Holocaust in Yugoslavia

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to illustrate the suffering of Jews in the Yugoslav territory during World War Two, based on a few pieces of information about each person killed.

Key words

Holocaust, Yugoslavia

Introduction

Of the 75,000 Jews living in the country before the war, about 60,000 perished in the Holocaust.[1] Excluding Germany and Russia, the relatively largest number of Jews was killed in Yugoslavia (80%), right after Poland (89.6%) and Slovakia (80.3%).

In April 1941, Yugoslavia was occupied and dismembered. The Independent State of Croatia (NDH) was created with the support from its allies Germany and Italy; Serbia and Slovenia were dismembered, and Germany, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria annexed parts of the Yugoslav territory.

In terms of chances of survival, the fate of Jews varied depending on the part of the territory of occupied Yugoslavia in which they lived.

Methodological problems

The paper relied on data from the Museum of Genocide Victims, Belgrade, the database of victims. When composing the database, a process which took almost two years, the author had an opportunity to pay close attention to each individual victim several times.

Data on each victim include one sentence stating the following: name, father’s name and surname, year of death, who the killer was (not always), where the victim was killed, place and manner of death (not always).

When examining the data on certain victims, the author realised that entries on some of the victims were duplicated when the entries were made due to one data that differed: the year of birth or death, the cause of death, the letters in the surname… We can label such errors as unintentional, occurring during the automatic approach to data processing. At the level of all data on victims, this was the case with around 10,000 entries, which is slightly more than 1% of the total number of victims.

When it comes to Jews, we may presume that the intention was to reduce the number of Jewish victims, given that the number of incorrect entries – where the nationality was incorrectly stated to be other than Jewish – was far above 1%, namely almost 10%.

These were mostly Jews in Zagreb (Croats), Belgrade (Serbs) and other major cities (Table 1).

Table 1: Jews in other nationalities

Croats	3.384
Serbs	764
Other	439
Slovenians	233
Hungarians	226
Muslims	33
Macedonians	27
Slovaks	6
Roma	4
Albanians	4
Turks	2
Total	5.122

 

It is possible (as suggested by the data on a much higher number of Jews killed than the number of Jews listed in the 1931 population census) that some of these are persons who converted from Judaism to either Catholicism or Orthodoxy. However, common liquidation sites in camps and by year suggest that this is very unlikely.

Statistical results

Data on the holocaust, based on the victims being classified under one of the possible criteria, are listed below.

Table 2 presents data on the total number of murdered Jews born in the territory of Yugoslavia. The dynamics of their suffering was dictated by the fate of Jews in occupied territories: most of the Jews from Serbia were liquidated in 1941, from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1942 (in Jasenovac and other NDH camps), from Macedonia in 1943, while Jews who were taken from Yugoslavia to Auschwitz and other German camps were killed in 1944 and 1945.

Jews also lost their lives during bombings, as well as in mass or individual shootings and in other manners for the entire duration of World War Two in Yugoslavia, as presented in Table 6.

Table 2: Statistics of Jews killed, presented by year, sex and age

By year
	Male	Female	Total
1941	7767	4.151	11.918
1942	9365	12.297	21.662
1943	5965	5.315	11.280
1944	3761	4.342	8.103
1945	2096	1.750	3.846
Total	28954	27855	56.809
By age
	Male	Female	Total
0 to 10	2756	2.507	5.263
11 to 20	3831	3.517	7.348
21 to 30	3701	3.406	7.107
31 to 40	4826	4.459	9.285
41 to 50	6663	6.713	13.376
51 to 60	3604	3.509	7.113
61 and over	3573	3.744	7.317

 

 

Data by age include an overestimated number of victims aged 41 to 50 and, consequently, an underestimated number of victims in all other age groups. For a large number of victims the year of birth was listed as 9999, which the author changed into 1900.

A certain number of children was rescued from Yugoslavia and sent to Israel either before the occupation or during the early period of occupation, via countries through which this could be organised. In this sense, it would be interesting to see the age composition of the 15,000 Jews from Yugoslavia who survived the war.

Table 3 shows the number of Jews killed by each occupied territory, but not by the perpetrator of the killings. Most of the murdered Jews were born in Croatia, followed by the ones born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bačka and Macedonia.

Table 3: Killed Jews by occupied territory

Killed by teritory of occupation
Croatia	18.640	Croats
Bosnia and Herzegovina	11.452	Croats
Bačka	8.934	Hungarians
Macedonia	8.605	Bulgarians
Central Serbia	4.684	Germans
Banat	1.786	Germans
Srem	1.104	Croats
Istra and Dalmatia	650	Italians
Baranja and Prekomurje	477	Hungarians
Slovenia	371	Ger/Ital
Kosovo and Metohia	89	Italians
Montenegro	17	Italians

 

The next table (4) shows the number of Jews registered in the 1931 census and the number of those liquidated in World War Two. Relative to the number in the census, a complete annihilation of Jews would have meant 10–15% more killed persons. The table lists several towns where this percentage is significantly higher.

Based on Table 4 we may conclude that the largest number of liquidated Jews was in Croatia (and Bosnia), but that almost 100% of Jews born in Macedonia were taken to Treblinka from the territory under Bulgarian occupation.

Table 4: Number of Jews according to the 1931 census, and the number of those killed in World War Two

	Num.1931	Ocupation	Killed	% of 1931
Skoplje	2.635	Bulgarians	4.394	166,8
Niš	376	Germans	615	163,6
Daruvar	226	Croats	312	138,1
Vinkovci	647	Croats	795	122,9
Slavonski Brod	462	Croats	560	121,2
Zemun	523	Croats	577	110,3
Zagreb, grad	8.702	Croats	9.589	110,2
Sarajevo	7.726	Croats	8.476	109,7
Ilok	377	Croats	405	107,4
Zenica	235	Croats	246	104,7
Koprivnica, grad	339	Croats	338	99,7
Vukovar, grad	306	Croats	302	98,7
Novi Sad, grad	3.135	Hungarians	3.012	96,1
Osijek, grad	2.445	Croats	2.264	92,6
Bjelovar	360	Croats	331	91,9
Štip	626	Bulgarians	574	91,7
Senta, grad	1.457	Hungarians	1.324	90,9
Bitolj	3.778	Bulgarians	3.418	90,5
Travnik	344	Croats	299	86,9
Split	303	Italians	256	84,5
Karlovac, grad	347	Croats	292	84,1
Senta	511	Hungarians	430	84,1
Bijeljina	326	Croats	270	82,8
Čakovec	539	Croats	425	78,8
Našice	314	Croats	243	77,4
Kikinda	418	Germans	306	73,2
Banja Luka	368	Croats	267	72,6
Subotica	3.758	Hungarians	2.533	67,4
Bačka Palanka	318	Hungarians	212	66,7
Varaždin, grad	486	Croats	288	59,3
Zrenjanin	1.352	Germans	768	56,8
Tuzla	330	Croats	181	54,8
Vršac, grad	404	Germans	182	45,0
Stari Bečej	748	Hungarians	325	43,4
Đakovo	329	Croats	142	43,2
Beograd	7.906	Germans	3.326	42,1
Bačka Topola	632	Hungarians	262	41,5
Sombor	413	Hungarians	126	30,5
Sombor, grad	1.175	Hungarians	286	24,3
Pančevo	507	Germans	107	21,1
Priština	373	Italians	46	12,3

 

Table 5 shows how many Jews were killed in Yugoslavia during World War Two and by whom. By far the largest number of Jews was killed by Germans (48.8%) and Croats (38,2%). For 10.4% of the killed the executors could not be determined, though it is likely that this number should be added to the percentage of Jews killed by Germans and Croats given that these were liquidations in unspecified camps, or during combat or bombings, but without specifying who the combat was fought against or who performed the bombings.

Table 5: Who killed the Jews?

Germans	27.718
Croats	21.706
Hungarians	1.295
Italians	134
Serbs	10
Bulgarians	6
Allies	4
Muslims	1
Partisans	1

 

Table 6 presents information about the cause of death, as well as the sex and age of the murdered persons, and is the most detailed information about the manner of the suffering of Jews in the then Yugoslavia.

The fight against fascism took the lives of 468 Jews, which is 0.7% of the number in the 1931 census. This data is not comparable with other nationalities in Yugoslavia, because, while young members of other nationalities were for the most part conscripted and died at the end of the war (not counting Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia), most of the Jews were killed at the beginning of the war, therefore this is a much larger percentage if compared to the number of survivors (around 3% of the survivors).

Data on the number of Jews killed in combat or during bombings can be a helpful tool when attempting to imagine Jews hiding in towns. The largest number of Jews killed during the bombing was recorded in 1941 (the attack of Germany on Yugoslavia), and the smallest in 1942 (7), while between 1943 and 1945 Jews were killed during the Allied bombings of large towns in Yugoslavia and the fight for the liberation from Germans.

A total of Jews killed in direct executions – 2,141 of them – were often liquidated together with Serbs. Along with Serbs, Germans killed Jews in mass shootings in Kragujevac and Kraljevo, Hungarians performed a mass execution in Novi Sad, while Croats did mass liquidations of Serbs together with Jews (and the Roma).

Liquidations of Jews in churches, pits, rivers and camps for children indicate that they shared the fate of Serbs who were killed in mass liquidations outside camps. The number of Jews liquidated in pits (4) and rivers (2) is significantly higher than the recorded numbers given that 636 Jews were liquidated in the Jadovno camp by being thrown in the pit, while Hungarians in Novi Sad killed hundreds of Jews by throwing them in the Danube.

Of the total number of Jews killed in World War Two, as many as 92.7% were killed or died in concentration camps.

 

Table 6: How Jews were killed

 

		Male	Female	Total
Antifasizam	1941	48	15	63
	1942	57	13	70
	1943	106	27	133
	1944	95	31	126
	1945	70	6	76
Total		376	92	468
When the fighting and bombing	1941	21	13	34
	1942	3	4	7
	1943	7	6	13
	1944	17	15	32
	1945	9	6	15
	Total	57	44	101
in direct terror	1941	397	240	637
	1942	533	500	1.033
	1943	125	118	243
	1944	83	63	146
	1945	47	35	82
		1.185	956	2.141
Concentration camps	1941	7.045	3.704	10.749
	1942	8.554	11.651	20.205
	1943	5.396	5.126	10.522
	1944	3.425	4.191	7.616
	1945	1.881	1.680	3.561
	Total	26.301	26.352	52.653
Prisons	1941	104	65	169
	1942	92	78	170
	1943	33	19	52
	1944	26	17	43
	1945	22	4	26
	Total	277	183	460
Camps for prisoners of war	1941	10	1	11
	1942	7	1	8
	1943	9	2	11
	1944	8	2	10
	1945	7	0	7
	Total	41	6	47
„April war“		19	1	20
By partisans		1	0	1
Unknown	1941	102	95	197
	1942	40	32	72
	1943	21	10	31
	1944	24	16	40
	1945	30	16	46
	Total	217	169	386
In church		0	1	1
Thrown into a pit		4	0	4
Thrown into a river		3	1	4
Camp for kids		8	5	13
on forced labor	1941	13	6	19
	1942	65	2	67
	1943	263	3	266
	1944	62	3	65
	1945	27	0	27
	Total	430	14	444
during deportation		28	25	53
in exile		5	4	9
from illness		1	1	2

 

More Jews from the Yugoslav territory were liquidated in Jasenovac, including a number of camps in its vicinity, than in Auschwitz. The exact number and the difference between the number of liquidated in these two camps cannot be accurately determined due to the large number of persons liquidated without specifying the camp where this occurred (4,972 in Yugoslavia).

According to “The Holocaust in Zagreb of Ivo and Slavko Goldstein”, by protosingel Jovan (Ćulibrk), “50% of the Zagreb Jews were found killed in Jasenovac, 30% in Auschwitz or in some other camp outside of Yugoslavia and 20% in the NDH or somewhere else”.

According to data on killed persons, “only” 2,436 of those born in Zagreb were registered in Jasenovac and 341 in Stara Gradiška, meaning that around 2,000 persons registered under “unknown” (2,799) or “camp” (768) were in fact killed in Jasenovac. This increases the number of people killed in Jasenovac and the neighbouring camps (14,916) by around 17,000. If we include Đakovo (because surviving women from this camp were taken to Jasenovac for liquidation), the number of murdered Jews amounts to 21.700.

The stories of Jasenovac and Auschwitz should not take the focus away from other camps where monstrous crimes were also committed, including Jadovno, Pag, Zagreb, Loborgrad and other liquidation sites.

Conclusion

Jews born in Yugoslavia had one of the relatively highest rates of annihilation in the European territory. This was the consequence of (1) the occupation of Serbia and Slovenia, (2) territorial expansion of German allies (Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy and Albania) and (3) formation of the Croatian state which liquidated Jews (together with Serbs and the Roma) on its own initiative at its territory.

This paper aims to present almost all available statistics on the suffering of Jews based on only one sentence recorded about each victim.

Literature:

• Croatian state commission for establishing crimes of occupying forces and their assistants “Crimes in the Jasenovac camp”
• Israeli – Serbian academic exchange in Holocaust research. Collection of papers from academic conference, Jerusalem – Yad Vashem, 15-20 June 2006, Museum of genocide victims.
• Jazbec S. “Koričan”, Topola, Donja Gradina 2017, pp 95-108.
• Miletić Antun “The assassinated in the Jasenovac concentration camp 1941–1945”, Gambit, Jagodina
• Museum of genocide victims, Belgrade, database of victims
• Resultats definitifs du recensement de la population du 31 mars 1931
• Tuleković T, Motl D. “Concentration camp Jasenovac 1941”, Memorial zone Donja Gradina
• Vukliš V. “Završni izveštaj dr Dušana Nedeljkovića o radu Državne komisije za utvrđivanje zločina okupatora i njihovih pomagača“, Topola, Donja Gradina 2016, book 2, pp 164-247
• Yitzhak Arad, Edit. “The pictorial history of the Holocaust”, Yad Vashem

 

Appendix table: Places with more than 10 Jews killed

Place	Num.of Jews	Killed by:	Male	Female	Place	Num.of Jews	Killed by:	Male	Female
Unknown	4.170	Cro/Ger	1.943	2.227	Auschwitz	10.284	Germans	4.339	5.945
„Camp“ unknown	779	Cro/Ger	324	455	Treblinjka	8.296	Germans	4.249	4.047
Jasenovac	12.239	Croats	9.250	2.989	Zemun Sajmište	2.769	Germans	564	2.205
Đakovo	4.661	Croats	196	4.465	Germany	2.063	Germans	1.157	906
Stara gradiška	2.005	Croats	490	1.515	Topovske šupe	1.657	Germans	1.655	2
Jadovno	635	Croats	588	47	Banjica	880	Germans	559	321
Zagreb	368	Croats	187	181	Crveni Krst	570	Germans	331	239
Pag	334	Croats	178	156	Dachau	193	Germans	97	96
Loborgrad	289	Croats	28	261	Mathausen	119	Germans	87	32
Osijek	166	Croats	86	80	Beograd	111	Germans	66	45
Brčko	130	Croats	65	65	Poland	106	Germans	41	65
Sarajevo	92	Croats	52	40	Bergen Belsen	104	Germans	49	55
Tenja	55	Croats	23	32	Milkinija	89	Germans	48	41
Dotrščina	53	Croats	33	20	Buchenwald	62	Germans	39	23
Danica Koprivnica	43	Croats	28	15	Kragujevac	45	Germans	39	6
Gradina kod jasenovca	42	Croats	36	6	Šabac	43	Germans	28	15
Lepoglava	41	Croats	27	14	Kosovska mitrovica	43	Germans	25	18
Banja Luka	36	Croats	19	17	Niš	34	Germans	23	11
Vlasenica	34	Croats	15	19	Skoplje	22	Germans	14	8
Hraščina	30	Croats	14	16	Russia	22	Germans	22	0
Nova gradiška	27	Croats	10	17	Jajinci	21	Germans	15	6
Križevci	26	Croats	9	17	Sachsenhausen	17	Germans	7	10
Vinkovci	20	Croats	8	12	Birkenau	17	Germans	4	13
Bijeljina	19	Croats	6	13	Majdanek	15	Germans	9	6
Vukovar	18	Croats	10	8	Flossenberg	14	Germans	10	4
Rakov Potok	18	Croats	13	5	Bor	14	Germans	14	0
Tuzla	18	Croats	9	9	Ravensbrock	14	Germans	4	10
Bihać	17	Croats	8	9	Zrenjanin	13	Germans	10	3
Bosanska Gradiška	17	Croats	8	9	Kraljevo	13	Germans	12	1
Jablanac	16	Croats	2	14	Gross Rosen	12	Germans	10	2
Sremska Mitrovica	15	Croats	9	6	Drvar	11	Germans	8	3
Kerestinec	13	Croats	13	0	Novi sad	744	Hungarians	387	357
Prijedor	12	Croats	8	4	Hungary	322	Hungarians	246	76
Travnik	12	Croats	8	4	Žabalj	57	Hungarians	30	27
Virovitica	12	Croats	8	4	Budapest	41	Hungarians	27	14
Slavonski Brod	11	Croats	5	6	Subotica	24	Hungarians	20	4
Bjelovar	11	Croats	9	2	Sombor	22	Hungarians	19	3
Sisak	10	Croats	8	2	Crvenka	17	Hungarians	16	1
Zavidovići	10	Croats	5	5	Bečej	14	Hungarians	10	4
Bugojno	10	Croats	9	1	Čurug	11	Hungarians	6	5
Otočac	10	Croats	6	4	Bačka Topola	16	Hun/Cro	12	4
Petrova Gora	10	Croats	4	6	Rab	81	Italians	38	43
Jankomir	25	Ger/Cro	8	17	Italy	47	Italians	34	13
Bosnia	21		10	11	Lika	13		9	4
Sutjeska	19		14	5	Čađavica	10		7	3
Split	16		13	3	Dubrovnik	10		9	1