| 13. oružana brdska divizija SS-a Handžar, također i hrvatska br. 1 13. Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS „Handschar“ (kroatische Nr. 1) |
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|---|---|
Unit insignia of 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar |
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| Active | 1943 - 1944 |
| Country | Nazi Germany |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany Independent State of Croatia |
| Branch | Waffen-SS |
| Type | Mountain |
| Role | Anti-partisan operations |
| Size | Division |
| Nickname | Handschar |
| Motto | Handžaru udaraj! |
| Engagements | Operation Wegweiser Operation Sava Operation Osterei Operation Maibaum Battle for Stolice Battle at Lopare |
The 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian) was a Waffen-SS mountain infantry formation used to conduct operations against Yugoslav Partisans in the Independent State of Croatia from February to December 1944.[1] Named after a handschar, the local word for a fighting knife,[2] it was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded by the Waffen SS during World War II.
There is differing information about its composition. Pavlowitch[3] states that sixty percent of its recruits were composed of Bosniaks and the rest were Yugoslav Volksdeutsche who made up the majority of its officers and NCOs, but Tomasevich[4] states that it was formed with 23,200 Muslims and 2,800 Croats, with mostly German officers. The division took an oath of allegiance to both Adolf Hitler and the leader of the Independent State of Croatia, Ante Pavelić.[5]
After the fall of Sarajevo on 16 April 1941 to Nazi Germany, the extremist Croat nationalist and Fascist Ante Pavelić, who had been in exile in Benito Mussolini's Italy, was appointed Poglavnik or leader of a new Ustaše state - the Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH). The Yugoslav provinces of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and parts of Serbia were reconstituted as an 'Italian-German quasi-protectorate'.[6] The Ustaše almost immediately launched a vicious campaign of violence directed at the Serb population.[7]
Pavelić ordered a property in Zagreb be converted into a mosque that he named after himself in his efforts to secure the loyalty of the Bosnian Muslims, the Poglavnik's Mosque.[8] Despite Pavelić's assurances of equality, it wasn't long before many Bosniaks became dissatisfied with Croatian rule. An Islamic leader reported that not one Muslim occupied an influential post in the (local) administration. Fierce fighting broke out between Ustaše and Partisans. A number of Ustaše units believed that the Bosniaks were communist sympathizers and burned their villages and murdered civilians. Serb victims of the violence were inclined to view the Bosniaks as collaborators.
Bosnian Muslim elite and notables issued resolutions or memorandums in various cities that publicly denounced Croat-Nazi collaborationist measures, laws and violence against Serbs: Prijedor (23 September), Resolution of Sarajevo Muslims (12 October), Mostar (21 October), Banja Luka (12 November), Bijeljina (2 December) and Tuzla (11 December). The resolutions condemned the Ustaše in Bosnia and Herzegovina, both for their mistreatment of Muslims and for their attempts at turning Muslims and Serbs against one another.[9] One memorandum declared that since the beginning of the Ustaše regime, that Muslims dreaded the lawless activities that some Ustaše, some Croatian government authorities, and various illegal groups perpetrated against the Serbs.[10]
In fall of 1942, the SS Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler and SS-General Gottlob Berger approached Adolf Hitler with the proposal to raise a Bosnian Muslim SS division. Both the Wehrmacht and the SS were concerned about the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the NDH that tied down German military personnel that could be better employed elsewhere.[11] A German source noted that by 1943 over 100,000 Bosnian Muslims had been killed and 250,000 became refugees.[12] In addition, starvation threatened the region due to a serious food shortage.[13] "The Muslims" remarked one German General, "bear the special status of being persecuted by all others".[14]
Himmler fantasized that there was a fanatical, blind obedience in the Bosniaks.[15] He thought that Muslim men would make perfect SS soldiers as Islam "promises them Heaven if they fight and are killed in action."[16] As for their ethnic background and SS requirements, the widely accepted belief that the Bosniaks were in fact descendants of 6th century Goths was even supported by Himmler as well as Bosniak autonomists.
Himmler was also inspired by the noted successes of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Infantry in World War I. George Lepre wrote, "Himmler endeavoured to restore what he called "an old Austrian" tradition by reviving the Bosnian regiments of the former Austro-Hungarian army in the form of a Bosnian Muslim SS Division. Once raised, this division was to engage and destroy Tito's Partisan forces operating in North-eastern Bosnia, thus restoring local 'order'. To be sure, Himmler's primary concern in the region was not the security of the local Muslim population, but the welfare of ethnic German settlers to the north in Srem. "Srem is the breadbasket of Croatia, and hopefully it and our beloved German settlements will be secured. I hope that the area south of Srem will be liberated by [...] the Bosnian division [...] so that we can at least restore partial order in this ridiculous (Croatian) state."'"[17]
Hitler formally approved the project on 10 February 1943, and Himmler put Artur Phleps, commander of the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen, in charge with raising the first SS division composed of non-Germanic people.[18]
The SS Standartenführer Karl von Krempler, a specialist in Islam, was charged by Himmler and Artur Phleps with organising the recruitment of Muslims from Bosnia into the Waffen-SS.
"On 3 March [1942], Phleps met with fellow SS officer Karl von Krempler, who, together with Croatian government official Dr. Alija Šuljak, was to conduct the recruiting effort. The campaign began on the twentieth, when the multi-lingual von Krempler and Dr. Šuljak, accompanied by several other disgnitaries began an eighteen-day recruiting tour through eleven Bosnian districts."[19]
Dr. Alija Šuljak and von Krempler soon fell out over the aims and purposes of the proposed Division. The Bosniak doctor, an entirely political appointee, criticized von Krempler's spoken Serbian dialect and his use of traditional Islamic colours and emblems (green flags and crescent moons) rather than the new Ustaše symbols during recruitment. When he reached Tuzla in central Bosnia, von Krempler met the Muslim militia leader Major Muhamed Hadžiefendić, who was then officially serving in an under-equipped NDH army unit. On 28 March Major Muhamed Hadžiefendić escourted von Krempler to Sarajevo, where he introduced him to the leader of the Islamic clergy in all Bosnia, the Reis-ul-Ulema, Hafiz Muhamed Pandža, and other leading Bosniak politicians not involved with the Ustaše. The Croatian regime and Envoy Siegfried Kasche of the Reich Foreign Affairs Ministry were furious, demanding von Krempler be removed immediately. However the SS ignored this and von Krempler continued to sign men up, including both Muslim and Catholic deserters from the Croatian armed forces.
In April 1943, the Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, (a.k.a. Amin al-Husseini), was invited by the Nazis to assist in the organizing and recruiting Bosniaks into the Waffen SS and other units in Yugoslavia. He was escourted by SS Standartenführer Karl von Krempler, who also spoke fluent Turkish. the Mufti successfully convinced the Bosniaks to ignore the declarations of the Sarajevo, Mostar, and Banja Luka ulema (Islamic clerics), who in 1941 forbade Bosnian Muslims from collaborating with the Ustaše. Croatian Foreign Minister Dr. Mladen Lorkovic suggested that the Division be named "SS Ustasa Division", not an SS Division but a Croatian unit raised with SS assistance, and that its regimental names be given regional names such as Bosna, Krajina, Una etc.
The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust states that "The Germans made a point of publicizing the fact that Husseini had flown from Berlin to Sarajevo for the sole purpose of giving his blessing to the Muslim army and inspecting its arms and training exercises". According to Aleksa Djilas in The Nation That Wasn't that al-Husayni: "accepted, visited Bosnia, and convinced some important Muslim leaders that a Muslim SS division would be in the interest of Islam."[20]
Ante Pavelić, the leader of the Independent State of Croatia, with the support of Kasche, objected to the recruitment of an exclusively Muslim division due to concerns about a Muslim bid for independence, considering Muslim areas to be a part of the Independent State of Croatia. As a compromise the division the word "Croatian" was included in its official title, and some Croatian Catholic officers were included in the division.[21]
Al-Husayni insisted that "The most important task of this division must be to protect the homeland and families (of the Bosnian volunteers); the division must not be permitted to leave Bosnia", but this request was ignored by the Germans.[22]
According to Chris Bishop, Himmler convinced himself that Balkan Muslims were neither Slavs nor Turks, but were really Aryans who had adopted Islam.[23] He believed the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina to be the same, racially, as the Croats, and saw Croats as descendants of Gothic and Persian stock.
Recruitment for the division fell as the war progressed and when rumors spread that the division was going to leave Bosnia, some Muslims deserted. Many times with their weapons, entire companies left with heavy weaponry to just make a last stand in Bosnia and not in a foreign country instead.
Hussein Biscevic (Husejin Biščević or Biščević-beg; born 28 July 1884) was the highest ranking (and perhaps the oldest) Bosnian military officer to volunteer. Biscevic had served in the Austro–Hungarian Army and the Nazis appointed him SS Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel) assigning him to Flak Abteilung 13 in August 1943.[24]
At the end of 1944, the separate Kama division was merged into the Handschar division.
The Bosnian Waffen SS units were recruited to combat Communist Partisans, including residents of villages from where many of the recruits themselves originated. They operated in north-eastern Bosnia and partly in Srem.
Sent to France, they were in training until November 1943, when they were sent to the old Prussian military camp at Neuhammer, Silesia. The unit returned to Bosnia in February 1944.
Sources differ regarding the initial composition of the division. Pavlowitch[25] states that sixty percent of its recruits were composed of Bosniaks and the rest were Yugoslav Volksdeutsche who made up the majority of its officers and NCOs, but Tomasevich[26] states that it was formed with 23,200 Muslims and 2,800 Croats, with mostly German officers. It was the largest of the Muslim SS Divisions with 26,000 men.[27] The number of Christians was higher than directed by Himmler, who had allowed a 10% Christian component only after the recruitment of sufficient Muslims proved difficult.[28] The division had a Muslim Imam for each battalion other than the all-German signal battalion.[29] For about six months the division included about 1,000 Muslim Albanians.[30] In 1943 a number of Albanians from Kosovo and the Sandžak region were recruited and teamed up into Battalion I/2 (later I/28). This was perhaps the best trained and equipped Nazi Albanian military formation during the war. Ironically, via rail on 17 April 1944, the formation was transferred directly from combat in Bosnia to Kosovo following the creation of 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian). The head of Waffen SS recruitment, SS Obergruppenführer Gottlob Berger reported to Himmler that the Albanians "... were quite sad about leaving."[31]
On the night of 16/17 September 1943, whilst the Handschar was training in Villefranche-de-Rouergue in France, a group of pro-Partisan soldiers led by Muslim and Catholic junior officers[32] staged a mutiny within the Pioneer battalion. Led by Ferid Džanić, Eduard Matutinović, Božo Jelinek and Nikola Vukelić, they captured most of the German personnel and executed five German officers, failing to kill SS-Ostuf Michawetz, the pioneer battalion commander, who escaped. Apparently the mutineers believed that many of the enlisted men would join them and they could reach the western Allies. The revolt was put down with the assistance of the unit Imam, Halim Malkoć and Dr. Schweiger (unit physician). Imam Halim Malkoc told the Bosnian enlisted men of 1st Company that they were being deceived and rallied them to hunting down the instigators. Sources vary on the number of mutineers executed after the revolt was put down. Tomasevich[33] states that 78 of the worst offenders were executed, but other sources state approximately 20 of the rebels were killed summarily or after a trial. The Nazis were convinced that there were communists who had infiltrated the unit in order to disrupt it. Tito once suggested that his partisan followers enlist for police duty in Croatia where they could receive weapons, uniforms and superior training. Afterward there was a purge of members of the unit who were deemed "unsuitable for service" or "politically unsuitable". More than 800 were removed from the unit and sent to Nazi Germany for "labor service". It is likely that the bulk of these "unwilling" were Catholic Croats, because by the time the Division came back to Bosnia, only 300 Croats remained in the Division. Sauberzweig reorganized those 300 and sent them all to the Feldgendarmerie Trupp. Sauberzweig blamed the desertions on the Croats and units with Catholic Croat leadership and made it clear not to recruit any more or commission Croats. Of those, 265 who refused to work were sent to Neuengamme concentration camp where many of them died.[34]
Himmler later on said of the mutiny: "I knew there was a chance that a few traitors might be smuggled into the division, but I haven’t the slightest doubt concerning the loyalty of the Bosnians. These troops were loyal to their supreme commander twenty years ago so why shouldn’t they be so today." Himmler was referring to the Bosnian Muslim troops who had served in the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg army.[35] Himmler awarded the Imam Halim Malkoč an Iron Cross, Second Class, for his role in thwarting the mutiny. Bosnian Muslims Ejub Jašarević and Adem Okanadžić were also decorated by Himmler.
When the city was liberated in 1944, they decided to pay tribute to the troops by naming one of its streets Avenue des Croates (Slavic Muslims being identified as Croats of Islamic faith) and commemorating "the revolt of the Croats" every 17 September. After the war the Yugoslav government requested it be changed "the revolt of the Yugoslavs", it was refused by the French for "historical truth".[36] The Villefranche-de-Rouergue mutiny is commemorated in the city with a monument designed by the Croatian sculptor Vanja Radauš.[37]
The Bosniak Waffen SS units were assigned to combat Josip Broz Tito's Partisans, including residents of villages from where many of the recruits themselves originated in Bosnia. The Division was trained and armed as a German mountain division. It conducted operations against the Partisans from March 1944 onwards.
Handschar participated in the largest anti Partisan sweep of World War II: Unternehmen Maibaum. The 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen was involved in this campaign. The Handschar Division also participated in Wegweiser, Sava, Osterei, Maibaum, Maiglöckchen, Vollmond, Fliegenfänger, Heidrose and Hackfleisch operations from March to September 1944.[38]
The division first saw action during Operation Wegweiser from 10 to 13 March 1944. The target of Operation Wegweiser was a part of the Syrmia region, held by Partisans who were constant threat to Zagreb-Belgrade railway in particular forests around Bosut and villages around the Sava river.[39] The enemy was overwhelmed and forced to withdraw, suffering 573 killed and 82 captured. It was an overall success.
Begun on 15 March 1944 after the completion of Operation Wegweiser, the objective of Operation Sava was the clearing of partisans from the Semberija region[40], in northeastern Bosnia, across the Sava River. The assault was led by Sauberzweig, who wrote to the division: "We have now reached the Bosnian frontier and will (soon) begin the march into the homeland. [...] The Führer has provided you with his best weapons. Not only do you (have these) in your hands, but above all you have an idea in your hearts - to liberate the homeland. [...] Before long, each of you shall be standing in the place that you call home, as a soldier and a gentleman; standing firm as a defender of the idea of saving the culture of Europe - the idea of Adolf Hitler."[41]
Sauberzweig also ordered that as the units of the division crossed the Sava River, each commander was to read a prepared message, which emphasized that the "liberation of Bosnia" and ultimately the liberation of "Muslim Albania" was a goal, appealing directly to the Albanian troops in the division. The 27th Regiment of the division crossed Sava river at Srijemska Rača on 15 March 1944 advancing across the Pannonian Plain through Velino Selo to Brodac. Disparate sources say that Bijeljina was taken anywhere between 16 March and 17 March around noon[42].
The 27th Regiment then consolidated its position in Bijeljina whilst the 28th Regiment bore the brunt of the fighting as it advanced through Pukis, Celic and Koraj at the Majevica mountains. Sauberzweig later recorded that the 2nd battalion of the 28th Regiment "at Celic stormed the Partisan defenses with (new) battalion commander Hans Hanke at the point" and that the enemy forces withdrew after running out of ammunition and suffering heavy casualties.
Operation Osterei (English: Easter Egg) began on 12 April 1944 with the goal of clearing Majevica mountain, which was held by elements of the 3rd Partisan Corps led by General Vladimir Popović. The 27th Regiment of the division quickly captured Janja and through Donja Trnova reached an important objective, the Ugljevik mine. Following fighting which continued into the evening of 13 April, the 2nd Battalion of the 27th Regiment reported Partisan casualties of 106 dead, 45 captured and 2 deserters.
The divisional reconnaissance detachment then linked up with the 1st Croatian Home Guard Mountain Brigade on western slopes of Majevica. The 28th Regiment of the division moved across Mackovac and after fighting around Priboj pushed 38th (Bosnian) Partisan Division south. The 3rd Partisan Corps then withdrew the 16th and 36th (Vojvodina) divisions from Majevica further south into the Birac region around Srebrenica while leaving the 38th Division on Majevica. However, on 20 June 1944, the 38th Division had to withdraw towards Birac with 200 wounded.[43]
The objectives of Operation Rübezahl were to stop the Partisan main force from moving into southwest Serbia from Montenegro and prevent the Partisan 3rd and 12th Corps from entering Serbia from eastern Bosnia to link up with them. Total Partisan forces numbered about 20,000. Axis forces under the command of V SS Mountain Corps included the 1st Mountain Division, 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen and elements of the Handschar division and 181st Infantry Division, as well as Croatian Home Guard and Ustaše troops, two regiments of Pavle Djurisic's Montenegrin Volunteer Corps, two brigades of Chetnik auxiliaries, and a Bulgarian regiment. Total Axis forces numbered about 45,000. From 12 August 1944, elements of the Handschar division were engaged around the area of Sekovici and in heavy fighting throughout August pushed the Partisans southwest into the mountains, then south to Foča, suffering heavy losses. As a result, the Partisans could not cross the Drina into Serbia until early September, and sixty kilometres further south than they planned. The Axis forces estimated Partisan losses at over 2,000 dead, with a further 3,300 dead or wounded.[44][45]
Operation Maibaum's ambitious goal was to destroy the entire Third Bosnian Corps of the Communist partisans. Certain units of the attacking force were put on the river Drina to prevent the enemy's retreat into Serbia and Zvornik. Main units were to surround and take Tuzla and Vlasenica. 25 April, Zvornik fell with few casualties. On 27 April the SS Division went into Kladanj and next day took Vlasenica. The 28 April would see the most bitter fighting between 13th SS and the partisans in the village of Sekovici. The battle lasted 24 hours ending with huge human losses on the partisan side, as well as many captured enemy weapons and ammunitions.
On 17 May 1944, the Division went south towards Stolica, where they met with the 17th Majevica brigade, which in the battle for Stolica lost average casualties of 16 dead and 60 captured.
Operation Vollmond was launched on 7 June 1944 on the basis of decrypted intercepts of Partisan radio traffic. Its aim was to prevent Partisan forces from advancing north to Majevica mountain, Posavina and Semberija, thus returning to the areas the 3rd Partisan Corps had occupied prior to Operations Sava and Osterei. However, the German plan expected the Partisans would bypass Lopare and Priboja, but instead the Partisan 16th (Vojvodina) Division attacked the 1st battalion of the 28th Regiment which was protecting some of the divisional artillery located around Priboja. The 1st battalion had apparently received a large number of new recruits who had received minimal training. The battalion was scattered after bitter fighting and the Partisans captured a number of artillery pieces and supplies. A counterattack by the 2nd battalion of the 28th Regiment caused the withdrawal of the 16th (Vojvodina) Division. After the operation, the divisional commander boasted that 3000 Partisans had been killed, however, German reports indicated about half this number, and the 16th (Vojvodina) Division reported that it suffered casualties of 57 dead, 174 wounded and 26 missing. German reports showed that the division lost 205 dead, 528 wounded and 89 missing during the operation.[46]
Launched on 14 July 1944, the objective of Operation Fliegenfänger was to destroy a Partisan makeshift runway near Šekovići about 26 km southeast of Tuzla. The airstrip was being used by the Allied aircraft to bring in supplies and evacuate the wounded to Italy. The airfield was defended by the 19th (Birac) Partisan Brigade of the 27th (Eastern Bosnia) Division. Two battalions of the 27th Regiment of the division captured the airfield and lightly damaged it despite determined resistance. 42 dead partisans were counted at a cost of 4 dead and 7 wounded. Partisan forces, including the 36th (Vojvodina) Division, recaptured the airstrip and repaired it within a day.[47]
While Unternehmen Fliegenfanger was underway, the Second Panzer Army sought to stop a large partisan force moving out of Bosnian into western Serbia. On 17 July 1944, the SS units from Handschar and Prinz Eugen began their long awaited operation to destroy the communist stronghold northwest of Sekovici. By all accounts Heidrose was a huge German success. 947 of the enemy were killed. A large number of equipment was captured; 1 anti tank gun, 2 mortars, 22 machine guns, over 800 rifles, and nearly 500,000 rounds of small arms ammunition. Erich Braun, the officer that had taken over as commander for Regiment 27 was put up for a Knight's Cross.
On 4 August 1944, the operation called for the partisans between the towns of Kladanj, Vlasenica, Sokolac and Olovo to be driven out. Hackfleisch was a German success, 227 dead communists were counted, over 50 prisoners were also taken. Partisan forces were once again detected near Sekovici. On the 9th of August, Regiment 27 drove them out of the area, inflicting 73 casualties.
At 05:00, 3 October 1944, 28th Slavonia Division assaulted a company sized base from Handschar at Janja. Soon Aufklarungs Abt. 13 and III/27 with a battery from AR 13 were rushing to relieve the pressure off the battered garrison. At the dawn of the following day, an additional four partisan brigades attacked the garrison in Janja. The attacks were eventually repulsed by the outnumbered force from Handschar. Jagdkommandos were sent after the fleeing enemy but were not able to inflict significant losses on them as they had already crossed the Drina.
It was at this time that first units from Handschar were requested to be sent to the ostfront under the commands of other units. Two batteries from IV/AR13, the 1st Company of the Panzer Jager Abt. and five anti aircraft guns were sent to fight against the advancing Russians. They were returned to Handschar after hard fighting in late November. A 105mm battery from the Division also saw service with the Sturmbrigade von Rudno.
The uniform worn by the division was regular SS M43 field-jacket issue, with a divisional collar patch showing an arm holding a scimitar, over a swastika. On the left arm was a Croatian armshield (red-white chessboard). There was controversy over the chessboard armshield, especially with the Imams, who, after crossing the Sava river, took them off. Former SS personnel who were serving in the division were entitled to wear a Sig Rune badge that was attached to the breast pocket of the tunic. No cuff title was issued to the members of the division due to the Sept. 1943 mutiny. Overshadowing their loyalty in foiling of the communist spy incited mutiny.
Headgear was either the SS M43 fez which was permitted to be worn by all ranks, while German officers had the option to wear the mountain cap (Bergmütze). The fez was chosen for the Division by Heinrich Himmler due to it having been worn by the Bosnia-Herzegovinian infantry regiments of the Austro-Hungarian Army from 1894 to 1918, as well as by the Austro-Hungarian Albanian Legion from 1916-18. There were two versions of the fez made: a field gray model to be worn in combat and while on duty, and a red colored model that was worn during parades, marching exercises, and while off duty. Both the fez and mountain cap bore the death's head and eagle of the SS, the mountain cap was also adorned with an Edelweiss flower patch, worn on the left side of the cap.
(Set to the melody of "Wir fahren gegen Engelland" by Herms Niel)
| Sa Pjesmom u Boj[48] |
Into Battle With a Song |
| Pjesma jeci, sva se zemlja trese, | A song is in the air, the entire earth is shaking, |
| SS-vojska stupa roj u roj, | Columns of SS men march in step, |
| SS-vojska sveti barjak vije. | SS men wave the sacred banners. |
| SS-vojska sve za narod svoj. | SS men do everything for the people. |
| Daj mi ruku ti, draga Ivana, | Give me your hand, dear Ivana, |
| oj s Bogom sad, oj s Bogom sad, oj s Bogom sad | Follow God now, Follow God now, Follow God now |
| idem branit, idem branit, idem branit mili, | I shall defend, I shall defend, I shall defend my beloved |
| rodni kraj, rodni kraj. | Homeland, Homeland |
| U boj smjelo vi SS-junaci | SS men are heroes in battle |
| pokazite domovini put! | Show our homeland the way |
| Podjite putem slavnih pradjedova | Follow the road of our glorious grandfathers |
| dok ne padne tiran klet i ljut. | Until tyranny falls, cursed and bitter |
| Ljubav nasa nek u srdcu plamti, | Let love burn in our hearts |
| i sa pjesmom podjimo u boj. | And with a song let's enter battle |
| Za slobodu mile domovine | To liberate our beloved homeland |
| svaki rado datce zivot svoj. | For which anyone would gladly sacrifice his life. |
On 17 August 1944 Josip Broz Tito offered a general amnesty to all opponents and many men in the Division chose this point to defect. A week later in August Romania changed sides and the Red Army advanced deep into the Balkans, getting very close to Bosnia. Over 1 to 7 September the Allies undertook Operation "Ratweek". In a rare, combined assault British and American air forces attacked important railways and bridges from Italy, in conjunction with heightened Partisan activity in the same areas. This undermined German supply and morale, necessitating specialised military and repair operations to secure transportation lines. On 17 September Communist Partisans seized the important (largely Muslim) town of Tuzla in northeast Bosnia following a mass defection by the "12th Ustaše Brigade" garrison to the Communist cause. Between 1 to 20 September over 2000 men deserted.[49]
Over 16 to 23 October 1944 the Division was, incredibly, moved out of the security zone in Bosnia where they were successfully maintaining law and order to eastern Slavonia in Croatia by foot and rail. This led many men to conclude that they were about to be thrown at the rapidly approaching Red Army of the USSR. Whilst on foot many men chose to desert - either joining Partisans or simply going home to defend their own families and villages. Some men from the Division returned to active service in the Croatian army and even the Ustaše militia.
On 20 October the Red Army liberated Belgrade and the following day the Divisional staff Imam, Abdullah Muhasilović, incited a mutiny and led 100 men back to Bosnia.[50] By November 1944 the Division, which had been 95% non-German in January, was now 50% German. On 10 November the Handschar was committed to action against the Soviets at Darda, Croatia. This fighting went on until 19 April 1945, with the Division being slowly pushed back across Hungary. On 5 May the remaining men, both German and Bosnian began to retreat eastwards towards Austria. On 8 May an order was sent to retreat to Wolfsberg, Carinthia.[51]
On 12 May 1945 Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS Desiderius Hampel carried out surrender negoitations with the British and on 15 May most of the men were transported to Rimini in Italy, where they were incarcerated with other PoWs from the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen and 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS.[52]
On learning of their retreat several "imams approached their commander, Hans Hanke, and requested that they and their men be discharged and be allowed to attempt to return to their homeland.... Soon, all of the Bosnians remaining in the division were asked if they wished to remain."[53] Many of these men are alleged to have been murdered by Communist Partisans after the war.[54]
Between 22–30 August 1947, trials by the Communist regime for the Handschar took place at a military court in Sarajevo. "Although the indictment accused the division of murdering some five thousand people, only seven of the thirty-eight defendants were charged with specific offenses."[55] The accused were all comparatively junior officers and were "defended" by three Yugoslav lawyers: two civilian and one military officer. All 38 men were found guilty and either sentenced to death (10) or long prison terms (28).[56] SS-Gruppenführer Karl-Gustav Sauberzweig committed suicide on 20 October 1946 rather than be extradited to Communist Yugoslavia. SS Obersturmführer Imam Halim Malkoč was hanged in Bihać on 7 March 1947.[57]
Those executed on 17 July 1948 included:[58]
Almost all the prisoners were released early in 1952 (following Tito's fallout with Joseph Stalin and the need to reapproach the West), except SS Sturmmann Wilhelm Mahn who died in captivity. SS-Brigadeführer Desiderius Hampel never faced a trial and survived the war. He died on the 11 January 1981 in Graz, Austria.[59]