Chetnik commanders Kalabić, Račić and Nedić posing embraced for a German photographer in the presence of Captain von Wrede on the staircase of a house in Topola on 11 August 1944 – a photograph published and misused numerous times in the postwar Yugoslavia, especially in Serbia, both in printed and digital publications; the followers of the Partisan movement mainly used it as a (false) proof of collaboration between their Chetnik rivals and the occupier, while the followers of the Chetnik movement (unsuccessfully) challenged its authenticity, or simply published it in a censored version (cutting off or blackening the German officer). On what occasion, under which circumstances and where exactly was the controversial picture created: on 4 August 1944, the Partisan Operational Group of Divisions (Dapčević) successfully forced the Ibar river and broke into Serbia, reaching the foot of Kopaonik; on 5 August, the commander of the Chetnik IV Group of Assault Corps (Račić) orders his troops to stop the further advance of the Partisan group; the commander notes that the upcoming battle is decisive and of crucial importance, since the Partisan leader Tito tries to nest himself in an area that would allow him to decisively influence the fate of the Balkans; on 8 August, after a fierce battle, the Chetnik group was defeated; the Chetniks, however, still have enough manpower to continue fighting, but they do not have enough weapons and equipment (the aid that they received from their British allies has already been redirected to the increasingly powerful Partisan movement); in search of (primarily) a new source of armament, Chetnik leader Mihailović tasks the leading commanders of the IV Group of Assault Corps, Major Dragoslav Račić (group's commander), Captain Neško Nedić (group's chief of staff) and Captain Nikola Kalabić (commander of the II Corps), to explore the possibility of meeting with two political officials: Prime Minister Milan Nedić and Dr Hermann Neubacher, a special plenipotentiary of the German Foreign Ministry for the South-East (considered potentially useful and appreciated for his successful struggle against reprisals against Serbian civilians); on 10 August, the three Chetnik commanders meet with the chief of the Belgrade police, Dragi Jovanović, in Aranđelovac and arrange a meeting between Mihailović and Nedić; on 11 August, the same three meet with a German delegation led by Captain Carl von Wrede, chief of intelligence of the Military Commander South-East (Felber), in Topola and discuss the possibility of a meeting between Mihailović and Neubacher; the meeting was not arranged, nor was any definitive agreement reached on this occasion; at the same time, about 70 km away, the Chetniks are strengthening their ties to the OSS and participating in the evacuation of the US pilots; according to confidential German sources, the goal of US support to Mihailović is to create a counterbalance to Soviet, that is, Tito's aspirations in the strategic heart of the Balkans; an Allied invasion and the departure of the Germans are soon expected; on 13 August, Mihailović and Nedić meet in the village of Ražana near Kosjerić and reach (but do not sign) an agreement to seek armament from the Germans, and their permission to unite the national forces (under Mihailović's command) for a joint fight against the Communists, and, in return, to promise suspension of all activities directed against the German military authorities; on 17 August, Nedić meets with the German Commander-in-Chief South-East, von Weichs, in Belgrade and informs him of his and Mihailović's offer; on 22 August, von Weichs informs Hitler of the offer; Hitler rejects the offer straightaway, firmly convinced that the British have stopped delivering weapons to Mihailović only from fear of their (much more important) ally Stalin, whose representative in Croatia is Tito, assuming that it was the British who suggested the Serbs to seek weapons from the Germans in the first place; Hitler explicitly emphasises that the weapons given to the Chetniks would be later used against the Germans; at the end of the month, the SS and Police Commander in Serbia (Behrends) reports that, in the meantime, the German troops have been called through Mihailović's illegal radio stations to lay down their weapons, that there were leaflet calls for activity, that the attacks on the occupying troops and their interests increased every day, and that the mobilisation is being carried out throughout Serbia (on 1 September 1944, Mihailović officially proclaimed the general mobilisation against the Axis powers). (After the war, Neubacher wrote the following about Mihailović's attitude towards the Germans [a quote from his book "Special Assignment South-East"]: "He remained an enemy to the occupier, who, due to Tito's rise, became his enemy number two. The Allies let Draža down, so he tried to get as many weapons as possible from the Germans – who were now only the enemy number two.") The photograph was, therefore, created on the occasion of a meeting of delegations of Draža Mihailović and Hermann Neubacher, arranged to discuss the possibility of a meeting between the Yugoslav general and the German diplomat, which was completed without any definitive agreement (also brought up on this occasion was the same [Serbian] offer that was sent to the German authorities through the prime minister). The staircase on which the delegates were photographed still lies beneath the entrance to the King's Villa at Oplenac, where the meeting was held. The pictured German officer, Carl von Wrede, was a nobleman (prince) and a great-great-grandson of the famous Bavarian field marshal from the Napoleonic Wars and of the same name. He was killed five days before the end of the war, on 3 May 1945. Joining him under the ground the same month was Neško Nedić and, by the end of the year, Dragoslav Račić. Nikola Kalabić's fate has never been determined. After the war, the King's Villa at Oplenac was used by Josip Broz Tito and high officials of the KPJ.
Text: Ivan Ž.
Photographer: unknown.
Date: 11 August 1944.
Location: Topola, Yugoslavia.
Original caption: unknown.
File source: AKG-Images, AKG74917.
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.
Četnički komandanti Kalabić, Račić i Nedić poziraju zagrljeni nemačkom fotografu u prisustvu kapetana fon Vredea na stepeništu jedne kuće u Topoli 11. avgusta 1944. godine – fotografija nebrojeno puta objavljivana i zloupotrebljavana u posleratnoj Jugoslaviji, pre svega u Srbiji, kako u štampanim tako i u digitalnim publikacijama; sledbenici partizanskog pokreta većinom su je koristili kao (lažni) dokaz saradnje svojih rivala četnika sa okupatorom, dok su sledbenici četničkog pokreta (bezuspešno) osporavali njenu autentičnost, ili je prosto objavljivali u cenzurisanoj varijanti (odsecajući ili zacrnjujući nemačkog oficira). Kojim povodom, u kojim uslovima i gde je tačno ova kontroverzna slika nastala: 4. avgusta 1944. godine, partizanska Operativna grupa divizija (Dapčević) uspešno je forsirala Ibar i prodrla u Srbiju, stigavši do podnožja Kopaonika; 5. avgusta, komandant četničke IV grupe jurišnih korpusa (Račić) naređuje svojim jedinicama pokret u cilju zaustavljanja daljeg prodora partizanske grupe; komandant napominje da je nastupajuća borba sudbonosna i od presudne važnosti, jer partizanski vođa Tito pokušava da se ugnezdi na prostoru sa kojeg bi presudno uticao na sudbinu Balkana; 8. avgusta, posle žestokih borbi, četnička grupa je potučena; četnici još uvek imaju dovoljno ljudstva za borbu, ali nemaju dovoljno oružja i opreme (pomoć koju su dobijali od svojih saveznika Engleza već je uveliko preusmerena na sve jači partizanski pokret); u potrazi za (pre svega) novim izvorom naoružanja, četnički vođa Mihailović zadužuje vodeće komandante IV grupe jurišnih korpusa, majora Dragoslava Račića (komandanta grupe), kapetana Neška Nedića (načelnika štaba grupe) i kapetana Nikolu Kalabića (komandanta II korpusa), da izvide mogućnosti sastanaka sa dvojicom političkih zvaničnika: ministrom-predsednikom Milanom Nedićem i dr Hermanom Nojbaherom, specijalnim opunomoćenikom nemačkog Ministarstva spoljnih poslova za Jugoistok (smatranim potencijalno korisnim i cenjenim zbog njegove uspešne borbe protiv represalija nad srpskim civilima); 10. avgusta, trojica četničkih komandanata sastaju se u Aranđelovcu sa šefom beogradske policije, Dragim Jovanovićem, i preko njega ugovaraju sastanak između Mihailovića i Nedića; 11. avgusta, ista trojica se sastaju u Topoli sa nemačkom delegacijom predvođenom kapetanom Karlom fon Vredeom, šefom obaveštajne službe vojnoupravnog komandanta Jugoistoka (Felbera), i razmatraju mogućnost sastanka između Mihailovića i Nojbahera; sastanak nije ugovoren, niti je ovom prilikom ikakav sporazum sklopljen; u isto vreme, sedamdesetak kilometara dalje, četnici jačaju veze sa OSS-om, učestvujući u evakuaciji američkih pilota; prema poverljivim nemačkim izvorima, cilj američke podrške Mihailoviću je stvaranje protivteže sovjetskim, odnosno Titovim težnjama u strategijskom srcu Balkana; očekuje se saveznička invazija i odlazak Nemaca; 13. avgusta, Mihailović i Nedić se sastaju u selu Ražani kod Kosjerića i sklapaju (ali ne i potpisuju) sporazum da se od Nemaca traži naoružanje, kao i dozvola za objedinjavanje nacionalnih snaga (pod Mihailovićevom komandom) radi zajedničke borbe protiv komunista, a da se zauzvrat obeća obustavljanje svih aktivnosti uperenih protiv nemačkih vojnih vlasti; 17. avgusta, Nedić se u Beogradu sastaje sa nemačkim komandantom Jugoistoka, fon Vajhsom, i iznosi svoju i Mihailovićevu ponudu; 22. avgusta, fon Vajhs prenosi ponudu Hitleru; Hitler ponudu bez kolebanja odbija, čvrsto uveren da Englezi Mihailoviću oružje ne isporučuju samo iz straha pred svojim (neuporedivo bitnijim) saveznikom Staljinom, čiji je izaslanik u Hrvatskoj Tito, pretpostavljajući da su upravo Englezi i sugerisali Srbima da oružje potraže od Nemaca; Hitler izričito naglašava da bi oružje dato četnicima kasnije bilo upotrebljeno protiv Nemaca; na kraju meseca, komandant SS-a i policije u Srbiji (Berends) izveštava da su u međuvremenu preko Mihailovićevih ilegalnih radio-stanica nemačke trupe pozvane da polože oružje, da se lecima pozivalo na aktivnost, da su se prepadi na pripadnike okupacionih trupa i njihove interese svakim danom umnožavali, i da se širom Srbije vrši mobilizacija (1. septembra 1944. godine, Mihailović je zvanično proglasio opštu mobilizaciju protiv sila Osovine). (Nojbaher je posle rata napisao sledeće o Mihailovićevom stavu prema Nemcima [citat iz njegove knjige "Specijalni zadatak Jugoistok"]: "On je ostao neprijatelj okupatoru, koji je, zbog Titovog uspona, postao njegov neprijatelj broj dva. Saveznici su Dražu ostavili na cedilu, pa je zato pokušao da od Nemaca – koji su za njega sada bili samo neprijatelj broj dva – dobije što je moguće više oružja.") Fotografija je, dakle, nastala prilikom sastanka delegacija Draže Mihailovića i Hermana Nojbahera, ugovorenog radi razmatranja mogućnosti sastanka između jugoslovenskog generala i nemačkog diplomate, koji je završen bez sklapanja ikakvog sporazuma (ovom prilikom je pominjana ista [srpska] ponuda koja je nemačkim vlastima poslata preko ministra-predsednika). Stepenište na kojem su delegati uslikani i danas se nalazi na ulazu u Kraljevu vilu na Oplencu, u kojoj je sastanak održan. Nemački oficir sa slike, Karl fon Vrede, bio je plemić (knez) i čukununuk čuvenog i istoimenog bavarskog feldmaršala iz Napoleonovih ratova. Poginuo je pet dana pred kraj rata, 3. maja 1945. godine. Pod zemljom mu se istog meseca pridružio Neško Nedić, a do kraja godine i Dragoslav Račić. Sudbina Nikole Kalabića nikada nije razjašnjena. Kraljevu vilu na Oplencu posle rata su koristili Josip Broz Tito i visoki funkcioneri KPJ.
Tekst: Ivan Ž.
Fotograf: nepoznat.
Datum: 11. avgust 1944.
Mesto: Topola, Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: nepoznat.
Izvor fajla: AKG-Images, AKG74917.
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