Danube Park and approach to the quay
Listen at the stop, then read the transcript and follow the sources behind the story.
Listen
Transcript
Danube Park is part of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century civic city that grew between the historic centre and river.
Parks can make cities appear peaceful enough to erase conflict from view. Novi Sad requires the opposite discipline.
The Danube connected the city to commerce, empire and neighbouring regions. It also formed a political boundary at different moments and became a killing site in January 1942.
Before reaching the memorial, it is useful to understand occupation context.
After the Axis attack on Yugoslavia in April 1941, Hungary annexed Bačka, including Novi Sad. The occupation authorities treated parts of the local population, especially Serbs and Jews, as politically suspect or racially targeted.
The January 1942 raid was presented as an anti-partisan security operation. In practice, civilians were murdered on a large scale.
Historical numbers vary depending on whether one counts Novi Sad alone or the wider Bačka raids. Responsible interpretation should not manufacture one universal figure where sources define different geographic scopes.
The established facts are clear: mass killing took place; Serbs and Jews formed the largest victim groups in Novi Sad; Roma and others were also targeted; many victims were shot and thrown into or beneath the ice of the Danube.
Walk toward the quay with that geography in mind.
Our next stop is the Family memorial. It exists not to make the waterfront sadder but to prevent a beautiful river from becoming historically neutral.