Book on the Righteous - Jevrejska opština Zemun

Righteous Among The Nations - Serbia
Introductory Chapter
INTRODUCTION
Considering the time period that has gone by since
World War Two, it is evidently hard for new generations
to comprehend the prevailing dark atmosphere of years
spent under the occupying forces. Post war generations
could obtain information about various aspects of the
war and wartime events from many written materials
or from stories recounted by parents and relatives. The
rationale of this book is to advance understanding of
the period. Hopefully, this will give cause to objective
reporting on the darkest period in the entire history of
not only Serbia, but the whole of Europe.
Currently, such endeavours gain importance in light of
steps taken by day-to-day politics to obscure appraisal
benchmarks and input diverse interpretation concerning
the operation and responsibility of Quislings during the
occupation of Serbia. In the aftermath of such interpretation,
a process of gradual discharge of all responsibility
for cooperation with the enemy has been set in motion.
Moreover, the ongoing process consciously dismisses
the fact that responsibility for war crimes does not expire.
One must also not omit the emerging negation of the
Holocaust. Some countries, as well as individuals, pseudo-historians,
have made assertions that the Holocaust
was a blatant Jewish fabrication and that the extinction
of Jews never happened. By doing so, they dismiss
proven facts about death camps in which 6.000.000
Jewish lives came to a violent end. Taking into account
this aspect of the problem, it is not only constructive,
but absolutely necessary to constantly draw attention to
data that unequivocally describe events that took place
during the occupation.
This book, by rendering a historical background of the
period, aspires to present to its reader an overview of
extensive conditions in which individual human drama
took place. Light is shed on a period when racism
reached its culmination. Language of hate escalated and
resulted in the annihilation of Jewish people. The Roma
people shared the same destiny. The plight of Serbs
differed very little. The first years of World War Two
witnessed overpowering of Europe by the German Nazi
Army and its advance far into the European part of the
USSR (the former name of Russia). In the onslaught,
Yugoslavia was also crushed. By this act, the fate of
Jews in the region was decided.
The book exclusively looks into events that occurred
in Serbia. One must bear in mind that after its defeat,
Serbia was divided among its occupying forces: Srem
fell under the Independent State of Croatia, Bačka under
Hungary, Banat remained under German authority, and
the south-east of Serbia was handed over to the Bulgarians,
and Kosovo and Metohija to the Italians. On the
remaining territory of Serbia Hitler established a state
under his control. An in-depth account of the situation
is elucidated in the segment by Professor Dr. Milan
Ristović. Dr. Milan Koljanin’s section looks into the
history of relations toward Jews in Serbia and into particular
stages of their development.
Beside the previously mentioned occupation forces, the
German Gestapo and other German civilian and military
authorities operated in Serbia. These operations included
the support of the Nedić Special police, Srpska
straža (the Serbian guard) and government bodies, as
well as the followers of Ljotić, the Pećanac Chetnicks
and other enemy collaborators. Furthermore, criminal
actions of the Ustashi in Srem and the Hungarian occupying
forces in Bačka were sustained throughout the
war. Death by firing squad was imposed for any offence,
however insignificant, that the aggressors thought fit to
pronounce capital punishment for. These were not mere
threats – each day arrests were made and executions
carried out. It was standard procedure to publicize these
deeds by placing public announcements. This inevitably
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