An apolitical history blog about German troops that operated in the territory of the former Yugoslavia during the revolutionary, civil and world war of 1941–1945. The blog title itself is sarcastic and contains the original German term for counter-insurgent warfare: "Bandenkampf", the bandit-fighting. Refusing to recognise the legitimacy of the insurgent forces, the Germans persistently referred to them as bandit gangs – even after these initially-small formations grew into real armies. At the same time, the term "bandit-fighting" was abused as an excuse for the destruction of entire settlements, mass killing of civilians and implementation of the Holocaust. German war propaganda gave little importance to the Yugoslav insurgents, even though entire divisions and corps were formed in an attempt to destroy them. This is a story about those troops, operations, crimes and various interesting, though often dark, individuals. The general goal of the blog is an impartial view of the war that has been persistently perceived through the blurred prisms of the conflicting ideologies and peoples blinded by hatred, while in the wider world it has been unjustly neglected. All blog information was checked thoroughly, by comparing the available documents of all warring parties, including the testimonies of veterans and eyewitnesses – without diminishing or increasing anyone's guilt or merit, ignoring or justifying proven crimes, nor judging on the basis of mere belonging to a nation, political movement or armed formation.
Welcome!
Ivan Ž.
Apolitičko-istorijski blog o nemačkim jedinicama koje su operisale na prostoru bivše Jugoslavije za vreme revolucionarnog, građanskog i svetskog rata 1941–1945. Sam naslov bloga je sarkastičan, i sadrži originalni nemački termin za borbu protiv ustanika: "Bandenkampf", borba protiv bandi. Ne priznajući legitimnost ustaničkih snaga, Nemci su ih uporno nazivali bandama – čak i nakon što su ove isprva male formacije prerasle u prave vojske. Istovremeno, termin "borba protiv bandi" zloupotrebljavan je i kao izgovor za uništavanje čitavih naselja, masovno ubijanje civila i sprovođenje holokausta. Nemačka ratna propaganda pridavala je malo značaja jugoslovenskim ustanicima, iako su u pokušaju njihovog uništenja formirane čitave divizije i korpusi. Ovo je priča o tim jedinicama, operacijama, zločinima i raznim zanimljivim, mada često mračnim pojedincima. Opšti cilj bloga je jedan nepristrasan prikaz rata koji je uporno sagledavan kroz mutne prizme sukobljenih ideologija i mržnjom zaslepljenih naroda, dok je u širem svetu nepravedno zapostavljan. Sve informacije na blogu proveravane su temeljno, upoređivanjem raspoloživih dokumenata svih zaraćenih strana, uz svedočanstva veterana i očevidaca – bez umanjivanja ili uvećavanja bilo čije krivice ili zasluga, ignorisanja ili pravdanja dokazanih zločina, niti osuđivanja na osnovu puke pripadnosti naciji, političkom pokretu ili oružanoj formaciji.
Dobrodošli!
Ivan Ž.
