page_title: Government of National Salvation
section_title: Racial persecution
hierarchical_section_title: Government of National Salvation / Racial persecution
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Scherl Bildtext unter Bild 183-L29091: Krieg auf dem Balkan: Belgrad. Die Juden in Belgrad werden für Aufräumungsarbeiten erfasst. PK-Aufnahme: Kriegsberichter: Neubauer 4683-41 "Fr." "Fr. OKW" April 41
context_page_description: The Government of National Salvation, also referred to as Nedić's government and Nedić's regime, was the second Serbian collaborationist puppet government, after the Commissioner Government, established on the German-occupied territory of Serbia during World War II. It was appointed by the German Military Commander in Serbia and operated from 29 August 1941 to October 1944. Unlike the Independent State of Croatia, the regime in the occupied Serbia was never accorded status in international law and did not enjoy formal diplomatic recognition on the part of the Axis powers.
  The GNS enjoyed some support. The Prime Minister throughout was General Milan Nedić. The Government of National Salvation was evacuated from Belgrade through Budapest to Kitzbühel in the first week of October 1944 before the German withdrawal from Serbia was complete.
context_section_description: Racial laws were introduced in all occupied territories with immediate effects on Jews and Roma people, as well as causing the imprisonment of those opposed to Nazism. Several concentration camps were formed in Serbia and at the 1942 Anti-Freemason Exhibition in Belgrade the city was pronounced to be free of Jews (Judenfrei). On 1 April 1942, a Serbian Gestapo was formed. An estimated 120,000 people were interned in Nazi-run concentration camps in the occupied territory between 1941 and 1944. 50,000 to 80,000 were killed during this period. The Banjica Concentration Camp was jointly run by the German Army and Nedic's regime. Serbia became the second country in Europe, following Estonia, to be proclaimed Judenfrei (free of Jews). Approximately 14,500 Serbian Jews – 90 percent of Serbia's Jewish population of 16,000 – were murdered in World War II.
  Collaborationist armed formations forces were involved, either directly or indirectly, in the mass killings of Jews, Roma and those Serbs who sided with any anti-German resistance or were suspects of being a member of such. These forces were also responsible for the killings of many Croats and Muslims; however, some Croats who took refuge in the occupied territory were not discriminated against. After the war, the Serbian involvement in many of these events and the issue of Serbian collaboration were subject to historical revisionism by Serbian leaders.
  The following were the concentration camps established in the occupied territory:
  Banjica concentration camp (Belgrade)
  Crveni krst concentration camp (Niš)
  Topovske Šupe (Belgrade)
  Šabac concentration camp
caption: Jews detained in Belgrade, April 1941
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