|
The Southern Banat
"A Bloodbath Without Borders"
Kovin
Hundreds of years previously Danube
Swabian colonists had established what
began a major community on the north
bank of the Danube where formerly the
Turkish fortress Semendria had stood in
the midst of a swamp. It was known as
Kovin and five thousand Danube Swabians
lived here. But in the region about
Kovin there were other large Swabian
settlements at Ploschitz, Mramorak,
Bavanischte, Homolitz, Startschevo and
others whose population numbered in the
thousands.
The new
People’s Democratic Yugoslavian
government of Tito and the Partisans
systematically exterminated in excess of
ten thousand Danube Swabian men, women
and children living in this region. The
able bodied men from fifteen years and
older in these communities were to a
great extent shot or beaten to death.
Thousands of young Swabian women, both
married and single were dragged off from
their families and young mothers from
their children and were taken to Russia
as forced labor. Not a single teenage
girl or women returned home in good
health. The remaining Swabian
population was relentlessly driven out
of their homes and lost all of their
property. Everything they had was taken
away from them. Even the shoes and
clothes that they wore that were
demanded from them were handed over to
the Partisans. Now wearing only rags
they were dragged off to concentration
camps in the region of Kovin. This
provided the setting later for the
deaths of thousands of them, either as
individuals or in groups who were
liquidated by the Partisans who
slaughtered, beat, shot, tortured or
performed other gruesome deeds that led
to their deaths, while others were
simply left to die of starvation. Not a
single Swabian was left to live in Kovin
or the other communities in this
region.
On
October 13, 1944 the leading Swabians of
Kovin were taken from their homes and
were put to death in gruesome ways.
Among these first victims was Josef
Fitschelka who operated a soda factory.
He had to undress until he was naked in
the yard of the former landowner Franz
Schneider and then he was brutally
abused. The Partisans took a two handed
saw, held him down on his back and sawed
their way through his body across his
chest and stomach from left to right
while he was still living. He screamed
terribly. After him similar gruesome
methods were used in killing the other
rich people. Among them was the entire
family of the estate owner Franz
Schneider.
Immediately following this the Partisans
began to arrest all of the remaining
Swabian men in Kovin. They were all
imprisoned and for days they were
fearfully tortured. Early in the
morning at 2:00am on October 19th
two hundred and eighty of these men were
shot at the slaughtering range. Four
German prisoners of war were also
executed with them. Twenty other men
who were shot later had been forced to
dig the mass grave at the execution
site. When the pit was dug they were
ordered to move back fifty paces from it
and lie down sideways. The two hundred
and eighty selected victims and the four
German prisoners of war were fettered
and led there and were forced to undress
and in groups of ten they were ordered
to lie down in the pit. Whoever
disobeyed was fearfully abused. Once
the men were lying in the pit that
Partisans shot them from above. Then
the next group had to lie down on top of
the dead and severely wounded naked men
and they were shot in the same manner.
This went on like this until all of the
men had been liquidated. The twenty men
who were kept waiting, then shoveled
earth over the dead and badly wounded
men until the mass grave was completely
covered over.
On
October 20, 1944 another one hundred and
five Swabians from Kovin were shot in
the same manner.
Now
that most of the men from Kovin had
been exterminated, the Swabians from
the vicinity now had the full
attention of the Partisans. Day
after day, long columns of Swabians
from the surrounding district came
by wagon and on foot. They were
fettered and badly beaten and
bloodied. They were put in the camp
at Kovin and for days they were
terribly tortured before they too
suffered the same fate as the
Swabians from Kovin.
(Following the First World
War the Banat was divided
between Yugoslavia &
Romania, with two thirds
going to Romania & one
third annexed to Yugoslavia)
Österreichische
Historiker-Arbeitsgemeinschaft Für Kärnten und Steiermark
(Austrian Historian Working
Group for Kärnten and Steiermark)
Translated & contributed by
Henry Fischer |
