The Massacre Of Villages Under Kamešnica ( Croatian: ''Pokolj u potkamešničkim selima'') was the mass murder of Croat inhabitants from several villages in the

Dalmatian Hinterland The Dalmatian Hinterland ( hr, Dalmatinska zagora; it, La Morlacca or ) is the southern inland hinterland in the historical Croatian region of Dalmatia. The name ''zagora'' means "beyond (the) hills", which is a reference to the fact that it is t ...

, between the Kamešnica and

Mosor Mosor ( la, Massarus), or Mount Mosor (''Massarus Mons''; it, Monte Massaro), is a mountain range in Croatia located near the city of Split on the Adriatic coast. It belongs to Dinaric Alps, and it stretches from the pass of Klis in the northwe ...

mountains, committed by the German 7th SS Division "Prinz Eugen" from the 26-30 March 1944, during World War II.

Incident

It happened during the counter-insurgency operations German forces and their Ustasha allies (namely the 369th Infantry Division, under German command) launched against Partisans in the areas of the Mosor mountain. While Partisans forces managed to retreat, German forces pursued them into the Kamešnica valley, where they conducted a

punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavio ...

against the civilian population, suspected of harbouring Partisans. The operation began on March 26th 1944. The worst hit were areas near

Trilj Trilj (, it, Treglia, la, Pons Tiluri) is a municipality and town in inland Dalmatia, Croatia. It is located northeast of Split. Population The total population of the municipality is 9,109, with 2,076 in Trilj itself and the rest in small vi ...

, namely the villages of Podi, Ruda, Otok, Voštane, Krivodol, Donji Dolac, Ljut and Rože. Villagers, mostly women, children and elderly, were shot or forced into houses, which were then set alight. Donji Dolac was the first village to be assaulted, 272 inhabitants were burned alive, including 103 children. The village of Voštane sustained the largest death toll, where between 300 and 400 civilians were killed. It is estimated that at least 1,525 civilians were killed during the massacres. Other sources, based on reports given by Croatian, Partisan and Wehrmacht reports at the time, estimate that between 1,800 and 3,000 people may have been killed.

References

Massacres committed by Nazi Germany Massacres in 1944 Modern history of Croatia 1944 in Croatia Mass murder in 1944 Massacres in the Independent State of Croatia Massacres of Croats {{Massacre-stub