Axis occupation of Vojvodina

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The Occupation of Vojvodina (a region in modern Serbia) from 1941 to 1944 was carried out by Nazi Germany, Horthy's Hungary and Independent State of Croatia. During World War II, in 1941, Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Yugoslavia. The Vojvodina region was divided into three occupation zones: Banat was placed under direct German control, Bačka was attached to Horthy's Hungary and Syrmia was attached to the Independent State of Croatia. The occupation lasted until 1944, when the region came under control of the Soviet Red Army and Yugoslav partisans.

Overview

During the four years of occupation, the Axis forces committed numerous war crimes against civilian population: about 50,000 people in Vojvodina were murdered and about 280,000 were arrested, violated or tortured. The victims belonged to all ethnic groups that lived in Vojvodina, but the largest number of the victims was of Serb, Jewish, and Roma ethnicity.

The total number of the people killed by the occupants between 1941 and 1944 in the entire Vojvodina was 55,285, including:

18,193 people who were killed directly
19,004 people who were sent to concentration camps and killed there
4,168 people who were sent to forced labour and killed there
3,286 people who were mobilized and later killed
10,634 killed members of the resistance movement

Victims in Bačka

The total number of the killed people in Bačka was 19,573, including:

6,177 people who were killed directly
8,027 people who were sent to concentration camps and killed there
2,179 people who were sent to forced labour and killed there
1,516 people who were mobilized and later killed
1,674 killed members of the resistance movement

Of the total number of the victims (excluding the killed members of the resistance movement), 11,521 were men, 3,768 were women, 1,283 were old people, and 1,327 were children.

Victims in Banat

The total number of the killed people in Banat was 7,513, including:

2,211 people who were killed directly
1,294 people who were sent to concentration camps and killed there
1,498 people who were sent to forced labour and killed there
152 people who were mobilized and later killed
2,358 killed members of the resistance movement

Of the total number of the victims (excluding the killed members of the resistance movement), 4,010 were men, 631 were women, 243 were old people, and 271 were children.

Victims in Syrmia

The total number of the killed people in Syrmia was 28,199, including:

9,805 people who were killed directly
9,683 people who were sent to concentration camps and killed there
491 people who were sent to forced labour and killed there
1,618 people who were mobilized and later killed
6,602 killed members of the resistance movement

Of the total number of the victims (excluding the killed members of the resistance movement), 14,484 were men, 3,662 were women, 1,279 were old people, and 2,172 were children.

1942 raid

The most notable war crime was the mass murder of the civilians, mostly of Serb and Jewish ethnicity, performed by the Hungarian Axis troops in 1942 raid in southern Bačka. Total number of civilians killed in the raid was 3,808, while places that were affected by the raid include Novi Sad, Bečej, Vilovo, Gardinovci, Gospođinci, Đurđevo, Žabalj, Lok, Mošorin, Srbobran, Temerin, Titel, Čurug, and Šajkaš.

The victims included 2,578 ethnic Serbs, 1,068 Jews, 64 Roma, 31 Rusyns, 21 Hungarians, and 15 Russians.

Some Hungarian sources claimed that raid was organized by some disloyal Hungarian officers (lieutenant-general Ferenc Feketehalmy-Czeidner, major-general József Grassy, colonel László Deák and gendarmarie-captain Márton Zöldi), but it was proved that raid was well planed and organized by the highest military and political leaders of Hungary, including Ferenc Sombathelji (the chief of Hungarian army), Karolj Barta (the minister of defence), Ferenc Keresteš-Fišer (the minister of police), Dr. Laslo Bardoši (president of Hungarian government), and regent Miklos Horthy himself.

In 1943, the Hungarian leaders attempted to revive relations with western Allies, thus as part of such aims, Hungary organized a trial to several officers that were among those responsible for the raid. However, the officers were allowed to escape to Germany before their sentences were uttered, and no matter that court proved their guilt, their sentences were not uttered since they were not in the country. After the war, some of those responsible for the raid were tried again by the new communist government of Hungary (which sentenced them to death or to life in prison) and again in Yugoslavia, where they were sentenced to death again, and executed. László Deák and Miklos Horthy, who were also among those responsible for the raid, were never convicted.

Notes

Enciklopedija Novog Sada, Sveska 5, Novi Sad, 1996. (page 196)
^ Slobodan Ćurčić, Broj stanovnika Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 1996. (pages 42, 43)
Zvonimir Golubović, Racija u Južnoj Bačkoj, 1942. godine, Novi Sad, 1991. (pages 146, 147)
^ Ilona Edelsheim-Gyulai: Becsület és kötelesség, part I p.236 (Európa press, Budapest, 2001.) ISBN 963-07-6544-6
^ Miklós Horthy: Memoirs p. 235-236 ISBN 0966573439 (PDF)
Zvonimir Golubović, Racija u Južnoj Bačkoj, 1942. godine, Novi Sad, 1991. (page 194)
Zvonimir Golubović, Racija u Južnoj Bačkoj, 1942. godine, Novi Sad, 1991. (page 187)

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