Massacres of civilians during World War II
1,755 Yugoslav Civilians Massacred by German Army: Kraljevo 1941
15m
In October 1941, German troops of the 717th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht, the German armed forces, carried out mass reprisals in Kraljevo, occupied Yugoslavia. After resistance attacks left German soldiers dead and wounded, civilians were arrested in large numbers and systematically executed under the German policy of killing hostages in retaliation for resistance activity. German records listed 1,736 men and 19 women killed in Kraljevo and the surrounding area.
This documentary examines how the massacre unfolded, the Wehrmacht units and commanders responsible, and the wider system of German occupation and reprisals in Serbia. It also follows the post-war fate of senior commanders connected to these policies, including Wilhelm Keitel, Franz Böhme and Wilhelm List.
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