In May and June 1945, at the end of World War II in Europe, the forests near Macelj, a village in northern Croatia, was the site where a large number of soldiers, women and children, were shot during the Bleiburg repatriations. Events In 1992, after Croatia became independent, 1,163 bodies were excavated from 23 mass graves in the region, leaving around 130 possible mass grave locations unexplored. Among those executed in Macelj were 25 Catholic priests from the Franciscan monastery of Široki Brijeg which were temporarily hidden in nearby Krapina. In 2008, the Croatian Ministry of the Interior launched an investigation into Stjepan Hršak's possible involvement in that event. Reburial of excavated bodies in 2005 was followed by public mass led by Cardinal Josip Bozanić, at the time Archbishop of Zagreb. See also Tezno mass graves Mass killings under communist regimes References 1945 in Croatia Massacres in 1945 Independent State of Croatia World War II crimes Aftermath of World War II in Yugoslavia Massacres in Croatia Massacres in Yugoslavia Political and cultural purges Political repression in Communist Yugoslavia May 1945 events in Europe June 1945 events in Europe Mass murder in 1945 Massacres of Croats