Quoting Kristina Jorgić’s The Kragujevac Massacres and the Jewish Persecution of October 1941:
[Axis] soldiers were attacked in early October by the Communist Partisans and by the Chetniks under Draža Mihajlović in the village Ljuljaci, near Gornji Milanovac. The massacre in Kragujevac was a direct reprisal for the [Third Reich’s] losses in that battle: 10 killed and 26 wounded Germans. A German report stated that: “The executions in Kragujevac occurred although there had been no attacks on members of the Wehrmacht in this city, for the reason that not enough hostages could be found elsewhere.”7
On 18 October 1941, all of the Jewish males in Kragujevac were arrested. Reading their messages we can state with certainty that they did not expect a tragic ending, while others had a clear awareness of the near death.8 The order of execution was forwarded in the evening on the same day. The next day the [Wehrmacht] executed about 420 people.9
As this number was insufficient to meet the quota,10 over the period of 18–21 October, the entire city was raided. The “Obznana,” the German notification on 21 October 1941, stated: “For that reason (the attack on [Axis] soldiers) 100 people were shot for every slain German soldier, and for every wounded 50, mainly communists, bandits, and their supporters, 2300 altogether.”11
On the other hand, in the testimonies of the survivors, historians found a statement of Dr. Noah Snerson. He asked the [Axis] soldiers: “Where are you taking us?” They answered: “Do not be afraid; Germans do not kill. It is not allowed by our culture.”12 On 31 October 1941, Franz Böhme, the Commanding General in Serbia, sent a report to Walter Kuntze on the executions that took place in Serbia: “Shooting: 405 hostages in Belgrade (total up to now in Belgrade, 4,750). 90 Communists in Camp Sebac. 2,300 hostages in Kragujevac. 1,700 hostages in Kraljevo.”13
Other events that happened today (October 20:
1887: Prince Yasuhiko Asaka, Imperial general who sanctioned the Nanjing Massacre, was unfortunately born.
1918: Martin Drewes, Luftwaffe aviator, existed.
1944: The Axis lost Belgrade to the Red Army and Yugoslav Partisans.
1953: Werner Baumbach, Axis bomber pilot, dropped dead.
1967: Shigeru Yoshida, Imperial ambassador to Fascist Italy and the United Kingdom, expired.