REMEMBRANCE IN TIME - Index of

172
Remembrance in Time
in small villages) it was the question of blind luck, whether to be taken away or to
escape. The most Hungarians were executed in Sombor, about 3000 thousand people,
Novi Sad approximately 1500 people, in Subotica cca 850 people. Besides, in three,
partially Hungarian-populated villages of Šajkaška, there were 1200 Hungarian men
killed, while the members of their family were taken to the near death-camp of Bački
Jarak. When in the summer of 1945 the survivors became free, there were prohibited
to return to their village.
Later the Serbians reasoned the series of massacres: they told that it had been “only” a
revenge for the massacre of January, 1942; and on the other hand they told that all the
executed people were “war-criminals”. However, the Serbian part of Banat situated to
East from the Tisza was not given back to the Hungarians in 1941, but it remained the
part of Serbia, under German protectorate (there was German military administration),
so the Hungarian population of that territory could not be responsible for the abuses by
the Hungarian authority. Although, there were murders also in several Hungarian
villages of Banat (for example János Gachal – the reformed bishop of Debeljača was
killed). From the other hand they found “war criminals” also in settlements, where
there had been no atrocities against Serbians between 1942 and 1944. Furthermore,
many people, who were never found guilty, were put on the lists of war criminals,
while many youngsters under 18 years, men over 60 years and even women were
executed, who were apparently innocent. The situation was the same for the clericals,
who were also killed. According to our information altogether 32 clericals were killed
during the massacre. For example Krizosztom Körösztös, the Franciscan superior of
Novi Sad was kidnapped and killed. Ferenc Takács – chamberlain of the pope, and
abbot of Bačko Petrovo Selo – was shot to death after the mass. The 84-year-old István
Virág the abbot of Horgoš was also killed. Dénes Szabó, a roman catholic clerical had
been desperately tortured before he was killed. In some areas the Serbians were
extremely brutal: in several cases their victims were pelted, the nails of others were
torn off and some were buried alive.
In the actual phase of the researches the number of the killed Hungarian citizens can not
be accurately determined. According to the documents of the archives of Voyvodina,
about 5000 victims could be identified until now; however, as per the researches of local
history this number may exceed even the 20000. Due to the awful retaliation and the
massacres, 90000 Hungarian citizens left the region between the autumn of 1944 and the
spring of 1947.
Transylvania
In Romania, coming over the winners by the antifascist putsch of the 23rd of
August, 1944, and afterwards declaring war on Hungary (its former ally) it seemed
to be a suitable possibility for many people to see the back of the Hungarian
minority of 1.700.000. For the mass-expulsion the government was not completely
prepared, but they decided to remove the local leaders of the South-Transylvanian
Hungarian community. Accordingly, in the last few days of August and in