Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.32728/h2025.05
A Night to Remember – Šajini and Bokordići, 9 January 1944
Marin Pekica
Iva Kolić
Abstract
The lack of sources and contradictory theories about what truly happened on the
night of 8–9 January 1944 in the Istrian villages of Šajini and Bokordići still intrigues
the surviving residents and their descendants. The available sources and literature
are limited to a small number of books, journals, and newspaper articles that
only briefly describe or merely mention the events. The most important sources
are interviews with surviving villagers, although these were conducted with a considerable
time gap after the events. It is generally known that the burning of the
villages was retaliation for partisan actions, but doubts remain regarding a specific
motive behind the attack. In the collective memory of the inhabitants, these events
remain the greatest tragedy ever to befall the communities of Šajini and Bokordići.
Coming to terms with such a tragedy has been further complicated by the fact that
no one has ever been officially held accountable for these crimes. Further research
has been hindered by poverty and the residents’ deeply rooted fear. On the other
hand, the memory of the event is still alive among some individuals even today,
more than eighty years later. In addition, a smaller group of surviving residents
still harbours resentment against the perpetrators and the nation to which they
belonged. This may be linked to a long and unsuccessful process of confronting the
past. Others, however, have dealt with the past more successfully, as reflected in
the poetic and artistic works of surviving residents of Šajini and their descendants
Keywords
World War II; cultural memory; facing the past; burning of villages; Šajini; Bokordići
Hrčak ID:
349942
URI
Publication date:
29.7.2026.
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