Kusonje () is a village in Croatia in the town of Pakrac, Požega-Slavonia County. It is connected by the D38 road.
On 13 August 1942, during the Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia in World War II, the local Serbian Orthodox Church was a site of Ustaše war crime in which 163 male residents over the age of 12 years from Kusonje and Dragović were murdered while women and children were sent to Stara Gradiška concentration camp.
Kusonje was the site of an ambush during the Croatian War of Independence in 1991, when 20 Croatian policemen and soldiers were massacred by Serb rebels.
Demographics According to the 2011 population census, the village of Kusonje had 308 inhabitants. This represents 27.97% of its pre-war population according to the 1991 census.
Population by ethnicity:Izdanje Državnog zavoda za statistiku RH: Narodnosni sastav stanovništva RH od 1880-1991. godine.
Year of census total Serbs Croats Yugoslavs others 2011 308 187 (60.71%) 101 (32.79%) - 20 (6.49%) 2001 200 n/a n/a - n/a 1991 1 101 891 (80.93%) 99 (8.99%) 72 (6.54%) 39 (3.54%) 1981 1 047 685 (65.43%) 96 (9.17%) 247 (23.59%) 19 (1.81%) 1971 744 605 (81.32%) 123 (16.53%) 4 (0.54%) 12 (1.61%) 1961 658 555 (84.35%) 86 (13.07%) 1 (0.15%) 16 (2.43%)
History Kusonje was part of Croatian medieval state. In 1543, Kusonje and the nearby town of Pakrac were conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman rule lasted until it was seized and reconquered by the Austrians in 1691. Village had Serbian ethnic majority.
World War II On 13 August 1942, during the Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia in World War II, the local Serbian Orthodox Church was a site of Ustaša war crime in which 163 male residents over the age of 12 years from Kusonje and Dragović were murdered while women and children were sent to Stara Gradiška concentration camp. Learning about Ustaše atrocities in Pakrac region started hiding in nearby forests but were forced to return to villages to take care of their crops, animals and to take food which was used by authorities to capture them. After male residents over the age of 12 years were captured they were pushed inside the church, locked from the outside, and then the building was set it on fire. Those who did not fit in the church were slaughtered and thrown into nearby wells. The Ustaša crimes triggered revange violence against predominantly Croat village of Španovica where 129 residents were murdered.
Croatian War of Independence In 1991, war broke out in Croatia, of which Kusonje and Pakrac were a part. The Yugoslav People's Army captured the town in March 1991, but it was soon retaken by Croatian forces.
See also Battle of Kusonje
References