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"Völkermord der
Tito-Partisanen" 1944-1948
"Genocide Carried out by the Tito Partisans"
Österreichische
Historiker-Arbeitsgemeinschaft Für Kärnten und Steiermark,
1992
(Austrian Historian Working
Group for Kärnten & Steiermark)
Translated &
Contributed by
Henry Fischer.
Edited &
Published at
dvhh.org by
Jody McKim, Sep.
2006
Chapter 1
| Chapter 2 |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Syrem,
Slavonia,
Barany :
The Cauldron
Syrem
When the Beasts
Ruled “Whoever cannot
work will not be
allowed to live”
Semlin
The German
population in
Srem and
Slavonia was
scattered and
isolated and
lived among
Croats and Serbs
who formed a
majority in the
mixed
communities in
which many of
them lived. But
alongside of
them were large
and
overwhelmingly
German
communities,
like Ruma,
Indija, Pasua,
Franztal,
Sarwasch and
Sotin and
several others,
while in most
communities in
Srem and the
eastern portion
of the Slavonia
there were large
German
populations.
During the
Second World
War, both
regions were
part of the
Independent
State of
Croatia.
The
relationships
between the
Serbs and the
Croats during
the time of the
so-called
Independent
State of Croatia
were stretched
to the limits.
As long as the
situation
permitted the
German
population in
Srem sided with
the Serbs in the
face of actions
taken against
them by the
Croats. Indija
is not the only
example, in
which the home
defense forces
of the German
population came
to the defense
of the Serbs and
prevented a
bloodbath. The
relationships
between the
Germans and both
the Serbs and
Croats over the
previous century
had always been
very positive.
In the past they
had not
intervened or
become involved
in the quarrels
and arguments
between the two
groups, and let
them work things
out amongst
themselves.
They were always
friends of both,
and enemies of
neither.
Throughout
the war, both
Srem and
Slavonia
experienced
ongoing raids
and stronger and
stronger attacks
by the Partisans
directed against
the Croatian and
German troops.
But the
Partisans did
not hesitate to
include the
local civilian
populations in
the conflict.
Their bestial
treatment of the
innocent
civilians who
fell into their
hands was a
clear indication
of what the
local
populations
could expect if
the Partisans
ever came to
power if there
was no one to
curb them and
hold them back
from committing
ongoing
atrocities.
They acted with
excessive
brutality of a
satanic nature
during the
entire war,
against the
Serbian,
Croatian and
German civilian
populations who
did not support
and stand by
them, and did so
with displays of
gruesome
bestiality. The
Serbian
Royalists had to
suffer as much
as the Croatians
and the Germans.
Because of
what they had
learned and
experienced
during the war
years, the vast
majority of the
German
population left
their homeland
in the fall of
1944, knowing
that they would
be helpless and
defenseless
against the
Communist
Partisans and
would have to
face
unimaginable
horrors at their
hands. How
accurate they
actually were in
their assessment
of the situation
was soon to be
proven true.
From the very
first days of
rule by the
Partisans the
German
population was
herded together
and the majority
of them were
immediately
shot. But these
mass shootings
in Srem and
Slavonia were
not the equal of
some of the
gruesome and
greater
atrocities that
the later labour
camp inmates
would have to
suffer.
Semlin-on-the-Danube
across the river
from Belgrade on
the other side
of the Sava,
through the
incorporation of
surrounding
villages had a
very large
German
population.
Already in
October of 1944
by order of the
Partisan Ruling
Council a
concentration
camp was erected
there. Several
thousands of the
German civilians
were brought
here over a
brief period of
time. The vast
majority came
from the
Batschka and the
Banat. The camp
consisted of
four barracks,
three of which
were occupied by
men and one by
women. With
even less daily
nutrition than
the slave
labourers in the
Batschka and the
Banat, they were
set at hard
labour every
day. Many of
them, who were
too weak or sick
to work, were
beaten or shot
to death. One
of the inmates
in this camp
informs us:
“We were
brought to
Belgrade on
ships from
Pantschowa. Our
group consisted
of men from
various
communities in
the Banat:
Karlsdorf,
Werschetz,
Kovin, Mramorak,
Franzfeld, etc.
We were taken on
foot from
Belgrade to
Semlin. On our
way we were
often beaten
with rifle buts
in our ribs.
Whoever could
not keep up, was
beaten. Weaker
men threw away
their backpacks
in order to keep
up with the
others in order
to avoid being
beaten or put to
death. On our
way we ran into
a column of
wagons, which
had license
plates denoting
various villages
in the Banat.
They were loaded
with furniture,
household items,
bedding and such
heading for
Belgrade, even
though
everywhere you
turned you could
read notices on
walls that
stated, “We do
not need the
belongings of
strangers, nor
do we want
them.” After a
short period of
waiting in front
of a command
station, we were
led into the
Camp Kalvaria
(Calvary). It
was ten o’clock
when we set foot
in the camp and
there and then
we were driven
into a barrack
like cattle, in
which all of us
could not stand
upright nor
could we sit
down to rest.
During that
night,
everything they
had not already
taken away from
us was now
confiscated.
The next day we
were led to the
airport to
work. While we
working at the
airport
everything that
we had managed
to save and hide
in our backpacks
all
disappeared.
All we had left
was what we were
wearing. At the
airport we had
to remove
debris, while
others were
taken to the
docks to load or
unload ships.
It often
happened that
entire work
parties received
no food or
rations in spite
of doing hard
labour all day.
At evening we
got watery bean,
potato or pea
soup, and 40 to
45 Decograms of
bread daily.
During the
nights we had to
dig ditches in
two shifts. For
those who had no
implements, they
had to use their
bare hands to
carry the earth
some 100
meters. One of
the shifts
worked from the
time they
returned to the
camp from
working outside
until midnight,
and were then
replaced by the
other shift.
But often both
shifts had to
work through the
night. Whoever
could no longer
go on working
and received a
slip from the
doctor, was
allowed to rest
for a day in the
camp clinic.
Until the end of
March the camp
was without a
doctor. His
function was
carried out by a
Partisan, who
was in charge of
the
brutalization
and
mistreatement of
the prisoners,
and the shooting
of prisoners,
which he both
organized and
carried out. He
loved to be
called “Doctor,”
and would make
the decision
whether a person
was sick or
not. Every few
days, the sick
who were in the
clinic were sent
to the
“Hospital” in
Belgrade. They
had to make
their way to
Belgrade on foot
in the evening.
Those who were
unable to go on,
were helped by
the others and
dragged along
with them as
best as they
could. They
were taken about
100 meters from
the camp and
shot there.
These actions
were always
under the
direction of the
“Doctor”. In
such actions,
Martin Berger of
Karlsdorf and
Jakob Kuhn of
Weisskirchen
lost their
lives.
A Gypsy
family with an
eighteen year
old son lived in
close proximity
to the airport.
He came and
visited the
airport on a
daily basis, and
he was allowed
to choose any
man from among
the prisoners
and beat him
with a cane for
as long as he
wanted. If any
of the other
prisoners turned
around so as not
to witness this
brutality, he
would be the
next to endure a
beating. If any
man hesitated,
or spoke out
against this
punishment was
forced to kneel
and place his
hands behind his
back and was
then beaten with
the rifle buts
of the
sentries. On
one occasion,
when one man had
already received
several blows
from the rifle
buts, attempted
to ward off the
next blow by
raising his
hands against
the offender.
His hands were
immediately
chained behind
his back and
later in the
night and on the
following day he
was gruesomely
mistreated and
abused. Every
bone in his
hands and feet
were broken. In
the following
night all of the
prisoners were
forced to
assemble. By
order of the
Camp commander
one of the
Partisans
stepped forward
and shot the man
lying on the
ground beaten,
bloodied and
moaning
pathetically.
He was buried in
the vicinity of
the camp yard.
On February
12th, a labour
group of some
six hundred men
was assembled
and force
marched in the
direction of
Mitrowitz. On
their way they
were joined by
another four
hundred men from
Apatin who were
working on the
railway line
from Schid-Vodjinci.
They had to
carry the heavy
steel train
tracks wherever
they were
required.
This meant that
they carried
them for at
least six
hundred to
fifteen hundred
meters. Whoever
could not keep
up was shot.
The first few
days, the men
received
absolutely
nothing to eat.
A few days later
they received a
quarter liter of
pea soup and 10
Decagrams of
bread.
Everything
lacked salt.
The ration was
increased later
to a half liter
of pea or bean
soup, and 30 to
40 Decagrams of
bread, but both
the peas and
beans were hard
and
indigestible.
After a short
time, all of the
men had serious
cases of
dysentery,
working in
extreme heat and
drinking
excessively,
they weakened
physically to
the point that
it was life
threatening for
many of them, so
that on May 16th
the work
assignment
ended, because
there were no
longer even
fifty men who
were capable of
any work. Of
the four hundred
men from Apatin,
three hundred
and thirty-nine
of them were
sent back to
Apatin on April
27th. But on
the next day at
the railway
station at
Slankovici,
twelve of the
sick men were
shot. Among
them was the
sixty year old
Michael Fraus of
Zychidorf. Of
the group, who
had come from
the Semlin camp
the survivors
returned to
Semlin, but
without one
hundred and
twelve of their
fellow prisoners
who had been
either shot or
beaten to death.
On May
29th, three
hundred of the
men who had lost
the capacity to
do any further
work were
transferred to
the internment
camp at Jarek in
the Batschka.
They were mostly
the men who had
worked on
railway
construction.
In
September of
1945 the camp at
Semlin was
closed and the
inmates were all
sent to
Mitrotwitz.
All of the
men who had
spent several
months in the
Semlin Camp,
aged
dramatically in
a very short
period of time,
so that they
were
unrecognizable
to their
families. Young
men in a short
time looked like
aged men, and
most of them had
lost almost all
of their teeth.
From Semlin and
Mitrowitz only
human wrecks
returned, at
whose sight it
was apparent
what they had
endured.
Ruma
Before the
war, there were
over ten
thousand Germans
living in Ruma.
The community,
which was
located in one
of the most
beautiful of all
of the regions
of Srem formed
the center of
the German
settlement in
the area. No
sooner had the
Partisans set up
their military
government on
October 25, 1944
when they began
the roundup of
the local German
population
throughout the
area and began
to liquidate
them. They
dragged off the
German
populations from
Nikintzi,
Grabovtzi,
Kraljevtzi,
Hrtkovitzi,
Ptintzi, Wrdnik
and many other
villages herding
them to an
assembly area,
and not only the
men, but the
women and
children as
well. They were
all imprisoned
in the Hrvatski
Cathedral at
first. Then
they had to
undress until
they were naked,
and left their
clothes behind
and were marched
out to the
brickyards where
ditches had been
dug, and as each
group arrived
they were shot.
The next batch
to be executed
had to lie down
on top of the
corpses of the
group just
executed before
them. Those who
protested or
refused to
co-operate were
bayoneted to
death and thrown
into the pit.
Many were
severely wounded
when they were
thrown in. They
were still alive
and cried out
and moaned as
the next group
lay on top of
them and
suffocated
them. About
2,800 Germans
died in this way
on the first
day. Many other
Germans from the
vicinity were
also shot
individually,
stabbed or
beaten to death.
Mitrowitz
In the city
of Mitrowitz
located in Srem,
there was only a
small German
minority that
lived among the
Croatian
population. But
close to the
city there were
numerous
communities,
among which
Germans formed
the vast
majority of the
population,
while some of
the villages
were entirely
German. It was
here in
Mitrowitz where
the Partisans
set up an
internment camp
in the local
silk factory,
which would
become the most
gruesome of all
of the Partisan
installations.
This was
especially true
in terms of the
high death rate
in this
facility. By
the beginning of
December 1945
there were at
least two
thousands
persons interned
here. In April
of 1946, only
four hundred and
fifty were still
living. In the
first half of
the month of
January, there
were days when
twenty four
persons died of
starvation. On
December 15th,
sixty-nine women
from Betschmann
were brought to
the camp in
Mitrowitz. By
mid-February
only eleven of
them were still
alive. On
January 6, 1946
there were still
sixty-four women
from Sekitsch.
By April they
had all perished
except for
twelve. Of one
hundred and
fifty children
who were still
alive in
November 1945,
by April in 1946
they numbered
less than
fifty. When the
inmates of the
Semlin Camp were
brought to
Mitrowitz in
December 1945,
there were
seventeen men
from Karlsdorf.
In March of the
next year,
thirteen of them
had already
died. Enormous
were the numbers
who were shot
and beaten to
death by the
Partisans.
Twenty alone
were victims of
abuse and
mistreatment.
The Partisans
were not
prepared to wait
for people to
simply die on
their own. In
the early
evenings they
were taken out
of the camp to
the banks of the
Sava River,
where they were
shot and their
bodies were
thrown into the
river. Every
time they took
groups away like
that they were
always told they
were being taken
to a hospital.
The high death
rate was due to
the inhumane
mistreatment the
prisoners
experienced, but
above all it was
the lack of
nutrition. For
a long time,
there was only
soup twice a day
with only a
trace of grain.
But on Christmas
Day of 1945 they
were only given
soup once.
There were
months when they
received no
bread at all.
When there was
bread it was
only a small
chunk of corn
bread. The camp
was hermetically
sealed at all
times.
Even in
1946, long after
the war was
over, the camp
officials for no
reason at all
continued to
order the death
of German
civilians in
their hands.
They
demonstrated
special
brutality in the
butchering of
the German
physician, Dr.
Franz Ehrlich
and his helper
the nurse known
as Sister Juli
in September of
1946. Dr.
Ehrlich, in his
position as camp
doctor had the
duty to keep
medical records
of all of the
inmates,
recording their
illnesses and
the causes of
their deaths.
He did all of
this
conscientiously
and truthfully,
and if someone
died of
starvation he
recorded it as
such, and if a
prisoner was
beaten to death
by a Partisan he
reported it as
such. Because
of this he
greatly angered
the camp
commander who
then threatened
him. He was
instructed to
record other
illnesses as the
causes of
death. But the
doctor refused
to do so and
continued to
record the
truth. In
response the
commander
ordered that his
assistant, the
nurse, Sister
Juli a nineteen
year old from
Ruma be thrown
into the
punishment
bunker. She was
a very beautiful
young woman.
During the
night, the
commandant went
to the bunker
and raped her.
At her request,
Dr. Ehlers
examined her the
next day and he
noted the crime
in his medical
records.
Because of that
he was ordered
to appear before
the commandant,
who asked him to
change his
records. Dr.
Ehrlich refused
to do so. He
would not
falsify the
truth. He would
not lie.
Immediately
following his
interview, he
was taken out of
the camp that
evening. At the
same time the
young nurse,
Sister Juli was
also taken. The
two of them were
dragged to the
banks of the
Sava River.
There they were
tortured in
frightful ways
and then towards
morning they
were butchered
with knives.
Their bodies
were thrown into
the Sava. But
the bodies did
not float away,
but remained
there by the
river bank.
Their corpses
had been
decapitated.
Serbian
civilians had
witnessed this
massacre.
In the
spring of 1947,
the inmates of
the camp were
transferred to
Jarek where they
were housed in
an old
warehouse. From
among the many
thousands who
had been in the
camp at
Mitrowitz only
four hundred had
survived.
Vukovar
Vukovar was
an important
Croatian city
with a large
German
minority. The
city was
occupied by the
Partisans on
April 12,1945.
On the very same
day, the
Partisans
arrested all of
the leading
personalities if
the area,
including the
teachers Michael
Paitz, Jakob
Kiefer and
Leonhardt
Baumgartner.
The arrested men
were immediately
shot. Their
liquidation was
announced
publicly the
next day to the
entire
population. The
next day a new
series of
arrests and
imprisonments
began. As a
result one
hundred and
twenty men
simply
disappeared.
They were shot
in the former
German military
camp grounds
trenches. Among
the victims that
day were the
most important
officials in the
city, which
included
Matthias
Schreckeis and
the mayor, Ing.
Turk. Fathers
of some of the
Partisans were
shot that day.
Three of them
were driven on
foot and forced
to cross a
minefield that
tore them all
apart with their
explosions. On
the same day the
plundering of
homes and
properties
began. Anything
the Partisans
wanted they
took. On one of
the following
days Martin
Muller and
Martin Hutz were
publicly
executed
standing up
against a wall
and shot by a
Partisan
formation. It
was reported
that guns had
been found in
their
possession, one
hidden in a
wheelbarrow and
the other buried
in the garden.
In truth neither
of them had any
arms nor had
they tried to
hide them. The
finding of the
guns was only a
ruse. On April
16th
all of the
inhabitants of
the city had to
report and
indicate their
nationality.
The intention of
the registration
was revealed on
April 24th,
when all persons
who had claimed
to be German,
had to leave
their homes and
Vukovar that
day. A portion
of those being
expelled from
the city were
led down to the
Danube and put
on ships and
sent to
Palanka. The
group consisted
of young mothers
with children
and old women.
From Palanka
they were driven
on foot to Jarek
heading for the
internment camp
there. The pace
of the march had
to be maintained
by everyone or
they were
beaten. One
woman who could
no longer go on,
was beaten and
shoved about by
the Partisans,
and fell into a
ditch and broke
her leg.
Without any
consideration
for her
condition she
had to come
along and
maintain the
pace of the
march. She was
helped along by
some of the
others. Without
counting the
children, there
were sixty-two
persons in this
group when they
arrived in Jarek
on May 1st.
After three and
one half months
only six of them
were still
alive.
The second,
and much larger
group of the
expellees from
Vukovar on April
24th
were taken to
the Ovtschara-Puszta
of Count Elz.
There were one
hundred and
sixty persons in
this group. At
the end of May
they were driven
on foot to
Jarek.
A third
group of those
expelled on
April 24th
were taken to
the Czech
College on the
Danube. Not
counting the
children, there
were some two
hundred
persons. They
would be the
third group to
be sent to Jarek
later.
Another
group made up of
able bodied
women and men
were assembled
and were taken
to Mitrowitz and
Schid to work on
railway
construction.
They numbered
two hundred
persons. After
some time,
almost worked to
death and unable
to work any
further they
were also
brought to
Jarek. But the
vast majority of
them had
succumbed and
become victims
while they were
in Mitrowitz.
Only a few
individuals
survived and
came to Jarek.
Of four brothers
who had been
sent to
Mitrowitz only
one came to
Jarek and he
died four days
after his
arrival.
On August 7th
another
sixty-two
persons in
Vukovar were
driven out of
their homes.
They were
individuals who
had claimed to
be Croatians,
even though they
had German
names. About
forty of them
were brought to
Jarek, and
twenty were sent
to Valpovo.
Only a few of
them from
Valpovo arrived
in Jarek the
next year.
Again in
November another
forty persons
were taken to
Valpovo. From
among them only
a few
individuals were
able to
survive.
On January
4th
an additional
sixty persons
were driven out
of their homes
and were driven
to Valpovo.
Among them was
the 76 year old
Elisabeth
Kleiber the
benefactress of
the community.
Years before she
had established
a large
children's’
orphanage at her
own expense and
continued to
support and
maintain it. At
the time she was
expelled she was
living in the
orphanage and
had entrusted
all of her
estate to its
future. This
kind and
generous woman,
the friend of
the poor, was
dragged off to
Valpovo, where
she would die.
When the camp at
Jarek was closed
and the
survivors were
sent on to the
camp at
Kruschevlje, of
the hundreds of
Germans from
Vukovar who had
been brought to
Jarek, only
twelve persons
were among
them. All of
the others had
perished.
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