their collaborators (Auschwitz, Belzec, Buchenwald, Carpi, Dachau, Drancy, Fossoli, Klooga, Majdanek, Mauthausen, Sobibor, etc.)"}
Date
1970s
Synagogue active dates
Reconstruction dates
2004, 2016
Artist/ Maker
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Unknown |
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Croatia | Slavonia | Osijek
| Tenja road
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period
Period Detail
Collection
Unknown |
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Iconographical Subject
Unknown |
Textual Content
Languages of inscription
Material / Technique
stone, marble
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Condition
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents
Codicology
Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance

A concentration camp close to village Tenja was created by Croatian Ustaše in April 1941 and built by the Jewish community of Osijek, intended as a small settlement for Jews. However, about 3,000 Jewish inmates of the camp were deported to Auschwitz, Jasenovac, and other death camps in August 1942, and the camp was closed.

An original granite obelisk was erected in the place of the camp in Yugoslav times and its inscription spoke about “people of this region.” In 2004, the Jewish community of Osijek added a marble plaque that explicitly mentioned Jews. It was inaugurated on Israeli Holocaust Day, April 18, 2004. In 2016, the municipality of Osijek renovated the monument: a new white marble obelisk of the same dimensions as the original one was set up and both Yugoslav and Jewish inscriptions were reproduced, with the addition mentioning the municipality’s contribution.

Main Surveys & Excavations
Sources

For a photograph of 2013, showing the memorial before the 2016 renovation, see
"Spomenik na mjestu logora Tenja," Wikimedia, https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%91%D7%A5:Spomenik_na_mjestu_logora_Tenja.JPG (accessed January 17, 2022)
Type
Documenter
Vladimir Levin, Ekaterina Oleshkevich | 2021
Author of description
Vladimir Levin | 2022
Architectural Drawings
|
Computer Reconstruction
|
Section Head
|
Language Editor
|
Donor
Keller Foundation | 2021
Negative/Photo. No.
The following information on this monument will be completed: