In memoriam
Wilhelm was born and raised in Neu-Pasua, Yugoslovia, now named Nova Pazova, Syrmia, Vojvodina, Serbia. It was a settlement established by Swabian German settlers about 1790. Over 150 years, it had grown to about 7,000 inhabitants. His parents were Wilhelm Lebherz, Sr., (4 Apr. 1871 - 12 Nov. 1923) and Katharina Kuhbauch (4 Dec. 1874 - 3 Nov. 1940). His wife was Eva Flohr (12 May 1907 - 1975). The entire community was given a day’s notice to leave their land and property on October, 6, 1944. They were forced to flee by Serb Partisans affiliated with the approaching Soviet Red Army. Wilhelm and his family also started to leave, but were delayed due to the mass exodus, and temporarily returned to their home. The consequences of that delay were dreadful for the entire family, and especially for Wilhelm. Communist Partisans under the command of Josip Tito set up an interment camp in the local silk factory in Mitrowitz. It would become the most gruesome of all the Partisan camps. By the beginning of December 1944 over two thousand people were interned here. Starting November 1944 as the cold, wet winter set in, Wilhelm was forced to do slave labor, digging up mass graves the German Army had left behind. It was hard and filthy work. The many male prisoners slept in abandoned unheated barracks, on dirt floors with a little straw. All continued to weaken over the months, fed only a little soup with only a trace of grain or a little bread, at 4:30 a.m. and again in the evening after working from dawn to dark. No medical care was available and the several men who typically died each night were thrown in a truck and hauled to mass graves. Later, work shifted to repairing a railroad torn up by the retreating German Army. Half-dead men were forced to carry heavy rails. All continued to deteriorate in what was largely an extermination camp, due to the terrible work and living conditions, but especially due to slow starvation. Wilhelm died during May 1945 just as the war ended. However, slave labor continued in Tito’s death camps long after the war. Only 20 percent of all prisoners survived at this particular camp which continued to exist until 1947. The horrors of this work and extermination camp are described at the link below. https://www.dvhh.org/history/atrocities/chap_4_tito_1944-48-Srem.htm#Mitrowitz Family genealogy: http://gen-strecker.de/genealogie/tree/sbindex.php?l=d&id=46584&k=all&sbtree=Donauschwaben&anz=88127&rs=76964
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