Massacre in Bosanski Brod. German soldiers and Croatian Home Guards (with old German and French helmets on their heads) posing with a pile of murdered arrestees, allegedly Chetniks, in Bosanski Brod on 26 August 1941. The earliest (known) testimony of the crime was left by Croatian civilians, citizens of Brod, in the appeal they sent the following day to their grand župan: "Lord Grand Župan! Our authorities have lost their minds – all the citizens have found themselves at the mercy of irresponsible people, who got weapons in their hands and now do whatever they please. Yesterday, on the 26th, about 80 innocent people were murdered near Bosanski Brod [...]." Having forwarded the appeal (the next day), the grand župan received (eight days later) the following explanation for the massacre from the police station in Bosanski Brod: "[...] There was a transport of Serbs (Greek Orthodox) from the Derventa area that was escorted on 26 August, during the escort they were agitated and disobedient, and when they reached the new wooden bridge on the Sava, they allegedly began to rebel and flee, and some tried jumping into the Sava, which was why the guards used their weapons, therefore some were killed on the bridge and near the bridge, and some in the Sava, because they jumped into the water, so as far as it could be established, about 42 people were killed, that is, jumped into the Sava." The most detailed record of the crime was left by the secretary of the Operational Party Leadership of the CK KPH, Vlado Popović, in his report to the Main Headquarters (undated – the last day of August or the first days of September): "On [26] August of this year, the Ustasha bandits, assisted by German soldiers, committed another massacre in Slavonski Brod. The massacre took place on the newly-built bridge, in broad daylight. About 50 armed Ustasha thugs escorted over the Brod bridge about 300 arrested villagers and citizens (among them there were many railway workers), all from the Derventa district and the Bosanski Brod area. Among the arrested there were Serbs, Croats and Muslims. When the column reached the bridge, the Ustashas suddenly started shooting the arrestees. A dozen fell immediately. Then the other arrestees started fleeing across the bridge and about 100 of them jumped from the bridge into the Sava, trying to save their lives. The Ustasha criminals fired also at those in the water. The German guards at the bridge, seeing that some of those in the water might save themselves by swimming, came from both sides of the bridge to assist the Ustashas, and they also opened fire from machine guns at the fugitives and at those on the bridge. About 150 people were killed within half an hour. There were many wounded on the bridge. The Ustasha butchers vented their anger by beating the survivors mercilessly with rifle butts. Then they put about 150 survivors in wagons and did not give them food nor water for three days. Several wounded died in those wagons. The Ustasha criminals bragged all over the city that they took care of the rebels and 'Chetniks'. The bitter people, who witnessed these crimes, were squeezing their hands: Judgement day is coming for you too, Ustasha beasts!" (Ironically, 38 years later, Yugoslav historians Latas and Dželebdžić published this picture – which, according to the perpetrators, shows dead Chetniks – at the very end of their propaganda book "The Chetnik Movement of Draža Mihailović 1941–1945", next to photographs of General Mihailović and his men, attempting to equalise the pictured criminals – not the victims – with the general and his movement.)
Text: Ivan Ž.
Photographer: unknown.
Date: 26 August 1941.
Location: Bosanski Brod (district of Derventa), Yugoslavia.
Original caption: unknown.
Sources: Branko Latas, Milovan Dželebdžić, Četnički pokret Draže Mihailovića 1941–1945, BIGZ, Beograd, 1979, p. 418; Slavko Vukčević (ed.), Zločini na jugoslovenskim prostorima u Prvom i Drugom svetskom ratu – Zbornik dokumenata, Vojnoistorijski institut, Beograd, 1993, vol. I, bk 1, pp. 587, 650, 710; Zbornik dokumenata i podataka o narodnooslobodilačkom ratu jugoslovenskih naroda, Vojnoistorijski institut, Beograd, 1952, vol. V, bk 1, p. 55.
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Masakr u Bosanskom Brodu. Nemački vojnici i hrvatski domobrani (sa starim nemačkim i francuskim šlemovima na glavi) poziraju sa hrpom pobijenih uhapšenika, navodno četnika, u Bosanskom Brodu 26. avgusta 1941. godine. Najranije (poznato) svedočanstvo o ovom zločinu ostavili su hrvatski civili, Brođani, u žalbi koju su sledećeg dana poslali svom velikom županu: "Gospodin veliki župane! Kod nas je vlast izgubila glavu – svi građani predani su na milost i nemilost neodgovornim ljudima, koji su dobili oružje u ruke i rade što im je volja. Jučer dne 26. pobijeno je u okolici Bos. Broda preko 80 nevinih ljudi [...]." Prosledivši žalbu (sutradan), veliki župan je od policijske stanice u Bosanskom Brodu dobio (osam dana kasnije) sledeće objašnjenje za masakr: "[...] Dana 26. kolovoza praćen [je] jedan transport Srba (grko-istočnjaka) iz okoline Dervente, prilikom pratnje bili [su] nemirni i neposlušni, a kada su došli u blizinu novog drvenog mosta na Savi, navodno su se počeli buniti i bjegati, a po nekoji je pokušao skakati u Savu, radi toga su njihovi pratioci upotrijebili oružje i tako je pobijeno što na mostu i okolici mosta, a nešto u samoj Savi, jer su poskakali u vodu, i kako se je moglo provjeriti ubijeno je odnosno skočilo u Savu oko 42 osobe." Najdetaljniji zapis o zločinu ostavio je sekretar Operativnog partijskog rukovodstva CK KPH, Vlado Popović, u svom izveštaju Glavnom štabu (bez datuma – poslednjeg dana avgusta ili prvih dana septembra): "Dne [26.] kolovoza o. g. izvršili su ustaški banditi, potpomognuti od nemačkih vojnika, još jedan masovni pokolj u Slav. Brodu. Pokolj je izvršen na novosagrađenom mostu, usred bela dana. Oko 50 naoružanih ustaških razbojnika vodili su preko brodskog mosta oko 300 uhapšenih seljaka i građana (među njima je bilo više železničara), svi iz derventskog kotara i okoline Bos. Broda. Među uhapšenima bilo je i Srba, Hrvata i muslimana. Kad je povorka stigla na most, počeli su ustaše iznenada pucati po uhapšenima. Desetak je odmah palo. Na to su ostali uhapšeni stali bežati po mostu i oko 100 ih je poskakalo s mosta u Savu, nastojeći se na taj način spasti. Ustaški zlotvori ciljali su i po onima u vodi. Nemačka straža na mostu, videvši da bi se po neki od onih u vodi plivanjem mogao spasti, priskočila je sa obe strane mosta u pomoć ustašama, pa je i ona otvorila vatru iz puškomitraljeza na begunce i na one na mostu. Oko 150 ljudi ubijeno je u roku od pola sata. Mnogo ih je na mostu ostalo ranjeno. Na preživelima su ustaški krvoloci iskaljivali svoj bes nemilosrdnim kundačenjem. Oko 150 preživelih strpali su zatim u vagone i nisu im tri dana dali ni hrane ni vode. Nekoliko ranjenih umrli su u tim vagonima. Po gradu su se ustaški zlotvori hvalili kako su udesili pobunjenike i 'četnike'. Ogorčeni narod, koji je promatrao ova zlodela, stiskao je šake: Biće i vama suda, ustaške zveri!" (Igrom ironije, 38 godina kasnije, jugoslovenski istoričari Latas i Dželebdžić objavili su ovu sliku – na kojoj su, prema počiniocima zločina, prikazani mrtvi četnici – na samom kraju svoje propagandne knjige "Četnički pokret Draže Mihailovića 1941–1945", pored fotografija generala Mihailovića i njegovih ljudi, pokušavajući da zločince – a ne žrtve – sa slike izjednače sa generalom i njegovim pokretom.)
Tekst: Ivan Ž.
Fotograf: nepoznat.
Datum: 26. avgust 1941.
Mesto: Bosanski Brod (srez Derventski), Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: nepoznat.
Izvori: Branko Latas, Milovan Dželebdžić, Četnički pokret Draže Mihailovića 1941–1945, BIGZ, Beograd, 1979, str. 418; Slavko Vukčević (ured.), Zločini na jugoslovenskim prostorima u Prvom i Drugom svetskom ratu – Zbornik dokumenata, Vojnoistorijski institut, Beograd, 1993, tom I, knj. 1, str. 587, 650, 710; Zbornik dokumenata i podataka o narodnooslobodilačkom ratu jugoslovenskih naroda, Vojnoistorijski institut, Beograd, 1952, tom V, knj. 1, str. 55.
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