The Dorosic Hospital Fire

On the evening of 29 April 1943, a barn used as a typhus hospital in occupied Dorosic (Soviet Union) burned down while housing hundreds of recovering Jewish labour servicemen, officially claiming the lives of 396 individuals. The circumstances of the tragedy remain contradictory: traditional literature and certain testimonies suggest that Hungarian guards deliberately set the building on fire, barricaded the doors, and opened fire on those attempting to escape. Conversely, other sources and surviving doctors describe the event as a potential accident, caused by careless smoking, flammable materials, or the presence of explosives, and note that some guards actually assisted in the rescue, while shots fired were merely warning shots. The Dorosic fire remains one of the most severe and debated mass tragedies in the history of the Hungarian labour service.