Professional paper

Songs from Krndija Camp (1945 to 1946)

Vladimir Geiger

Abstract

After the Second World War, in the summer of 1945, the abandoned village of Krndija in Đakovština (area around Đakovo) turned into a camp for the remaining German inhabitants of Đakovština, a part of Slavonia, other parts of Croatia and Bosnian Posavina. Krndija Camp existed from 15 August 1945 until 15 May 1946 and was one of the largest camps for the “Volksdeutsche” in post-war Yugoslavia. It is estimated that about 3,000 to 4,000 internees passed through Krndija Camp; about 1,000 lost their lives. There is an abundance of source material and literature about Krndija Camp in 1945-1946.
Tomislav Wittenberg (1937) from Požega, who was in Krndija as a child, has recalled and written down a song about the pier, a dirge (untitled), that was sung by girls, camp inmates, in the evenings and at night. The ethno-choreologist Josip Vinkešević registered in 1994 in Sopje (Podravska Slatina) a similar song, obviously from the same source, entitled “Jednog dana snijeg i kiša leti”, or “Krndija je žicom opletena”. A song in German by camp inmate Johann Rittinger (1880) is preserved under the title “Der Schrecken von Krndia”. The testimony of Krndija Camp consisting of songs in Croatian and German is interesting, picturesque and not to be missed.

Keywords

concentration camps; Yugoslavia; Volksdeutschers; songs; Đakovo; Krndija

Hrčak ID:

11343

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/11343

Publication date:

1.10.2002.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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