Execution of hostages at Deliblato. On 2 October 1941, on the Topola–Kragujevac road, at a place called Svetinja (between Vlakča and Čumić), the I Battalion of the I Šumadija Partisan Detachment ambushed and smashed a supply column of the 521st Army Signal Regiment (three cargo trucks and two passenger cars with about 40 men, members of the 3rd and 4th companies). There were 22 German soldiers killed (13 of them were shot as prisoners, including two wounded men) and the vehicles were torched. The next day, a search unit (composed of members of the 749th and 724th infantry regiments) arrived at the clash scene. The German soldiers' corpses were found in their underwear, looted and disfigured (however, the autopsy failed to establish whether the body injuries were caused by mutilation or combat). The unit shot 26 Serbs on the spot (random passers-by and hostages previously forced to help transfer the dead Germans) and torched three houses (in Vlakča). A day later (4 October), the commanding general (Franz Böhme) ordered that 100 hostages (Communists and Jews) were to be shot for every German soldier killed. The reprisals were to be carried out by the same unit that suffered losses, that is, the 521st Army Signal Regiment (the 3rd and 4th companies). (This time, instead of the usual "ready – aim – fire", the firing squad commands were: "Ready – aim – avenge!") The firing squad was made up of volunteers; according to the squad commander, Lieutenant Walter Liepe (the commander of the 3rd company), more volunteered than needed. Jews and Roma from the Šabac and Belgrade concentration camps were taken as hostages. The first shooting took place on 9 October, in a forest near Deliblato, at a place called Čardak. The day was beautiful and sunny, and the men were in a good mood. The hostages (all taken from the Belgrade camp), who were told that they were going to work, were happy to leave the camp, while the young Germans were even happier about shooting them. (One of the former members of the 3rd company stated after the war that when he returned to Belgrade from his leave, during those days, his comrades greeted him saying: "Are you attending the shooting of the Jews?") All the hostages were given shovels, in an attempt to conceal the true reason for taking them into the forest and avoid panic. They were put to work at 8 km from the execution site, and then they were taken in smaller groups to death. They dug their graves themselves (the Germans did not want to get their hands dirty) and went to their deaths peacefully. Having successfully completed the job, the German soldiers returned satisfied to their quarters (Lieutenant Liepe's statement). The Germans did not bother to bury the corpses – they left them to rot in half-open pits until they were buried by local policemen and Roma, due to the stench and danger of infection. (In June 1944, when the German occupation of Serbia was slowly coming to an end, the Germans returned to the crime scene and burned the victims' remains. Again, they kept their hands clean: the burning itself was carried out by the Roma.) During the first shooting, Liepe's squad killed 180 men. (On the memorial that was erected at the crime scene after the war, there is an incorrect number of victims: 430 Jews, instead of 180 Jews and Roma. The mistake was due to inaccurate statements and speculation by local semi-eyewitnesses.) During the second shooting, which took place on 11 October in the vicinity of Belgrade, 269 men were killed. Having shot "only" 449 of the 2200 hostages, the firing squad had to suspend further executions, due to its primary duties. In his report, Lieutenant Liepe added – "unfortunately"! The shooting of the remaining hostages was to be carried out by the 449th Mountain Corps Signal Battalion. (It is not known whether the battalion completed the task, but the German military authorities in Serbia certainly did continue exterminating the Jewish people; only eight months later, in June 1942, the chief of the Security Police, Dr Schäfer, reported to his superiors in Berlin: "Serbia is free of Jews!")
Text: Ivan Ž.
Photographer: Gerhard Baier, 690th Propaganda Company.
Date: 9 October 1941.
Location: Deliblato (district of Kovin), Yugoslavia.
Original caption: unknown.
Sources: ECPAD, DAT 3694 L33; Walter Manoschek, Holokaust u Srbiji – Vojna okupaciona politika i uništavanje Jevreja 1941–1942 (trans. Agnes Eremija et al.), Službeni list SRJ, Draslar partner, Beograd, 2007, pp. 86–97, 185; Die Verfolgung und Ermordung der europäischen Juden durch das nationalsozialistische Deutschland 1933–1945, De Gruyter Oldenbourg, Berlin, 2017, vol. XIV, pp. 383–385; Zbornik dokumenata i podataka o narodnooslobodilačkom ratu jugoslovenskih naroda, Vojnoistorijski institut, Beograd, 1949, vol. I, bk 1, pp. 480–481, 632, 668; ibid., 1965, vol. I, bk 20, pp. 105–106; Drago Njegovan (prir.), Zločini okupatora i njihovih pomagača u Vojvodini, Prometej, Malo istorijsko društvo, Novi Sad, 2011, bk 3, pp. 208–209; "Deliblato", CIEH – CHRE. (Photo restoration: Ivan Ž.)
NOT ALLOWED: removing source credits from the files; using text without crediting the original author; using files and information for political propaganda and commercial purposes.
Pogubljenje talaca kod Deliblata. Dana 2. oktobra 1941. godine, na putu Topola–Kragujevac, na mestu zvanom Svetinja (između Vlakče i Čumića), I bataljon I šumadijskog partizanskog odreda napao je iz zasede i razbio kolonu za snabdevanje 521. armijskog puka veze (tri teretna kamiona i dva putnička automobila sa četrdesetak ljudi, pripadnika 3. i 4. čete). Ubijena su 22 nemačka vojnika (13 ih je streljano po zarobljavanju, uključujući i dva ranjenika), a vozila su spaljena. Sledećeg dana, na mesto okršaja stigao je jedan odred za potragu (sastavljen od pripadnika 749. i 724. pešadijskog puka). Leševi nemačkih vojnika nađeni su u donjem vešu, opljačkani i unakaženi (obdukcijom, međutim, nije utvrđeno da li su povrede na telima nastale sakaćenjem, ili u borbi). Odred je na licu mesta streljao 26 Srba (slučajnih prolaznika i talaca prethodno primoranih da prenose mrtve Nemce) i spalio tri kuće (u Vlakči). Dan kasnije (4. oktobra), komandujući general (Franc Beme) naređuje da se za svakog ubijenog nemačkog vojnika ima streljati 100 talaca (komunista i Jevreja). Odmazdu treba da izvrši jedinica koja je pretrpela gubitke, odnosno 521. armijski puk veze (3. i 4. četa). (Umesto uobičajenog "puške na gotovs – pali", komanda pri streljanju ovog puta je glasila: "Puške na gotovs – sveti se!") Streljački vod je sastavljen od dobrovoljaca; prema izjavi komandira voda, poručnika Valtera Lipea (inače komandira 3. čete), prijavilo ih se više nego što je bilo potrebno. Za taoce su uzeti Jevreji i Romi iz koncentracionih logora u Šapcu i Beogradu. Prvo streljanje izvršeno je 9. oktobra, u šumi blizu Deliblata, na mestu zvanom Čardak. Dan je bio lep i sunčan, a ljudstvo dobro raspoloženo. Taoci (svi pokupljeni iz beogradskog logora), kojima je rečeno da idu na rad, bili su srećni što napuštaju logor, dok su se mladi Nemci još više radovali njihovom streljanju. (Jedan od bivših pripadnika 3. čete izjavio je posle rata da su ga drugovi, kada se tih dana vratio u Beograd sa odsustva, bili pozdravili rečima: "Ideš li na streljanje Jevreja?") Svim taocima podeljene su lopate, ne bi li se prikrio pravi razlog njihovog odvođenja u šumu i izbegla panika. Upošljeni su na 8 km od mesta streljanja, a potom su u manjim grupama odvođeni u smrt. Svoje grobove iskopali su sami (Nemci nisu želeli da prljaju svoje ruke) i u smrt su otišli mirno. Po uspešno obavljenom poslu, nemački vojnici su se zadovoljno vratili u kasarnu (izjava poručnika Lipea). Nemci se nisu trudili da zakopavaju leševe – ostavili su ih da trule u poluotvorenim rakama sve dok ih, zbog smrada i opasnosti od zaraze, nisu pokopali lokalni policajci i Romi. (Juna 1944. godine, kada se polako bližio kraj nemačkoj okupaciji Srbije, Nemci su se vratili na mesto zločina i spalili ostatke žrtava. Ni ovog puta nisu prljali ruke: samo spaljivanje izvršili su Romi.) Pri prvom streljanju, Lipeov vod je ubio 180 ljudi. (Na spomeniku koji je posle rata podignut na mestu zločina napisan je pogrešan broj žrtava: 430 Jevreja, umesto 180 Jevreja i Roma. Do greške je došlo usled netačnih izjava i nagađanja domaćih polu-očevidaca.) Pri drugom streljanju, koje je izvršeno 11. oktobra u okolini Beograda, ubijeno je 269 ljudi. Pobivši "samo" 449 od 2200 talaca, streljački vod je, zbog svojih primarnih dužnosti, morao da obustavi dalja pogubljenja. Poručnik Lipe u svom izveštaju dodaje – "nažalost"! Streljanje preostalih talaca trebalo je da izvrši 449. brdskokorpusni bataljon veze. (Nije poznato da li je bataljon izvršio ovaj zadatak, ali nemačke vojne vlasti u Srbiji svakako jesu nastavile istrebljivanje jevrejskog naroda; samo osam meseci kasnije, juna 1942. godine, šef policije bezbednosti, dr Šefer, raportirao je nadređenima u Berlinu: "Srbija je očišćena od Jevreja!")
Tekst: Ivan Ž.
Fotograf: Gerhard Bajer, 690. propagandna četa.
Datum: 9. oktobar 1941.
Mesto: Deliblato (srez Kovinski), Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: nepoznat.
Izvori: ECPAD, DAT 3694 L33; Walter Manoschek, Holokaust u Srbiji – Vojna okupaciona politika i uništavanje Jevreja 1941–1942 (prev. Agnes Eremija et al.), Službeni list SRJ, Draslar partner, Beograd, 2007, str. 86–97, 185; Die Verfolgung und Ermordung der europäischen Juden durch das nationalsozialistische Deutschland 1933–1945, De Gruyter Oldenbourg, Berlin, 2017, tom XIV, str. 383–385; Zbornik dokumenata i podataka o narodnooslobodilačkom ratu jugoslovenskih naroda, Vojnoistorijski institut, Beograd, 1949, tom I, knj. 1, str. 480–481, 632, 668; ibid., 1965, tom I, knj. 20, str. 105–106; Drago Njegovan (prir.), Zločini okupatora i njihovih pomagača u Vojvodini, Prometej, Malo istorijsko društvo, Novi Sad, 2011, knj. 3, str. 208–209; "Deliblato", CIEH – CHRE. (Foto-restauracija: Ivan Ž.)
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