The Lobor concentration camp or Loborgrad camp () was a
concentration camp
A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
established in
Lobor,
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...
(modern-day
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
) in the deserted palace of
Keglevich family. It was established on 9 August 1941, mostly for Serb and Jewish women and children. The camp was established and operated by
Ustaše
The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...
, with 16 of its guards being members of the local
Volksdeutsche
In Nazi Germany, Nazi German terminology, () were "people whose language and culture had Germans, German origins but who did not hold German citizenship." The term is the nominalised plural of ''wikt:volksdeutsch, volksdeutsch'', with denoting ...
community. Its inmates were subjected to systematic torture, robbery and murder of "undisciplined" individuals. All younger female inmates of the Lobor camp were subjected to rapes. More than 2,000 people were inmates of this camp and at least 200 died in it. All surviving children and women were transported to
Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
in August 1942 where they all were killed.
Establishment
The Lobor concentration camp was established on 9 August 1941, mostly for Serb and Jewish children and women. The camp was established in the deserted palace of the Keglevich family. It was established, operated, and controlled by the Ustasha Surveillance Service subordinated to
the Main Ustaša Headquarters and the guards were members of the German ethnic community (
Volksdeutsche
In Nazi Germany, Nazi German terminology, () were "people whose language and culture had Germans, German origins but who did not hold German citizenship." The term is the nominalised plural of ''wikt:volksdeutsch, volksdeutsch'', with denoting ...
), 16 in total. The maximum capacity of this camp was 800 prisoners.
The inmates
Because of the significant proportion of children among its prisoners, this camp was categorized as a children's concentration camp, along with Jablanac, Mlaka, Bročica brickyard, Uštica, Sisak, Jastrebarsko and Gornja Rijeka. According to some sources, the total number of children held in concentration camps in Croatia in 1942 was at least 24,000. The first contingent of inmates numbering 1,300 people was transported to Lobor camp from
Kruščica concentration camp. The number of women and children inmates in Lobor camp reached 1,500. All younger female inmates of the Lobor camp were subjected to rapes by the commanding officers and guards, which resulted in pregnancies in girls as young as 14 years old. Besides systematic rapes, the inmates were subjected to torture, robbery and murder of "undisciplined" individuals. At least 200 women and children died in Lobor camp. There was no mass killing of inmates in Lobor but 150 inmates died because of typhoid epidemy.
Around 2,000 Jewish women and children were inmates of this concentration camp during its existence. In the period between 13 and 28 August 1942 all children and women that survived were transported to
Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
where they all were killed.
Aftermath
In 2002 the ''Home for Mentally ill Adults Lobor-Grad'' was established at the location which housed the camp. According to its website, during the World War II its building was the almshouse of ''The Society for the Suppression of begging and supporting sick''.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lobor, concentration camp
Concentration camps of the Independent State of Croatia
Jewish Croatian history
The Holocaust in Yugoslavia
History of the Serbs of Croatia