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DuringWorld War II, several provinces of theKingdom of Yugoslavia corresponding to the modern-day state ofSerbia were occupied by theAxis powers from 1941 to 1944. Most of the area was occupied by theWehrmacht and was organized as separate territory under control of the GermanMilitary Administration in Serbia. Other parts of modern Serbia that were not included in the Nazi German-administered territory were occupied and annexed by neighboring Axis countries:Syrmia was occupied and annexed by theIndependent State of Croatia,Bačka was occupied and annexed byHungary, southeastern Serbia was occupied and annexed byBulgaria, and southwestern Serbia was occupied and annexed byItaly and included in the Italian protectorates ofAlbania andMontenegro.[1]
The area under control of the GermanMilitary Administration in Serbia was initially occupied by the Germans. It was later occupied mostly byBulgarian troops, but remained under German military authority.[2] On stamps and coins this territory was referred to as Serbia,[citation needed] and, accordingPaul N. Hehn, its official name was theTerritory of the Military Commander in Serbia.[3] This territory had two successive Serbian puppet governments under the control of the German military authorities. The first, short-lived, puppet government was known as theCommissioner Government and was led byMilan Aćimović. The second puppet government was known as theGovernment of National Salvation and was led byMilan Nedić.
During the occupation, the Nazists set upSoldatensender Belgrad, the popular radio station for German soldiers across Europe and Africa.[4]
Approximately 11,000 of the Jewish population of about 12,500 in German-occupied Serbia, controlled byHungary or theIndependent State of Croatia, were murdered.[5]
The line between the German-occupied area and the ItalianAlbania in theKosovo region was the cause of a significant clash of interests, mainly due to the importantlead and zinc mines atTrepča and the key railway line fromKosovska Mitrovica throughPristina–Uroševac–Kačanik toSkopje. Ultimately the Germans prevailed, with the "Vienna Line" extending fromNovi Pazar in theSandžak through Kosovska Mitrovica and Pristina, along the railway between Pristina and Uroševac and then towardsTetovo in modern-dayNorth Macedonia before turning northeast to meet Bulgarian-annexed territory near Orlova Čuka. The Kosovska Mitrovica,Vučitrn andLab districts, along with part of theGračanica district, to were all part of the German-occupied territory. This territory contained a number of other important mines, including the lead mine atBelo Brdo, an asbestos mine nearJagnjenica and amagnesite mine atDubovac nearVučitrn.[6]
The Sandžak region was initially divided between the Germans in the north and the Italians in the south using an extension of the so-called "Vienna Line" which divided Yugoslavia into German and Italian zones of influence. The border of the occupied territory through the Sandžak was modified several times in quick succession during April and May 1941, eventually settling on the general line ofPriboj–Nova Varoš–Sjenica–Novi Pazar, although the towns of Rudo, Priboj, Nova Varoš, Sjenica andDuga Poljana were on the Italian-occupiedMontenegrin side of the border. The NDH government was unhappy with these arrangements, as they wanted to annex the Sandžak to the NDH and considered it would be easier for them to achieve this if the Germans occupied a larger portion of the region.[7]
After discussions with both theRomanian andHungarian governments, Adolf Hitler decided that theBačka andBanat region would be divided by the riverTisa, with the eastern portion under German occupation along with "Old Serbia". The portion west of the Tisa wasoccupied and annexed by Hungary. The Romanian-Hungarian rivalry was not the only reason for retaining the Banat under German occupation, as it also contained some 120,000 ethnic Germans (orVolksdeutsche) and was a valuable economic region. In addition to the Tisa, the other borders of theBanat were theDanube to the south, and the post-World War I Yugoslav-Romanian and Yugoslav-Hungarian borders in the north and east.[8]
Much of the western border between the occupied territory with the NDH had been approved by the Germans and announced byAnte Pavelic on 7 June 1941. However, the approved border only followed theDrina downstream as far asBajina Bašta, and beyond this point the border had not been finalised. On 5 July 1941 this border was fixed as continuing to follow the Drina until the confluence with the Brusnica tributary east of the village of Zemlica, then east of the Drina following the pre-World War IBosnia and Herzegovina-Serbia border.[9]
An area of easternSyrmia was initially included in the occupied territory for military and economic reasons, especially given Belgrade's airport and radio station were located there. The number ofVolksdeutsche living in the area along with its role in providing food for Belgrade were also factors in the original decision. During this early period the border between the occupied territory and the NDH ran between the villages ofSlankamen on the Danube andBoljevci on theSava. However, after pressure from the NDH, supported by the German ambassador toZagreb,Siegfried Kasche, it was gradually fully transferred to NDH control with the approval of the Military Commander in Serbia, and became a formal part of the NDH on 10 October 1941. The localVolksdeutsche asked for the area to be returned to German control, but this did not occur. As a result of the transfer of this region, the borders of the NDH reached the outskirts ofBelgrade.[10]
In 1941 some parts of Serbia, includingVranje,Bosilegrad,Caribrod andPirot were occupied and subsequently annexed by Bulgaria.[11] Later, between 1942 and 1943, other significant parts of Serbia, were occupied by Bulgaria, but left under German supervision.
In January 1942, to secure the railroads, highways and other infrastructure, the Germans began to make use of Bulgarian occupation troops in large areas of the occupied territory, although these troops were under German command and control. This occurred in three phases, with theBulgarian 1st Occupation Corps consisting of three divisions moving into the occupied territory on 31 December 1941. This corps was initially responsible for about 40% of the territory (excluding the Banat), bounded by theIbar river in the west between Kosovska Mitrovica and Kraljevo, theWest Morava river between Kraljevo and Čačak, and then a line running roughly east from Čačak through Kragujevac to the border with Bulgaria. They were therefore responsible for large sections of the Belgrade–Niš–Sofia and Niš–Skopje railway lines, as well as the main Belgrade–Niš–Skopje highway.[12]
In January 1943, the Bulgarian area was expanded westwards to include all areas west of the Ibar river and south of a line running roughly west from Čačak to the border with occupied Montenegro and the NDH.[13] This released the7th SS Volunteer Mountain DivisionPrinz Eugen, which had been garrisoning this area over the winter, to deploy into the NDH and take part inCase White against the Partisans. Many members of the Volksdeutsche from Serbia and the Banat were serving in the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain DivisionPrinz Eugen.[14] This division was responsible for war crimes committed against the peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[15]
In July 1943, the Bulgarian occupation zone expanded northwards, with a fourth division, the 25th Division taking over from the297th Infantry Division in the rest of the territory (excluding the Banat) that did not share a border with the NDH. From this point, German forces only directly occupied the immediate area of Belgrade, the northwest region of the territory that shared a border with the NDH, and the Banat.[13]
By special agreements between the Germans and Bulgarians, the Bulgarian troops were invited, in two successive steps, to occupy large parts of Serbia and thus to relieve some of the German troops for service elsewhere. But the control remained in German hands.
U Srbiji, pod njemačkim okupacijskim protektoratom (bez područja koja su pripala Mađarskoj ili NDH), od oko 12.500 Židova, ubijeno je oko 11.000
neke dijelove Srbije sa Vranjem, Bosiljgradom, Caribrodom i Pirotom okupirala je Bugarska