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Loborgrad camp
The Lobor concentration camp or Loborgrad camp was a concentration camp established in Lobor, Independent State of Croatia in the deserted palace of Keglevich family. It was established on 9 August 1941, mostly for Serb and Jewish children and women. The camp was established and operated by Ustaše, with 16 of its guards being members of the local Volksdeutsche community. Its inmates were subjected to systematic torture, robbery and murder of "undisciplined" individuals. All younger female inmates of the Lobor camp were subjected to rapes. More than 2,000 people were inmates of this camp, at least 200 died in it. All survived children and women were transported to Auschwitz concentration camp in August 1942 where they all were killed.
Diana Budisavljevic an Austrian woman who initiated one of the largest and most complex humanitarian operations in Europe during the Second World War. Thanks to her extensive network of staff and helpers, she led a large-scale rescue operation of some 10,000 mainly Serbian children from concentration camps in fascist independent Croatia. She provided support and shelter and kept evidence of 12,000 abandoned children.
In October 1941, after she had learned about children held at the camp Lobor-Grad, she launched a relief campaign named “Action Diana Budisavljević”.
At the beginning of July 1942, with assistance from German officer, she obtained written permission to take the children from the Stara Gradiška concentration camp. With the help of the Ministry of Social Affairs, she was able to relocate child inmates from the camp to Zagreb, Jastrebarsko and later also to Sisak.
After the rescue efforts in Stara Gradiška, Budisavljević, wearing the uniform of a Red Cross nurse, took part in the transport of children from Mlaka, Jablanac and Jasenovac. More than 6,000 children had been moved away from those camps by the “Action” in July and August 1942. After obtaining permission in August 1942 to move the children from the institutions in Zagreb into the care of families, she worked together with the Zagreb Archdiocese branch of the Caritas and in that way made it possible for several thousands of children to be placed with families in Zagreb and rural communities.