Museum of the Concentration Camp in Niš | Museums of Serbia

Niš Concentration Camp Museum is located in the industrial zone of the city and is the only concentration camp in Serbia open to the public. It was formerly known as the Red Cross Camp or Lager and is now a Memorial Museum that preserves the memory of the Jews, Serbs, and Roma who perished during World War II.

During World War II, it was operated by the Germans, and among the first to be brought to the camp were Jews found in the southeastern part of Serbia and the city of Niš. The camp was established in September 1941, and it is estimated that between 30,000 and 35,000 prisoners passed through it.

After the war ended, the collection of archival materials began. Personal belongings of the prisoners, documents, weapons, photographs, and letters from the camp inmates were found on the camp grounds. The Niš Concentration Camp Museum was opened to the public in 1967, commemorating the suffering of a large number of innocent victims during World War II and being one of the significant tourist attractions in Niš.

The museum is enclosed by high walls and barbed wire. Within an area of about 7 hectares, there are two auxiliary buildings, two towers, two observation posts, guard posts, the main camp building, and a fountain. It is an authentic space that still preserves the memories of those held captive in concentration camps.

The museum's permanent exhibition displays messages written by prisoners before their deaths, their living conditions, documents about escape attempts from the camp, as well as testimonies of the suffering of Jews, Serbs, and Roma. Although most of the documentation was burned by the occupiers during their retreat, the museum has preserved around 40 volumes of statements from surviving prisoners. Thanks to the preserved archive, the public can partially gain insight into the events that took place during the years of war in the Niš camp area.

The main camp building housed the prisoners and consisted of an infirmary, guard quarters, a barbershop, several solitary confinement cells, and an interrogation room. One of the ten solitary cells did not even have a ventilation opening. The floors in the building are made of concrete, and there is a ventilation and lighting opening on the roof.

This memorial museum in Niš testifies to the anti-fascist struggle and heroic resistance, and it is noteworthy that the largest number of detainees escaped from this camp in 1942. The escape was initiated by a group of 147 prisoners, and 105 of them managed to flee. This escape is considered the first organized escape from a camp in the occupied Europe at that time.

The Niš Concentration Camp Museum is open to visitors from Tuesday to Friday, from 10 am to 5 pm, and on weekends from 10 am to 3 pm. The ticket price is 200 dinars, while privileged categories of the population can purchase tickets for 150 dinars.