The eighty-third anniversary of the 5 June tragedy was marked in Smederevo today.
On this day in 1941, a huge quantity of ammunition exploded in Smederevo Fortress; the German occupying army had seized it and stored it there with the intention of using it in further fighting.
The force of the explosion destroyed a large part of the city, and several thousand people lost their lives. The exact number of victims has never been established.
Besides residents of Smederevo, those killed on 5 June included passengers on the train to Velika Plana, Grammar School leavers who had come to collect their diplomas, actors of the Serbian National Theatre from Novi Sad who were on tour in Smederevo, and numerous villagers who had come to town for market day.
In remembrance of all the victims and of the time when the tragedy occurred, a locomotive whistle sounded from Smederevo railway station at 14:14 today, followed by a commemorative gathering.
Wreaths were laid at the 5 June Monument on behalf of the City of Smederevo by the Mayor of Smederevo, Jasmina Vojinović, and the President of the City Assembly, Milan Perić, followed by representatives of the Smederevo Police Department, the families of the victims, the City Board of the SPS, SUBNOR, the Association of Disabled War Veterans of All Wars, the Association of Disabled War and Peacetime Veterans, the Association of Civilian War Invalids, the Association of Reserve Military Officers, the Association of Volunteers, their Descendants and Admirers of the Wars of Liberation 1912–1918, and Smederevo Grammar School students.
“The large number of lives lost obliges us to remember this date always, and that is why every year we gather here in front of the 5 June Monument to recall the victims and the tragedy that befell us at the very beginning of the Second World War.
The fifth of June 1941 is the most tragic event in the history of Smederevo, described in the harrowing testimonies of survivors, many of whom were later engaged in clearing the rubble. We are grateful to everyone who helped the city come back to life and develop. Our task is to talk about all this to younger generations, to remind them of the horrors we lived through during the war and to show how difficult the road to Smederevo’s recovery was after 5 June 1941,” the Mayor of Smederevo, Jasmina Vojinović, said.
At noon, a memorial service for the victims of the 5 June tragedy was held at the Old Cemetery. A wreath was laid at the memorial ossuary on behalf of the City of Smederevo by the Deputy Mayor and the Assistant to the Mayor, Vladimir Nešić and Branko Milanović.
A commemorative programme to mark the 83rd anniversary of the 5 June tragedy was performed by Smederevo Grammar School students, pupils of Music School “Kosta Manojlović” and the choir “Kir Stefan Srbin”.
