Patron Saint's Day of the Serbian Volunteer Corps. In Yugoslav uniforms, with Czech helmets and Serbian flags, Serbian volunteers (members of the newly-formed V Battalion) celebrate their corps patron saint – St. George (Đorđe), in Belgrade, at Vračar. The Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious was and remains one of the most famous and favourite saints in the whole Christian world – especially in the military, being a warrior saint. He is most commonly depicted as a knight on a horse with a spear in his hand – piercing a dragon, the embodiment of evil. During World War II, the Nazis frequently used this symbolism in their propaganda, replacing the saint with a German soldier and painting the dragon red – depicting communism as the greatest evil in the world and themselves as saviours of the mankind. For Serbian volunteers, St. George slaying the dragon was also a symbol of the fight against communism. One of the most interesting and least known descriptions of these (seemingly) Christian troops was left by their religious leader himself – Metropolitan Josif of Skopje, the acting patriarch during the occupation (a quote from his memoir, entry dated 25 September 1944): "There were highly devoted nationalists among them, but also Zbor extremists; people with prominent integrity, but cruel and intolerant; pious but gloomy types; polite – yet perfidious, exclusive and insidious. In a word, in [Ljotić's] group, besides sunshine – there was darkness. Basically, they all acted the same; always arrogant, pompous, with a saint-like halo of calmness, yet with a haughty self-confidence! They're the core of the elite, but with dubious acts; clean on the outside, but rotten on the inside! Fanatics and sectarians hard to talk to. Therefore, disliked by the people, even despised!"
Text: Ivan Ž.
Photographer: unknown.
Date: 6 May 1943.
Location: Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
Original caption: unknown.
File source: "Slovensko domobranstvo" 7 (p. 21).
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.
Slava Srpskog dobrovoljačkog korpusa. U jugoslovenskim uniformama, sa češkim šlemovima i srpskim barjacima, srpski dobrovoljci (pripadnici novoformiranog V bataljona) proslavljaju korpusnu slavu – Svetog Georgija (Đorđa), u Beogradu, na Vračaru. Sveti velikomučenik i pobedonosac Georgije bio je i ostao jedan od najpoznatijih i omiljenih svetitelja u čitavom hrišćanskom svetu – posebno u vojničkom, kao ratnik-svetitelj. Najčešće je prikazivan kao vitez na konju sa kopljem u ruci – probadajući aždaju, otelotvorenje zla. Tokom II svetskog rata, ovu simboliku često su u svojoj propagandi koristili nacisti, zamenivši svetitelja nemačkim vojnikom i obojivši aždaju u crveno – predstavivši komunizam kao najveće zlo sveta, a sebe kao spasioce čovečanstva. Za srpske dobrovoljce, Sveti Georgije koji ubija aždaju takođe je bio simbol borbe protiv komunizma. Jedan od najzanimljivijih i najmanje poznatih opisa ovih (naizgled) hrišćanskih trupa ostavio je upravo njihov verski poglavar – mitropolit skopski Josif, vršilac dužnosti patrijarha za vreme okupacije (citat iz njegovih memoara, zabeleška od 25. septembra 1944. godine): "Među njima je bilo vrlo revnosnih nacionalista, ali i preteranih zboraša; istaknutih čestitošću, ali surovih i netrpeljivih ljudi; pobožnih no mračnih tipova; uglađenih – ipak perfidnih, isključivih i podmuklih. Jednom rečju, u [Ljotićevoj] družini pored sjajnoga sunca – vladaše i tamna pomrčina. Bezmalo svi su bili na jedan kalup; uvek nadmeni, gordi, sa svetiteljskim oreolom smirenosti, a oholim samouverenjem! Srž su višega tipa ljudi, ali sa sumnjivim postupcima; čisto spolja – kalaj, unutra belaj! Fanatici i sektaši sa kojima se teško razgovara. Zato u narodu nevoljeni, a često prezreni!"
Tekst: Ivan Ž.
Fotograf: nepoznat.
Datum: 6. maj 1943.
Mesto: Beograd, Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: nepoznat.
Izvor fajla: "Slovensko domobranstvo" 7 (str. 21).
NIJE DOZVOLJENO: uklanjanje naziva izvora sa fajlova – korišćenje teksta bez navođenja izvornog autora – korišćenje fajlova i informacija u političko-propagandne i komercijalne svrhe.
