List of massacres in Yugoslavia

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The following is a list of 20th century massacres and executions that occurred in Yugoslavia (numbers may be approximate) during World War II and the 1990s wars of independence. Areas once part of Yugoslavia that are now parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia, and Montenegro; see the lists of massacres in those countries for more details.

World War II

Map of areas where massacres were committed by Chetniks (red), by the Ustaše (blue), by both Chetniks and the Ustaše (purple), by the Wehrmacht (black), and by the Partisans (orange). Larger marker sizes indicate larger massacres.

The Ustaše's largest genocidal massacres were carried out in Bosanska Krajina and in places in Croatia where Serbs constituted a large proportion of the population including Banija, Kordun, Lika, and northern Dalmatia. Chetnik massacres of the Bosniak population took place in eastern Bosnia which had been "relatively untouched" by the Ustaše until the spring of 1942. According to Anglo-Croatian historian Dr. Marko Attila Hoare, these massacres were not acts of revenge, but "an expression of the genocidal policy and ideology of the Chetnik movement."^[1] According to Kaplan and Nosarzewska, the Chetniks wanted to forge an ethnically-pure Greater Serbia in order to ensure the survival of Serbs in Axis/Ustaše-controlled areas by violently "cleansing" these areas of Croats and Muslims.^[2] The Partisans also perpetrated massacres, notably at Kulen Vakuf in September 1941, as did the Albanian Waffen-SS units, which murdered more than 400 Orthodox Christian civilians at Andrijevica.^[3]

Name	Date	Location	Deaths	Perpetrator	Description
Pančevo executions	21–22 April 1941	Pančevo	36	Wehrmacht	Wehrmacht and Volksdeutsche executed 36 Serbs.[4]
Gudovac massacre	28 April 1941	Gudovac, near Bjelovar	184–196	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Gudovac.[5][6][7]
Kosinj massacre	30 April 1941	Kosinj, Lika	600	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Kosinj.[8]
Blagaj massacre	April–May 1941	Blagaj	250	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Blagaj.[5]
Veljun massacre	9 May 1941	Veljun, Kordun	400	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Veljun.[9]
Glina massacre	11–12 May 1941	Glina	260–300	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Glina.[10][5]
Nevesinje massacre	late May–June 1941	Nevesinje	173	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Nevesinje.[5]
Ljubinje massacre	early June 1941	Ljubinje, Herzegovina	140	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Ljubinje.[5]
Bileća massacre	June 1941	Bileća, Herzegovina	600	Serb villagers	Muslim massacre by Bosnian Serbs at Bileća.[11]
Korita massacre	3 June 1941	Korita	133–180	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Korita; corpses thrown into the Koritska Jama pit.[6][12][5]
Knin massacre	15 June 1941	Knin	60	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Knin.[5]
Metković massacre	25 June 1941	Metković	280	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše after decree on the defense of the people and state is issued by the Independent State of Croatia on 17 April 1941.[13]
Čelebić massacre (1941)	July 1941	Čelebić	104	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Čelebić.
Grabovac massacre	24–25 July 1941	Grabovac, near Petrinja	1,200	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Grabovac.[14]
Ličko Petrovo Selo massacre	27 July 1941	Ličko Petrovo Selo	313	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Ličko Petrovo Selo.[14]
Višegrad massacre (1941)	July–August 1941	Višegrad	500	Serb villagers	Muslim massacre by Bosnian Serb villagers at Višegrad and environs.[11]
Prebilovci massacre	4–6 August 1941	Prebilovci	650	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Prebilovci.[15]
Glina massacre (July 1941)	5 August 1941	Glina	1,200–2,000	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Glina.[16][14]
Bosanska Dubica massacre	20–21 August 1941	Bosanska Dubica	c. 300	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Bosanska Dubica.[17]
Čitluk and Strigova massacres	22 August 1941	Čitluk and Strigova	26	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Čitluk and Strigova.[18]
Novoselci massacre	Early August 1941	Novoselci	31	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Novoselci.[17]
Zaklopača massacre	August 1941	Srebrenica	81	Chetniks	Muslim massacre by Chetniks under the command of Jezdimir Dangić; a group of Muslims barricaded in a local mekteb (Muslim religious school) at Zaklopača which was then set alight.[19]
Otecac massacre	1941	Otecac	331	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Otecac.[20]
Kulen Vakuf massacre	5–8 September 1941	Kulen Vakuf	1,600+	Partisan Drvar Brigade	Muslim massacre by Partisans and local peasants at Kulen Vakuf.[3]
Jošan massacre	1941	Jošan	338	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Jošan.[21]
Javor massacre	1941	Javor	100+	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Javor, near Srebrenica and Ozren.[22]
Kraljevo massacre	mid-October 1941	Kraljevo	1,755	Wehrmacht	The Wehrmacht murdered almost 1,800 civilians in reprisal shootings[23]
Kragujevac massacre	20–21 October 1941	Kragujevac	2,778	Wehrmacht	Several thousand civilians murdered by Wehrmacht in reprisal shootings [23]
Goražde massacre	29 November 1941	Goražde	300+	Chetniks	Muslim massacre by Chetnik forces; corpses left hanging in the town or thrown into the Drina river.[24]
Visuć massacre	1941	Visuć	85	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše.[25]
Foča massacre (1941)	5 December 1941	Foča	500	Chetniks	Muslim massacre by Chetniks who received the town of Foča from the Royal Italian Army.[26]
Žepa massacre	late 1941	Žepa	300	Chetniks	Muslim massacre by Chetnik forces at Žepa.[27]
Čelebić massacre (1942)	January 1942	Čelebić	54	Chetniks	Muslim massacre by Chetnik forces at Čelebić; village later torched.[27]
Srebrenica massacre	January 1942	Srebrenica and environs	1,000	Chetniks	Muslim massacre by Chetnik forces in Srebrenica and nearby villages.[28]
Višegrad massacre (1942)	January 1942	Višegrad	1,000+	Chetniks	Muslim massacre by Chetniks at Višegrad.[27]
Battle of Dražgoše	11–12 January 1942	Dražgoše	41	Wehrmacht	The Wehrmacht executed 41 civilian hostages in the village.[29]
Draksenić massacre	13–15 January 1942	Draksenić	c. 360	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše and Home Guard at Draksenić.[30]
Pljeva massacre	February 1942	Pljeva, Central Bosnia	41	Partisans	41 captured Croatian Home Guards executed by Partisans.[31]
Piskavica and Ivanjska massacre	5, 12 February 1942	Piskavica and Ivanjska	520	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Piskavica and Ivanjska.[32]
Drakulić massacre	7 February 1942	Drakulić, Šargovac, Motike	2,315	Ustaše	Serb massacre by Ustaše at Drakulić.[33]
Drakan massacre	3 March 1942	Drakan	42	Chetniks	Muslim masscre by Chetniks at Drakan.[28]
Foča massacre (1942)	August 1942	Foča	2,000	Chetniks	Muslim massacre by Chetniks in the Foča area.[34]
Gata massacre	1 October 1942	Gata	100+	Chetniks	Civilians killed by Chetniks for pro-Yugoslav Partisan sympathies and in retaliation for the destruction of the Split-Omiš road.[35]
Operation Alfa	14–15 October 1942	Prozor	543	Chetniks	Croat and Bosnian Muslim massacre by Chetniks on suspicion of harboring and/or aiding the Partisans.[35]
Andrijevica massacre	July 1944	Andrijevica	400+	SS Skanderbeg	Albanian Waffen-SS units murdered more than 400 Orthodox Christian civilians.[36]
Hrvatska Dubica massacre	18–19 September 1944	Hrvatska Dubica	c. 55	Ustaše	Massacre of mostly Serb victims by Ustaše at Hrvatska Dubica.
Daksa executions	October 1944	Daksa	48	Partisans	Partisans executed at least 48 Croat prisoners [37]
Kozara massacres	17–22 February 1945	Hrvatska Dubica	140+	Ustaše	Massacre of mostly Serb victims by Ustaše at Hrvatska Dubica.
Jakljan executions	May, 1945	Jakljan	214	Partisans	German prisoners executed by Partisan forces at Jakljan. [38]
Kočevski Rog massacre	Late May, 1945	Kočevski Rog	Several thousand victims (between 10,000 and 12,000, according to certain sources)[39]	Partisans	Members of the Slovene Home Guard and their families executed by the Partisans.
Barbara Pit	May–September 1945	Huda Jama	726[40]	Partisans

Croatian War

Bosnian War

Kosovo War

Name	Date	Location	Deaths	Notes
Ćuška massacre	14 May 1999	Cuska (near Peć)	41
Drenica massacres	Feb–March 1998 March–June 1999	Drenica	83
Izbica massacre	28 March 1999	Izbica	89–146
Ljubenić massacres	25 May 1998 and 1 April 1999	Ljubenić	c. 74
Operation Račak	15 January 1999	Račak, Kosovo, FR Yugoslavia	40–45
Podujevo massacre	28 March 1999	Podujevo	14

See also

• List of massacres in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• List of massacres in Croatia
• List of massacres in Serbia
• List of massacres in Slovenia
• Bloody Christmas

Notes

1. Hoare 2006, p. 143.
2. Kaplan, Jan, and Krystyna Nosarzewska, Prague: The Turbulent Century, Koenemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Koeln, (1997), pg. 241; ISBN 3-89508-528-6
3. Hoare 2006, pp. 106–108.
4. Spasović, Ivana (2012). Страдања у Панчеву и Јабуци за време Другог светског рата [Suffering in Pančevo and Jabuka During the Second World War]. Pančevo: Istorijski arhiv. ISBN 978-86-83347-96-4.
5. Hoare 2006, p. 22.
6. Tomasevich 2001, p. 398.
7. Ramet 2006, p. 119.
8. Paris 1961, p. 60.
9. Goldstein 2007, p. 22.
10. Tomasevich 2001, p. 536.
11. Malcolm 1994, p. 176.
12. Paris 1961, p. 82.
13. Ramet 2006, p. 120.
14. Hoare 2006, p. 23.
15. Vojinovic, Novica (1991). Srpske Jame u Prebilovcima. Genocid hrvatskih kleroustaša nad Srbima u Hercegovini (in Serbo-Croatian). Titograd.
16. Judah 2000, p. 127.
17. Момчило Ракић,"У усташком затвору у Босанској Дубици", Козара, I, Београд, 1971, стр. I/151-157.
18. Самарџија, Душан Д. (1984). Босанскодубичко подручје у НОР-у и социјалистичкој револуцији 1941-1945. Босанска Дубица. pp. 102–103.
19. Toljaga 18 November 2010.
20. Paris 1961, p. 59.
21. Ђуро Затезало, Радио сам свој сељачки и ковачки посао: Свједочанства о геноциду, Загреб, 2005. стр. 356.
22. Paris 1961, p. 104.
23. Tomasevich 1975, p. 146.
24. Hoare 2006, p. 145.
25. Гојко Везмар, "Уз попис палих бораца, жртава фашистичког терора и умрлих од тифуса на подручју опћине Титова Кореница", Котар Кореница и котар Удбина у НОР-у и социјалистичкој изградњи, Карловац, 1979, стр. 965-90.
26. Hoare 2006, pp. 145–146.
27. Hoare 2006, p. 146.
28. Hoare 2006, p. 147.
29. Corsellis & Ferrar 2006, p. 33.
30. Душан Тороман: Покољ у цркви у Драксенићу, књ. 1, 1981, стр. 878-884
31. Hoare 2013, p. 96–97.
32. Lukajić 2005.
33. Lukajić 2005, p. 420.
34. Malcolm 1994, p. 188.
35. Tomasevich 2001, pp. 258–259.
36. Morrison 2009, p. 65.
37. Dubrovački vjesnik 19 June 2010.
38. Slobodna Dalmacija 1 March 2013.
39. Encyclopaedia Britannica: "Slovenia (World War Two)"
40. "Stratišta: "U iskapanju Hude jame Hrvati nam moraju pomoći, tamo su oni ubijali svoje"". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Retrieved 24 March 2015.

References

Books

• Corsellis, John; Ferrar, Marcus (2006). Slovenia, 1945: Memories of Death and Survival After World War II. London: I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1-85043-840-3.
• Dedijer, Vladimir; Miletić, Antun (1990). Genocid nad Muslimanima, 1941–1945 (in Serbo-Croatian). Sarajevo: Svjetlost.
• Dizdar, Zdravko; Sobolevski, Mihael (1999). Prešućivani četnički zločini u Hrvatskoj i u Bosni i Hercegovini 1941–1945 (in Serbo-Croatian). Zagreb: Hrvatski institut za povijest.
• Goldstein, Ivo (2007), "The Independent State of Croatia in 1941: On the Road to Catastrophe", in Ramet, Sabrina P., The Independent State of Croatia 1941–45, New York: Routledge, pp. 19–29, ISBN 0-415-44055-6
• Judah, Tim (2000). The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-08507-5.
• Morrison, Kenneth (2009). Montenegro: A Modern History. New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-710-8.
• Paris, Edmond (1961). Genocide in Satellite Croatia, 1941–1945: A Record of Racial and Religious Persecutions and Massacres. Chicago: American Institute for Balkan Affairs.
• Hoare, Marko Attila (2006). Genocide and Resistance in Hitler's Bosnia: The Partisans and the Chetniks 1941–1943. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-726380-8.
• Hoare, Marko Attila (2013). Bosnian Muslims in the Second World War. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-70394-9.
• Malcolm, Noel (1994). Bosnia: A Short History. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-5520-4.
• Ramet, Sabrina P. (2006). The Three Yugoslavias: State-Building and Legitimation, 1918–2005. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34656-8.
• Tomasevich, Jozo (1975). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: The Chetniks. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-0857-9.
• Tomasevich, Jozo (2001). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-3615-2.
• Lukajić, Lazar (2005). "Fratri i ustaše kolju - zločini i svjedoci" (PDF) (in Serbian). Belgrade: Fond za istraživanje genocida.

Web

• "Dostojno pokopani nakon 66. godina mučkog smaknuća". Dubrovački vjesnik (in Croatian). 19 June 2010.
• "Na dubrovačkom Domobranskom groblju pokopani posmrtni ostaci 214 njemačkih mornara". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). 1 March 2013.
• Toljaga, Daniel (18 November 2010). "Prelude to the Srebrenica genocide". Bosnian Institute.