Dr. Juraj Njavro (1938-2008) was a legendary Croatian surgeon at the Vukovar Hospital in 1991, during one of the most dramatic events in the history of Croatia. He was known as exceptionally pleasant and tolerant person. He wrote a book about his internment after the Serbian occupation of the city of Vukovar. |
Dr. Juraj Njavro (1938-2008) is a legendary Croatian surgeon at the Vukovar Hospital in 1991, during one of the most dramatic events in the history of Croatia. He was known as exceptionally pleasant and tolerant person. He wrote a book about his internment after the Serbian occupation of the city of Vukovar. Dr. Njavro also participated in preparing the important monograph dealing with the history of the Vukovara Hospital, published in 2007. The hospital received 25-30 wounded each day during three months of continous bombing and shelling of the city in 1991. Death rate in the Vukovar Hospital was only 2.5%, despite enormously difficult conditions of work. The surgical operations had to be carried out in the cellar of the hospital, since the building was almost completely destroyed by Yugoslav People's Army and Serbian paramilitary forces. |
In the whole of the Republic of Croatia 306 children have been killed during the Serbain aggression in 1990-1995, 1,280 wounded, 4,455 lost both parents, and 131 lost both parents. As many as 185,000 children live in exile. At the moment of military aggresion on Vukovar in 1991, the city had about 15,000 children. During the summer most of them have been evacuated, many of them returned to the city hoping that the situation will calm and that they will go to school. However, 1,500 of them stayed during the most savage bombing and shelling. As a result of this more than 80 children have been wounded and more than 30 killed. Here is the list of killed children during Serbien siege of the city of Vukovar. Three of them have been exhumed from the infamous Ovčara mass grave.
Štefan Biro (ed.): Vukovarska Bolnica 1991 (Vukovar Hospital in 1991), Vukovar 2007, 371 pp. In particular, see the article by Vesna Bosanac and Davor Bandić: Djeca u rati (Children in the War), pp. 230-236. |
Martyrdom in Croatian Homeland War (1990-1995), lecture delivered in Zagreb by dr. Juraj Njavro in 2005, surgeon at the Vukovar Hospital in 1991, [PPT, in Croatian]. My deep gratitude to dr. Njavro for permission. Source: www.croatianhistory.net |
Not only that that the remains of three children mentioned above have been found at the Ovčara mass grave. The following twenty employees of the Vukovar Hospital have been assasinated at Ovčara in 1991:
Four employees of the Vukovar Hospital that were detained druging the Serbian occupation of the city in 1991, and whose destiny is still not known, are:
Twelve identified employees of the Vukovar Hospital, assasinated or victims of the 1991 aggression:
In conclusion, there are altogether thirty two (32) employees of the Vukovar Hospital, victims of the Serbian aggression on the city, and four detained employees whose destiny is unknown. Source: |
The Vukovar Hospital took care of about 4000 people during the Serbian 1991 aggression, until November 20th, 1991. About 2250 people underwent difficult and long term operations. Each day approximatly 700 (seven hundred) granades was falling on the building of the hospital. The work of medicinal staff was going on in extremely difficult conditions, often without necessary equipment, even without electricity, food and water, in the celler and atomic shelter of the hospital, since the building was totally destroyed. In 1997 the hospital was reintegrated into the medical system of the Republic of Croatia, and in 1998 its complete renewal was started. |
Formated for CROWN by prof.dr. Darko Žubrinić
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