• Crveni Krst Concentration Camp Museum
A museum on the historic site of the Crveni Krst concentration camp in the Serbian city of Niš commemorates the history of the camp which existed between 1941 and 1944. In 1963, a memorial park was set up on the nearby Bubanj hill, the former execution site of the camp. A large monument towers over the park.
Image: Niš, 2010, Sign at the entrance to the former camp premises, www.goingslowly.com, Tara Alan & Tyler Kellen
Niš, 2010, Sign at the entrance to the former camp premises, www.goingslowly.com, Tara Alan & Tyler Kellen

Image: Niš, 2009, Guard post and guardhouse on the former camp premises, Dragan Bosnić
Niš, 2009, Guard post and guardhouse on the former camp premises, Dragan Bosnić
Niš is the third-largest city in Serbia and lies in the south, close to the borders to Romania and Bulgaria. The city had about 35,000 inhabitants in 1931, several hundred of them were Jews. By 1941, the number of Jews in Niš had risen to about 970, among them many refugees from Germany, Austria and Poland. German troops occupied Serbia in April 1941. In autumn 1941, the German occupying forces established a camp in the Crveni Krst (English: Red Cross) district of Niš, on the premises of a military depot which had been built in 1930. Prisoners of war, Jews, Roma, hostages and partisans as well as people suspected of collaborating with partisans were incarcerated in the Niš camp. On February 12, 1942, about 174 prisoners broke out of the camp; 105 of them survived the flight. The escapees were members of communist partisan groups. In reaction to the break-out, SS and police units carried out mass shootings of prisoners on the nearby Bubanj hill in February 1942. In the course of that month alone, some 850 prisoners were shot, among them all male Jewish prisoners and many Roma. Many of the Crveni Krst inmates were later transferred to other camps, including the Mauthausen, Ravensbrück and Auschwitz concentration camps. The Jewish women and children were deported to the Sajmište concentration camp near Belgrade in early 1942, where they were murdered in gas vans.
Image: Niš, 2010, Sign at the entrance to the former camp premises, www.goingslowly.com, Tara Alan & Tyler Kellen
Niš, 2010, Sign at the entrance to the former camp premises, www.goingslowly.com, Tara Alan & Tyler Kellen

Image: Niš, 2009, Guard post and guardhouse on the former camp premises, Dragan Bosnić
Niš, 2009, Guard post and guardhouse on the former camp premises, Dragan Bosnić
It is not known exactly how many people passed through the Crveni Krst concentration camp in Niš. It is estimated that about 30,000 prisoners were held at the camp between 1941 and 1944. Approximately 237 of the Roma held at Crveni Krst died there. Up to 2,000 prisoners were shot on the Bubanj hill, some records even state 10,000 or 12,000 victims. Many of the victims were Jews.
Image: Niš, 2009, The concrete sculptures on the Bubanj hill, Dragan Bosnić
Niš, 2009, The concrete sculptures on the Bubanj hill, Dragan Bosnić

Image: Niš, 2010, Barbed wire fence on the former camp premises, Saša Stančić
Niš, 2010, Barbed wire fence on the former camp premises, Saša Stančić
The camp premises and building remained unchanged after the liberation of the camp. On February 12, 1967, on the 25th anniversary of the prisoner break-out, the former camp was opened as a museum.
In 1963, three sculptures by artist Ivan Sabolić were erected on the execution site on the Bubanj hill a few kilometres from the camp. The high concrete columns depict clenched fists as a symbol of the partisan resistance.
Image: Niš, 2009, View of the former Crveni Krst camp premises, Dragan Bosnić
Niš, 2009, View of the former Crveni Krst camp premises, Dragan Bosnić

Image: Niš, 2010, Gate to the Crveni Krst concentration camp, www.goingslowly.com, Tara Alan & Tyler Kellen
Niš, 2010, Gate to the Crveni Krst concentration camp, www.goingslowly.com, Tara Alan & Tyler Kellen
Name
Muzej Logor Crveni Krst
Address
Bulevar 12. februar
18000 Niš
Phone
+381 (0)18 588 889
Web
https://narodnimuzejnis.rs/o-muzeju/objekti/memorijalni-kompleks-12-februar/?lang=RS#
E-Mail
info@narodnimuzejnis.rs
Open
Tuesday to Sunday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Closed on Mondays
Possibilities
Guided tours