Krndija's Death Camp mass grave cemetery
© Dr. V. Geiger

In October 1944 after Tito-Partisans came to power in  Yugoslavia, there were still 194,759 ethnic Germans (Donauschwaben) living there. Of those 

6,760 were killed prior to having been sent to the starvation camps.

166,970 were being put into the starvation camps between 1945 and 1948.

48,447 survived the starvation camps.

12,380 were deported to Russian slave labor camps. Of those

1,994 died in Russian slave labor camps.

As per Mrs. Maerzluft’s recollection in Hrastovac during that time

- Jakob Mueller was found dead in a well at the end of town.

- Georg Bohmer was found dead on top his manure pile.

- Johann Shaeffer was kidnapped and found dead at a Partisan camp in a wooded area.

-  The Partisans dragged Hans Kaiser to death behind horse and wagon.

- The Partisans raped to death Mrs. Bulich (the town's mid-wife).

By May 1945 those who were not killed yet were evicted from their hereditary homes and were placed into forced labor and starvation camps with the hope by the powers of the time to fully eliminate them. Many prisoners died of starvation, were beaten to death or shot or died on illnesses like typhus and malaria. The camps were closed in 1948.

 KRNDIJA was one of the eight most notorious Yugoslav death camps for the country’s ethnic German minority where they perished en mass.

Hrastovacer who perished in Krndija
As per recollection of Mrs. Maerzluft

Baecker , Anna, nee Faust, † in Krndija; daughter-in-law of Johann & Kristina Baecker;

Baecker, Johann, *1876 March 29; † in 1946 in Krndija;

Baecker, Kristina, nee Ferber, *ca. 1883; † in Krndija; wife of Johann Baecker;

Faust, Anna, nee Rapp; † in Krndija; mother of Anna Kautmann and Eva Kehl;

Kah, Anna; † a few days after release from Krndija;

Kautmann, Anna, nee Faust, † in Krnidja, daughter of Anna Faust;

Kehl, Eva, nee Faust and little daughter Anna, † in 1945 in Krndija,

Ochsenhoffer, Kristina, † a few days after release from Krndija;

Velika Mlinskaer who died in Krndija:

As per recollection of Mrs. Ferber

 Birkenbach, Anna, nee Eiler, * in Antunovac; † 1945, December;

Ferber, Elisabeth, nee Hock; † 1885, † 1946, March;

Knies, Elisabeth, nee Krauss, * 1905 Sep 29; † 1946 Feb 21;

Kraus, Heinrich, *1877 Jul 7; † 1946 Mar 1, father of Elisabeth Knies;

Lux, Elisabeth, nee Mueller, *1885 Jan 27; † 1946 Feb 22;

Mueller, Peter, † 1946, father of Elisabeth Lux;

Rittinger, Katharina, nee Ferber, *1921 Aug. 2 in Mlinska, † 1946 Mar 23;

Rittinger, Katharina, nee Hock, 1887 Sept. 14, † 1946 Mar 26;

Rohmann, Christina, nee Kah, *1900 in Hrastovac; † in Krndija;

Rotenbiller, Elisabeth, nee Rohmann, *1925 Jan 1; † 1946;

The silence has to be broken.
The homage is long overdue.

Other Surrounding Villages:

As per contribution of Dr. V. Geiger

Frudinger, Anna, nee Kniess, from Bastaji, *1895;

Frudinger, Georg, from Bastaji, *1885, Apr 26;

Grünwald, Eva, nee Summenauer from Bastaji, *1886 Mar 6;

Hock, Stjepan from Sokolovac, *1866; † 1945 Sep 23;

Jelinek, Wenzel, from Kakinac, *1882 † 1945 Oct 8;

Staubhenzer, Lisa from Daruvar, *1867 † 1945 Sep 1; 

 

Krndija Deaths as researched by 

 Dr. V. Geiger

Family Name	Name	Residence / Place of Birth	Birth dates	Death dates
Bäcker	Anna nee Faust	Hrastovac, Daruvar	?	?
Bäcker	Kristina nee Ferber	Hrastovac, Daruvar	1883. ?	?
Bäcker	Johan(n)	Hrastovac, Daruvar	1876. 03. 29.	1946.
Birkenbach	Anna nee Eiler	Mlinska, Garešnica / Antunovac, Pakrac	?	1945. 12
Faust	Anna nee Rapp	Hrastovac, Daruvar	?	?
Ferber	Elisabetha nee Hock	Mlinska, Garešnica / Kaposszekcső, Baranja, Hungary	1885.	1946. 03.
Frudinger	Georg	Bastaji, Daruvar	1885. 04. 26.	?
Frudinger	Anna rođ. Knies	Bastaji, Daruvar	1895.	?
Grünwald	Eva nee Summenauer	Bastaji, Daruvar	1882. 03. 06.	?
Hack	Stjepan	Sokolovac, Daruvar	1866.	1945. 09. 23.
Jelinek	Wenzel	Kakinac, Bjelovar / Czeslowakia	1882.	1945. 10. 08.
Kah	Anna	Hrastovac, Daruvar	?	?
Kautmann	Anna nee Faust	Hrastovac, Daruvar	?	?
Kehl	Eva nee Faust	Hrastovac, Daruvar	?	1945.
Kehl	Anna	Hrastovac, Daruvar	?	1945.
Knies	Elisabetha nee Kraus	Mlinska, Garešnica / Bátaapáti, Tolna, Hungary	1905. 09. 29.	1946. 02. 21.
Kraus	Heinrich	Mlinska, Garešnica / Bátaapáti, Tolna, Hungary	1877. 07. 07.	1946. 03. 01.
Lux	Elisabetha nee Müller	Mlinska, Garešnica / Bátaapáti, Tolna, Hungary	1895. 01. 27	1946. 02. 22.
Müller	Peter, Sen.	Mlinska, Garešnica / Bátaapáti, Tolna, Hungary	?	1946.
Ochsenhoffer	Kristina	Hrastovac, Daruvar	?	?
Rittinger	Katharina  nee Hock	Mlinska, Garešnica / Kaposszekcső, Baranja, Hungary	1887. 09. 14.	1946. 03. 26.
Rittinger	Katharina nee Ferber	Mlinska, Garešnica / Mlinska ili Kaposszekcső, Baranja, Hungary	1920. / 1921. 08. 02.	1946. 03. 23.
Rohmann	Christina nee Kah	Mlinska, Garešnica / Hrastovac, Daruvar	1900. 05.	1946.
Rottenbiller	Elisabetha nee Rohmann	Mlinska, Garešnica / Mlinska	1925. 01. 01.	1945. 12. / 1946. 01.
Rottenbiller	Hilda	Mlinska, Garešnica / Mrkvice, Slovenija	1945. 01. 06.	1946.
Štaubhenzer	Liza	Daruvar	1867.	1945. 09. 01.

 

Gravestone of Johann Baecker 1876-1946
© Dr. V. Geiger