User:Antidiskriminator/Drafts of articles/Ustashe war crimes in Sandžak in 1941

Ustashe war crimes in Sandžak in 1941

Background
Ideologues of Ustaše movement considered Sandžak as integral part of NDH. Ustaše had territorial pretensions toward the whole territory of Sandžak because they considered Muslims as ethnic Croats. Besides Sandžak, territorial pretensions of Croatia included Montenegro and Serbia too, because the intention was to occupy towns in Montenegro and to establish a common border with Albania and Bulgaria (that encompassed parts of Yugoslavia they occupied).

On the other hand, Muslims from Sandžak requested annexation of Sandžak, which they considered as part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to NDH. They sent delegations to Zagreb to present this kind of requests, trough Sarajevo.

German authorities approved Croatian aspirations to take control over Sandžak and to establish a corridor between Serbia and Montenegro because they needed local quislings to control territories they occupied in order to release their own troops and recruit additional ones for planned invasion on Soviet Union. Also, this corridor would be aimed against Serbia and Montenegro and against reestablishment of Yugoslavia.

On 30 April in a letter to Ante Pavelić Sarajevo requested annexation of Sandžak to NDH and invited him to send Ustaše to every district of Sandžak.

Invasion
Based on German approval, the Croatian government ordered to Ustaše and Croatian Home Guard to take control over the territory of Sandžak by 5 May 1941. To accomplish this task Ustaše forces from Sarajevo were dispatched to Sandžak.

On 5 May 1941 a request in the name of Muslims from Sanjak was sent to Ante Pavelić and vice-president of the Government of NDH. At the beginning of May 1941, although Sandžak was not officially part of NDH, Pavelić ordered that all Croats of Muslim religion from Sanjak will be given Croatian citizenship.

Out of those forces and some local Muslim reactionaries, Ustaše forged local civil administration in Pljevlja in Montenegro (and Priboj, Sjenica and Nova Varoš).

As soon as Ustaše took over control over Pljevlja, they interned Montenegrin refugees from NDH. They also requested interning of all Montenegrins who came to live in Pljevlja after 1918. On 6 May they appointed a new civil governor of Pljevlja. They laid off all Serbs and Montenegrins from civil service and began with harassment of Serb and Montenegrin population.

Many Serbs, Montenegrins and Jews who stayed on their land were killed either individually or in mass murders, stripped of their property and forced to pay a quarter of everything they produce to local ex aghas and quislings, like in Ottoman period, while use of Cyrillic script was forbidden.

By noon on 8 May 1941 Ustaše forces accomplished their order to capture Sandžak. Ustaše prepared additional forces of 150 men in Novi Pazar for eventual move to Kosovska Mitrovica.

Plans of NDH authorities to annex Sandžak was opposed by Italians. On 8 May 1941 Italian forces took over military administration of Pljevlja from Ustaše. It was agreed that Ustaše should retreat from Sandžak, but this plans were cancelled, which was considered by Ustaše as sign of weakness of Italian position, so they continued with their efforts to annex Sandžak to NDH.

On 15 May 1941 a group of Muslims from Pljevlja, Bijelo Polje and Prijepolje wrote to Pavelic and expressed the loyalty to NDH allegedly in the name of all Muslims of Sandjak.

That way, besides German and Italian forces, on the territory of Sandžak operated Ustaše forces established on its territory. Because of the unstable situation in Montenegro, Ustaše remained in Sandžak until beginning of September 1941.

When Ustaše were forced to leave territory of Sandžak at the end of 1941, Muslims who were allied with them and Muslim Militia were left alone and allied with occupying Axis forces, When Ustaše were forced to leave parts of eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina later in 1941(?) they massacred local Serb population. Italian commission recorded over 100 Serb women and children killed by Ustaše.

Đurišić's raids of revenge
Muslims themselves gave the reason for Chetnik's attack on them.

In 1942 and particularly in 1943 many innocent villagers suffered because of the raids of revenge against Muslims of Sandžak conducted by Chetniks commanded by Pavle Đurišić.

Aftermath
On 27 October 1941 NDH signed the contract which defined borders with Italy and gave up its territorial pretensions on Sandžak.