Found in a monastery in the rocks: The Serbian treasure. A photo report by war correspondents Otto and Grimm of the 691st Propaganda Company on the raid in the Ostrog Monastery carried out by Special Detachment Hintze (Gestapo), the arrest of Serbian Patriarch Dr Gavrilo Dožić and the finding (looting) of the state treasure, published in the "Berlin Illustrated Newspaper" on 15 May 1941. The Germans raided the famous Serbian monastery (then in the Italian-occupied territory) on the early morning of 25 April, searching for Patriarch Gavrilo – charged with stirring up the people and causing Yugoslavia enter the war against the Axis powers. They also found, in the monastery chambers, and seized the state treasure worth 375 million dinars, which the young King Peter left the monks for safekeeping when fleeing the country. Much to the delight of the Germans, among the seized goods, there was also the uniform of King Peter II, which was then used for propaganda purposes as a symbol of the Yugoslav defeat. The monastery itself was looted as well, while the monastery staff and church officials were harassed, beaten and humiliated. The patriarch was arrested and taken to trial in Belgrade, on the floor of the truck (forced to listen to the drunken Nazis' loud singing along the way). In the German report, however, the Gestapo men were presented as righteous heroes, the monastery staff as gourmands that had pork hanging off their ceilings, and the old patriarch as an English servant, a drunkard and a profligate, who, having wasted millions of state money on his friends, locked himself into a room, drank bottles of wine and fantasised about the Hawaiian islands while listening to records by black dancer Joséphine Baker (famous for her erotic performances). (Risto Grđić, then patriarchal finance director and an eyewitness, wrote the following in his memoir about the making of the German report: "At one point, we saw the Gestapo men taking the patriarch and archimandrite through all the monastery departments. They photographed them everywhere, even in the basement among the smoked ham and bacon. Later they published those pictures in some German magazines, attempting to present the monastery as a place of feasting and carousing. They also found a record player with recordings of the liturgy, and they presented them too as some kind of debauched performances.")
Text: Ivan Ž.
Photographer: Albert Otto (3), Emil Grimm (1), 691st Propaganda Company.
Date: 25 April 1941.
Location: Ostrog (district of Danilovgrad), Yugoslavia.
Original text: "Found in a monastery in the rocks: The Serbian treasure. [Picture 1:] Like an eagle's nest on a mountainside of the Montenegrin mountains: the Ostrog Monastery. It was here that Gavrilo, the pro-British patriarch of Yugoslavia, nestled himself when German troops conquered the country. The young King Peter fled to him. He stayed there for one day only, then he had to move: the Germans had already captured Belgrade, Yugoslavia was facing capitulation! A few days later, new vehicles stopped before the monastery... [Picture 2:] Men of the Secret State Police made a surprise visit! In the monastery storeroom, where bacon, sausages and ham hang off the ceiling, they found sacks and chests that the young king had to leave behind during his flight. They contain parts of the Serbian state treasure, gold coins and paper money worth 375 million dinars! [Picture 3:] He brought the king and the people to ruin: Patriarch Gavrilo of Yugoslavia. He stood at the head of the conspiracy clique, which had long wanted to rush Yugoslavia into a war against Germany. After the king fled, he had state treasure hidden in rock cellars and caves, 15 million of which he distributed to good friends, and then locked himself in his secret chambers. One morning, men of the state police surprised him there. In his room, they found half-empty and empty wine bottles, and a gramophone with records by Negro dancer Joséphine Baker, whose Hawaii song he particularly liked... [Picture 4:] The king's uniform – without a king. It belonged to the 17-year-old King Peter II, who left his country, his army and his people in their hour of greatest need."
Sources: Albert Otto, Emil Grimm, "Im Felsenkloster aufgespürt: Der Serbenschatz", Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung, 15.05.1941, vol. L, no 20, p. 547; Risto Grđić, Uspomene, Glas Crkve, Valjevo, Sabornost, Beograd, 2002, p. 269; Nemačka obaveštajna služba, Uprava državne bezbednosti, Beograd, 1959, vol. IV, p. 405; Wilfred von Oven, Jürgen Hahn-Butry, Panzer am Balkan – Erlebnisbuch der Panzergruppe von Kleist, Wilhelm-Limpert-Verlag, Berlin, 1941, p. 219; Velibor V. Džomić (prir.), "Mučeništvo srpskog patrijarha", Projekat Rastko.
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.
Pronađeno u manastiru u stenama: srpsko blago. Foto-reportaža ratnih dopisnika Ota i Grima iz 691. propagandne čete o upadu Specijalnog odreda Hince (Gestapo) u manastir Ostrog, hapšenju patrijarha srpskog dr Gavrila Dožića i pronalasku (pljačkanju) državnog blaga, objavljena u "Berlinskim ilustrovanim novinama" 15. maja 1941. godine. Nemci su u čuveni srpski manastir (tada na teritoriji pod italijanskom okupacijom) upali u rano jutro 25. aprila, u potrazi za patrijarhom Gavrilom – optuženim za huškanje naroda i ulazak Jugoslavije u rat protiv sila Osovine. Istom prilikom su u manastirskim odajama pronašli i zaplenili državno blago u vrednosti od 375 miliona dinara, koje je mladi kralj Petar pri bekstvu iz zemlje ostavio monasima na čuvanje. Na veliko oduševljenje Nemaca, među zaplenjenim stvarima obrela se i uniforma kralja Petra II, koja je potom korišćena u propagandne svrhe kao jedan od simbola jugoslovenskog poraza. Sam manastir je takođe opljačkan, a manastirsko osoblje i crkveni službenici su maltretirani, tučeni i ponižavani. Patrijarh je uhapšen i odvezen na suđenje u Beograd, na podu kamiona (prinuđen da usput sluša glasne pesme pijanih nacista). U nemačkoj reportaži su, međutim, gestapovci prikazani kao pravednici, manastirsko osoblje kao sladokusci kojima svinjetina visi sa plafona, a stari patrijarh kao engleski sluga, pijanac i raspusnik, koji se, spiskavši milione državnog novca na svoje prijatelje, zaključao u sobu, ispijao flaše vina i maštao o havajskim ostrvima slušajući ploče crnačke plesačice Žozefine Beker (čuvene po svojim erotskim nastupima). (Risto Grđić, ondašnji patrijaršijski šef finansija i očevidac, u svojim memoarima je o pravljenju nemačke reportaže napisao sledeće: "U neko doba spazismo kako gestapovci vode patrijarha i arhimandrita po svim manastirskim odeljenjima. Tom prilikom fotografisali su ih svugde, pa i u podrumu među pršutom i slaninom. Kasnije su te slike objavljivali u nekim nemačkim časopisima, s tendencijom da se prikaže kako se u manastiru samo jelo i bančilo. Našli su i gramofon sa pločama na kojima je snimljena liturgija, pa su i njih prikazali kao neke razvratne igre.")
Tekst: Ivan Ž.
Fotograf: Albert Oto (3), Emil Grim (1), 691. propagandna četa.
Datum: 25. april 1941.
Mesto: Ostrog (srez Danilovgradski), Jugoslavija.
Originalni tekst: "Pronađeno u manastiru u stenama: srpsko blago. [Slika 1:] Kao orlovsko gnezdo na padinama crnogorskih planina: manastir Ostrog. Tu se Gavrilo, proengleski patrijarh Jugoslavije, sakrio kada su nemačke trupe osvojile zemlju. Kod njega je pobegao i mladi kralj Petar. Zadržao se samo jedan dan, a onda je morao dalje: Nemci su već bili zauzeli Beograd, Jugoslavija se nalazila pred kapitulacijom! Nekoliko dana kasnije, nova vozila se zaustavljaju pred manastirom... [Slika 2:] Pripadnici tajne državne policije došli su u iznenadnu posetu! U ostavi manastira, sa čijeg plafona vise slanina, kobasice i šunka, pronašli su vreće i sanduke koje je mladi kralj tokom bekstva morao da ostavi za sobom. U njima se nalaze delovi srpskog državnog blaga, zlatnici i papirni novac u vrednosti od 375 miliona dinara! [Slika 3:] Odveo je kralja i narod u propast: patrijarh jugoslovenski Gavrilo. Stajao je na čelu zavereničke klike, koja je odavno želela da gurne Jugoslaviju u rat protiv Nemačke. Nakon kraljevog bekstva, ostalo mu je državno blago skriveno u kamenim podrumima i pećinama, od kojeg je 15 miliona podelio dobrim prijateljima, a potom se zaključao u svoje tajne odaje. Tu su ga jednog jutra iznenadili pripadnici državne policije. U njegovoj sobi su pronašli poluprazne i prazne vinske flaše, i gramofon sa pločama crnačke plesačice Žozefine Beker, čiju je havajsku pesmu posebno voleo... [Slika 4:] Kraljeva uniforma – bez kralja. Pripadala je sedamnaestogodišnjem kralju Petru II, koji je svoju zemlju, svoju vojsku i svoj narod u najtežem trenutku napustio."
Izvori: Albert Otto, Emil Grimm, "Im Felsenkloster aufgespürt: Der Serbenschatz", Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung, 15.05.1941, god. L, br. 20, str. 547; Risto Grđić, Uspomene, Glas Crkve, Valjevo, Sabornost, Beograd, 2002, str. 269; Nemačka obaveštajna služba, Uprava državne bezbednosti, Beograd, 1959, tom IV, str. 405; Wilfred von Oven, Jürgen Hahn-Butry, Panzer am Balkan – Erlebnisbuch der Panzergruppe von Kleist, Wilhelm-Limpert-Verlag, Berlin, 1941, str. 219; Velibor V. Džomić (prir.), "Mučeništvo srpskog patrijarha", Projekat Rastko.
NIJE DOZVOLJENO: uklanjanje naziva izvora sa fajlova; korišćenje teksta bez navođenja izvornog autora; korišćenje fajlova i informacija u političko-propagandne i komercijalne svrhe.
