Smederevo Fortress explosion
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Smederevo Fortress Explosion was a disaster that occurred in Smederevo, then Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia (part of Kingdom of Yugoslavia under German occupation, now in modern Serbia), on the 5 June 1941. Stockpiled ammunition and gasoline in Smederevo Fortress belonging to defeated Royal Yugoslav Army exploded due to unknown reasons. Number of casulties is alco uncertain, in range from several hundreds to 2,500 killed.
After the capitulation of the Yugoslavia in the April War, the Germans designated Smederevo as a place where captured equipment, weapons, ammunition and gasoline of the former Royal Yugoslav Army would be stored, from where it would be transferred to Germany, which was preparing to attack the USSR. Smederevo was connected by railway and is located on the Danube. The seized material was loaded by RYA prisoners.
That day in Smederevo was a market day and the inhabitants of the surrounding settlements came to the city to trade. Also, school certificates were also being given to pupils that day. The explosion happened around 2:10 PM, just at the moment when the train for Velika Plana was passing by the fortress, which was transporting the workers home. According to witness statements, shots were heard first (which could mean that ammunition was set on fire first), followed by a large explosion about two minutes later. The explosion was so strong it made a created 50 meters wide and 9 meters deep and destroyed almost entire Smederevo. Window glasses cracked in settlements around Smederevo, and tremor was felt in Velika Plana, Bela Crkva, Vršac and Belgrade.
Among the victims were Milan Nedić's son, daughter-in-law and grandson. For the reconstruction of the city, the Commissioner Government appointed Dimitrije Ljotić, a lawyer from Smederevo and the president of Zbor, as the Extraordinary Commissioner for the Reconstruction of Smederevo. He brought 120 young members of his movement to Smederevo and organized a service for the reconstruction of the city with them.
Some speculate that the explosion was caused by a cigarette butt of a German soldier, an English plane that flew over Smederevo or maybe a local patriot. Some also believe that Soviet agent Mustafa Golubić, who was arrested two days later in Belgrade, was responsible for it.[1]
In 1973, a monument to the victims of the explosion was erected. The author of the monument is the sculptor Selimir Jovanović, who himself survived the explosion.
References
Books
- Petranović, Branko (1992). Srbija u Drugom svetskom ratu 1939—1945. Beograd: Vojnoizdavački i novinski centar.
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