In the village of Podgarić, in central Croatia, there is the spomenik to commemorate the revolt of the community against the occupying forces in the Moslavina region during the Second World War.
In April 1941, the army of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was defeated by the invasion of the Axis forces.
As a result, the Moslavina region was later integrated into the Independent State of Croatia.
From the winter of 1941 until the end of the war, the area around the village of Podgarić became an important center of partisan uprising and a center of activity for the Central Committee of the Croatian Communist Party in northern Croatia.
As a consequence of the significant partisan efforts towards the uprising and opposition against the occupying forces in Podgarić, the local government in the mid-1960s began the construction of a memorial complex.
The task of creating the monument was assigned to the proposal made by the well-known Croatian-Macedonian sculptor Dušan Džamonja.
On 7th September 1967, the official inauguration of the monumental complex took place with the participation of the President of Yugoslavia Josip Tito, together with his wife Jovanka.
The main element of the spomenik complex is a large winged abstract sculpture, about 10 meters high and 20 meters wide, with a central “eye” in the shape of a sphere plated in aluminum panels.
The main intention of the monument was to represent the “wings of victory” overcoming death and defeat.
Podgarić memorial site was a popular cultural, historical, and tourist destination during the Yugoslav era, where it stood as one of the most iconic non-figurative memorials dedicated to the events of World War II.
However, after the dismantling of Yugoslavia in 1990 with the subsequent Yugoslav wars and the independence of Croatia, national interest and visitors declined considerably.
At the base of the monument is a bronze plaque along the central concrete walkway that leads to the monument. The inscription reads: “900 soldiers from the wider area of Moslavina who sacrificed their lives for the freedom and independence of our nation during the national liberation struggle from 1941 to 1945 are buried here.”
