Global InformationNovi Sad raid information
| Novi Sad Raid | |
|---|---|
| Part of World War II in Yugoslavia | |
 Corpses of killed civilians in the barracks in Novi Sad, Futoška Street, January 1942. | |
| Location | Southern Bačka, Hungarian occupation of Yugoslav territories (Serbia) |
| Date | 4–29 January 1942 |
| Target | Predominantly Serb and Jewish civilians |
Attack type | Mass murder, summary executions |
| Deaths | 3,000–4,000 |
| Perpetrators | Royal Hungarian Army |
The Novi Sad raid (Serbian Cyrillic: Рација) also known as the Raid in southern Bačka, the Novi Sad massacre, the Újvidék massacre, (or simply The Raid) was a massacre carried out by the Királyi Honvédség, the armed forces of Hungary, during World War II, after the Hungarian occupation and annexation of former Yugoslav territories. It resulted in the deaths of 3,000–4,000 civilians in the southern Bačka (Bácska) region.
The Hungarian occupational authorities began raiding towns and villages in southern Bačka as early as 4 January 1942, ostensibly as a means of suppressing Partisan resistance, though the historical record shows that the Hungarian Government was attempting to improve its geopolitical standing vis-à-vis Germany. The first town to be raided was Čurug, followed by Gospođinci, Titel, Temerin, Đurđevo and Žabalj. The victims were seemingly detained at random while conducting everyday activities. On 20 January, the city of Novi Sad (Hungarian: Újvidék) was surrounded and placed on curfew; its telephone lines were cut. Over the next several days, the occupational authorities went about arresting "suspicious" individuals. More than 1,000 of the city's residents were killed by the time the raid ended. The victims in both Novi Sad and the wider region were mostly Serbs and Jews, though several Romani, Rusyns, Russians and Hungarians were killed as well. In Novi Sad, victims were forced to march across the frozen Danube, only to perish when the ice sheet was shattered by shelling from the shore. Some were pushed into holes in the ice sheet, causing them to drown or succumb to hypothermia, while others were shot in the street.
The Hungarian government and news media condemned the raid, calling for an immediate investigation. In 1943, the Hungarians conducted a mass trial of those suspected of organizing the raid, handing down prison terms ranging from 10 to 15 years. The convicts escaped to Germany. After the war, several trials were held in Hungary and Yugoslavia, resulting in the conviction and execution of a number of key organizers. The final court proceedings relating to the raid took place in 2011, when Sándor Képíró was tried and acquitted of murdering over 30 civilians in Novi Sad.
The raid has been fictionalized in literature and film in both Serbia and Hungary. The killings continue to strain relations between the two countries. In June 2013, Hungarian President János Áder formally apologized for the war crimes that the Hungarian military had committed against Serbian civilians during the war.