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The Southern
Banat
"A Bloodbath
Without Borders"
Ploschitz
Before the war
over one
thousand three
hundred Danube
Swabians lived
in Ploschitz.
When the
Partisans took
power they
arrested and
imprisoned many
of the Swabians.
On October 14th
the Partisans
had a party at
the local
village pub with
music and
dancing.
It was Sunday.
Next to the inn,
in various rooms
in the community
center the
Swabians were
imprisoned.
Around midnight
a pack of
Partisans got
their commander
to allow them to
get some of the
Swabians from
over in the
community
center.
The first was
Martin Repmann
the rich
butcher.
He was led to
the office of
the community
center.
Without any
reason at all,
and pure
bravado, a woman
Partisan hacked
off the finger
of his one hand
with a sword in
the presence of
the village
authorities.
Following that
another Partisan
severed his hand
up to his wrist.
Other Partisans
drew out their
knives and
stabbed him
while at the
same time they
bashed in his
head with their
rifles.
Gypsies later
dragged his body
out to the dump
and buried him
were dead
animals were
left to rot.
The second
victim to be
brought in was a
married woman,
Lina Klein.
She was stripped
naked by the
drunken
Partisans, who
dragged her out
to the yard of
the community
center.
The Partisans
crowded around
her and stabbed
her with a knife
in the area of
her vagina, and
hacked off a
finger of her
one hand.
They broke her
other hand.
They were still
not satisfied
with their
bloody
handiwork.
They stabbed her
numerous times
around the
throat.
She bled
profusely, but
was still not
dead. Only
after a drunk
Gypsy stabbed
her in the back
with a long
knife did she
finally
collapse.
In the presence
of some two
hundred
witnesses,
mostly Serbian
Partisans and
Gypsies her body
was dragged to
the well where
more Partisans
used her corpse
for target
practice with
their pistols.
Their third
victim that
night was Ernst
Schreiber the
watchmaker.
He was literally
butchered by the
Partisans with
their knives.
Now that the
Partisans had
quenched their
lust for blood
on their Swabian
victims they
went on with
their party at
the pub.
On the following
day the arrest
of the other
Swabians in
Ploschitz
continued.
These prisoners
were fearfully
tortured and
abused over the
next several
days and then on
October 19th
they were force
marched over to
Kovin. At
that camp they
were badly
mistreated and
beaten and
individually or
in groups they
were killed.
On October 23
there were only
forty-two
Swabians still
alive in
Ploschitz.
On that day they
were fettered
and driven on
foot to the dump
and shot there.
The method of
their
liquidation was
a carbon copy of
the procedures
used several
days before in
the shooting of
the Kovin
Swabians.
Among the
victims from
Ploschitz was
the photographer
Stefan Luftikus.
While they were
being forced to
undress and be
fettered, he
called out to
the Partisans,
“During the four
year occupation
by the Germans
we protected and
defended you
Serbs and
nothing happened
to a single one
of you.
And now, in
thanks for that
you now want to
kills us?”
Right after
speaking these
words he was
killed.
(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 |
