Rab battalion
Encyclopedia
The Rab Battalion was a unit of the Yugoslav partisans during the Second World War. It was formed by and from Jewish survivors of Rab concentration camp
upon their liberation in September 1943.
Rab concentration camp was one of the Italian concentration and internment camps
during World War II
. It opened in July 1942 near the village of Kampor, on the Adriatic
island of Rab
. The camp was liberated after the armistice with Italy in September 1943, whereupon about 245 Jewish survivors formed the Partisans' Rab battalion intending to fight Nazi German forces occupying Yugoslavia
.
With the help of local partisans, who sent a ship to the island, the battalion was transferred to the Croatian mainland on September 17, 1943. The battalion originally comprised some 245 Jews aged 15-30 with little or no military training, and one medical unit with 35 women who offered to serve as nurses. With those who joined later, there were 691 members of the Jewish battalion. In addition to the fighters, about 3,000 Jews from the Rab camp — almost all of them women, elderly and children — were shipped from the island to the mainland by the Partisans and dispersed into territories held by them. The recorded total of 204 Jews who remained behind in the Rab camp, most of them very old or sick, were transported to Auschwitz when the Germans came to the island. None survived.
After walking north for 16 days over mountains and through forest, the Jewish fighters joined the 7th Partisan Division. In addition to the battalion, 648 former inmates of the concentration camp joined the Partisan movement, meaning that from the Rab camp 1,339 former inmates joined the People's Liberation War.
The battalion took part in heavy fighting against Germany's and the Independent State of Croatia's
forces in the Croatian regions of Banovina, Kordun
and Lika
, and due to severe losses suffered the battalion had to be disbanded and its members absorbed by other Partisan units.
Rab concentration camp
The Rab concentration camp was an Italian concentration and internment camp on the Adriatic island of Rab, now part of the Republic of Croatia, during World War II. The camp was located at...
upon their liberation in September 1943.
Rab concentration camp was one of the Italian concentration and internment camps
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It opened in July 1942 near the village of Kampor, on the Adriatic
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
island of Rab
Rab
Rab is an island in Croatia and a town of the same name located just off the northern Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea.The island is long, has an area of and 9,480 inhabitants . The highest peak is Kamenjak at 408 meters...
. The camp was liberated after the armistice with Italy in September 1943, whereupon about 245 Jewish survivors formed the Partisans' Rab battalion intending to fight Nazi German forces occupying Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
.
With the help of local partisans, who sent a ship to the island, the battalion was transferred to the Croatian mainland on September 17, 1943. The battalion originally comprised some 245 Jews aged 15-30 with little or no military training, and one medical unit with 35 women who offered to serve as nurses. With those who joined later, there were 691 members of the Jewish battalion. In addition to the fighters, about 3,000 Jews from the Rab camp — almost all of them women, elderly and children — were shipped from the island to the mainland by the Partisans and dispersed into territories held by them. The recorded total of 204 Jews who remained behind in the Rab camp, most of them very old or sick, were transported to Auschwitz when the Germans came to the island. None survived.
After walking north for 16 days over mountains and through forest, the Jewish fighters joined the 7th Partisan Division. In addition to the battalion, 648 former inmates of the concentration camp joined the Partisan movement, meaning that from the Rab camp 1,339 former inmates joined the People's Liberation War.
The battalion took part in heavy fighting against Germany's and the Independent State of Croatia's
Croatian Armed Forces
The Croatian Armed Forces were the armed forces of the Independent State of Croatia which were formed in 1944 with the uniting of the Croatian Home Guard and the Ustaše militia forces....
forces in the Croatian regions of Banovina, Kordun
Kordun
The Kordun region is a part of central Croatia from the bottom of the Petrova Gora mountain range, which extends along the rivers Korana and Slunjčica, and forms part of the border region to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The southern border of Kordun touches the Lika region...
and Lika
Lika
Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass...
, and due to severe losses suffered the battalion had to be disbanded and its members absorbed by other Partisan units.