Holocaust Research Center says part of WW 2 death camp torn down

Staro sajmište,
N1

The Belgrade-based Center for Holocaust Research and Education warned that parts of a WW 2 Nazi death camp were being torn down in the Serbian capital.

The Center said that the so-called German Pavilion of the Staro Sajmiste (Lager Semlin) death camp was being torn down by a demolition crew. The building is one of several that remain of the pre-war Belgrade Fair which the Nazis and Ustasha used to imprison and kill Jews, Serbs and Roma. The Serbian authorities said several years ago that the site would be turned into a memorial center. Staro Sajmiste lies just across the river from the elite Belgrade Waterfront housing and commercial neighborhood.

The Center called the Belgrade city authorities to intervene to protect the site. A press release said that the roof of the pavilion was removed and that neighboring buildings were being torn down by a demolition crew who did not identify themselves. It added that the German Pavilion and more than half of the rest of the Staro Sajmiste site do not enjoy the protection afforded monuments in Belgrade.

The demolition drew fierce reactions from opposition parties. The Zajedno (Together) opposition party demanded an immediate stop to the demolition while the Ujedinjeni (United) MP group called the government-run heritage protection offices to publish the projects that call for the demolition.

Chief Rabii of Serbia Isak Asiel told N1 that the Jewish Community knew about the plans to demolish the German Pavilion which he believes was a garage for trucks during the war. “We knew about this a few years ago and said it was OK. That was before the law on the Staro Sajmiste site was adopted,” he said and added that the law clearly defined the site.