Formation of the 23rd SS Mountain Division "Kama". This unit was intended to be the second SS division composed of Bosnian Muslims, but its formation had to be cancelled after only a few months, due to the advancing Soviets and the very poor state the first division was in (loss of manpower and morale, along with more frequent desertions). Pictured, two officers and an NCO, probably Germans (the division command personnel was German), pose dressed in tropical uniforms in a farmyard, in front of corn crib, during their training in Bačka. German officers didn't have an easy job with the Bosnians; although, on one hand, the Bosnians often appeared quite likeable, on the other hand, because of their unrestrained (wild) nature, obstinacy and customs, they often shocked the Germans and even frightened them. An anecdote from training, a memoir of a German company commander (a quote from the book "For the Homeland!" by Rudolf Pencz): "On one occasion, my Muslims entered a village and shot all the pigs! The Hungarian farmers were furious. I too was angry and raised hell with them about it. Ali, my interpreter, told me that this was normal, and that pigs were dirty animals anyway." And when the formation of the second Bosnian-Herzegovinian SS division was cancelled and it was time for its Bosnian members to return to their homeland, into the first division, because of the increasingly tense and uncertain situation, the behaviour of individuals got drastically worse – and even a mutiny occurred. A memoir of a German soldier (from the aforementioned source): "Some of the Bosnians attempted to desert. Untersturmführer Fiedler tried to stop them and stood in their way. They just shot him and threw his body in the water! Sturmbannführer Syr believed himself forced to let them go. They took a large number of weapons, including machine guns, and a considerable amount of ammunition with them."
Text: Ivan Ž.
Photographer: unknown.
Date: summer 1944.
Date: summer 1944.
Location: unknown, Yugoslavia.
Original caption: no caption.
File source: Wehrmacht Awards Forum / RD Rygaard.
NOT ALLOWED: removing source credits from the files – using text without crediting the original author – using files and information for political propaganda and commercial purposes.
Formiranje 23. brdske SS-divizije "Kama". Ova jedinica je trebalo da bude druga SS-divizija sastavljena od bosanskih muslimana, ali je njeno formiranje posle samo nekoliko meseci moralo biti otkazano, zbog nadirućih Sovjeta i veoma lošeg stanja u prvoj diviziji (gubitak ljudstva i morala, uz sve češća dezertiranja). Na slici, dva oficira i podoficir, verovatno Nemci (komandni kadar divizije je bio nemački), poziraju u tropskim uniformama u jednom seoskom dvorištu, ispred kotobanje, tokom obuke u Bačkoj. Nemačkim oficirima nije bilo lako sa Bosancima; iako su, s jedne strane, Bosanci često bivali vrlo simpatični, s druge strane su svojom neukrotivom (divljom) prirodom, svojeglavošću i običajima Nemce često šokirali, pa i plašili. Anegdota sa obuke, sećanje jednog nemačkog komandira čete (citat iz knjige "Za domovinu!" Rudolfa Penca): "Jednom prilikom moji su muslimani ušli u jedno selo i pobili sve svinje! Mađarski seljaci su pobesneli. Ja sam takođe bio besan i izdrao sam se na njih zbog toga. Moj prevodilac Ali mi je rekao da je to za njih normalno, i da su svinje ionako nečiste životinje." A kada je formiranje druge bosansko-hercegovačke SS-divizije otkazano i bilo vreme da se njeni bosanski pripadnici vrate u domovinu, u prvu diviziju, usled sve napetije i neizvesnije situacije, ponašanje pojedinaca drastično se pogoršalo – pa je došlo i do pobune. Sećanje jednog nemačkog vojnika (iz prethodno pomenutog izvora): "Neki od Bosanaca su hteli da dezertiraju. Unteršturmfirer Fidler je pokušao da ih zaustavi i stajao im je na putu. Jednostavno su ga upucali i bacili telo u vodu! Šturmbanfirer Sir se smatrao prisiljenim da ih pusti. Sa sobom su poneli veliki broj oružja, uključujući mitraljeze, i znatnu količinu municije."
Tekst: Ivan Ž.
Fotograf: nepoznat.
Datum: leto 1944.
Datum: leto 1944.
Mesto: nepoznato, Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: bez natpisa.
Izvor fajla: Wehrmacht Awards Forum / RD Rygaard.
NIJE DOZVOLJENO: uklanjanje naziva izvora sa fajlova – korišćenje teksta bez navođenja izvornog autora – korišćenje fajlova i informacija u političko-propagandne i komercijalne svrhe.
