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GENOCIDE of the Ethnic Germans in Yugoslavia 1944-1948 Overview
The internment of the Danube
Swabians in Yugoslavia in central civilian labor
camps began October 1944; the internment of the
Gottscheer and German Untersteirer took place at
the end of the war. By August 1945, all communities
of Yugoslavia were cleansed of their ethnic German
inhabitants. Only Germans married to other
nationalities or the few that had joined the
partisans, were spared from confiscation of
property and internment. In their process of the
complete annihilation of Yugoslavia's ethnic
Germans, the Communists established three types of
camps: work camps, central civilian camps and
"special camps." The latter served as liquidation
camps for those unable to work. In July and August 1945, the
central camps and work camps reached their maximum
capacity of about 120,000 civilian internees, of
which over 100,000 came from the Banat and
Batschka. They consisted mainly of marginally
ablebodied men and women. There were ten central camps
in the Banat, nine in the Batschka and one in
Syrmia and about 200 work camps under the
jurisdiction of the central camps. Almost each
community with more than 200-300 German inhabitants
maintained a work camp, consisting mostly of empty,
pillaged German houses. The situation was somewhat
different in Slavonia, therefore central, work and
extermination camps of this region are presented
together. The central camps were set up
primarily in existing barracks or former factories.
Some were filled with several thousand internees in
cramped facilities. These camps served,
particularly in the Banat, during the "bloody
autumn 1944" as the partisans' torture and
execution stations. The central camps allocated
laborers to its work camps. The food provided for
the forced laborers was usually completely
insufficient. Starting in spring 1946 Slavs and
Magyars could "buy" laborers for a day, month or
longer periods (payable to the camps commander; the
prisoners did not receive any remuneration). For
those lucky ones, it was often a life-saving
opportunity. The condition in the central camps
often resembled those in the liquidation camps.
This is borne out by the fact that about 12,000 men
and women, mostly of able-bodied age, perished
between the end of 1944 and the beginning of 1948.
Milchhalle at
Gross-Kikinda/Kikinda Already by the middle of
October 1944, immediately after the take-over by
the Russians and partisans, it became a torture and
murder camp for over 1,000 defenseless civilians.
Subsequently, it was the central camp for the
northern part of the Banat until the end of 1946.
Alte Mühle at
Gross-Betschkerek/Zrenjanin It was probably the
most gruesome execution camp for the Germans during
the bloody autumn 1944 and then used as a central
camp until May 1947. Stoikowitch-Telep at
Werschetz/Vrsac The town Werschetz, in the
South-Banat was also notorious for the murders
committed there. After the killing-orgies of the
"bloody autumn 1944" came to an end, it served as a
central camp. Stockhaus at
Weisskirchen/Bela Crkva This building too, was
used for the torture and executions of hundreds of
victims before it was transformed into a Southeast
central camp of the Banat. Schuschara/Susara On
December 24, 1944, the whole village was declared a
central camp for the German civilians of the
surrounding area. For a time, children, old and ill
civilians were housed there as well. It existed
until spring 1947. Karlsdorf/Banatski
Karlovac Established April 27, 1945; it also
contained children and old people until October
1945, when they were transferred to the liquidation
camp Rudolfsgnad. At Karlsdorf 1,000 occupants,
including 400 documented by name, died of
starvation. Fischplatz at
Pantschowa/Pancevo This camp was established
November 1944 and dissolved February 22, 1948. The
conditions in the overcrowded barracks were
horrible and led to diseases and epidemics. The
commander, a cruel female named Radojka, indulged
in torturing the defenseless victims. Banat-Brestowatz/Banatski
Brestovac November 1944 - early 1948. This camp
contained, among many others, several thousand
inhabitants of the city of Pantschowa, unable to
work, until October 1945, when they were shipped to
the liquidation camp Rudolfsgnad. Seidenfabrik at
Kubin/Kovin Towards the end of 1944, after
termination of the murderous "Aktion
Intelligenzija," this silk spinning mill was made
into the central camp for the surrounding
communities. It contained about 600 detainees.
Mramorak By the end of
April 1945, all those inhabitants of Mramorak not
yet interned, were put into several houses,
together with children, ill and old people from the
surrounding area. Beginning November 1945, they
were all shipped to the liquidation camp
Rudolfsgnad. Neusatz/Novi Sad
Already in November 1944, the notorious central
camp Neusatz was the first of its kind established
on the swampy banks of the Danube River in the
South-Batschka. Initially it contained
able-bodied men and women from the South Batschka
region. After additional central camps were
created, it became the main "trading center" for
this modern slave-trade and engaged in a continuous
exchange of inmates with other central and
liquidation camps. The sick ones were shipped to
the liquidation camps and exchanged for still
somehow usable workers. From here, many were
selected for the deportation to Russia at Christmas
1944. Even though the camp had a
steady occupation of 2,000, it consisted only of
two windowless barracks and a notorious "bunker" of
six square meters. For even the slightest trespass,
inmates were thrown into the waterlogged structure.
For many the long ordeal of standing in the water
was fatal. The numerous mistreatments
and murders without court proceedings, even though
the war was over, induced Dr. Wilhelm Neuner,
formerly Oberlandesgericht Präsident
(equivalent to president of a state appeals court)
and also internee at the camp, to send written
complaints to the ministry of the interior at
Belgrade. These complaints were secretly smuggled
out of the camp. For his courageous actions he was
locked into the "bunker." He then was passed from
camp to camp, but continued his written complaints
and was eventually expelled to Hungary. The camp is
said to have been closed during the last days of
March 1948, when its occupancy was down to about
400. There are no records of how many of the
inmates perished. Palanka/Backa Palanka
The central camp Palanka was set up in November
1944, containing 14-15 year old boys and 60-70 year
old, able-bodied men from its surrounding area.
Eventually it grew to an average of 600 internees.
Sombor The town of
Sombor, as already mentioned in a previous chapter,
turned out to be the "turn-table" for the
persecution, internment and murder of the Germans
in the West-Batschka. It was established in
November 1944 and also had jurisdiction of the
central camps Hodschag, Apatin and Filipowa.
Thousands of ethnic Germans
were stuffed into the lice-infested barracks, often
mistreated, insufficiently fed and forced to work
weekdays as well as Sundays. Whoever became sick
was immediately sent to the death-camp Gakowa which
was established on March 12, 1945. The first camp
commander was Rajko, the second one Dusan Kurepa.
Both were cruel sadists, the second one even worse;
he personally committed at least thirteen murders.
He sent for his vietims, nearly beat them to death
and then cut their throat. The camp was one of the
last to be closed sometime in March 1948.
Apatin This town was
originally inhabited by 12,000 Germans. During the
winter the local camp, under the overall
jurisdiction of Sombor, suffered from starvation.
The camp commander, Mito Volic was particularly
cruel. His deputy, Milivoj Beljanski from Sombor
took girls from the camp into his apartment and
raped them. Later he was demoted and dismissed. His
successor tied women to trees, whipped them until
they became unconscious and threw them naked into
the cellar. His specialty was to electrify naked
women's breasts and genitals. Hodschag/Odzaci This
camp too, fulfilled its purpose, particularly in
the investigation and persecution of members of the
"Kulturbund" (cultural society). Those arrested
were never seen again. Filipowa/Backi Gracac
Because the liquidation camps Gakowa and Kruschiwl
were overflowing by mid-1945, this camp was opened
between mid-June to mid-October 1945 for
able-bodied, as well as those unable to work, of
the Hodschag area. In this short time about 250
perished due to starvation and epidemic diseases.
By about October 1945, about 2,000 had died of
starvation at Gakowa and since there were now
openings those unable to work at Filipowa were
shipped to Gakowa. Seidenfabrik at
Werbass/Vrbas Towards the end of 1945 this
former silk factory was established as a central
camp for the Germans of the Middle-Batschka. It
also had jurisdiction over the relatively large
work camps at Tschervenka, Kula and Weprowatz. The
conditions there were worse than in a prison. Since
there was no more work to be done in the fields as
of December 1946, the camp commander made the
inmates stand in formation from 5 to 11 o'clock
during the bitter cold winter mornings. Then he let
them sit till evening in the court yard. The camp
was most likely dissolved the beginning of 1948.
Sekitsch/Lovcenac This
used to be an entirely German community at the
eastern edge of the German settlements and in
January 1945 was transformed into a central camp
for about 6,000 Germans. In October 1945 it was
reduced to 1,500 inmates and was functioning as a
work camp. Most of the rest were taken to the
liquidation camps of Gakowa and Kruschiwl at about
the time their inmates were dying in great numbers.
Before they were shipped they were searched once
more and deprived of their last miserable
belongings. They even had to exchange any still
somewhat useful clothing they wore for torn rags.
Stärkefabrik at
Subotica This former starch factory was most
likely converted into a central forced labor camp
by the middle of November 1944. The 4,000 inmates
were mostly Germans who earlier had fled to Hungary
but tried to return to their homes after cessation
of the war. Upon crossing the border from Hungary
they were immediately robbed of all their
belongings. According to reports, devastating
typhus epidemics raged throughout the camp. It was
most likely dissolved in January 1948. Kalvaria at
Semlin/Zemun After the murderous stations in
the villages India and Ruma were transformed into
work camps, the central camp established on the
Kalvarienberg (Kalvarien mountain) was apparently
the only one of this kind. According to Hans Volk,
it was a barracks area 100m x 200m, fenced in by
high barbed wire. The inmates were Germans from the
town of Semlin and the few Germans that did not
flee from the eastern part of Syrmia. They had to
sleep on bare wooden cots and forced to perform
hard labor from 3 a.m. till late at night. They
were repeatedly and mercilessly beaten. The food
was hardly any better than in the death camps. In
the morning watery soup with some ground corn
(maize), at noon soup with a few rotten potatoes or
wormy peas and evenings whatever was left over from
noon, with a slice of corn bread, without fat or
salt - the same fare as in other camps. The central
camp Semlin was evacuated in August/September 1945.
As Hans Volk recalled, there were only about 150
men and 60 women that survived. These were shipped
to the work camp in the nearby Beschania and in
November 1945 after this one was also shut down,
transferred to the death camp Mitrowitz.
Hans Volk was present when,
on April 12, 1945, 660 men from the Kalvarienberg
camp were picked to repair the railroad line
Belgrad-Slawonisch Brod. This notorious
construction probably lasted till May 16, 1945,
about five weeks (including travel time to and from
the construction sites). The food supply was
completely inadequate and the work period
punctuated by almost incredible killing episodes.
Here are some excerpts from
Hans Volk's eye-witness report: "Daily several
people passed away; on the way to Slakovci twelve
sick were sorted out, shot and buried. When we
moved on towards Semlin and arrived there on May
25, 112 out of 660 men were already dead and 20
more died during the following 2 days." Georg König, another
eye-witness from Filipowa commenting on the fate of
an 82-year old who could no longer walk well: "The
partisans grabbed him, threw him into a lime pit
were he burned, still being alive. Whoever could no
longer walk was thrown into the ditch and beaten to
death. About 20 men broke down, and were brutally
beaten with carbines. I had to cover the graves of
the dead and still alive, stomp on them and listen
to the moaning of the ones still alive. The two
partisans then agreed that the sick and weak should
be beaten to death. Thus, about 8 o'clock in the
morning of May 2, 17 men were beaten to death with
axes. From 480 men there were only 120 still alive.
While we were 480 on April 20, only 71 were left on
May 8." |