Nacistično uničevalno taborišče za sovjetske vojne ujetnike v Mariboru : magistrsko delo

Dreu, Lara Iva (author), Repe, Božo (mentor), Mikša, Peter (comentor)

Namen pričujočega magistrskega dela je predstaviti širši javnosti malo poznano uničevalno taborišče Stalag XVIII D (306) za sovjetske vojne ujetnike, ki je med drugo svetovno vojno delovalo v Mariboru. V mestni četrti Melje je bilo junija 1941 najprej ustanovljeno taborišče za zavezniške vojake, ki so bili pri Rdečem križu registrirani kot vojni ujetniki in so bili deležni pravic, ki jih je ta status prinašal; tako so na primer redno dobivali pakete s hrano. Septembra istega leta pa je bilo obstoječe taborišče povečano za t. i. Russenlager, ki je bil namenjen izključno sovjetskim vojnim ujetnikom in je bil popolnoma ločen od dela za zahodne zaveznike. Sovjetski vojni ujetniki so bili povsem brezpravni in nezaščiteni s strani mednarodnih zakonov. Bivali so v nečloveških razmerah, zato je zaradi sestradanosti, surovega ravnanja in bolezni v taborišču smrti zgolj v nekaj mesecih, natančneje od jeseni 1941 do spomladi 1942, umrlo približno 4000 do 5000 sovjetskih ujetnikov, preživelo pa jih je le okoli 500. V nalogi sem preučevala razloge za tako kruto ravnanje s sovjetskimi ujetniki, ki je bilo značilno tudi za druga tovrstna taborišča. Ugotovitve so pokazale, da ni šlo za naključje, ampak za plod premišljene politike nemških oblasti, ki so v Sovjetih videle manjvrednega ideološkega sovražnika. V okviru magistrskega dela je bilo zbranih in analiziranih 386 taboriščnih kartotek sovjetskih vojnih ujetnikov, ki so med letoma 1941 in 1942 umrli v uničevalnem mariborskem taborišču. Prav tako je bilo odkritih nekaj kartotek ujetnikov, ki so taborišče smrti preživeli, pa tudi tistih, ki so bivali v novem delovnem taborišču. Pregled gradiva v Štajerskem deželnem arhivu v Gradcu je namreč pokazal, da je leta 1942 prišlo do preureditve Stalaga XVIII D, ki je med drugim dobil sanitarije, barake in lazaret, prav tako se je močno izboljšala prehrana, ki so jo prejemali sovjetski vojni ujetniki. Zaradi izboljšanih življenjskih pogojev je občutno padla tudi smrtnost.

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: Stalag XVIII D (306), sovjetski vojni ujetniki, uničevalno taborišče, taborišče smrti, Maribor, druga svetovna vojna
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Typology: 2.09 - Master's Thesis
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Place of publishing: Ljubljana
• Publisher: L. I. Dreu
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: 130 str.
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-141394
• UDC: 930
• COBISS.SI-ID: 132834819
• Publication date in RUL: 29.09.2022

DREU, Lara Iva, 2022, Nacistično uničevalno taborišče za sovjetske vojne ujetnike v Mariboru : magistrsko delo [online]. Master’s thesis. Ljubljana : L. I. Dreu. [Accessed 16 May 2025]. Retrieved from: https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/IzpisGradiva.php?lang=eng&id=141394

Secondary language

• Language: English
• Title: Nazi extermination camp for Soviet prisoners of war in Maribor

Abstract

The purpose of this master's thesis is to present to the general public the almost unknown extermination camp Stalag XVIII D (306) for Soviet prisoners of war which operated in Maribor during the Second World War. In June 1941, a camp for Allied soldiers was first established in the city quarter of Melje. They were registered as prisoners of war with the Red Cross and enjoyed the rights that this status brought; for example, they regularly received food parcels. In September of the same year, however, the existing camp was enlarged to the so-called Russenlager which was intended exclusively for Soviet prisoners of war and was completely separated from the part for the Western Allies. The Soviet prisoners of war were completely unprotected by international laws and were deprived of rights associated with prisoner of war status. They lived in inhumane conditions; due to starvation, cruel treatment, and illness about 4,000 to 5,000 Soviet prisoners died in this death camp in just a few months, from the fall of 1941 to the spring of 1942, and only about 500 survived. In my master's thesis, I examined the reasons for such cruel treatment of Soviet prisoners that was also typical of other camps of this kind. The findings showed that it was not a coincidence but the result of a deliberate policy of the German authorities who saw the Soviets as an inferior ideological enemy. As part of the master's thesis, 386 camp files of Soviet prisoners of war who died in the extermination Maribor camp between 1941 and 1942 were collected and analysed. Also, some files of prisoners who survived the death camp were found, as well as the files of those who were staying in the new labour camp. A review of the material in the Styrian Provincial Archives in Graz showed that Stalag XVIII D was reorganised in 1942 and equipped with toilets, barracks and an infirmary; also the food received by Soviet prisoners of war was greatly improved. Due to better living conditions, mortality also dropped significantly.

• Keywords: Stalag XVIII D (306), Soviet prisoners of war, extermination camp, death camp, Maribor, Second World War