27 March 2017

0212 | Photo | Schwäbisch-Deutscher Kulturbund



Slovenian Germans, members of the Swabian-German Cultural Union (future members of the Styrian Homeland Union), men, youth and women, march through the occupied Ptuj carrying a German flag (at Slovenian Square 2–3). Their men particularly distinguished themselves during the invasion, when they carried out acts of sabotage against the Yugoslav army, as members of the so-called Illegal Company (Illegaler Sturm). Known during the occupation as the Special Company (Sondersturm), this unit was considered elite within the Styrian Homeland Union. Its leader was Konrad Goschnigg, who was later appointed chief of the Labour Policy Office in Trbovlje (he was killed in an ambush by the Partisans on 25 September 1942). 

Text: Ivan Ž.

Photographer: unknown.
Date: April 1941.
Location: Ptuj, Yugoslavia.
Original caption: unknown.

File source: "Nemačka obaveštajna služba" III (p. 86/87).

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.



Slovenački Nemci, članovi Švapsko-nemačkog prosvetnog saveza (budući članovi Štajerskog domovinskog saveza), muškarci, omladina i žene, marširaju pronoseći nemačku zastavu kroz okupirani Ptuj (Slovenski trg 2–3). Njihovi su se muškarci posebno istakli za vreme invazije, kada su kao pripadnici tzv. Ilegalne čete (Illegaler Sturm) vršili sabotaže protiv jugoslovenske vojske. Ova jedinica, za vreme okupacije poznata kao Specijalna četa (Sondersturm), smatrana je elitnom u okviru Štajerskog domovinskog saveza. Njen je vođa bio Konrad Gošnik, koji je kasnije postavljen za šefa radnopolitičkog odeljenja u Trbovlju (ubijen je iz zasede od strane partizana 25. septembra 1942. godine). 

Tekst: Ivan Ž.

Fotograf: nepoznat.
Datum: april 1941.
Mesto: Ptuj, Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: nepoznat.

Izvor fajla: "Nemačka obaveštajna služba" III (str. 86/87).

NIJE DOZVOLJENO: uklanjanje naziva izvora sa fajlova – korišćenje teksta bez navođenja izvornog autora – korišćenje fajlova i informacija u političko-propagandne i komercijalne svrhe.

0211 | Photo | 183. Infanterie-Division



Operation 25. Members of the Bicycle Squadron, 183rd Infantry Division, heading towards Ptuj through one of the nearby villages, 8 April 1941. In the meantime, in the town itself, acts of sabotage are being carried out by members of the so-called Illegal Company, an ethnic German unit secretly formed a few years before the war, and trained for sabotage and military operations. Ptuj was captured on the same day, at half past two in the afternoon.

Text: Ivan Ž.

Photographer: Weber, 649th Propaganda Company.
Date: 8 April 1941.
Location: unknown (district of Ptuj), Yugoslavia.
Original caption: "Through abandoned villages and over muddy roads, a strong bicycle reconnaissance team heads towards the city of Ptuj on the Drava, which it captured after a brief, but fierce battle."

File source: eBay / maldives93.

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.



Operacija 25. Pripadnici biciklističkog eskadrona 183. pešadijske divizije nastupaju prema Ptuju kroz jedno od okolnih sela, 8. aprila 1941. godine. Za to vreme, u samom gradu sabotaže vrše pripadnici tzv. Ilegalne čete, folksdojčerske jedinice tajno formirane nekoliko godina pre rata, i obučavane za sabotaže i vojne akcije. Ptuj je zauzet istog dana, u pola tri popodne.

Tekst: Ivan Ž.

Fotograf: Veber, 649. propagandna četa.
Datum: 8. april 1941.
Mesto: nepoznato (srez Ptujski), Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: "Kroz napuštena sela i po blatnjavim putevima, јака biciklistička izvidnica nastupa prema gradu Ptuju na Dravi, koji je zauzela posle kraće, ali žestoke borbe."

Izvor fajla: eBay / maldives93.

NIJE DOZVOLJENO: uklanjanje naziva izvora sa fajlova – korišćenje teksta bez navođenja izvornog autora – korišćenje fajlova i informacija u političko-propagandne i komercijalne svrhe.

26 March 2017

0210 | Photo | Panzer-Abteilung 202



Operation "Axis". Tanks (Somua S35 and Hotchkiss H39) of the 2nd Company, 202nd Armoured Battalion, temporarily attached to the 114th Jäger Division, advance towards Knin through the village of Vrbnik, a day after the capitulation of Italy (the surprised city garrison surrendered without a fight).

Text: Ivan Ž.

Photographer: Hans Wurm, 690th Propaganda Company.
Date: 9 September 1943.
Location: Vrbnik (district of Knin), Yugoslavia.
Original caption: "Advance in Dalmatia. German tanks on a mountain road in the Dalmatian coastal area."

File source: Vlado Strugar, "Jugoslavija u ratu 1941–1945" (p. 228).

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.



Operacija "Osovina". Tenkovi (Somua S-35 i Hočkis H-39) 2. čete 202. oklopnog bataljona, privremeno priključene 114. lovačkoj diviziji, nastupaju prema Kninu kroz selo Vrbnik, dan nakon kapitulacije Italije (iznenađeni gradski garnizon se predao bez borbe).

Tekst: Ivan Ž.

Fotograf: Hans Vurm, 690. propagandna četa.
Datum: 9. septembar 1943.
Mesto: Vrbnik (srez Kninski), Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: "Nastupanje u Dalmaciji. Nemački tenkovi na jednom brdskom putu u dalmatinskom obalskom području."

Izvor fajla: Vlado Strugar, "Jugoslavija u ratu 1941–1945" (str. 228).

NIJE DOZVOLJENO: uklanjanje naziva izvora sa fajlova – korišćenje teksta bez navođenja izvornog autora – korišćenje fajlova i informacija u političko-propagandne i komercijalne svrhe.

22 March 2017

0209 | Photo | Leibstandarte-SS "Adolf Hitler"



Operation 25. Members of the SS Bodyguard "Adolf Hitler" posing with their anti-aircraft machine gun (MG 34), somewhere in Macedonia.

Text: Ivan Ž.

Photographer: Franz Roth, SS War Correspondent Company.
Date: April 1941.
Location: unknown, Yugoslavia.
Original caption: "Operation [25]. The anti-aircraft defence has been established."

File source: NordicPhotos / IMS Vintage Photos, 519261.

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.



Operacija 25. Pripadnici Telesne garde SS-a "Adolf Hitler" poziraju sa svojim protivavionskim mitraljezom (MG 34), negde u Makedoniji.

Tekst: Ivan Ž.

Fotograf: Franc Rot, Ratnodopisnička četa SS-a.
Datum: april 1941.
Mesto: nepoznato, Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: "Operacija [25]. Protivavionska odbrana je uspostavljena."

Izvor fajla: NordicPhotos / IMS Vintage Photos, 519261.

NIJE DOZVOLJENO: uklanjanje naziva izvora sa fajlova – korišćenje teksta bez navođenja izvornog autora – korišćenje fajlova i informacija u političko-propagandne i komercijalne svrhe.

20 March 2017

0208 | Photo | Sicherungs-Regiment 639



On the early morning of 25 February 1945, on the Busovača–Lašva railway, near the village of Strane, the reinforced IV Battalion of the Partisan VI Krajina Brigade (of the IV Krajina Division) waited in an ambush for a German armoured train. The Partisans did not even know that the train actually transported the Headquarters of Battle Group Eberlein (639th Security Regiment), against which they bitterly fought in the past months. The IV battalion assaulted the train first, while the sappers from the pioneer platoon placed the explosive beneath the rails in the distance. The Germans returned fire fiercely, silenced the Partisan weapons and continued their journey. And then a strong detonation resounded. The train was stopped and showered with fire from all Partisan weapons immediately thereafter. The Germans started jumping out of the wagons in panic, fleeing and dying in vain. The few survivors eventually surrendered, waving a white cloth from the train. Much to the surprise and delight of the Partisans, also standing among the lined up prisoners was the battle group's commander himself, Colonel August von Eberlein. The commander of the Partisan brigade, then also present, later recalled: "We looked at him in amazement. We finally achieved what we desired for so long, to capture the German commander." Unlike the Germans (who were mostly killed), the Partisans lost only one man in this action.

Text: Ivan Ž.

Photographer: unknown.
Date: 25 February 1945.
Location: unknown (district of Travnik), Yugoslavia.
Original caption: unknown.

File source: Muzej Jugoslavije / Znaci, III-16000.

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.



U rano jutro 25. februara 1945. godine, na pruzi Busovača–Lašva, u blizini sela Strana, ojačani IV bataljon partizanske VI krajiške brigade (IV krajiške divizije) čekao je u zasedi jedan nemački oklopni voz. Partizani nisu ni znali da se u vozu zapravo nalazi štab Borbene grupe Eberlajn (639. puk za obezbeđenje), protiv koje su vodili ogorčene borbe proteklih meseci. Na voz je prvo izvršio juriš IV bataljon, dok su mineri iz inžinjerijskog voda u daljini ispod šina postavljali eksploziv. Nemci su uzvratili žestokom paljbom, ućutkali partizansko oružje i nastavili put. A onda se začula strahovita detonacija. Voz je zaustavljen i odmah potom zasut vatrom iz celokupnog partizanskog naoružanja. Nemci su u panici iskakali iz vagona, bežali i uludo ginuli. Oni malobrojni koji su preživeli na kraju su se predali, mašući belim platnom iz voza. Na veliko iznenađenje i oduševljenje partizana, među postrojenim zarobljenicima stajao je i lično komandant borbene grupe, pukovnik August fon Eberlajn. Komandant partizanske brigade, tada takođe prisutan, kasnije se prisećao: "Gledali smo u njega kao u čudo. Ipak smo postigli ono što smo dugo u sebi željeli, da zarobimo njemačkog komandanta." Za razliku od Nemaca (koji su većinom izginuli), partizani su u ovoj akciji izgubili samo jednog čoveka.

Tekst: Ivan Ž.

Fotograf: nepoznat.
Datum: 25. februar 1945.
Mesto: nepoznato (srez Travnički), Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: nepoznat.

Izvor fajla: Muzej Jugoslavije / Znaci, III-16000.

NIJE DOZVOLJENO: uklanjanje naziva izvora sa fajlova – korišćenje teksta bez navođenja izvornog autora – korišćenje fajlova i informacija u političko-propagandne i komercijalne svrhe.

14 March 2017

0207 | Photo | SS-Freiwilligen-Division "Prinz Eugen"



Operation "Black". Like a wildfire, the boys in camouflage jackets advance rapidly through the Montenegrin villages, pursuing the Partisans and leaving a wasteland behind. The German commander's order on the treatment of population during the operation was clear: "The troops must act recklessly and with brutal severity against the hostile population and eliminate any chance of enemy survival by destroying the abandoned places [...]. The peaceful sections of the population are to be spared and extensively harnessed for the service of destruction of the enemy forces." However, populated places were also destroyed, and innocent and helpless civilians were killed. Pictured are members of the 2nd Regiment, SS Division "Prinz Eugen", on their way from Nikšić to Šavnik; in this area, within just a few days, these men torched 17 villages: Zagrad, Liverovići, Lukovo, Granice, Orah, Praga, Gradačka Poljana, Mokro, Gradac, Šavnik, Dobra Sela, Previš, Godijelji, Mljetičak, Petnjica, Pridvorica and Malinsko. According to data collected by the Yugoslav State Commission, "they torched, killed and looted anything they encountered; [...] they committed the crimes with outrageous cruelty; the victims were killed with firearms, butchered with knives, tortured and trapped in or thrown into burning houses [...]; even the smallest children were killed, together with their mothers, pregnant women and helpless old people." The SS men, on the other hand, did not mention similar details in their reports, and the commander of the battalion that captured Šavnik was awarded the highest German military decoration, the Knight's Cross.

Text: Ivan Ž.

Photographer: unknown.
Date: May 1943.
Location: unknown, Yugoslavia.
Original caption: unknown.

File source: "Wenn alle Brüder schweigen" (p. 352).

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.



Operacija "Crno". Poput vatrene stihije, momci u maskirnim jaknama nezadrživo nastupaju kroz crnogorska sela, goneći partizane i ostavljajući za sobom pustoš. Naredba nemačkog komandanta za postupak prema stanovništvu tokom ove operacije bila je jasna: "Trupe moraju postupati bezobzirno i sa brutalnom čvrstinom prema neprijateljski raspoloženom stanovništvu i oduzeti neprijatelju svaku mogućnost života razaranjem napuštenih mesta [...]. Miroljubive delove stanovništva poštedeti i u što većoj meri upregnuti u službu uništenja neprijateljskih snaga." Međutim, razarana su i naseljena mesta, i ubijani nevini i nemoćni civili. Na slici su prikazani pripadnici 2. puka SS-divizije "Princ Ojgen" na svom putu od Nikšića prema Šavniku; u ovom kraju, u roku od samo par dana, ovi su ljudi zapalili 17 sela: Zagrad, Liveroviće, Lukovo, Granice, Orah, Pragu, Gradačku Poljanu, Mokro, Gradac, Šavnik, Dobra Sela, Previš, Godijelje, Mljetičak, Petnjicu, Pridvoricu i Malinsko. Prema podacima koje je prikupila Državna komisija Jugoslavije, "palili su, ubijali i pljačkali sve na šta su naišli; [...] izvršavali su zločine sa nečuvenom svirepošću; žrtve su ubijane vatrenim oružjem, kasapljene noževima, mučene i zatvarane ili bacane u zapaljene kuće [...]; ubijena su i najsitnija deca zajedno sa svojim majkama, trudne žene i nemoćni starci." Esesovci, s druge strane, slične detalje u svojim izveštajima nisu pominjali, a komandant bataljona koji je zauzeo Šavnik nagrađen je najvišim nemačkim vojnim odlikovanjem, Viteškim krstom.

Tekst: Ivan Ž.

Fotograf: nepoznat.
Datum: maj 1943.
Mesto: nepoznato, Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: nepoznat.

Izvor fajla: "Wenn alle Brüder schweigen" (str. 352).

NIJE DOZVOLJENO: uklanjanje naziva izvora sa fajlova – korišćenje teksta bez navođenja izvornog autora – korišćenje fajlova i informacija u političko-propagandne i komercijalne svrhe.

01 March 2017

0206 | Photo | 1. Gebirgs-Division



Operation "Ball Lightning". Members of the 99th Regiment, 1st Mountain Division, crossing over their improvised, plank bridge on the piers of the demolished Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad (on the right in the distance, there is a huge German inscription "Victoria", victory). The famous bridge on the Drina river was destroyed by the Partisans, members of the IV Krajina Brigade (of the V Krajina Division), during their retreat before the advancing German troops. Two months earlier, in early October, Višegrad was captured by the Chetniks, after fierce fighting against the Germans and Croats; at the end of the same month, the city was captured by the Partisans, after fighting against the Chetniks. During the December fighting in this area, the Germans and Chetniks fought together against the Partisans, and the town of Višegrad itself was abandoned by the Partisans without a fight. (Note: At the same time, a couple of hundred kilometres away, in Belgrade, Yugoslav diplomat and writer Ivo Andrić was finishing "The Bridge on the Drina" – a novel inspired by this very bridge, for which he would be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature after the war.)

Text: Ivan Ž.

Photographer: Przibilla, 693rd Propaganda Company.
Date: 10 December 1943.
Location: Višegrad, Yugoslavia.
Original caption: unknown.

File source: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-204-1721-04.

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.



Operacija "Loptasta munja". Pripadnici 99. puka 1. brdske divizije prelaze preko svog improvizovanog, daščanog mosta na stupcima porušenog Mosta Mehmed-paše Sokolovića u Višegradu (sa desne strane u daljini se vidi ogromni nemački natpis "Viktorija", pobeda). Čuveni most na Drini srušili su partizani, pripadnici IV krajiške brigade (V krajiške divizije) tokom povlačenja pred nadolazećim nemačkim trupama. Dva meseca ranije, početkom oktobra, Višegrad su zauzeli četnici, nakon žestokih borbi sa Nemcima i Hrvatima; krajem istog meseca, grad su zauzeli partizani, posle borbi sa četnicima. Za vreme decembarskih borbi u ovom kraju, Nemci i četnici su se zajedno borili protiv partizana, a sam grad Višegrad partizani su napustili bez borbe. (Napomena: u ovo isto vreme, par stotina kilometara dalje, u Beogradu, jugoslovenski diplomata i književnik Ivo Andrić privodio je kraju "Na Drini ćupriju" – roman inspirisan upravo ovim mostom, za koji će posle rata dobiti Nobelovu nagradu za književnost.)

Tekst: Ivan Ž.

Fotograf: Prcibila, 693. propagandna četa.
Datum: 10. decembar 1943.
Mesto: Višegrad, Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: nepoznat.

Izvor fajla: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-204-1721-04.

NIJE DOZVOLJENO: uklanjanje naziva izvora sa fajlova – korišćenje teksta bez navođenja izvornog autora – korišćenje fajlova i informacija u političko-propagandne i komercijalne svrhe.

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