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 () is the southern inland hinterland in the historical Croatian region of Dalmatia. The name means 'beyond (the) hills', which is a reference to the fact that it is the part of Dalmatia that is not coastal and the existe ...

, between the Kamešnica and

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

mountains, committed by the German 7th SS Division "Prinz Eugen" and local

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...

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 ...

forces, under German command, 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 Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Itali ...

in the areas of the Mosor mountain. While Partisan 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 beha ...

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

Trilj Trilj () is a Cities of Croatia, town and Naselje, settlement in inland Dalmatia, Croatia. It is located northeast of Split (city), Split. In 2021, its population was 8182. Trilj was a traffic hub in Roman Dalmatia, Roman times, when a stone br ...

, 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 337 and 400 civilians were killed, including 143 children. 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. According to General Edmund Glaise von Horstenau, '' SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS'' Arthur Phleps, commander of V SS Mountain Corps, acknowledged that "

Chetniks 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 ...

wearing SS uniforms" (presumably of

Dinara Division The Dinara Division () was an irregular Chetnik formation that existed during the World War II Axis occupation of Yugoslavia that largely operated as auxiliaries of the occupying forces and fought the Yugoslav Partisans. Organized in 1942 with ass ...

under the command of

Momčilo Đujić Momčilo Đujić ( sh-Cyrl, Момчилo Ђујић, ; 27 February 1907 – 11 September 1999) was a Serbian Orthodox Church, Serbian Orthodox priest and Chetnik . He led a significant proportion of the Chetniks within the northern Dalm ...

) also took part in the massacre.

References

Massacres committed by Nazi Germany Massacres in 1944 Massacres in Croatia 1944 in Croatia March 1944 in Europe Massacres in the Independent State of Croatia Massacres of Croats Chetnik war crimes in World War II Genocide of Muslims and Croats in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia Nazi war crimes in Yugoslavia 1944 murders in Europe War crimes of the Waffen-SS {{Massacre-stub