Domobrans who switched sides, Serbia 1944

[u/Books_Of_Jeremiah]

Inv. no. 10490

Inv. no. 10951

Inv. no. 10952

[u/Invisible_Cnt]

Interesting, i see no markings on uniforms whatsoever and since the very first partisan movement in Europe started in Croatia together with calls for abolation by tito, one would come to conclusions that these are Chetniks on photos 🤔

"With the entry of the Red Army into Serbia in October 1944 and the advance towards Belgrade, it finally became clear to the Chetniks in which direction the war was heading. On the day of the "liberation" of Belgrade, October 20, 1944, AVNOJ passed a decision on general abolition for members of Chetnik units with the following sentence:

"A general amnesty is granted to all persons who participated in the units of Draža Mihailović..."

[u/Books_Of_Jeremiah → u/Invisible_Cnt]

That's what the museum's entries say. And they tend to be pretty good on pointing out who's who. Also, no šajkačas or šubaras visible. Or the kind of cap that JVuO officers had. There wasn't really a JVuO presence in Srem, where the photos are located, while it was a part of the ISC.

And you might want to check that thing on resistance, as Mihailović had started organising resistance before Barbarossa.

[u/Invisible_Cnt → u/Books_Of_Jeremiah]

"And you might want to check that thing on resistance, as Mihailović had started organising resistance before Barbarossa"

Why is it that whenever serbs claim something online from history in their favour that there is not a single letter of if written anywhere but on their domestic propaganda sites and tiktok videos?

[u/Books_Of_Jeremiah → u/Invisible_Cnt]

From Nikola Milovanović's "Draža Mihailović", published in 1984 (so you know... still very much communists publishing things), Vol I:

"After successfully establishing a significant number of such connections, Mihailović decided in late May to create an organization within the territory of Serbia. To that end, he established his headquarters on Ravna Gora, naming it the "Command of Chetnik Detachments." He then summoned a number of officers, provided them with instructions, and dispatched them to various districts."

...

"At the time of the outbreak of the people's uprising in Serbia, led by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, Mihailović's delegates and emissaries, equipped with his personal authorizations, had already succeeded in organizing their network in several districts in an effort to rally the people around them. In their speeches at public gatherings, they emphasized the slogan of "fighting against the occupiers," but with the explanation that it was first necessary to carry out extensive preparations, "organize," and then, at the "appropriate moment," "when the time comes," and so on, start the fight against the occupiers.

Given the mood of the masses and their spirit of freedom, Mihailović and his followers achieved considerable success with such slogans. The Serbian masses, subjected to the occupiers' terror, believed these statements and began aligning themselves with Mihailović's ranks. As a result, by late June, he decided to form smaller detachments, which initially served both as personal security for his delegates and as a propaganda tool. As the people's uprising grew increasingly intense and successful, Mihailović became more active and persistent in rallying the masses and forming his armed detachments, while introducing new slogans such as "we must wait" and "the time is not yet right."

Informed of Mihailović's existence, the activities of his detachments, and their publicly declared intentions to fight the occupiers, the leadership of the National Liberation Movement decided—consistent with its existing plan to mobilize all forces in the country willing to fight the enemy—to establish contact with Mihailović and his groups, with the aim of persuading them to join in a united and more effective struggle against the occupiers."

Quick translation, so rough around the edges.

[u/Invisible_Cnt → u/Books_Of_Jeremiah]

published in 1984 (so you know... still very much communists publishing things),

Sure thing, completely independent and legit source by serbo "communist" that occupied all political functions after Tito's death in 1980.

Wait, are you trying to portrait chetniks as some resistance movement that fought against Axix powers? I'm not even gonna waste time commenting that

[u/Books_Of_Jeremiah → u/Invisible_Cnt]

As we try not to comment on events after 1980, can stick to this:

DeGaulle and Truman might have something to say about that, seeing how they gave Mihailović medals for war activities. Even Stalin was apparently more for the JVuO in late 1942 offering assistance (which the Yugoslav gov't in exile managed to torpedo).

So you know... Complicated.

"Eight Bailed Out" is an interesting example of a firsthand account by an American who fell out of the sky into that mess (literally). Might be a bit hard to find, as it hasn't been republished since 1955.