12th February 1942 - Breakthrough of the Concentration Camp “Red Cross” in Serbian city of Niš!
Since this even was somehow overlooked and many people beside the ex YU countries do not know for this important breakthrough I decided to place something more about it here as a separate topic.
Breakthrough of the Concentration Camp “Red Cross” in Serbian city of Niš was the first large scale organized breakthrough of any Nazi concentration camp in Europe! Inmates were mostly captured Serbian Civilians, Chetniks, Partisans, and Jews who heard via their secret channels that Nazis already prepared pits for their executions nearby Niš so beside their differences in ideologies they decided to take action in last desperate move trying to free themselves when a good chance for that appear. Most of the inmates were from the “room 12” (which Germans sarcastically named “room for bandits”) notorious for Nazi torturing of the inmates and beating to death where around 150 people were located, permanently Chetniks and Partisans captured by the Germans after recent battles and Nazi raids all around Serbia but as well some miners, merchants, local intellectuals, villagers and others. Even more interesting is that the main organizers were from two totally different backgrounds. Branko Bjegović (young student of law, member of the underground Communist Tito guerrilla) and Vule Vukašinović (old royalist fighter and respected commander from the Chetnik troops of Draža Mihailović).
PICTURE: Vule Vukašinović, Chetnik commander and main organizer of the breakthrough
In order to improve their chances of survival, detainees divided into groups among themselves and on basis of a daily movement of the Nazi guards escape was planned for many days in absolute secret, transferring information about the plan from ear to ear. Some detainees even established communication with SS troops who gourd the camp due to their knowledge of German, learning a lot crucial information which they after shared with others. Inmates saw their chance for escaping in a daily procedure of taking detainees out for an evening “walk” and lining them up on the appellate square in order to hand over report of the room situation and current number of prisoners inside of it. In most of cases this counting was carried out only by a few guards which gave prisoners a significant chances for escaping if they act quickly. On the escape day Jew prisoner Đurika Gros (who was before assigned by the Germans to provide food leftovers for inmates inside of the room), told to organizers that executions were planed for tomorrow early morning and that there is no more time to wait. Many prisoners were already at the end of their strength because of daily beatings and torturing by various German soldiers who (by some rule) entered rooms drunk torturing prisoners for hours.
PICTURE: Branko Bejgović, Communists guerrilla member and organizer of the breakthrough
When finally some unusual time passed detainees went out for a walk brought by “coincidentally” much less guards then it was case in days before (later it turned out that most of the guards were out drunk because of the German officer birthday celebration), inmates agreed in advance what they will made, however two of the prisoners told something to the German guards who immediately separate them from the others and bring them out to the administration building. Branko Bjegović tought that those two betrayed others shouting out “betrayal!” followed by a stampede of inmates who jumped on the two remaining German soldier guards, killing them and taking their guns. In total chaos which after followed, prisoners fled in all directions, some returned trying to pick up friends from other rooms, some tried to run and broke the main gate or to hide from the Germans machine guns which are firing from the camp tower outposts. German guards stock inside of the administration building were afraid to come out not knowing if prisoners may have some more guns and went on the roofs shooting in the crowd from the top and from the windows. In whole mass someone finally shout “up to the wires!” where prisoners climbed in masses trying to cut or broke wires to leave the camp area, many of them killed by it.
Final numbers of this breakthrough often vary due to many opposing information got from the ex prisoners as well the Germans (who tried to put this shame under the rug avoiding more punishments from their in-charges for lack of competence) but most probably there were around 200 inmates participating in a whole action, about which 50 were killed that night and later many more captured again to be executed around Niš in Bubanj shooting site. Lot of those actually survived and they mostly joined Chetniks or Partisans again. Main organizers Branko Bjegović and Vule Vukašinović were killed in breakthrough, while Vukašinović son successfully escaped with others. Germans on next day started immediate revenge action, continuing policy of 100 executed Serbs for 1 German killed.
Each year, 12th of February there is a full day dedicated to this event in city of Niš on the Camp location which today serve as an amazing museum with many shocking stories from those times: