Banat ( 1941 – 44 ) The Banat was a political entity established in 1941 after the occupation and partition of Yugoslavia by the Axis Powers in the historical Banat region . It was formally under the control of the German puppet Government of National Salvation in Belgrade , which theoretically had limited jurisdiction over all of the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia , but all power within the Banat was in the hands of the local minority of ethnic Germans ( " Volksdeutsche " ) . The regional civilian commissioner was Joseph - Sepp Lapp . Following the ousting of Axis forces in 1944 , this German - ruled region was dissolved and most of its territory was included into Vojvodina , one of the two autonomous provinces of Serbia within the new SFR Yugoslavia . History . German plans for the future . The local German population agitated for the German government to establish a large German state in the Danube and Tisza valleys , expressing annoyance that the Bačka and Syrmia regions in the west were awarded to Hungary and Croatia respectively after the collapse of Yugoslavia . In spite of repeated personal appeals to Hitler , they were rebuffed in this objective . In the interest of maintaining close political ties with the Hungarian and Romanian regimes Berlin preferred to retain the Banat as a potential bargaining chip with these countries , both of which desired to annex the area ( see also Greater Hungary and Greater Romania ) . In order to avoid offending either ally it was placed within the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia . Because this theoretically placed the Banat under the control of the puppet Nedić government , the Germans ordered the puppet government to proclaim it a separate administrative area under an ethnic - German vice - governor ( " Vice - Banus " ) , who was to have sole administrative authority of the region . The Banat Germans subsequently used every means at their disposal to strengthen their position compared to that of other nationalities , and to foster the development of German national feeling through the establishment of youth and adult organizations , and setting up its own school system . These attempts were made to convince the Nazi authorities of the desirability of creating a new Gau in the Danube area and parts of Transylvania ( " Siebenbürgen " ) which they tentatively called the " Prinz - Eugen Gau " , a goal never officially supported by the war - time German government . Nazi plans for the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia as a whole however intended for the country to remain under some form of permanent German control . This was believed necessary to ensure German dominion over the Danubian basin of South - Eastern Europe , an economically vital area in consideration of Germany ’ s wartime goals for the eastern territories that it expected to conquer in the Soviet Union . German plans did call for re - making the strategically located city of Belgrade as a " fortress - city of the Reich " ( " Reichsfestung Belgrad " ) to ensure control over the Iron Gate , populated only by Germans . The city ' s possible renaming to " Prinz - Eugen - Stadt " was also discussed . War crimes against Serbs , Jews and Roma . The region was ruled by the German army . The Germans instituted anti - Jewish measures immediately after the German invasion and occupation of Yugoslavia . The Jewish population of the city of Zrenjanin was rounded up and sent to the Tašmajdan concentration camp near Belgrade where they were executed . In September 1941 , there was a mass hanging of Serb and Jewish civilians . Jews were also forced into labor battalions to do forced work for the German occupation authorities . In August 1942 , German officials announced that the area was " judenrein " , i . e . Jew - cleansed . Between 1941 to 1944 , at a Stratište locality near Jabuka village in Banat , more than 10 , 000 Serbs , Jews and Roma was killed by German forces . SS Division Prinz Eugen . After the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia had been established , the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division " Prinz Eugen " was formed from Yugoslav Germans ( " Volksdeutsche " ) . The backbone of the division was made up of ethnic Germans from Banat itself , many of whom had been former officers and NCOs in either the Yugoslav Army or even the Habsburg army . The core of the Division was made up of the SS controlled Protection Force or " Selbstschutz " consisting of Volksdeutsche from the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia . " After the initial rush of " Volksdeutsche " to join , voluntary enlistments tapered off , and the new unit did not reach division size . Therefore , in August 1941 , the SS discarded the voluntary approach , and after a favourable judgement from the SS court in Belgrade , imposed a mandatory military obligation on all " Volksdeutsche " in Serbia - Banat , the first of its kind for non - Reich Germans . " Consequently over 21 , 500 ethnic Germans from the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia were conscripted into the Waffen SS . The staff of the Prinz Eugen Division was based in the city of Pančevo in Banat . The division was formed between April and October , 1942 and was commanded by the Romanian Volksdeutsche SS Gruppenfuehrer and General - lieutenant of the Waffen SS , Artur Phleps . By December 31 , 1941 , the division was made up of 21 , 102 men . The Prinz Eugen SS Division was deployed throughout the former Yugoslavia to put down the Yugoslav Partisans , but was largely unsuccessful . During the campaigns it became infamous for reprisals and atrocities against innocent Yugoslav civilians of all faiths but particularly Serbs . The division was formally accused of committing atrocities against POWs and civilians during World War II at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials . Post - war fate of ethnic Germans . After the defeat of Axis Powers , in 1944 , most of the ethnic Germans left the region , together with defeated German army . The antifascist council for the liberation of Yugoslavia ( AVNOJ ) declared the remaining German population as public enemies . They were sent to one of several villages turned into prison camps , mainly Knićanin and Sremska Mitrovica , where some of them died from disease and malnutrition . According to some claims , some were tortured or shot by the partisans . After prison camps were dissolved ( in 1948 ) , the remaining German population left Yugoslavia because of economic reasons . Population . Ethnic groups . According to the 1931 census , the population of the region numbered 585 , 579 people , including : Religion . By religion , the population included ( 1931 data ) : Number of victims . During the war , German Axis troops killed 7 , 513 inhabitants of Banat , including : Of the total number of the victims ( excluding the killed members of the resistance movement ) , 4 , 010 were men , 631 were women , 243 were old people , and 271 were children . Note : this list include only native inhabitants of Banat who fell as victims of Axis occupation . Civilians who were brought from other parts of occupied Yugoslavia and killed in Banat by German forces are not counted in this victims list .