1942 raid in Novi Sad

1942 raid in Novi Sad, one of the most notable war crimes during the Axis Occupation of Vojvodina, was the mass murder of the civilians, mostly of Serb and Jewish ethnicity, performed by the Hungarian Axis troops in 1942 raid in southern Bačka. After they were killed the civilians were thrown in the icy depths of mid-winter frozen Danube. [ [http://www.serbianna.com/columns/savich/062.shtml Carl Savich Column on Serbianna.com | Front Page ] ]

Casualties

Total number of civilians killed in the raid was 3,808, while places that were affected by the raid include Novi Sad, Bečej, Vilovo, Gardinovci, Gospođinci, Đurđevo, Žabalj, Lok, Mošorin, Srbobran, Temerin, Titel, Čurug, and Šajkaš. [Zvonimir Golubović, Racija u Južnoj Bačkoj, 1942. godine, Novi Sad, 1991. (pages 146, 147)] The victims included 2,578 ethnic Serbs, 1,068 Jews, 64 Roma, 31 Rusyns, 21 Hungarians, and 15 Russians.

The Cause and Initiators

In January 1942, by the order of officers lieutenant-general Ferenc Feketehalmy-Czeidner, major-general József Grassy, colonel László Deák and gendarmarie-captain Márton Zöldy numerous Serbian and Jewish civilians were murdered in the Bačka region of Vojvodina. Serbian nationalist historian Zvonimir Golubović in his book about the raid claimed that Horthy himself was aware of the raid and approved its being carried out [Zvonimir Golubović, Racija u Južnoj Bačkoj, 1942. godine, Novi Sad, 1991. (page 194)] , despite this was denied half a century ago, immediately after WWII [Horthy was a witness at Nuremberg Trials, all accusations were dropped against him. Horthy was never tried despite the pretentious demand from Yugoslavia, both Americans, and Stalin denied those claims] [ Thomas L. Sakmyster, Miha Tavcar Hungary, the Great Powers, and the Danubian Crisis, 1936-1939 (ISBN 0820304697)] [ Thomas L. Sakmyster: Miklos Horthy (Univ. of Georgia Press, 1980, ISBN 9783902494146)] Ilona Edelsheim-Gyulai: "Becsület és kötelesség", part I p.236 (Európa press, Budapest, 2001.) ISBN 963-07-6544-6] [http://www.hungarian-history.hu/lib/horthy/horthy.pdf Miklós Horthy: Memoirs] p. 235-236 ISBN 0966573439 (PDF)] . When Horthy later ordered investigation about the raid, the officers who had ordered the raid fled to Nazi Germany and returned only after the German Nazi regime occupied Hungary in 1944. They were executed after the war.

Aftermath

In 1943, the Hungarian leaders attempted to revive relations with western Allies, thus as part of such aims, Hungary organized a trial to several officers that were among those responsible for the raid. However, the officers were allowed to escape to Germany before their sentences were uttered, and no matter that court proved their guilt, their sentences were not uttered since they were not in the country. [Zvonimir Golubović, Racija u Južnoj Bačkoj, 1942. godine, Novi Sad, 1991. (page 187)] After the war, some of the individuals responsible for the raid were tried again by the new communist government of Hungary (which sentenced them to death or to life in prison) and again in Yugoslavia, where they were sentenced to death again, and executed. László Deák and Miklos Horthy, who were also among those responsible for the raid, were never convicted.

References