Operation 25. Members of the SS Division "Reich", together with the assembled (German) populace, watch the Easter dance in the centre of Alibunar, from the Romanian Orthodox churchyard. Even though it is a big holiday and a joyous occasion, the faces of the civilians, and most of the German soldiers, are deadly serious: just a few metres away, in the churchyard of the Serbian Orthodox church (whose windows are seen in the upper right corner of the photo), there is a mass grave with fresh corpses of Yugoslav prisoners of war and civilians, shot in the previous two days by members of the "Deutschland" Regiment (partly as a reprisal for the murder of the regimental adjutant). In the Serbian church, which has been turned into an assembly camp, there are other prisoners, anxiously awaiting their fate. This holy day, the first day of (Western) Easter, was ended by the SS men with yet another execution: teacher Bošnjački, a Serb, was shot for "Freischärlerei" (illegal warfare). (Bošnjački, like many others, was buried in Selište, due to the churchyard pit being already full. Note: the Germans considered the armed Serbian civilians war criminals who violated the laws of war, and their murder an act of justice; on the other hand, the armed ethnic Germans, executed by the Yugoslav troops, were considered heroes, and their murder a crime.) During the exhumation of the corpses, on 15 February 1945, there were 51 corpses found in the Serbian Orthodox churchyard in Alibunar. Found in Selište were 54 corpses. The exact number of people shot in Alibunar during the occupation by the SS Division "Reich", due to the chaotic situation caused by the war, has never been determined (it was estimated that close to 200 persons were murdered).
Text: Ivan Ž.
Photographer: unknown.
Date: 13 April 1941.
Location: Alibunar, Yugoslavia.
Original caption: unknown.
Sources: Otto Weidinger, Division Das Reich im Bild, Munin-Verlag, Osnabrück, 1981, p. 75; Otto Weidinger, Division Das Reich – Der Weg der 2. SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich" – Die Geschichte der Stammdivision der Waffen-SS, Munin-Verlag, Osnabrück, 1983, vol. II, p. 224/225; Srđan Božović, Nemački zločin u Alibunaru 1941, Narodni muzej Pančevo, 2004, pp. 65, 81–84; Jelena Đ. Lopičić-Jančić (ed.), Ratni zločini nemačkih okupatora u Jugoslaviji 1941–1945. godine – Presude jugoslovenskih vojnih sudova, Muzej žrtava genocida, Beograd, 2010, pp. 30, 36–37; "Auch sie marschieren im Geiste mit!", Volksruf, Pančevo, 25.04.1941, vol. X, no 16–478, p. 2; National Archives, RG 242, T354, r. 121, 3754550; ibid., r. 122, 3755637. (Photo restoration: Ivan Ž.)
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Operacija 25. Pripadnici SS-divizije "Rajh", zajedno sa okupljenim (nemačkim) narodom, posmatraju uskršnji ples u centru Alibunara, iz porte rumunske pravoslavne crkve. Iako je veliki praznik i povod za veselje, lica civila, kao i većine nemačkih vojnika, smrtno su ozbiljna: samo nekoliko metara dalje, u porti srpske pravoslavne crkve (čiji se prozori vide u gornjem desnom uglu slike), nalazi se masovna grobnica sa svežim leševima jugoslovenskih ratnih zarobljenika i civila, koje su u prethodna dva dana streljali pripadnici puka "Nemačka" (delom u cilju odmazde za ubistvo pukovskog ađutanta). U srpskoj crkvi, koja je pretvorena u sabirni logor, nalaze se ostali zarobljenici, koji sa strepnjom čekaju svoju sudbinu. Ovaj sveti dan, prvi dan (katoličkog) Uskrsa, esesovci su završili još jednim pogubljenjem: učitelj Bošnjački, Srbin, streljan je zbog "hajdukovanja" (Freischärlerei). (Bošnjački je, kao i mnogi drugi, pokopan na Selištu, jer je raka u crkvenoj porti već bila napunjena. Napomena: Nemci su naoružane srpske civile smatrali zločincima koji krše zakone ratovanja, a njihovo ubistvo sprovođenjem pravde; s druge strane, naoružane folksdojčere, pogubljene od jugoslovenske vojske, smatrali su herojima, a njihovo ubistvo zločinom.) Prilikom ekshumacije leševa, 15. februara 1945. godine, u porti srpske pravoslavne crkve u Alibunaru pronađen je 51 leš. Na Selištu su pronađena 54 leša. Tačan broj ljudi streljanih u Alibunaru za vreme boravka SS-divizije "Rajh", zbog haotičnog stanja prouzrokovanog ratom, nikada nije utvrđen (procenjuje se da je pobijeno blizu 200 osoba).
Tekst: Ivan Ž.
Fotograf: nepoznat.
Datum: 13. april 1941.
Mesto: Alibunar, Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: nepoznat.
Izvori: Otto Weidinger, Division Das Reich im Bild, Munin-Verlag, Osnabrück, 1981, str. 75; Otto Weidinger, Division Das Reich – Der Weg der 2. SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich" – Die Geschichte der Stammdivision der Waffen-SS, Munin-Verlag, Osnabrück, 1983, tom II, str. 224/225; Srđan Božović, Nemački zločin u Alibunaru 1941, Narodni muzej Pančevo, 2004, str. 65, 81–84; Jelena Đ. Lopičić-Jančić (prir.), Ratni zločini nemačkih okupatora u Jugoslaviji 1941–1945. godine – Presude jugoslovenskih vojnih sudova, Muzej žrtava genocida, Beograd, 2010, str. 30, 36–37; "Auch sie marschieren im Geiste mit!", Volksruf, Pančevo, 25.04.1941, god. X, br. 16–478, str. 2; National Archives, RG 242, T354, r. 121, 3754550; ibid., r. 122, 3755637. (Foto-restauracija: Ivan Ž.)
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