October 1941 - Šabac hostage executions, 3,500-5,000 Serbs shot by the Germans (reprisal for Partisan attacks)

October 1941 - Šabac hostage executions

October 1941 - The Germans shoot 3,500-5,000 Serbian hostages in Šabac and its surroundings.

The reason: Reprisal for attacks by Serbian Partisans on German soldiers (September-October 1941 - frequent attacks).

The German commander (General Franz Böhme) ordered: "For every German soldier killed - shoot 100 Serbian hostages."

The result: The Germans gathered 3,500-5,000 Serbian HOSTAGES (civilians + prisoners from the camp) and shot them throughout October 1941.

Important: Šabac = the FIRST place where the "rule of 100 for 1" was applied (before Kraljevo on 16-20 October and Kragujevac on 21 October).

🗓️ Chronology - how the executions happened (October 1941)

In total: The whole of October 1941 - new executions every day - 3,500-5,000 Serbs killed.

📊 The victims - who was killed?

Officially documented: 3,254 names (the Šabac Museum - names documented in the archives).

Estimate: 4,000-5,000 killed (many bodies never identified, buried in mass graves).

The youngest victim: 14 years old (a boy captured as "suspicious").

The oldest victim: 78 years old.

Important: Most were CIVILIANS - there were no Partisans among them. The Germans shot civilians as hostages (reprisal for Partisan attacks).

📍 The execution sites - 3 main locations

1. Zasavica (a marsh near Šabac):

• The largest execution site
• 2,000-2,500 Serbs shot
• Bodies buried in mass graves (the marsh)

2. Jarak (a village near Šabac):

• 1,000-1,500 Serbs shot
• Bodies buried in the fields

3. Crna Bara (a marsh near Šabac):

• 500-1,000 Serbs shot
• Bodies cast into the marsh

🔫 How were the executions carried out?

The method (Zasavica - 5 October 1941, the first execution):

1. Removal of prisoners from the camp:

• The Germans enter the Šabac camp
• They select 200 prisoners (at random)
• They take them by lorry to Zasavica (10 km from the camp)

2. The execution:

• The prisoners are placed in rows (their backs turned to the Germans)
• The Germans shoot them with machine guns
• The bodies fall into dug pits (mass graves)

3. Covering the bodies:

• The Germans bury the bodies (shallowly - only 50 cm of earth)
• No markings (to conceal the crime)

Duration: The whole of October - new executions every day (200-500 Serbs a day).

👥 Testimonies of survivors

Miloš Jovanović (28 years old, survivor of the execution at Zasavica):

"5 October 1941. The Germans entered the camp - they picked out 200 of us. They said: 'You are going to work.' They took us by lorry to Zasavica. We saw the pits that had been dug. We knew - this was the end. They placed us in rows. They began to shoot. I fell - a bullet hit me in the shoulder. I pretended to be dead. Bodies fell into the pit - onto me. Blood everywhere. I heard people dying. The Germans filled in the pit - throwing earth onto us. I felt the earth covering me. I stayed still. At night - I dug myself out. I survived. But I lost 20 comrades from the camp - shot. Every day in October - new executions. Every day - 200-300 people taken from the camp. They never came back."

- Miloš Jovanović, survivor

⚖️ The "rule of 100 for 1" - first applied in Šabac

4 October 1941 - General Franz Böhme (commander of the German troops in Serbia) issues the order:

"For every German soldier or ethnic German (Volksdeutscher) killed - shoot 100 Serbian hostages. For every one wounded - shoot 50 hostages."

- General Franz Böhme, order of 4 October 1941

This is the FIRST order of the "rule of 100 for 1" in occupied Serbia.

5 October 1941 - the FIRST execution under this rule (Zasavica, Šabac) - 200 Serbs shot.

After Šabac, the same method was applied in:

• Kraljevo (16-20 October 1941) - 2,000-5,000 Serbs
• Kragujevac (21 October 1941) - 2,778-7,000 Serbs

Conclusion: Šabac = the first place where the "rule of 100 for 1" was applied - an experiment that was later extended to the whole of Serbia.

🇷🇸 The Serbian perspective - Šabac forgotten (but not by us)

For the Serbian people, Šabac = the forgotten massacre:

• October 1941 - 3,500-5,000 Serbs shot (the whole month)
• The FIRST application of the "rule of 100 for 1" - before Kraljevo and Kragujevac
• But: Šabac is less well known (it is not required reading in schools)
• The reason: The executions were gradual (the whole of October), not a single day like Kragujevac
• The victims mostly prisoners from the camp (not "innocent children" like Kragujevac)
• The result: Šabac received less attention
• But we will not forget - 3,500-5,000 Serbs shot

"October 1941 - The Germans shoot 3,500-5,000 Serbian hostages in Šabac and its surroundings (reprisal for Partisan attacks). The 'rule of 100 for 1' - FIRST applied in Šabac (4 October), before Kraljevo and Kragujevac. Victims: 2,000-3,000 prisoners from the Šabac camp + 1,500-2,000 civilians. The whole of October - daily executions (200-500 Serbs a day). Sites: Zasavica, Jarak, Crna Bara. Bodies buried in mass graves. Šabac = the forgotten massacre (less well known than Kragujevac), but we WILL NOT forget. 3,254 names documented. Every name. Every story. WE WILL NEVER FORGET."