Petrit Latifi
Nezamislive zvjerstva Srba nad Hrvatima i Bošnjacima 1940. godine. Godine 1940., srpske trupe i četnici masakrirali su i Hrvate i Bošnjake u selima Modriča i Đakovo. U novinama “Eschersov dnevnik”, koje je izdavao Gerhard Emskötter, čitamo:
In 1940, Serbian troops and Chetniks massacred both Croatians and Bosniaks in the villages of Modriča and Djakovo. In the newspaper “Eschers diary”, published by Gerhard Emskötter, we read:
“Unimaginable bestialities of the Serbs. Croats tied to tanks and dragged to death. DNB April 27 (PK) Only now , after the end of hostilities in Serbia, when the time has come to delve deeper and more thoroughly into the situation than was possible during the rapid hours of advance , are events coming to light that belong to the chronicle of this campaign.
Significantly, alongside the reports of incomparable deeds of glory by German soldiers, there is also an increasing number of reports that terrifyingly reveal the murderous rabble we sometimes faced. All previous reports of Serbian bestiality , however, are surpassed by the statements made to the Croatian government by the respected Serbian leader, lawyer Dr. Orschanich of Derventa.
Serbian tortures of Djakovo and Modric
“According to this account, acts of Serbian cruelty took place between the Bosnian towns of Djakovo and Modriča that could scarcely have been carried out more brutally by even the most ruthless torturers. On that disastrous day, the population of Djakovo poured out of their homes, all breathing a sigh of relief, as the masses of Serbian military forces had withdrawn, fleeing chaotically across the Sava towards Derventa. Surely, it would not be long before the spearhead of the German troops appeared. Hundreds of eyes stared intently down the road, waiting for the longed-for moment.
And then — there they seemed to be: Adolf Hitler’s soldiers. Two mud-splattered tanks were rolling toward the gathered men, women, and children. The vehicles drew closer and stopped, their turret hatches opening. But the Croats and Bosniaks recoiled in horror. It was not field-grey German soldiers who emerged from the tanks, but men in Serbian uniforms and četniks.”
Serbian atrocities
“Without hesitation, enraged because the Croats had raised their flags , the bandits rushed at the defenseless civilians. With rifle butts , they blindly struck the crowd , firing wildly around them. Some Cetniks grabbed helplessly screaming children, grabbed the poor ones , and fired a bullet into their heads . Most of those treacherously attacked tried in vain to escape.
The shots of the bloodthirsty murderers strike down many , inflicting serious wounds.The most terrible fate, however, was to befall the mayor of Djakovo and another resident of the town. The Chetniks seized these two men and tore off all their clothes and shoes . The unfortunates were then tied to the tanks with ropes , their backs to the tanks . Then the criminals , led by a Serbian lieutenant , jumped up again.
The tracks began to grind . They even passed over a screaming woman who begged the Serbian devils for mercy in vain . The two naked Croats were dragged all the way to Modritsch , where they were finally shot , half – dead and horribly mutilated . But the atrocities of these murderous tanks did not end there . In Derventa , the Chetniks , again led by the Serbian officer , went to the penitentiary , where five Croats and two Muslims languished , imprisoned by the Belgrade government.
The door to the cell is broken down with rifle butts. The Serbian lieutenant simply says with a cynical grin: “Form into two rows ,” then draws his pistol and shoots the unfortunates one after the other , throwing hand grenades among the dying . Two of the convicts who don’t immediately succumb to their horrific wounds are dragged out into the prison yard by the mob.
The groaning prisoners are pressed head – on into a dung heap until they suffocate . Then the cowardly gang of murderers departs , for the German troops are already advancing on Derventa . The report is sworn to by numerous other eyewitnesses . It constitutes new , irrefutable evidence that the Serbian clique , with its terror, brutally oppressed the valuable ethnic groups of the former Yugoslavia.
The German sword has now finally done away with this murderous rabble Never again will it be able to vent its hatred against Croats, Bosniaks , etc. But the fall of the Serbian tyranny is forever associated with the bloody deeds committed by brutal monsters on the Save near Derventa.
War correspondent Gerhard Emskötter”
Reference
Balkan Academia 