| Schutzkorps | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1908–1909 1914–1918 |
| Country |  Austria-Hungary |
| Branch | Austro-Hungarian Army |
| Type | Auxiliary volunteermilitia |
| Role | Anti-guerilla warfare |
| Size | 20,000 (peak strength) |
TheSchutzkorps (Serbo-Croatian:Šuckor;[1] lit. "Protection Corps") was an auxiliary volunteer militia established byAustro-Hungarian authorities in the newly annexed province ofBosnia and Herzegovina to track downBosnian Serb opposition (members of theChetniks and theKomiti), while its main victims were civilians.[2] Officially, they were an auxiliary gendarmerie, while in reality, they conducted illegal and repressive activities.[3] It predominantly drew recruits from members of theBosniak population and it became infamous as a result of its heavy involvement in the persecution of the Serbs.[4] They particularly targeted Serb populated areas of eastern Bosnia.[5]
The role of the Schutzkorps is a point of debate. Persecution of Serbs conducted by the Austro-Hungarian authorities was the "first incidence of active 'ethnic cleansing' in Bosnia and Herzegovina".[6] Some Muslim leaders emphasized that it would be wrong to blame the whole Muslim population of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the misdeeds of the Schutzkorps, because some Muslims provided help to their Serb neighbors, while some Serbs hid from persecution by applying to the Schutzkorps.
TheAnnexation crisis of 1908–09 erupted on 6 October 1908, whenAustria-Hungary announced theannexation ofBosnia and Herzegovina. Many people of Bosnia and Herzegovina were dissatisfied with the events, particularly Serbs who remained in feudal obligations to their Muslim landlords. To prevent their uprising, Austria-Hungary undertook repressive measures against Serb population, conducted by Schutzkorps. Schutzkorps were organized in eleven battalions of volunteers.[7] InHerzegovina, theSchutzkorps avoided taking overly harsh measures against Serb populations near the border ofMontenegro to avoid provoking its reaction. SinceGacko andNevesinje are not near the border, its Serb population was subjected to terror from the Schutzkorps.[8] At the end of October 1908, Serbs ofGacko reported to the government inSarajevo about the Schutzkorps' terror, but no action was taken to investigate their reports.[9]
After the outbreak of theFirst Balkan War in 1912,anti-Serb sentiment increased in the Austro-Hungarian administration inBosnia and Herzegovina.[10]Oskar Potiorek, governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, closed many Serb societies and significantly contributed to the anti-Serb mood before the outbreak ofWorld War I.[11][12] The Government's plans to mobilize Croats and Muslims into Schutzkorps units in case of the war againstSerbia were revealed in December 1912 inBanja Luka and caused protests among its Serb population.[13] The idea to revive volunteer units was not implemented.[14]
TheSchutzkorps was re-established on Potiorek's orders following the assassination.[15] The leaders of theFrankists inZagreb played an important role in its establishment.[16] The Austro-Hungarians granted theSchutzkorps "full powers to deal with the Serbian population."[17] Its members were primarily Bosnian Muslims.[18][19] Bosnia and Herzegovina's Muslim inhabitants, with the exception of those who identified as Serbs, were generally pro-Habsburg.[18] The Austro-Hungarians rarely questioned their loyalty. Croats also served within the ranks of theSchutzkorps, as did some Serbs.[20] The militia's Serb members were motivated to join it because it precluded them from being sent to the frontlines.[21] The decision to recruit primarily amongst Bosnian Muslims and Croats was part of deliberatedivide-and-rule strategy employed by the Austro-Hungarians, the historianAviel Roshwald writes.[22] Initially, the militia consisted of around 11,000 men and 1,600 veterans.[23] It increased in size over the course of the war, eventually numbering 20,000 members.[24] The Austro-Hungarian authorities believed that the Serbs of Herzegovina were the most likely to launch an anti-Habsburg rebellion. Thus, about 5,000 members of theSchutzkorps, or about 45 percent of its initial manpower, were stationed in the region. Three-thousand of these were stationed in eastern Herzegovina.[25]
Following Austria-Hungary'sdeclaration of war against Serbia on 28 July 1914, theSchutzkorps began conducting mass executions of Serb civilians in Herzegovina, notably hanging 79 ofTrebinje's most prominent Serb citizens, among them intellectuals, landowners, and members of the clergy.[26] Killings continued throughout Herzegovina, accompanied by the taking of hostages, looting, and the destruction of property.[27] Executions were often arbitrary and the majority of victims were denied the right to legal recourse.[17] Along theDrina River, near the border with Serbia, theSchutzkorps were tasked with "anti-bandit operations", culminating in a massacre of Serb civilians nearFoča.[24]
Imprisonment of around 5,500 (700 to 2,200 of them died in prison) and execution of 460 citizens of Serb ethnicity in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the beginning of theWorld War I heavily relied on Schutzkorps.[2][28] Around 5,200 Serb families were forcibly expelled from Bosnia and Herzegovina.[2] The Schutzkorps shouted anti-Serb slogans and songs, such as "There is nothree-fingered cross", while committing their crimes.[29]
Members of theSchutzkorps were not issued Austro-Hungarian military uniforms. Instead, they wore black-yellow armbands to distinguish themselves from Serbian irregulars, who also did not wear uniforms. TheSchutzkorps members' dressing in civilian garb and use of Serbo-Croatian to shout orders resulted in severalfriendly-fire incidents between them and the Austro-Hungarian Army. It was subsequently ordered that basic commands had to be shouted in German.[30]
This was the first persecution of substantial number of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina because of their ethnicity.[31] At the same time, the Serb casualties in Eastern Bosnia were partially the result of activities undertaken in retaliation to SerbianChetniks who in fall 1914 had carried out attacks against Bosniaks in the area.[32]
Suljaga Salihagić, a Bosnian Muslim, emphasized that not all Muslims were responsible for the activities of Schutzkorps because many provided help to their Serb fellow citizens.[33] Some Muslim leaders denied that Schutzkorps were strictly Muslim and Croat units because many Serbs hid in these units, some even commanded by men of Serb ethnicity.[34] One of the commanders of theSchutzkorps in the Tešanj region wasAdemaga Mešić, who went on to fight alongside theUstaše duringWorld War II.[35][full citation needed][36]
In 1929, a priest from Trebinje published a book, documenting the acts of persecution, murders, and destruction of houses committed by the Schutzkorps in Trebinje and several other villages of the region.[37] The formation of a localSchutzkorps unit inVišegrad, by Muslims, is described inIvo Andrić's 1945 novelThe Bridge on the Drina.[38]
The Bosnian wartime militia (Schutzkorps), which became known for its persecution of Serbs, was overwhelmingly Bosniak.
Schutzkorps units were particularly active in Serb areas of eastern Bosnia,
Volunteer formations (Schutzkorps) were created during the Bosnian crisis of 1909. Eleven flying battalions were then organized in the province.
На терор „шуцкора" жалили су се Срби из Гацка Земаљској влади, али њихове жалбе нијесу узимане у поступак.
The Balkan Wars left Serbia as the region's strongest power. Serbia's relationship with Austria-Hungary remained antagonistic, and the Habsburg administration in Bosnia-Hercegovina became anti-Serb....
...the governor of Bosnia declared state of emergency, dissolved the parliament,.... and closed down many Serb associations....
The anti-Serb policy and mood that emerged in the months leading up to the First World War were the result of the machinations of Gen. Oskar von Potiorek (1853-1933), Bosnia- Herzegovina's heavy-handed military governor.
Although it had never took firm ground, the idea of volunteer units was revived in the crisis following the outbreak of the Balkan Wars
On instructions from Vienna, General Potiorek established an auxiliary militia in Bosnia and Hercegovina— the so-called Schutzkorps, in which he mobilized the scum of town and country. These were given freedom to deal with the Serbian...
Frankovačke vođe iz Zagreba u stvaranju šuckora 1914. u Bosni i Hercegovini imale su glavnu ulogu.
Der Schutz im Innern Bosniens und der Herzegowina war der Gendarmerie anvertraut, die von dem „Schutzkorps", bestehend aus 11.000 verläßlichen Männern und dem Veteranenkorps, 1600 Mann, unterstützt wurde.
Занимљив је податак да је од укупно око 11.000 шуцкора у Босни и Херцеговини у самој Херцеговини било око 5.000, а од тога у источној Херцеговини око 3.000. То значи да је 45% свих шуцкора било ангажовано у Хер- цеговини
While committing their crimes, the Schutzkorps sang: an anti-Serbian song: "There is no three-fingered cross."
For the first time in their history, a significant number of Bosnia Herzegovina's inhabitants were persecuted and liquidated for their national affiliation. It was an ominous harbinger of things to come.
Salihagić, a Bosnian Muslim who considered himself a Serb, protested the blanket accusations that all Bosniaks were responsible for the activities of Schutzkorps...
Неки од њих су извршили огроман број насиља и по томе је нознат на злу гласу чувени Адемага Мешић из Тешња, који је одмах у почетку рата организовао читав пук шуцкора и кренуо с њим на Србију.
... Adem-aga Mešić, poznat još iz Prvog svjetskog rata kao organizator takozvanog »šuckora«,...
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