blowing memories

Staro Sajmište has been the first modern settlement in the site that today is Novi Beograd, anticipating the operation of expanding Belgrade across the Sava river. Established as a fairground in 1937, Staro Sajmište was a sign of Serbia’s modernization. When in 1941 Serbia was invaded by German troops, the fairground was transformed in 'Judenlager Semlin', one of the first concentration camps in Europe, created specifically for the internment of Jews. After the Jewish interns were killed, Semlin was turned into a temporary detention camp for political prisoners, captured partisans and forced labourers, most of whom were subsequently transported to various labour camps in Germany. Between May 1942 and July 1944, 32000 inmates (mainly Serbs) passed through the camp, of which 10600 were killed or died of starvation, exposure, or disease. Semlin was the largest concentration camp in Nazi occupied Serbia. In spite of its importance as a place of Holocaust, the Semlin Judenlager played a marginal place in the memorialisation of the destruction of Serbian Jewry in post-war Yugoslav/Serbian society.