The Storage Hangars of the Trading Company “Velepromet”

Near the Memorial Centre of the Homeland War, on the road leading to the village of Negoslavci, there are storage sheds belonging to the commercial enterprise “Velepromet”. In September 1991, when the aggressor seized part of the Sajmište district, Velepromet’s storage facilities were converted into an assembly centre and detention camp for thousands of captured defenders and civilians. The storage area comprised masonry warehouse buildings and seven metal structures in which non-Serb civilians were held without food, water or access to toilet facilities. The entire complex was enclosed by a high wire fence; armed guards were posted outside the perimeter and armed camp guards — soldiers of the Yugoslav People’s Army, Territorial Defence personnel and members of Serbian paramilitary units — patrolled within the enclosure. The hangar doors were opened only to allow uniformed personnel to enter and remove detainees for interrogation, which was almost invariably accompanied by beatings. The camp was closed in March 1992; it is estimated that more than 10,000 people passed through it.