The dark history of “Djurdjevdan” song

На данашњи дан, Ђурђевдан, 1942. хрватске усташе су 3 хиљаде Срба из Сарајева потрпале у вагоне за Јасеновац и тако је настала ова песма.
Слушајте пажљиво речи песме која је воема потресна и коју је Бреговић обрадио да је сада светски хит и пева се на свим језицима света.

Од 3 хиљаде људи, само две хиљаде је умрло у вагонима, а од преосталих хиљаду, само је 200 заробљеника преживело логор Јасеновац и зато ми сада знамо ову трагичну причу.
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The dark history of “Djurdjevdan” song

Maybe someone did not know about St George day.

On May 6th, 1942, St. George’s Day (Djurdjevdan), the train went from Sarajevo to Jasenovac. Prisoners in cars, with no food or water, began to fall into crisis because of fear and uncertainty. One of them, out of pride and defiance, sang a song, writes portal Frontal.rs.

Jasenovac entrance

In the World War II, Sarajevo was the city that carried extremely difficult burden of war. No matter to whom God people prayed, they bled because of evil, writes the portal.

From the very beginning of the conflict, the Ustasha arrested the Serbian people. Serbs began to flee Sarajevo because of the brutal persecution. They found sanctuary in Serbia or in the mountains. However, a number of people stayed in their city, believing that there is still a bit of empathy and humanity in their enemies.

May 6th 1942 dawned. NDH police ordered preparation of the Serbs for “Djurdjevdan Reveille”. At four o’clock in the mornig columns of prisoners from Jajce barracks (on the hill Bembase) poured into the city.

They were joined by co-sufferers from the camp Beledije, Cemaluse and Central and City prison as well as the barracks Vojvode Stepe. Columns were met at the Kulin Ban Riverside where they awaited the death train.

As portal writes, an Ustasha shouted to the column:”Where are you Serbs? We take you for free to an excursion in Jasenovac!”

The cars were written with “Seven horses or forty soldiers” and the Ustasha put in a car up to 200 people. The train of death departed that same day, May 6th, on Djurdjevdan, from Sarajevo to Jasenovac. On the way to the concentration camp, prisoners in cars without food or water began to fall in crisis because of fear and uncertainty. One of them, in his own cramp and powerlessness, out of pride and defiance, sang from the heart and soul:” Spring lands on my shoulders, lily of the valley greens, to everyone except me – It’s Djurdjevdan!” (Proljece na moje rame slece, djurdjevak zeleni, svima osim meni – Djurdjevdan je!), writes the portal.

According to available testimonies, the Ustasha closed the sunroofs on cars because of the “Djurdjevdan” song, and prisoners were left without air in small space, close to one another.

About 3,000 of them were taken from Sarajevo. 2,000 souls arrived to Jasenovac, and 200 of them survived torture. Thanks to the survivors we today know about this event.

“Ederlezi” (Djurdjevdan) is a popular traditional folk song of the Romani minority in the Balkans. The former Yugoslav rock band Bijelo Dugme released a cover version of this song in Serbo-Croatian using the same melody, but with very different lyrics. The song became a planetary hit sang in several languages.