The evening was organized by the Centre of the Croatian World Congress for investigation of the consequences of totalitarianism in BiH, and within the program a sales exhibition of authors’ books that wrote about it was organized. The program entitled With truth to reconciliation was moderated by the journalist of Radio Mir Međugorje Višnja Spajić.

A long-time political emigrant and professor of history at Ohio State University and at Joliet college, Chicago, Ante Čuvalo, recalled the current course of communist crimes investigations.

“We often hear question, ‘what does history say?’ However, history does not say anything about itself. Historians talk about the past. (…) Unfortunately, many times in the past and even in the communist era, the historians, as well as journalists and writers, were forced ‘to fit’ the ruling system (...) Then, ordinary ideological propaganda steps up”, said professor Čuvalo and referred to the phenomenon of so-called political correctness, evaluating it as a new, but milder, form of totalitarianism coming through the small doors, and in which ‘packaging’ becomes more important than a content.

A journalist, publicist and researcher, Stanislav Vukorep, talked about previous research in Eastern Herzegovina.

“Nearly 30,000 Catholics lived in the area of the Trebinje Diocese before World War II. So far, nearly 5000 victims of the World War II and time after it, have been registered in that area.  That is a demographic loss of 17 percent, and that is a horrible information about the suffering of a nation and as such has nowhere been seen in Europe”, Vukorep pointed out, adding that the list of mentioned victims is not final.

He also talked about the lack of research and list of victims in Mostar, on which, unfortunately, no one had worked so far. “Many people with their crossways came to Mostar, and nobody has returned from Mostar”, he said and also reminded of the mass grave at Radimlje near Stolac, believed to be one of the largest in Herzegovina where, according to testimonies of witnesses, after the World war thousands of people were killed. “After the bloodshed was finished, vines were planted”, said Vukorep, who published two very remarkable books about the killings in Eastern Herzegovina.

The Vice postulator of the Vice-postulate for procedure of martyrdom of OFM Leo Petrović and 65 brothers and the vice-president of the HBK committee and BK BiH Commission for Croatian martyrology, OFM Miljenko Mića Stojić, reviewed the activities of these two institutions.

“Looking for the bodies of the killed Herzegovinian Franciscans, there appeared a problem with the remains of killed civilians and captured soldiers of various defeated military troops, which was solved thanks to the engagement of civil authorities in a dozen municipalities with the Croat majority and the formation of commissions. For reasons well-known, the list of killed in Croatia and BiH was not done by civilian authorities, so the Church jumped in”, said OFM Miljenko adding that the list would be completed soon. Cemetery of peace at Bile, where crosses with names of killed priests and monks were placed last year, he called the crown of all these activities.

Historian Hrvoje Mandić, reviewed the researches of this topic in emigrant and Yugoslav sources, as well as in historiography and publicity since the nineties, where there was a certain interest in the suffering of the civilians and Catholic priests and monks in Herzegovina, especially in the Croatian emigration and Herzegovinian Franciscans who were active in the United States, Switzerland and Italy. “At the same time, in Yugoslavian historiography, the relationship of the Herzegovinian Franciscans to the authorities of NDH was deliberately considered during the Second World War. However, the purpose of this consideration was not to establish historical facts, but to openly attempt to establish so-called party truths and the continuation of the struggle against the so-called class enemies”, said Mandić, pointing to the significance of further research.

Presenting the goals of the association, the writer and president of the Center of Croatian world Congress for research of the totalitarianism consequences in BiH, Anita Martinac, spoke about the importance of the memory culture.

“The memory culture is dirtied with the long reign of the communist totalitarian regimes and the rooted fear that is still easy to spot in certain areas where great crimes have occurred (...) It is necessary to face the past - no matter how difficult it is – because ignoring and suppression of the problem will not come to an end. On the contrary, the delayed issue becomes bigger, which can be noticed in a number of media manipulations of interest groups who benefit of the instability in this area”, she pointed out.

In the musical part of the program, with songs on this theme, young musicians Lucija Zovko and Lucija Hrstić performed, and a fragment was read from the piece From darkness to light or procession of death, by the author Renata Dobrić, the director of City library in Kaštela, which was awarded at the Days of the killed Herzegovinian Franciscans.

After the lecture, most books were available for buying at the promotion prices, and the authors themselves stated few times that “this type of literature was not supported by the state or entity institutions”.