MRC Maribor works closely with the city of Niš in Serbia, which shares a similarly difficult, horrific history with Maribor during World War II. The Crveni Krst concentration camp is one of the few preserved Nazi camps in Southeast Europe and today operates as a memorial museum within the National Museum of Niš. The camp was established by the German occupying forces in 1941 and was disbanded in October 1944. It served as a prison, collection and transit center for political prisoners, Jews and partisans. More than 30,000 people passed through the camp, many of whom were later executed at Bubanj. If we recall the iconic escape of Allied soldiers from Stalag XVIII D (more precisely from the construction site in Ožbalt) Vranov let, the “Red Cross” and Stalag have another point in common, namely that one of the largest escapes from Nazi camps in Europe took place here in February 1942, when around 105 prisoners escaped from the camp, although many of them later died or were recaptured. In retaliation, the occupiers carried out mass executions. MRC Maribor is already actively cooperating with the director of the Red Cross, Nebojša Ozimič, as it is from here that we are also transferring the exhibition about Stalag XVIII D, by Dr. Daniel Siter, to Belgrade.
During our visit, we were also received by the president of the Palilula district of Niš, Bratislav Vučković, with whom we talked about cooperation and future plans.
Our hosts also took us to the Bubanj Memorial Park (a hill above Niš), which is dedicated to the victims of World War II. During the German occupation, Bubanj was the site of mass shootings, where approximately 10,000 people were killed – civilians, prisoners and camp inmates from the infamous “Red Cross” camp in Niš. The most recognizable part of the park are three large concrete fists (13-16 m high), representing a man, a woman and a child, and at the same time symbolizing resistance, suffering and rebellion.
