German Occupation of Serbia
and the Kragujevac Massacre
by Carl K. Savich
In March 1941, the Yugoslav government signed a cooperation treaty with Nazi Germany, under threat of invasion. Two days later, it was toppled in a coup. Outraged, Hitler swore to "wipe Yugoslavia off the map," and delayed the planned invasion of the USSR for a stopover in the Balkans.
By all military criteria, "Operation Punishment" was a cakewalk, wiping out resistance in seven days. Many willing collaborators eagerly helped the Nazis dismember the dysfunctional state. But within two months, not one but two resistance movements had sprung up, challenging the occupation, albeit in different ways.
Nazi response was harsh. In addition to launching military operations against the guerrillas, they conducted massive reprisal massacres of civilians in central Serbia. One of the most notorious such massacres took place in Kragujevac, in October 1941.
