Presidents of Croatia and Slovenia to Jointly Pay Tribute to Victims of Italian Fascist Concentration Camp Kampor on Island of Rab
The President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović and the President of the Republic of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar will jointly attend a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of prisoners from the Italian fascist concentration camp of Kampor on the island of Rab. The two Presidents will lay a joint wreath in memory of the victims of the concentration camp, which was one of the most notorious Italian fascist concentration camps during the Second World War.
The Italian fascist concentration camp of Kampor on the island of Rab was opened by the Italian fascist authorities in July 1942 who deported the population from the occupied and annexed areas of Croatia and Slovenia. Fifteen thousand people were imprisoned in the camp, including 1,200 minor children, mostly Croats, Slovenes and Jews from the Gorski Kotar region. Several thousand people died of starvation and dire conditions in the Kampor camp. The camp was disbanded in September 1943 after the capitulation of fascist Italy.
The memorial park for the victims of the camp at Kampor was built in 1953, a project designed by Slovenian architect Edvard Ravnikar. This will not be the first time that the Croatian and Slovenian Presidents jointly pay tribute to the victims of the concentration camp at Kampor. President Milanović and former Slovenian President Borut Pahor jointly attended a commemoration to the victims of the camp in September 2020.
Also to attend the ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of prisoners from the Italian fascist concentration camp of Kampor on the island of Rab alongside President Milanović and President Pirc Musar are the spouse of the President of the Republic of Croatia Sanja Musić Milanović and the spouse of the President of Slovenia Aleš Musar.