Obj. ID: 50025  Stratište Memorial Complex at the Jabuka Killing Site in Pančevo, Serbia, 1981

The Stratište Memorial Complex stands on the road Pančevo-Jabuka, 6 km from Pančevo. It commemorates 12,000 Jews, Serbs, and Roma who were executed near and at this spot during World War II, between 1941 and 1944, according to orders of Rudolf Kremling, the Pančevo Police Chief.

In 1945, the memorial pyramid was erected to commemorate victims of the crimes committed on this spot. The monument was unveiled by the then-president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia Dr. Friedrich Pops (1874-1948). The inscription in Serbo-Croatian was the following: 'Niže ove humke počiva pepeo mase nevinih žrtava koje su pobile horde Hitlerovog Trećeg Rajha i Nemci iz Banata. Hitlerovi zlikovci spalili su kasnije njihove kosti da bi prikrili trag svog gnusnog zločina. Večan pomen nedužnim žrtvama. Večna sramota nemačkim varvarima'

[Translation: Beneath this burial mound lie the ashes of masses of innocent victims murdered by the hordes of Hitler's Third Reich and the Germans from Banat. Later on, Hitler's villains burned their bones to hide the trace of their abominable crime. Eternal memory to the innocent victims. Eternal shame on German barbarians.]

In the 1970s, the construction of a larger memorial complex was initiated. Architect Nebojša Delja was commissioned to design the memorial complex. The memorial complex 'Stratište' was unveiled on November 22, 1981 - marking the fortieth anniversary of the beginning of the executions at this site.

The inscription on the commemorative plaque was originally adorned only with two five-pointed stars and the memorial inscription. The monument was vandalized in 2011 and several times during 2013, when the tips of the left-hand side furrow were broken and the plaque was stolen. In July 2014, the monument was again vandalized, when one of the bronze furrows was stolen.

In 2019, the plaque was replaced. Its design remained almost the same, only the top five-pointed star was replaced by the Magen David, the Christian cross, and the Roma Dharmachakra wheel, symbolizing the ethnic origins of the victims. Commemorations on Yom HaShoah - the Holocaust Remembrance Day have been held annually on the site. The Jewish community of Pančevo and the Pančevo anti-fascist union organize and host commemorations on November 9, the International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism (in memory of Kristallnacht). The Pančevo municipality maintains the memorial.