Operation "Sava". Members of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian SS division pose in their truck in front of the oldest mosque in Brčko, the so-called Atiq, or Sava Mosque (Arabic "atiq" means "old", and "Sava" refers to the nearby river). According to the photographer, SS war correspondent Nonnenmacher – who was tasked with making a propaganda report about the return of Bosnian SS volunteers to their homeland (from training abroad), their reunion with loved ones and the beginning of the struggle for liberation from "Soviet terror" (the Partisans) – the pictured six lads, who clearly look at the camera, actually look around for their relatives and acquaintances. The clever German also adds that the volunteers wear a native fez with the German national emblem, implying that the patron of the Muslim struggle for freedom is Germany. Naturally, the propaganda reporter failed to mention the series of crimes against civilians that the 13th SS Division committed during the previous weeks in Syrmia, on the way to its native Bosnia. (Note: the Atiq Mosque, the same as other Islamic places of worship in the town, was destroyed by Bosnian Serbs in 1992. The place where it stood was proclaimed a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2004, and the mosque itself was restored in 2007.)
Text: Ivan Ž.
Photographer: Eugen Nonnenmacher, SS Regiment "Kurt Eggers".
Date: March 1944.
Location: Brčko, Yugoslavia.
Original caption: "They are coming back, ready to fight! The dark eyes sparkle under the native fez with the German national emblem, expecting relatives and acquaintances."
Sources: NIOD, via Beeldbank WO2, 3624; Arhiv Jugoslavije, 110, F-25072; András J. Riedlmayer, Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1992–1996: A Post-War Survey of Selected Municipalities (expert report), Cambridge, MA, 2002, p. 12; Eugen Nonnenmacher, "Sie kommen zurück, gerüstet zum Kampf!", Wiener Illustrierte, 24.05.1944, vol. LXIII, no 21, pp. 4–5; N. Tanasić, "Otvorena Atiksavska džamija", Nezavisne novine (online), 14.07.2007; "Savska (Atik) džamija, mjesto i ostaci graditeljske cjeline", Komisija za očuvanje nacionalnih spomenika. (Photo restoration: Ivan Ž.)
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 "Sava". Pripadnici bosansko-hercegovačke SS-divizije poziraju u svom kamionu ispred najstarije džamije u Brčkom, tzv. Atik, ili Savske džamije ("atik" na arapskom znači "stara", a "savska" jer se nalazi na obali Save). Prema autoru fotografije, ratnom dopisniku SS-a Nonenmaheru – koji je imao zadatak da napravi propagandnu reportažu o povratku bosanskih SS-dobrovoljaca u domovinu (sa obuke u inostranstvu), njihovom susretu sa voljenima i početku borbe za oslobođenje od "sovjetskog terora" (partizana) – šestorica momaka na slici, koji očigledno gledaju u objektiv, tobože pogledom traže svoju rodbinu i poznanike. Lukavi Nemac dodaje i to da dobrovoljci na glavi nose domaći fes sa nemačkim nacionalnim simbolom, nagoveštavajući da je pokrovitelj muslimanske borbe za slobodu Nemačka. Naravno, propagandni reporter nije pomenuo niz zločina nad civilima koje je 13. SS-divizija počinila prethodnih nedelja u Sremu, na putu ka rodnoj joj Bosni. (Napomena: Atik džamiju su, kao i ostale islamske bogomolje u gradu, srušili bosanski Srbi 1992. godine. Mesto na kojem je stajala proglašeno je nacionalnim spomenikom Bosne i Hercegovine 2004. godine, a sama džamija je obnovljena 2007.)
Tekst: Ivan Ž.
Fotograf: Ojgen Nonenmaher, SS-puk "Kurt Egers".
Datum: mart 1944.
Mesto: Brčko, Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: "Vraćaju se, za borbu spremni! Tamne oči se cakle ispod domaćeg fesa sa nemačkim nacionalnim simbolom, iščekujući rođake i poznanike."
Izvori: NIOD, via Beeldbank WO2, 3624; Arhiv Jugoslavije, 110, F-25072; András J. Riedlmayer, Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1992–1996: A Post-War Survey of Selected Municipalities (stručni izveštaj), Cambridge, MA, 2002, str. 12; Eugen Nonnenmacher, "Sie kommen zurück, gerüstet zum Kampf!", Wiener Illustrierte, 24.05.1944, god. LXIII, br. 21, str. 4–5; N. Tanasić, "Otvorena Atiksavska džamija", Nezavisne novine (online), 14.07.2007; "Savska (Atik) džamija, mjesto i ostaci graditeljske cjeline", Komisija za očuvanje nacionalnih spomenika. (Foto-restauracija: Ivan Ž.)
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