Bleiburg memorial in Zagreb's Mirogoj cemetery

The Bleiburg massacre, (also known in a more emotional context as the Bleiburg tragedy^[1]) is a generalising name that encompasses events that took place during May 1945, after the formal end of World War II in Europe, but at a time when local hostilities on the Yugoslav front were still ongoing. It is named after the Carinthian town of Bleiburg on the Austrian-Slovenian border, near where the events began. Large numbers (estimates vary, but agree that it was in the tens of thousands^[2]) of people who had fled to southern Austria ahead of the advance of the Partisans (Yugoslavia) hoping to surrender to and gain the protection of the British were forcibly returned south. Most of these were subjected to forced marches under inhumane conditions over long distances^[3]. Many were also executed on suspicion of being members or supporters of collaborationist forces, or for suspected collaboration with or active involvement in the Wehrmacht^{[citation needed]}. In particular these included those who had supported the defeated Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH), a puppet state of the Nazi regime in Germany, controlled by the Ustaše party. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 × 2112 pixel, file size: 611 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2816 × 2112 pixel, file size: 611 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Location of Zagreb within Croatia Coordinates: , Country RC diocese 1094 Free royal city 1242 Unified 1850 Government  - Mayor Milan Bandić Area [1]  - Total 641. ... Mirogoj Arcades Mirogoj Cemetery, Zagreb The Mirogoj Cemetery is considered to be one of the most beautiful cemetery parks in Europe and, thanks to its design, numbers among the more noteworthy landmarks in the City of Zagreb. ... For other uses, see May (disambiguation). ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... During the Battle for Berlin, the Red Flag was raised over the Reichstag, May 1945. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Carinthia (German: Kärnten, Slovenian: KoroÅ¡ka) is the southernmost Austrian state or Land; it is chiefly famous for its mountains and lakes. ... Bleiburg (Pliberk in Slovenian) is a small city in the state of Carinthia, Austria, south-east of Klagenfurt, in the district of Völkermarkt, near the Slovenian border. ... The Rebellion The Yugoslav Partisans were the main resistance movement engaged in the fight against the Axis forces in the Balkans during World War II. // Origins The Yugoslav Partisans went under the official name of Peoples Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia (Narodno-oslobodilačka vojska i partizanski... Capital Zagreb Language(s) Croatian Religion Roman Catholicism Political structure Puppet-state King  - 1941-1943 Tomislav II Poglavnik  - 1941-1945 Ante Pavelić Legislature None Historical era World War II  - Established April 10, 1941  - Disestablished May 8, 1945 Population  - 1941 est. ... A puppet state is a state whose government, though notionally of the same culture as the governed people - owes its existence (or other major debt) to being installed, supported or controlled by a more powerful entity, typically a foreign power. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... An UstaÅ¡e guard pose among the bodies of prisoners murdered in the Jasenovac concentration camp The UstaÅ¡e (also known as Ustashas or Ustashi) was a Croatian extreme nationalist movement. ...

[edit] Background

The main fighting force against the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia (1941-45), in terms of numbers involved and campaigns undertaken, was the Partisans^[4]. They quickly realised that the Ustaše government in Zagreb was a supporter of the Axis powers and had an agenda of intolerance to Serbs, Jews, Roma etc^[5]. This was manifested in the atrocities at Jasenovac concentration camp and elsewhere, the scale of which even shocked German and Italian occupying forces ^[6][7]. The Yugoslav front in the Second World War was a place where appalling atrocities happened, and this is essential background knowledge to what happened at and after Bleiburg. An UstaÅ¡e guard pose among the bodies of prisoners murdered in the Jasenovac concentration camp The UstaÅ¡e (also known as Ustashas or Ustashi) was a Croatian extreme nationalist movement. ... “Jasenovac” redirects here. ...

[edit] Events

A large-scale exodus of people took place. On May 6 1945, Croatia's Ustaše collaborationist government fled Zagreb, as the Wehrmacht was in retreat and about to surrender^[8] The Croatian Armed Forces, the military of the NDH (not to be confused with the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia, an unaffiliated modern military), began to withdraw to the Austrian border on May 12, travelling to Bleiburg where the 38th British Infantry Brigade was stationed. ^[9].
is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Location of Zagreb within Croatia Coordinates: , Country RC diocese 1094 Free royal city 1242 Unified 1850 Government  - Mayor Milan Bandić Area [1]  - Total 641. ... The straight-armed Balkenkreuz, a stylized version of the Iron Cross, the emblem of the Wehrmacht. ... The German Instrument of Surrender was the legal instrument by which the High Command of the German Armed Forces surrendered simultaneously to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force and to the Soviet High command at the end of World War II in Europe. ... The Croatian Armed Forces (Croatian: Hrvatske oružane snage, HOS) was the armed force of the Independent State of Croatia which were formed in 1944 with the uniting of the Croatian Home Guard and the UstaÅ¡es forces. ... For the Croatian army from 1944-1945, see Croatian Armed Forces. ... is the 132nd day of the year (133rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The 38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade was formed on 13 January 1942 by converting The 210th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), a Home defense static brigade. ...

The retreating columns consisted of Croats, Serbs and small numbers of Slovenes. The majority were soldiers of the Croatian Armed Forces which, much like the German Army, consisted of the regular conscript Croatian Home Guard (Domobrani) and the military wing of the ruling fascist (Ustaše) party, the Ustaša Militia ^[8]. Among the remnants of these forces were numerous Ustaše dignitaries along with the ruling fascist elite^{[citation needed]}, but also a number of civilians, inextricably mixed with the others in the confusion of the retreat. The pursuing Partisans appear to branded them all as traitors, since they were fleeing with the Ustaše leaders, and had abandoned their homes and businesses. Apart from Croats, present in the fleeing military columns were remaining units of the Serbian Chetniks (supposedly the "arch-enemies" of the Ustaše) and the Slovenian Domobranci, many of whom were killed as well. The Croatian Armed Forces (Croatian: Hrvatske oružane snage, HOS) was the armed force of the Independent State of Croatia which were formed in 1944 with the uniting of the Croatian Home Guard and the UstaÅ¡es forces. ... The German Army (German: [1], [IPA: heɐ]  ) is the land component of the Bundeswehr (Federal Defence Forces) of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... Croatian Home Guard (Croatian: Hrvatsko domobranstvo, often abbr. ... Chetniks (Serbian Četnici, Четници) were an organization of Yugoslavs (mostly Serbs) who supported the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and formed a notable resistance force during World War II. The name is derived from the Serbian word četa which means company (of about 100... Slovensko domobranstvo (German: Slowenische Landeswehr, English: Slovene Home Guard) or SD for short, was a collaborationist force, formed in September 1943 in the area of present day Slovenia (then a part of Yugoslavia). ...

The main column travelled through Celje, Šoštanj, and Slovenj Gradec on its way to Dravograd, before turning southwestwards towards Bleiburg. ^[10] They began surrendering to the British on May 15, and this continued until the May 17, making these remnants of the NDH military the last Axis force in Europe to surrender^[8]. During this time Ustaše generals Ivo Herenčić of the V. Corps, and Vjekoslav Servatzy as well as a translator, Prof Danijel Crljen, began surrender negotiations with the British and the Partisans, represented by Milan Basta^[10]. In accordance with previous Allied agreements, the British forces refused to accept the surrender of the fascist forces, and came to an agreement with the Partisans. ^[10] Area: 94,9 km² Population  - males  - females 48. ... Area: 95,6 km² Population  - males  - females 8. ... Area: 173. ... Area: 105. ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the independent states that comprised the Axis powers. ... Ivo Herenčić (b. ... Look up ally in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

According to the Hague Convention's Article 20, After the conclusion of peace, the repatriation of prisoners of war shall be carried out as quickly as possible. General Robertson gave British troops the order, "All surrendered personnel of established Yugoslav nationality who were serving in German Forces should be disarmed and handed over to Yugoslav forces".^[9] The local British military authorities appear to have considered them Yugoslav rebels (quislings) and handed them over to the Partisan forces. The longtime status of Netherlands as a largely neutral nation in international conflicts and the corresponding ascendance of The Hague as a primary location for diplomatic and international conferences has led to several negotiated conventions over the years being termed the Hague Convention: The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907... Brian Hubert Robertson, 1st Baron Robertson of Oakridge, GCB, GBE KCMG, KCVO, DSO, MC (22 July 1896–29 April 1974) was a British Army General. ... Quisling, after Norwegian fascist politician Vidkun Quisling, is a term used to describe traitors and collaborationists. ...

It is not known whether the high command of the Partisans was aware of the killings, and it's widely disputed whether Marshal Josip Broz Tito was aware of them. The Ustaša and others, however, continued to fight several days after the cessation of hostilities, which created a spirit of grim determination among the victorious Partisans. Josip Broz Tito (Cyrillic: Јосип Броз Тито, May 7, 1892 [May 25th according to official birth certificate] – May 4, 1980) was the leader of the Second Yugoslavia, which lasted from 1943 until 1991. ...

Although a large, still undefined number of Ustaša and Chetnik soldiers died during a series of battles and skirmishes after the end of the war, it is alleged that the majority of violent deaths were the result of executions that lasted at least two weeks after the cessation of hostilities. The victims were executed supposedly as an act of vengeance for the horrendous crimes committed by the Ustaše regime in NDH-controlled territories during World War II. Killings continued in nearby Slovenia, and it is hard to estimate the number of victims on Bleiburg field, compared to those later found in the trenches in the Maribor area and other numerous pits in Slovenia, mostly because these pits could just as easily contain casualties from other engagements. An UstaÅ¡e guard pose among the bodies of prisoners murdered in the Jasenovac concentration camp The UstaÅ¡e (also known as Ustashas or Ustashi) was a Croatian extreme nationalist movement. ... Area: 147. ...

Croatian political émigrés, as well as other sources related to the Cossacks who fought for the Nazi regimes, had published numerous testimonies on the atrocities and British involvement in the affair (British archives on Operation Keelhaul remain sealed. This article needs cleanup. ... Operation Keelhaul was a programme carried out in Austria by British forces in May and June 1945 that decided the fate of thousands of post-war refugees fleeing eastern Europe. ...

In 1990, Partisan Simo Dubajić claimed that he commanded Partisan forces at Kočevski Rog, and received orders to kill surrendered troops and civilians there.^[11] Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Simo Dubajic was a hardline leader of the initial Serb movement in Croatia and later became Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Guard. ... Kočevski Rog or simply Rog is a karstic plateau which is a part of Kočevje Highlands above ÄŒrmoÅ¡njice Valley. ...

During the retreat across Slovenia and in their time in Austria, the military conflicts between the Partisans and the retreating collaborationist forces continued. Of these, the biggest confrontation was the Battle of Poljana. The vast majority of the refugees were returned to Yugoslavia ^[1] and were repatriated as Yugoslav citizens via forced marches under inhumane conditions over long distances ^[12]. The Battle of Poljana was the last battle of World War II in Europe. ...

[edit] Mass graves in Slovenia

The Slovenian Commission on Concealed Mass Graves is responsible for leading investigations into places where there may be bodies from the period of and after the Second World War. It currently has a list of around 540 potential mass grave sites, based on evidence on the ground and reports from local people. Not all of these refer to killings (alleged or proven) in 1945 ^[13].
The full list of sites in question - some of which involve more than one location, and do not necessarily refer to people returned to Yugoslavia from Bleiburg - that have been fully or partially excavated, or await investigation in Slovenia is:

• Teharje; Huda cave & Barbarin pit near Laško ^[14]
• Karst caves and pits in Kočevski rog (88 bodies found in Konfin pothole ^[15])
• Lovrenska grapa near Škofja loka (27 bodies found, believed to be of 20 Slovenian domobranci and 7 German POW's ^[16])
• Lesce (33 bodies found ^[17])
• Anti-tank trench near Brežice
• Anti-tank trench near Bistrica ob Sotli (relating to former camp at Šempeter pod Svetimi Gorami)
• Anti-tank trench at Tezno, Maribor (1,179 bodies found in 1999 on the route of the Slivnica-Pesnica highway; the trench is 1 kilometer long, 4 to 6 meters wide and the layer of human remains in the section excavated so far measures 1.5 to 2 meters deep; new excavations started in August 2007 ^[18][19])
• Hrastovec near Lenart
• Areh on Pohorje
• Pohorje above Hoče
• Kidričevo (relating to former camp at Strnišče)
• Anti-aircraft shelter at Zgornja Bistrica (around 231 ossified bodies found)
• Tepanje near Oplotnica
• Karst caves around Logatec
• Brezar abyss near Podutik, Ljubljana
• Žančani near Slovenj Gradec
• Hrastnik hill

During the time of Yugoslavia, many of the grave sites were destroyed by explosion or were covered in waste.^[20] Some sites were also built over.^[20] Slovensko domobranstvo (German: Slowenische Landeswehr, English: Slovene Home Guard) or SD for short, was a collaborationist force, formed in September 1943 in the area of present day Slovenia (then a part of Yugoslavia). ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in the Latin alphabet, Југославија in Cyrillic; English: South Slavia, or literary The Land of South Slavs) describes three political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ...

[edit] Number of victims

The exact number of those who met their death in Bleiburg is almost impossible to ascertain. Generally, there are essentially three schools that have tried to do this:

[edit] First school

The first school whose estimates are based mainly on the historiographic and demographic investigations of scientists:

Scientists made estimates, based mainly on the historiographic and demographic investigations:

• The Croatian statistician Vladimir Žerjavić has estimated based on demographic records that ca. 55,000 people were killed in the Bleiburg area and in Slovenia.
• British journalist Misha Glenny and other investigators or publicists have come up with the figure of 50,000 executed disarmed soldiers and 30,000 civilians.
• First Croatian president (and doctor of history) Dr. Franjo Tuđman has come with figure between 35,000 and 40,000 victims.

Vladimir Žerjavić (August 2, 1912 - September 5, 2001) was a Croatian economist and a United Nations specialist who published a series of revisionist historical articles and books during the 1980s and 1990s in which he argued that the scope of the Holocaust in World War II-era Croatia was exaggerated. ... Misha Glenny (born 1958) is a British journalist and specialist on Eastern and Southeastern Europe. ... The President of Croatia is the head of state. ... ‹ The template below (Foreignchar) is being considered for deletion. ...

[edit] Second school

The second school based its findings on eyewitness accounts. Petar S. Brajović, a Yugoslav general who participated in the battles around Bleiburg and is, along with other senior Yugoslav officers like Kosta Nađ and Milan Basta, frequently accused as having organized the Bleiburg massacre, claims in his book Konačno oslobođenje ("Final liberation") published in 1983, that Ustaše had no big victims in Bleiburg and that artillery was not used. In the local cemetery there were only 16 their soldiers buried. In the same book is written that Third Army of Jugoslav Army captured 30,000 soldiers (6,000 of them were Chetniks) and 20,000 refugees.
The book of Juraj Hrženjak Bleiburg i Križni put 1945. ("Bleiburg and The way of the cross 1945") states that 20 people committed suicide in Bleiburg while some others, among them soldiers of Yugoslav army, were shot by Ustaše which did not want to surrender. All the others were shot in Yugoslavia and Bleiburg has been marked merely as a symbol mostly for those who were shot later. The book also claims that beetwen 12 and 14 thousand persons were shot after returning in liberated Yugoslavia; among those 12 to 14 thousands, chetniks were shot in Macelj, members of the Slovenian white guard near Kočevski rog and ustashe and others (ethnic Croats) near Maribor. At least 1500 guards of former Nazi concentration camps in Yugoslavia were shot near Maribor. Kosta NaÄ‘ (1911 – 1986) was an officer in the Yugoslav National Liberation Army (YNLA) during World war II. The YNLA was formed by Communist Josip Broz Tito after the invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. ...

[edit] Third school

This school bases its estimates on archeological evidence mostly consisting of mass graves found in Slovenia. Investigations are, however, at an early stage and therefore cannot be definitively linked with these incidents. The total number of potential locations that the Slovenian Commission on Concealed Mass Graves now intends to investigate is around 540^[21]. The first excavations in a trench in Tezno Woods at Maribor uncovered 1,179 skeletons, believed to be of Croatians.^[22] The trench is 1 kilometer long, 4 to 6 meters wide and the layer of human remains in the section excavated so far measures 1.5 to 2 meters deep.^[21]

The number of deaths due to all the Partisan crimes combined is much smaller than the vast number of those systematically exterminated by the Axis and their local puppet-regimes, which does something to explain the motivation behind the Bleiburg massacre.

[edit] Bleiburg today

Memorial chapel at Kočevski Rog grave site

May 15 is annually marked by many as the Memorial Day for the victims of Bleiburg and the Way of the Cross.^[23] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 386 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (911 × 1413 pixel, file size: 900 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 386 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (911 × 1413 pixel, file size: 900 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Kočevski Rog or simply Rog is a karstic plateau which is a part of Kočevje Highlands above Črmošnjice Valley. ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

According to the Slovenian government, the mass grave site in Tezno is being planned as a memorial park and cemetery. ^[24]

[edit] See also

• Allied war crimes during World War II
• Yugoslav People's Liberation War
• Partisans (Yugoslavia)
• Ustaše
• Chetniks

Allied war crimes were violations of the laws of war committed by the Allies of World War II against civilian populations or military personnel of the Axis Armed Forces. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Yugoslav Partisan Flag The Yugoslav Partisans were one of the two main resistance movements engaged in the fight against the Axis forces in the Balkans during World War II, alongside rival Chetniks, the Yugoslav Peoples Liberation War. ... An Ustaše guard pose among the bodies of prisoners murdered in the Jasenovac concentration camp The Ustaše (also known as Ustashas or Ustashi) was a Croatian extreme nationalist movement. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Chetniks. ...

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Yalta and the Bleiburg tragedy
• A detailed account of events (in Slovene)
• The Bleiburg Massacres - by Count Nikolai Tolstoy
• The Bleiburg Tragedy on Croatian World Network