How did the terrible "death race" take place in 1942, in which there was no winner
A lot has been written about Nazi crimes in concentration camps. Their crimes are inhumane and disgusting, but some are also striking with cynicism. One of such atrocities can be considered the so-called "death race", which took place in one of the camps on the territory of Serbia.
In the winter of 1942, the commandant of the Crveni Krst concentration camp, located near the Serbian town of Nis, decided to expand his possessions. To do this, it was necessary to demolish the existing fences on one side of the camp and move them further. Many prisoners understood that there would be no other chance to break free. Therefore, as soon as the power was turned off and the first sections of the fence were dismantled, several hundred prisoners rushed to escape.
On that day, 50 people died, but about 100 managed to safely break away from the chase and hide in the mountains. The Nazis were furious and took out their impotent anger on those people who remained in the camp. Beatings, tortures and murders, which were commonplace for the camp, were carried out with triple zeal. But it didn't seem enough to the commandant and he decided to organize... running competitions.
The prisoners were told that the commandant was organizing a running competition, the main prize of which would be freedom. Most of the unfortunate even walked with difficulty because of hunger and beatings, but the chance to escape was so tempting. Therefore, there were many who wanted to escape. These people did not know what a terrible fate awaited them.
The "death Race" took place on May 12, 1942. The commandant gave all the participants good shoes and cynically wished them good luck. Exhausted people ran with all their might, but fell exhausted on the path. The guards of the camp were ready and immediately shot those who could not get up and run further.
Few reached the finish line. But neither they, nor even the winner of the "death race" had a single chance. Needless to say, no one was going to keep his word and all the prisoners were doomed to death. Soon after the end of the competition, all the surviving participants became ill and one by one they began to die in agony. The commandant ordered arsenic to be poured into the shoes given to people. The poison entered the blood through the pores of the skin and killed every single one.
These people were among the 12 thousand victims of the Crveni Krst concentration camp. In total, from 1941 to 1944, more than 30 thousand prisoners passed through it. They were Jews, Gypsies, Yugoslav communists, partisans and their family members. Now the camp has been turned into a memorial to the victims of Nazism.
History knows many tragic pages related to the Nazi camps. One of them is the feat of Uzbek soldiers who preserved their dignity in the face of death.