Massacre in Zabiokovlje

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The Zabiokovlje massacre was a war crime committed by nationalist Serb Chetnik units under the leadership of the voivod Petar Baćović (1898–1945) in the Dalmatian hinterland of the Biokovo Mountains on August 29, 1942 . The Chetniks murdered 141 to 147 Croatian civilians in the villages of Rašćane , Kozica , Dragljane and Župa Biokovska near Vrgorac , including the three local Catholic priests . Some of the victims were previously tortured , so the pastor of Rašćane Ivan Čondić (born July 9, 1886) and the pastor of Župa Biokovska Josip Braenović (born April 8, 1902) were skinned alive . In addition, 702 houses were looted and burned down in the towns .

background

Course of Operation Albia . The movement of the Chetnik units in the Dalmatian hinterland, where the massacre took place on August 29, 1942, is recognizable: from the Neretva east of Ploče (on August 15 ) via Vrgorac to Dragljane , Kozica , Rašćane and Župa Biokovska .

The massacre was the beginning of a series of mass killings of the Croatian civilian population by the Chetniks collaborating with the Italian fascist occupation forces , which were committed during the Albia military operation , which was actually directed against Tito's partisans .

The responsible Chetnik commander Petar Baćović reported to Draža Mihailović , the commander of this so-called Yugoslav army in the fatherland :

"Vratio sam se sa puta po Hercegovini. Četiri naša bataljona, oko 900 ljudi, krenuli su 30. avgusta preko Ljubuškog, Imotskog i Podgore i izbili kod Makarske na more. Sedamnaest sela spaljeno, 900 ustaša ubijeno, nekoliko katoličkih sveštenika živo odrano. Prvi put posle sloma poboli srpsku zastavu u more i klicali kralju i Draži. Naši gubici minimalni. "

“I made my way to Herzegovina . Four of our battalions , about 900 people, started on August 30th via Ljubuški , Imotski and Podgora and made a breakthrough to the sea near Makarska . Seventeen villages were burned, 900 Ustashe [meaning Croatian civilians] were killed, and several Catholic priests were skinned alive . For the first time after the collapse I put the Serbian flag in the sea and shouted salute to King and Draža. Our losses are minimal. "

On September 3, Draža Mihailović replied:

“Zadovoljan sam sa vašim izveštajem o izbijanju na more. Iskoristite ovu akciju da se postavi siguran kanal za vezu sa Dinarskom divizijom. Posle ovoga za najkraće vreme Vi zajedno sa dinarcima treba da raščistite prostoriju između: Mostar - Konjic - Visoko - Travnik - Jajce - Livno. Dinarce postaći na jači rad i što hitniju organizaciju i aktivnu borbu protiv komunista i ustaša. ”

“I am satisfied with the report on the breakthrough to the sea. Use this action to set up a secure channel for communication with the Dinara division. After this you have to clear the space between: Mostar - Konjic - Visoko - Travnik - Jajce - Livno together with the dinars in a very short time. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dušan Plenča: Partizanski odredi naroda Dalmacije 1941-1942 . Vojnoizdavači zavod JNA "Vojno delo", Beograd 1960, p. 379 f .
  2. ↑ Ivo Omrčanin: Croatian priest murdered by Tschetniken and communists . Munich 1959, p. 12 .
  3. ^ Martyrdom Croatiae . Staderini, Rome 1946, p. 10 .
  4. ^ Vjekoslav Vrančić: High Treason: The Second Italian Army in Dalmatia . Zagreb 1943, p. 70 .
  5. ^ The Trial of Dragoljub-Draža Mihailović: Stenographic Record and Documents from the Trial of Dragoljub-Draža Mihailović . Belgrade 1946, p. 56 .
  6. ↑ Nikola Milovanović: Draža Mihailović . Rad, Beograd 1984, Četničke brigade u okupatorskim operacijama 'Albia', 'Alfa' i 'Dinara' ( znaci.net ).
  7. ↑ Jovo Popović, Marko Lolić, Branko Latas: Pop izdaje (vojvoda Momčilo Đujić ) . Zagreb 1988, "Oderali 3 živa katolička popa", p. 170 ( znaci.net ).