Ferid Džanić (1918 – 17 September 1943) was a

Bosniak The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

soldier during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A member of the SS ''Handschar'' Division, he was one of the leaders of an unsuccessful anti-German mutiny in

Villefranche-de-Rouergue Villefranche-de-Rouergue (; ) is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. Villefranche-de-Rouergue station has rail connections to Toulouse, Figeac and Aurillac. History At the end of the Albigensian Crusade from the northe ...

, in which he was killed.

Early life

Džanić was born to a

family in the Bosnian city of

Bihać Bihać is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una (Sava), Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, in th ...

in 1918, around the time

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

came to an end.

Army history

Džanić served as an officer cadet in the

Royal Yugoslav Army The Yugoslav Army ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the principal Army, ground force of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It existed from the establishment of ...

for a short time before joining the 8th Krajina Brigade of the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

to escape imprisonment in autumn 1942. While patrolling in western

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

in early 1943, Džanić was captured by the Germans during the

Fourth Enemy Offensive Case White (), also known as the Fourth Enemy Offensive (), was a combined Axis strategic offensive launched against the Yugoslav Partisans throughout occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. It was one of the most significant confrontations o ...

and incarcerated in a prison camp outside

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

. He was only released when he agreed to volunteer to become a soldier in the German-aligned Handžar division, where he became a lieutenant and later a battalion

duty officer A duty officer or officer of the day is a worker assigned a position on a regularly rotational basis. While on duty, duty officers attend to administrative tasks and incidents that require attention regardless of the time of day, in addition to t ...

Death

In July 1943, Džanic began forming an anti-German "rebel cell" within the Handžar division while they were stationed in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. During their stint in Germany, Džanić first met Božo Jelenek, who would become a fellow ringleader in the "rebel cell". The division was transferred to southern France in August 1943 where a third ringleader, teenager Nikola Vukelić, joined the group. SS Mountain Pioneer Battalion 13, the unit of the Handžar's that the rebel ringleaders were from, was stationed in the French commune

. The

and

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

soldiers of the Division endured harsh discipline, forced labour and physical abuse by their German superiors and on 7 September 1943, their living quarters were moved to the barracks while the German officers were quartered in a hotel in the town. News of German and

Chetnik The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

atrocities against the

Bosnian Muslim Islam is the most widespread religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was introduced to the local population in the 15th and 16th centuries as a result of the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Muslims make the largest religious co ...

population in

made its way to the soldiers in France. All that coupled with anger about the plan to have the division transferred back to Germany, and evidently eventually to Russia, led to the anti-German rebellion the

Villefranche-de-Rouergue uprising The 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS (1st Croatian) was a mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, an armed branch of the German Nazi Party that served alongside but was never formally part of the Wehrmacht during World War II. At ...

, which began just after midnight on 17 September 1943 and ended with five German soldiers and multiple Handschar dead. Around 800 surviving Handžars were sent to

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

after the battle. Among the dead was 25-year-old Džanić.

References

1918 births 1943 deaths Military personnel from Bihać Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina soldiers SS officers Bosnian Muslim collaborators with Nazi Germany Bosnian Waffen-SS personnel Bosnia and Herzegovina in World War II Bosnia and Herzegovina mutineers Royal Yugoslav Army personnel of World War II Yugoslav Partisans members Yugoslav soldiers {{BosniaHerzegovina-bio-stub Waffen-SS personnel killed in action