The role of concentration camps in suppressing the uprising in Serbia in 1941

Abstract

The internment of tens of thousands of people in the newly created network of permanent and temporary camps was an important integral part of actions of the occupation forces in Serbia during the suppression of mass insurgent movement in the summer and autumn of 1941. The main purpose of these camps was to be a reservoir of people to be shot for the German losses in the battles with the insurgents in the proportion of 100 for one killed, or 50 for a wounded German soldier or Volksdeutsche. The network of permanent camps consisted of camps at Banjica in Belgrade, Šabac and Niš. For the territory of Banat, a camp was formed in Veliki Bečkerek (today Zrenjanin), ending the formation of a network of permanent camps. They also served as a place of internment of hostages, real or potential opponents of the occupation, but also some other categories of men and women. Starting from April 1942, permanent camps in Serbia were given the function of a source for forced labor in concentration and labor camps in Germany or in occupied countries, including Serbia itself. The main role was played by the camp at the Belgrade Fair and the camp at Banjica, where detainees from other camps were sent for forced labor. This was also the result of a change in policy towards captured insurgents and their sympathizers, which was a reflection of the growing need of the German war economy for labor. In May 1942, the role of the central German camp in Serbia was taken over by the camp at the Belgrade Fair, now under the name Anhaltelager Semlin (Prihvatni logor Zemun). Temporary camps served almost exclusively for the internment of captured members of the insurgent movement, their sympathizers, civilian population and as a source of people for mass shootings. Among temporary camps, the most important were the Transit Camp in the barracks on Senjak, in Šabac and the Jewish Transit Camp Topovske Šupe (Cannon Sheds) in Belgrade. The second camp served exclusively as a source of Jews and Roma for mass shootings and was the main and largest reservoir of these categories of prisoners. The camp ceased to exist at the time of the formation of the Jewish Camp Zemun, which, after the killing of the Jewish prisoners, became the central German camp in occupied Serbia.