War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945

OCCUPATION

COLLABORATION

JOZO TOMASEVICH

STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

STANFORD,.CALIFORNIA

ZOOI Contents

Preface ix Abbreviations of Frequently Cited Materials - xv

Yugoslavia Between the Wars i Historical Background, i The Unification Act of December i, 1918, and the Constitution of June 28, 1921, 9 Early Political Emigration, 17 Political Developments from 192.3 to 1934, 21 The Early Stages of the Ustasha Movement, 30 Political Developments in the Late 1930's, 39 The Partition of Yugoslavia 47 The Establishment of the Independent State of Croatia', 47 The Partition of the Country, 61 The German System of Occupation in Serbia, 64 Germany and Italy Divide Slovenia 83 German Occupation of Northern Slovenia, 83 Italian Annexation of the Ljubljana Province, 94 German Occupation of the Ljubljana Province, 121 Collaboration Leads the Anti-Partisan Forces to Defeat, iz6 Foreign Annexation of Yugoslavia 130 Italian Rule in the Annexed Part of Dalmatia, 130 Italian and German Occupation of Montenegro, 138 Italian-Albanian Rule in Kosovo and Western Macedonia, 148 Bulgarian Rule in Parts of Macedonia and Serbia, 156 Hungarian Rule in Parts of Yugoslav Territory, 168 The Puppet Government of Serbia 175 The Establishment and Reorganization of the Puppet Government, 177 German Auxiliary Forces in Serbia, 186 The Bulgarian Army in Serbia, 195 The Special Occupation Regime in the Banat, 201 The Difficulties of the Nedic Government, 209 The Serbian Political Parties During the War, 228 The Independent State of Croatia: An Italian-German Quasi Protectorate • 233 The Italian-Croatian Treaties of Rome of May 18, 1941, 234 German-Italian-Croatian Relations, 241 Italian Rule in Croatia, 246 The Independent State of Croatia and International Law, 268 German Rule in Croatia, 274 The Italian Surrender, 294 VI CONTENTS

7 The Independent State of Croatia: Under German Dominance' 303 The German Role in Military Affairs, 303 The German Role in Political Affairs, 315 German Inconsistencies, Croatian Grievances, 323 Approaching the End, 328 8 The Independent State of Croatia: Internal Problems and Policies 335 The Ustasha Program and Party, 336 The Ustashas as a Political Group, 342 The Narrow Popular Base of the Ustasha Regime, 351 The Croatian Peasant Party During the War, 35,6 The Ustasha Regime and the Roman Catholic Church, 368 • The Ustashas Convoke the Croatian Dier, 372 Croatian "Ethnic and Historical Territory," 376 9 The Independent State of Croatia: The Rule of Lawlessness and Terror 380 The Political and "Legal" Foundations of Lawlessness and Terror, 380 The Ustashas' Case Against the Serbs West of the Drina River, 387 The Mass Expulsion of Serbs, 392 The Mass Killing of Serbs, 397 Other Population Shifts, 409 Ustasha Terror Engenders Armed Resistance, 412 10 The Armed Forces of the Independent State of Croatia 416 Formation and Organization, 416 The Weaknesses of the Army, 424 Conflicts Between the Army and the Ustashas, 434 The Removal of the Kvaterniks, 439 Croatian Peasant Party Plans for the Army, 442 The Unification of the Army and the Ustasha Militia, 456 11 The Independent State of Croatia: The Bosnian Muslims 466 Historical Background, 468 The Bosnian Muslims in the Independent State of Croatia, 488 12 The Churches During the Occupation and Revolution 511 The Serbian Orthodox Church. 511 The Catholic Church in Slovenia, 517 The Catholic Church in the Independent State of Croatia, 522 The Killing of Priests Throughout Yugoslavia, 568 Conclusion, 575 Appendix: Was the Archbishop's May 1943 Report to the Pope Genuine?, 576 13 The Destruction of the Jewish Community .in Yugoslavia 580 Introduction, 580 The Destruction of Jews Outside the Ustasha State, 585 The Destruction of Jews in the Independent State of Croatia, 592 Jews in the Yugoslav Partisan Forces, 605 Conclusion, 606 Appendix: The Destruction of the Yugoslav Gypsies, 608 14 Axis Exploitation of the Yugoslav Economy: Part I 611 Yugoslavia's Economic Relations Before the War, 611 German Control of the Wartime Economy, 617 Economic Components Exploited by Germany, 623 Italy's Share of Yugoslav Economic Spoils, 660 CONTENTS Vll

15 Axis Exploitation of the Yugoslav Economy: Part II 665 Payments for Axis Military Forces, 665 Foreign Economic Relations as an Instrument of Exploitation, 684 Conclusion, 696 16 Further Economic Consequences of War and Exploitation 699 Inflation in Serbia and Croatia, 699 Fiscal Policies in Serbia and Croatia, 706 The Food Economy in Serbia and Croatia, 707 The Country's Material Losses at War's End, 714 17 Alleged and True Population Losses 718 Exaggerated Claims of Losses, 720 Scholarly Research, 729 The Reasons for Exaggerated Claims, 739 The Reasons for Excessive Human and Material Losses, 744 18 The End of the Collaborationist Regimes in Yugoslavia 751 The Final Days of the Ustasha Forces, 751 The Deterioration and End of the Legionnaire Divisions, 768 The End of the Slovene Collaborationist Forces, 771 The Fate of Some Nedic and Chetnik Forces, 775 Concluding Observations on the Independent State of Croatia, 778

Bibliography 789 Index 821