The 67th 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.
This year's commemoration brought together some 10,000 visitors, most of whom were young people. In attendance were also Austrian President Heinz Fischer, Chancellor Werner Faymann and surviving inmates from dozens of countries.
Croatia's delegation led by Social Democratic Party (SDP) parliamentarian Luka Denona also included 87-year old Dalibor Vlastelica from Split, who had been detained in that camp in Upper Austria for two years.
The Mauthausen-Gusen camp was established in 1938 and in the seven years of its existence, around 200,000 people were imprisoned there. Half of them died in the camp. The inmates worked in a quarry and manufactured weapons.
There were 200 Croats among the Mauthausen inmates, of whom four were killed just before the camp was liberated by the Americans. The first U.S. troops entered the camp on 5 May 1945.
