The Pančevo executions ( sh-Latn, Pokolj u Pančevu; sr-Cyrl, Пoкoљ у Панчеву) were the summary execution of 36

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

civilians in

Pančevo Pančevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Панчево, ; ; ; ; ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is located on the shores of rivers Timiș (ri ...

from 21 to 22 April 1941, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The executions were carried out by the

German army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

, in particular elements of the

Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland The , also commonly referred to simply as or , was an elite combat unit of the German Army (1935–1945), German Army () that fought on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front in World War II. Originally formed in 1921, it was known as ...

, with the assistance of the

Waffen SS The (; ) was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both German-occupied Europe and unoccupied lands. ...

, in particular elements of the

2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich The 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'' () or SS Division ''Das Reich'' was an armored division of the of Nazi Germany during World War II. Initially formed from regiments of the ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'' (SS-VT), ''Das Reich'' initially served ...

. The executions were also supported and facilitated by local

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

, in particular members of the

Kulturbund The Cultural Association of the GDR (, KB) was a federation of local clubs in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It formed part of the Socialist Unity Party-led National Front, and sent representatives to the Volkskammer. The association had ...

. The executions came about in response to an alleged ambush by local Serbs on elements of the German army. In reality, the ambush was a false-flag operation, orchestrated by the local Germans.

Background

is a town on the banks of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

, approximately north east of

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. It had an ethnically mixed population of Serbs and Germans throughout much of its history. Relations between the two ethnic groups was cordial, however when Nazi Germany invaded Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941, relations deteriorated significantly after members of the

, a German fascist political organization, acted as a

fifth column A fifth column is a group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize ...

for invading German forces. During the day on 20 April 1941, the Kulturbund ambushed a column of refugees and Yugoslav army personnel fleeing from

Banatsko Novo Selo Banatsko Novo Selo ( sr-cyr, Банатско Ново Село ) is a village located in the municipality of Pančevo, South Banat District, Vojvodina, Serbia. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 5.806 people (D ...

. The ambush resulted in fifteen individuals being shot. In retaliation, the Yugoslav army shot nine local Germans. On the evening of 20 April 1941, German forces entered Pančevo and were ambushed by unknown assailants operating from the Serbian cemetery. The German army searched the cemetery and found nothing. The ambush had in fact been a false flag operation, carried out by local Germans.

Executions

On the morning of 21 April 1941, the German army and Waffen-SS arrested 100 men from various parts of Pančevo as a result of the previous nights ambush. Of the 100, 40 were selected to appear before a military tribunal, which was conducted by the town commander, Lt. Col. Fritz Bandelow of the Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland. Following the tribunal, 36 Serbs were sentenced to death by the presiding judge, SS-Sturmbannführer Rudolf Hoffmann. The executions were carried out by members of the German army, with assistance from the Kulturbund and Waffen-SS. Half were executed by hanging while the other half were

executed by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French , rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually re ...

. The dead bodies were put on public display for three days following the executions.

Aftermath

Pančevo was liberated by Allied forced as part of the Belgrade offensive in 1944. In January 1945, the remains of the 36 Serb civilians executed was discovered in a

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...

. Forensic evidence noted that the Germans had unearthed the grave and burnt the bones of the victims in an attempt to remove any trace of the execution, prior to their withdrawal.

Photos

The executions were extensively photographed by the German war photographer, Gerhard Gronefield for the magazine, ''Signal''. In total, fifty images were taken, however Gronefield did not submit the photographs to ''Signal''. It was not until 1963 that some of the photos were published in a book, however it did not elicit any public outcry. The photographs were later exhibited as part of an exhibition titled ''The war of annihilation''. The German news magazine ''Der Spiegel'' used the photographs as part of a lead article on

War crimes of the Wehrmacht During World War II, the German Wehrmacht (combined armed forces - German Army (Wehrmacht), ''Heer'', ''Kriegsmarine'', and ''Luftwaffe'') committed systematic war crimes, including massacres, mass rape, looting, the exploitation of forced labou ...

. The article prompted eyewitnesses to the executions to come forward, with many more photos being submitted and circulated. Gerhard was thus not the only photographer on the day, many German soldiers took photos and witnessed the executions as they “‘wanted to see what it was like”. File:Pančevo execution preparation.jpg, Onlookers watch as the firing squad prepared to open fire File:Pančevo execution shooting.jpg, Civilians lay dead after being shot File:Pančevo executions aftermath.jpg, Firing squad victims closeup File:Pančevo execution hanging.jpg, Civilians hanged in the local cemetery

References

Bibliography * * * * * {{cite journal , last1=Bopp , first1=Petra , title=A new sensibility? Photographs of violence of Wehrmacht soldiers in the Second World War , journal=Przegląd Historyczny , date=2016 , volume=57 , pages=63–76 , url=http://przegladhistoryczny.ihuw.pl/sites/ph.ihuw.pl/files/ph/bopp.pdf , access-date=21 March 2024 1941 in Yugoslavia Mass murder in 1941 Massacres in 1941 War crimes of the Wehrmacht Massacres committed by Nazi Germany Serbia under German occupation Massacres in Yugoslavia Nazi war crimes in Serbia Massacres in Serbia Massacres of Serbs 1941 in Serbia Collective punishment

Background

Executions

Aftermath

Photos

See also

References