The Yugoslav National Movement ( sh, Jugoslavenski narodni pokret / Југословенски народни покрет), also known as the United Militant Labour Organization (''Združena borbena organizacija rada'' / ''Здружена борбена организација рада'', or Zbor / ''Збор''), was a Yugoslav
fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
movement and organization led by politician
Dimitrije Ljotić.
Founded in 1935, it received considerable German financial and political assistance during the
interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
and participated in the
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
and
1938
Events
January
* January 1
** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...
Yugoslav parliamentary elections, in which it never received more than 1 percent of the popular vote.
Following the
Axis invasion
An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
and occupation of Yugoslavia in April 1941, the Germans selected several Zbor members to join the Serbian
puppet government of
Milan Nedić. The
Serbian Volunteer Corps (SDK) was established as Zbor's party army. Ljotić had no control over the SDK, which was commanded by Colonel
Kosta Mušicki
Konstantin "Kosta" Mušicki ( sr-Cyrl, Константин Коста Мушицки; 7 April 1897 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslav brigadier general who commanded the collaborationist Serbian Volunteer Corps during World War II. He was captured ...
. In late 1944, Ljotić and his followers retreated to Slovenia with the Germans and other collaborationist formations. In March, Ljotić and
Chetnik
The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...
leader
Draža Mihailović
Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Дража Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...
agreed on a last-ditch alliance against the
Yugoslav Partisans
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
. Ljotić's followers were placed under the command of Chetnik commander
Miodrag Damjanović
Miodrag Damjanović ( sr-Cyrl, Миодраг Дамјановић; 16 January 1893 – 4 August 1956) was a Serbs, Serbian brigadier general of the Royal Yugoslav Army. He was chief of staff of Prime Minister Milan Nedić, commander of the Ser ...
. Ljotić was killed in an automobile accident in late April 1945. His followers later fled to Italy alongside the Chetniks. The
Western Allies extradited many back to Yugoslavia following the war, where they were summarily executed and buried in mass graves. Those who were not extradited immigrated to western countries and established émigré organizations intended to promote Zbor's political agenda.
Background
Dimitrije Ljotić was a right-wing politician in the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
during the
interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
. As a loyalist to the
Karađorđević dynasty
The Karađorđević dynasty ( sr-Cyrl, Динасија Карађорђевић, Dinasija Karađorđević, Карађорђевићи / Karađorđevići, ) or House of Karađorđević ( sr-Cyrl, Кућа Карађорђевић, Kuća Karađ ...
, on 16 February 1931 he was appointed Yugoslav
Minister of Justice by King
Alexander. In June of that year, Ljotić suggested to Alexander that the Yugoslav political system be structured on the Italian fascist model. He presented him with a draft constitution that proposed "an organic constitutional hereditary monarchy, undemocratic and non-parliamentary, based on the mobilization of popular forces, gathered around economic, professional, cultural and charity organizations, that would be politically accountable to the king." The king rejected Ljotić's constitution as being too
authoritarian
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
. On 17 August, Ljotić resigned from his post after the government decided to create a single government-backed political party in Yugoslavia.
Formation
In 1934, Alexander was assassinated in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
. That year, Ljotić made contact with three pro-fascist movements and the publishers of their respective newspapers—''Otadžbina'' (Fatherland), published in Belgrade; the monthly ''Zbor'' (Rally), published in
Herzegovina
Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...
; and the weekly ''Buđenje'' (Awakening), published in Petrovgrad (modern
Zrenjanin
Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; hu, Nagybecskerek; ro, Becicherecu Mare; sk, Zreňanin; german: Großbetschkerek) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous pro ...
). Ljotić contributed to all three publications and became most influential with the ''Otadžbina'' movement. He subsequently founded the Yugoslav National Movement ( sh, Jugoslovenski narodni pokret), which was also known as the United Active Labour Organization (''Združena borbena organizacija rada'', or Zbor). Zbor was created by the merger of three fascist movements—
Yugoslav Action, the "
Fighters
Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to:
Combat and warfare
* Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict
* Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...
" from
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
, and ''Buđenje'' from Petrovgrad. It was officially established in Belgrade on 6 January 1935, the sixth anniversary of
King Alexander's dictatorship proclamation. Its members elected Ljotić as its president,
Juraj Korenić Juraj is a given name used in a number of Slavic languages, including Czech, Slovak, and Croatian. Pronounced "You-rye" but with a trilled r.
The English equivalent of the name is George.
Notable people
* Juraj Chmiel, Czech diplomat and politicia ...
its vice-president,
Fran Kandare Fran may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Fran (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Fran (footballer, born 1969) or Francisco Javier González Pérez
* Fran (footballer, born 1972), Spanish retired football ...
as second vice-president and
Velibor Jonić
Velibor Jonić ( sr-Cyrl, Велибор Јонић; 12 February 1892 – 17 July 1946) was a Serbian fascist politician and government minister in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia during World War II. He taught at the Military A ...
as its secretary-general. Ljotić was chosen because of his previous stint as Minister of Justice and because of his connections with the royal court.
Zbor's official stated goal was the imposition of a planned economy and "the racial and biological defense of the national life force and the family". ''Otadžbina'' became its official newspaper. The party was declared illegal upon establishment since virtually all political parties in Yugoslavia had been banned since the declaration of King Alexander's dictatorship in 1929. On 2 September 1935, Jonić and attorney
Milan Aćimović
Milan Aćimović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Аћимовић; 31 May 1898 – 25 May 1945) was a Yugoslav politician and collaborationist with the Axis in Yugoslavia during World War II.
Early life
Milan Aćimović was born on 31 May 1898 in Pinos ...
petitioned the Yugoslav
Ministry of the Interior
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
to legalize Zbor. On 8 November, the Ministry of the Interior conceded and recognized Zbor as an official political party. German officials in Yugoslavia quickly took notice of the movement, with the German envoy to Yugoslavia,
Viktor von Heeren, providing it with financial assistance and infiltrating it with German agents. A German observer noted: "The movement Zbor represents a kind of national socialist party. Its principles are the struggle against Freemasons, against Jews, against Communists and against western
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
." German industrial firms provided Zbor with further financial aid, as did German intelligence services. Most of the support that Zbor received in Serbia came from members of the urban middle class, right-wing students, and the armed forces. The majority of Zbor's members were ethnic
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
, with some
Croats
The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...
and
Slovenes
The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...
joining the party in small numbers. Its membership fluctuated often due to disagreements over Ljotić's authoritarianism and lack of popularity and political power in Serbia. Ljotić was unpopular in Serbia due to his pro-German sympathies and religious fanaticism. The limited amount of support received by Zbor itself stemmed from the fact that radical right-wing sentiment was not strong amongst the Serbian population. This was because far right-wing politics were associated with
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Being extremely anti-German, the majority of ethnic Serbs rejected fascist and Nazi ideas outright. Zbor never had more than 10,000 active members at any given time, with most of its support coming from Smederevo and from the ethnic German (''
Volksdeutsche
In Nazi German terminology, ''Volksdeutsche'' () were "people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship". The term is the nominalised plural of '' volksdeutsch'', with ''Volksdeutsche'' denoting a sin ...
'') minority in
Vojvodina that had been exposed to
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
propaganda since 1933.
During
Milan Stojadinović
Milan Stojadinović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Стојадиновић; 4 August 1888 – 26 October 1961) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and economist who served as the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia from 1935 to 1939. He also served as Forei ...
's premiership, many members of Zbor left the party and joined Stojadinović's
Yugoslav Radical Union
The Yugoslav Radical Union (Serbian language, Serbian: ''Jugoslovenska radikalna zajednica'', Југословенска радикална заједница; sl, Jugoslovanska radikalna skupnost, Croatian language, Croatian: ''Jugoslavenska rad ...
( sh, Jugoslovenska radikalna zajednica, JRZ). Nevertheless, the movement continued to advocate the abandonment of
individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...
and
parliamentary democracy
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
. Ljotić called for Yugoslavia to unite around a single ruler and return to its religious and cultural traditions, embracing the teachings of Christianity, traditional values and
corporatism. He advocated a centrally organized state, stating that the unification of
South Slavs
South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, Hu ...
was a historical and political inevitability and that Serbs, Croats and Slovenes shared "blood kinship and feeling of common fate." At the same time, the Yugoslavia that Ljotić envisioned was to be dominated by Serbia. Zbor openly promoted
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
, being the only party in Yugoslavia to openly do so, as well as
xenophobia
Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
.
1935 and 1938 elections
Despite its opposition to parliamentary democracy, Zbor participated in the 1935 Yugoslav parliamentary elections. It offered 8,100 candidates throughout Yugoslavia. On 5 May, the Yugoslav government first announced the results of the elections, which showed that 72.6 percent of the eligible electorate had cast a total of 2,778,172 ballots. The party of
Bogoljub Jevtić
Bogoljub Jevtić (Serbian Cyrillic: Богољуб Јевтић; 24 December 1886 – 7 June 1960) was a Serbian diplomat and politician in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
He was plenipotentiary minister of Yugoslavia in Albania, Austria and Hungary. ...
had received 1,738,390 (62.6%) votes and 320 seats in parliament, and the Opposition Bloc led by
Vladko Maček
Vladimir Maček (20 June 1879 – 15 May 1964) was a politician in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. As a leader of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) following the 1928 assassination of Stjepan Radić, Maček had been a leading Croatian political fig ...
had received 983,248 (35.4%) votes and 48 seats. Zbor finished last in the polls, with 23,814 (0.8%) votes, and had acquired no seats in parliament. Of all the votes it had received, 13,635 came from the
Danube Banovina
Danube Banovina or Danube Banate ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Dunavska banovina, Дунавска бановина), was a banovina (or province) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of the geographical ...
, in which Ljotić's home district of Smederevo was located. The election results initially published by authorities caused an upheaval amongst the public, forcing the government to publish the results of a recount on 22 May. The recount showed that 100,000 additional ballots that had not been recorded on 5 May had been cast and that Jevtić's party had received 1,746,982 (60.6%) votes and 303 seats, the Opposition Bloc had received 1,076,345 (37.4%) and 67 seats, and that Zbor had received 24,008 (0.8%) votes and again no seats.
In 1937, Ljotić began attacking Stojadinović through Zbor publications and accused him of complicity in King Alexander's assassination three years earlier. Stojadinović's government responded by exposing Ljotić as having been funded by the Germans and provided with financial resources by them to spread Nazi propaganda and promote German economic interests in Serbia. The incriminating material linking Ljotić with the Germans was given to Yugoslav authorities by German
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
commander
Hermann Göring, a supporter of Stojadinović. Stojadinović used these revelations to his benefit in
the following year's parliamentary elections, presenting his opponents, including Ljotić, as "disloyal agitators". Ljotić responded by attacking Stojadinović through issues of ''Otadžbina'', many of which were subsequently banned. The Stojadinović government went on to prohibit all Zbor rallies and newspapers, confiscated Zbor propaganda material, and arrested Zbor leaders. In September 1938, Ljotić was arrested after the Yugoslav
gendarmerie
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
opened fire on a crowd of Zbor supporters, killing at least one person. A frequent churchgoer, he was charged with religious
mania
Mania, also known as manic syndrome, is a mental and behavioral disorder defined as a state of abnormally elevated arousal, affect, and energy level, or "a state of heightened overall activation with enhanced affective expression together wit ...
and briefly sent to an
insane asylum before being released. On 10 October, Stojadinović dissolved the
Parliament of Yugoslavia, proclaimed new elections and arranged further arrests of Zbor members. Ljotić responded by publicly stating that Zbor supporters were being arrested in order to prevent them from participating in the forthcoming elections. The parliamentary elections of December 1938 offered three candidates—Stojadinović, Maček, and Ljotić. During voting itself, members of opposition parties, including Zbor, were arrested and subjected to police intimidation, and voting registers were allegedly falsified in Stojadinović's favour. Zbor finished last in the elections, receiving 30,734 (1.01%) votes and again winning no seats in parliament. 17,573 of the votes in favour of Zbor were cast in the Danube Banovina, while the number of votes in the Dalmatian
Littoral Banovina increased from 974 in May 1935 to 2,427 in December 1938.
World War II
1939–1941
In August 1939, Ljotić's cousin,
Milan Nedić, was appointed Yugoslav
Minister of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
. Later that year, almost all Zbor publications, including ''Otadžbina'', ''Buđenje'', ''Zbor'', ''Naš put'' (Our Path) and ''Vihor'' (Whirlwind), were prohibited. Ljotić exploited the connections he had with Nedić to ensure that the banned Zbor-published journal ''Bilten'' (Bulletin) was distributed to members of the
Royal Yugoslav Army. The journal was published illegally in a military printing house and distributed throughout the country by military couriers. Ljotić was the journal's main contributor and editor-in-chief. Fifty-eight issues of ''Bilten'' were published from March 1939 until October 1940, in which Ljotić advocated a pro-Axis Yugoslav foreign policy and criticized Belgrade's tolerance of Jews. As many as 20,000 copies each were printed of later issues of the journal. Ljotić was particularly pleased with being able to exert his ideological influence over young military academy trainees as well as older officers.
With the outbreak of World War II, Ljotić supported Yugoslavia's policy of neutrality in the conflict while promoting the position that Yugoslav diplomacy should focus on relations with Berlin. He vehemently opposed the August 1939
Cvetković–Maček Agreement and repeatedly wrote letters to
Prince Paul urging him to annul it. In these letters, he advocated an immediate re-organization of the government according to Zbor ideology, the abolishment of Croatian autonomy, the division of the Royal Yugoslav Army into contingents of ethnic Serbs and some Croat and Slovene volunteers, who would be armed, and contingents of most Croats and Slovenes in the armed forces, who would serve as labour units and would be unarmed. Effectively, the purpose of all these points was to reduce non-Serbs in Yugoslavia to the status of second-class citizens. By this point, Zbor was infiltrated by the German
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
, the
Abwehr
The ''Abwehr'' (German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', but the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context; ) was the German military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ''Wehrmacht'' from 1920 to 1944. A ...
(German military intelligence), and the ''
Schutzstaffel
The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe d ...
'' (SS). In 1940, the Royal Yugoslav Army purged its pro-German elements and Ljotić lost much of the influence he held over the armed forces.
Ljotić's followers responded to the Cvetković–Maček Agreement with violence, clashing with the youth wing of the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...
(KPJ). These incidents attracted as many as 5,000 new members to Zbor and led to the formation of a Zbor student wing known as the ''White Eagles'' ( sh, Beli orlovi). In July 1940, Ljotić expressed his bitter opposition to the diplomatic recognition of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
by Belgrade, which was meant to strengthen Yugoslavia internally in the case of war.
On 23 October 1940, ''White Eagles'' members massed outside the campus of the University of Belgrade. University president Petar Micić was a Zbor sympathizer. The Belgrade police, who were alleged to have had foreknowledge of the riots, withdrew from the area before violence erupted. The ''White Eagles'' members then threatened faculty and students with pistols and knives, stabbed some of them, hailed
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
and
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
as their heroes and shouted: "down with the Jews!" Members of ''Slovenski Jug'' (Slavic South), a Serbian nationalist movement, also participated in the riots, which were orchestrated by Ljotić in the hope that violence would provoke
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
and thus bring about a more centralized system of control in the university. The Serbian public responded to the riots with outrage. On 24 October, the Yugoslav government revoked Zbor's legal status. On 2 November, the Ministry of Interior sent a list of Zbor members to all municipal administrators in Serbia. The government cracked down on Zbor by detaining several hundred members, forcing Ljotić into hiding. One of the only public figures in Serbia to speak in favour of Ljotić during this period was Serbian Orthodox Bishop
Nikolaj Velimirović
Nikolaj Velimirović (Serbian Cyrillic: Николај Велимировић; – ) was bishop of the eparchies of Ohrid and Žiča (1920–1956) in the Serbian Orthodox Church. An influential theological writer and a highly gifted orato ...
, who praised his "faith in God" and "good character". Although a government investigation found that Zbor was guilty of high treason for accepting German funds, the authorities were careful not to arrest Ljotić in order not to provoke the Germans. Ljotić was placed under government surveillance, but authorities quickly lost track of him. He hid with friends in Belgrade and remained in contact with Nedić and Velimirović. On 6 November, Nedić resigned from his post to protest the government crackdown on Zbor. Additional issues of ''Bilten'' continued to be printed despite his resignation. These supported a pro-Axis Yugoslav foreign policy, criticized the government's tolerance of Jews and Freemasons and attacked pro-British members of the government for their opposition to Yugoslavia, signing the
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano and Saburō Kurusu. It was a defensive military ...
. Ljotić remained in hiding until April 1941.
1941–1945
On 6 April 1941,
Axis forces
invaded
An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
Yugoslavia. Poorly equipped and poorly trained, the Royal Yugoslav Army was quickly defeated. Several dozen Royal Yugoslav Army officers affiliated with Zbor were captured by the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
during the invasion but were quickly released. The Germans sent Ljotić a written notice assuring his freedom of movement in German-occupied Serbia. Not long after German forces entered Belgrade, Ljotić's followers were given the task of selecting an estimated 1,200 Jews from the city's non-Jewish population.
Upon occupying Serbia, the Germans prohibited the activity of all political parties except Zbor. Although they originally intended to make Ljotić the head of a Serbian
puppet government, both Ljotić and the Germans realized that his unpopularity would make any government led by him a failure. The Germans soon invited Ljotić to join the initial Serbian puppet government, the Commissioner Administration of
Milan Aćimović
Milan Aćimović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Аћимовић; 31 May 1898 – 25 May 1945) was a Yugoslav politician and collaborationist with the Axis in Yugoslavia during World War II.
Early life
Milan Aćimović was born on 31 May 1898 in Pinos ...
. Ljotić was offered the position of economic commissioner but never took office, partly because he disliked the idea of playing a secondary role in the administration and partly because of his unpopularity. He resorted to indirectly exerting his influence over the Serbian puppet government through two of his closest associates, Zbor members Stevan Ivanić and Miloslav Vasiljević, whom the Germans had selected as commissioners. The Germans trusted Ljotić more than any other ethnic Serb in occupied Yugoslavia. In need of a reliable collaborationist force to combat the
Communist uprising that had erupted in the aftermath of the German occupation of Serbia, they gave him permission to form the Serbian Volunteer Detachments in September 1941.
In October, Zbor organized the
Grand Anti-Masonic Exhibition
The Grand Anti-Masonic Exhibition (german: Anti-Freimaurer-Ausstellung, sr, script=Latn, Antimasonska izložba) was the name of an antisemitic exhibition that was opened on October 22, 1941 during World War II in Belgrade, the capital of the Naz ...
in Belgrade with German financial support. The exhibition sought to expose an alleged
Judeo-Masonic and Communist conspiracy for
world domination through several displays featuring
antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
propaganda. In December, the Serbian Volunteer Detachments were renamed the
Serbian Volunteer Corps ( sh, Srpski dobrovoljački korpus, SDK) and placed under the command of ''
General der Artillerie
General der Artillerie ( en: General of the artillery) may mean:
1. A rank of three-star general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg. ...
'' (lieutenant general)
Paul Bader. Although it was not formally part of the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
, the SDK received arms, ammunition, food and clothing from the Germans. Its units were not allowed to move from their assigned territory without German authorization. Ljotić himself had no control over the SDK, which was directly commanded by Colonel
Kosta Mušicki
Konstantin "Kosta" Mušicki ( sr-Cyrl, Константин Коста Мушицки; 7 April 1897 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslav brigadier general who commanded the collaborationist Serbian Volunteer Corps during World War II. He was captured ...
. Like the
Serbian State Guard
The Serbian State Guard ( sr, Srpska državna straža, italics=yes, SDS; sr-Cyrl, Српска државна стража; german: Serbische Staatsgarde/Serbische Staatswache) was a collaborationist paramilitary force used to impose law and ...
, it was under the direct command of the
Higher SS and Police Leader August Meyszner and the Commanding General in Serbia. During operations, its units were put under the tactical command of German divisions. It was the only group of armed Serbs that the Germans ever trusted during the war, its units often being praised for valour in action by German commanders. The SDK often helped the Gestapo track down and round up Jewish civilians who had managed to evade capture by the Germans and was involved in sending Jewish prisoners to the
Banjica concentration camp.
On 15 July 1942,
Chetnik
The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...
leader
Draža Mihailović
Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Дража Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...
sent a telegram to the Yugoslav government-in-exile asking them to publicly denounce Ljotić, Nedić and the openly collaborationist Chetnik leader
Kosta Pećanac
Konstantin "Kosta" Milovanović Pećanac ( sr-cyrl, Константин Коста Миловановић Пећанац; 1879–1944) was a Serbian and Yugoslav Chetnik commander ('' vojvoda'') during the Balkan Wars, World War I and World ...
as traitors. The Yugoslav government-in-exile responded by doing so publicly over
BBC Radio. On 4 October 1944, Ljotić, along with Nedić and about 300 Serbian government officials, escaped from Belgrade with German officials. Ljotić and the SDK arrived in
Osijek
Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
by the end of October, where German official
Hermann Neubacher
Hermann Neubacher (24 June 1893 – 1 July 1960) was an Austrian Nazi politician who held a number of diplomatic posts in the Third Reich. During the Second World War, he was appointed as the leading German foreign ministry official for Greece an ...
agreed to arrange their safe passage towards the Slovenian coast. In early 1945, Chetnik leader
Pavle Đurišić decided to move to the
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
Gap independent of Mihailović and arranged for Ljotić's forces already in Slovenia to meet him near
Bihać in western Bosnia to assist his movement. Between March and April, Ljotić and Mihailović exchanged messages concerning a last-ditch alliance against the Partisans. Although the agreement was reached too late to be of any practical use, the forces of Ljotić and Mihailović came together under the command of Chetnik General
Miodrag Damjanović
Miodrag Damjanović ( sr-Cyrl, Миодраг Дамјановић; 16 January 1893 – 4 August 1956) was a Serbs, Serbian brigadier general of the Royal Yugoslav Army. He was chief of staff of Prime Minister Milan Nedić, commander of the Ser ...
on 27 March.
Ljotić did not live to see the end of the war. He was killed in a car accident in Slovenia on 23 April 1945. In early May, Damjanović led most of the troops under his command into northwestern Italy, where they surrendered to the British and were placed in detention camps. Many were extradited to Yugoslavia, where an estimated 1,500–3,100 were executed by the Partisans and buried in mass graves in the
Kočevski Rog
Kočevski Rog or Kočevje Rog (german: Hornwald) or simply Rog is a karstified plateau in the Kočevje Highlands above the Črmošnjice Valley in southeastern Slovenia. The plateau is part of the traditional Lower Carniola region of Slovenia and ...
plateau. Others immigrated to western countries, where they established émigré organizations intended to promote Zbor's political agenda. Many of Ljotić's followers settled in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, where they ran their own publishing house and printed a newspaper called ''Iskra'' (Spark). In 1974, Ljotić's brother was shot and killed by agents of the Yugoslav
State Security Service (''Uprava državne bezbednosti'', UDBA). The antagonism between pro-Ljotić groups and those affiliated with the Chetniks continued in exile.
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