A The files and documents of the 12th Army, of the Army Groups E and F, as far as it was still available with the staff, and as far as it had already been sent to the Army Archives in Liegnitz.
Q You already mentioned previously a purpose of your activity. That is a historical description without tendency. What additional purpose did your commission have?
A The Ic, Lt. Col. von Harling, and during a discussion General Foertsch and General Winter also supported this idea - and they connected with my commission the intention to create a kind of manual and this manual was supposed to serve the commanders who were acting in that area and to give them an insight, I might say, into the completely abnormal conditions in the Balkans which were difficult to see through by a commander, a commander who came from a completely different area to the Balkans.
Q In what manner did you acquaint yourself with the conditions in the Balkans?
A I have gained and collected local knowledge by staying in Crete, in Athens, in Saloniki, in Belgrade, in Zagreb, in the area of Brod and Sarajevo just to mention the most important ones.
Q For this activity did you bring with you historical knowledge of the Balkans?
A My general training as historian of course has already at an earlier date acquainted me with problems prevailing in the Balkans but I do admit that the general book knowledge and the purely scientific knowledge about the Balkans is inadequate in order to gauge what went on in that area and what opposing forces there were in that area.
Q What were your first findings during the course of your work?
A I believe that the first thing I learned was that I found myself before a mix-up of forces which was hard to see through and it took a great amount of studies to see the historical origin of this existing condition.
Q What problems and conflicts were apparent in the Balkans during the occupation time?
A The number of simultaneously existing conflicts in the Balkans is so large that I cannot say for certain that I am really naming all the conflicts in full and I therefore limit myself to the most important tendencies within the area in order to at least consider those factors which confronted the German occupation force. I am asking now to be allowed to proceed geographically; so that, to begin with, I shall just go around the German occupation area and then right diagonally through it.
I shall begin with roughly about Zagreb; round about there we had the first severe political difference - that is Hungary, and at the flank Italy; but we also find the decisive contrast Zagreb, Belgrade - that is Croatia against Serbia. Then we go down along the Dalmatian Coast and we find the century-old problem coming into the present times - that is Italy and the Dalmatian Coast, the nucleus Trieste. Further south, we find Albania which is the fighting area of attempts of Italy to take influence, attempts of Greece and England to take influence; and further south yet towards Greece we have the sphere of influence of England in contrast to Italy. Then we will turn around to Saloniki and we find the complicated sphere of influence of the Bulgarian tendencies -- that is the Russian tendencies backing them.
And in the nucleus itself, I only recall to you the aliveness of Macedonian nationalism and I shall recall to you the border area between a Greek and Bulgarian conflict for the influence in the area Saloniki-Agean; and now we shall close the ring in pointing out the taking of influence of Bulgaria in the Serbian area which again led to a splitting of even the lowest classes of the country because the sympathies of the population here as in all other areas mentioned were unstable and followed whatever influenced on the part of the major powers were prevailing.
If I show you this rough description of the conflicts in the Serbian area in the South-eastern area generally I shall now turn to a picture of the Serb-Croat area; we see there a further mass of conflicts which only make it understandable that down there, it was not a question of one conflict concerning the population, on the one side, and German Armed Forces on the other side; but that instead within that one war, I might almost say, there was an enormous number of individual little wars within the country and I shall now mention these factors -
Q Witness, before you mention these factors, I again have to ask you to make your sentences shorter. Now will you please continue?
A Perhaps the most bloody conflict which existed in the country itself was the one between Serbs and Croats, borne by the two organizations of tie Ustasha on the part of the Croats and the Chetniks on the part of the Serbs. Simultaneously there was the fight of the Chetniks against the Italians. Simultaneously there was the fight of the Chetniks against the Moslems and at the same time a fight by the Albanians against the Montenegro-Serbians. I believe with this figure of the existing conflicts, I have described roughly what forces there were pro and con in that area but I have only shown up those larger groups which bore a name.
It is a significant factor of the conditions in the Serbian area during the tine of the occupation that the so-called partisan activity was by no means bound to any groups and organizations which can be named but it was a typical factor of the partisan activity that they existed independent of organizations, independent of any order, that they were in a position to appear on numerous spots in the country just because there was no organizational leadership and that fact made it nearly impossible for the occupation powers to get hold of them.
Q Witness, you were just talking about the partisan movement. We will later come to certain details. I had just asked you what problems and conflicts prevail in the Balkans. You named first of all the conflict between the Serbs and the Croats.
I now ask you to tell us some more problems and conflicts and after you name them we shall try to come to some details. What further problems were there in the Balkans?
AApart from the natural difference between a country and a foreign occupation force and apart from the natural contrast between the Serbs and the Croats which I have already mentioned, I can further name the conflicts which arose from these spheres of influence of the great powers, but in order to understand conditions in the Balkan area, it is in my opinion of decisive importance that one realizes that all the acute indifferences had a deep historical root.
I am talking about the struggle between the Greek Orthodox sphere of religion and the Roman Catholic one. This area is the sphere of the clash between East and Western Europe, and this clash is not only merely a matter of the intelligentsia but in a rather peculiar manner this clash leads, I might almost say, to the development of the character of the men in the Balkans because to have the Greek Orthodox faith is almost the same as to be a National Serb. The religious belief got completely tied up with the political national conviction and out of this religious root comes into the shole struggle of the Serb Nationalism, the incredibly strong fanatacism.
Quite similar in the case of the Croats who as Roman Catholics also feel politically segregated as well as religiously segregated. These historical causes which have the effect in the individual person in the Balkans had also gained strong political weight through the fact that with the Greek Orthodox faith the feeling of a Pan Slavic connection for centuries had gradually developed like a mass of larvae from Southeast to Northeast and has pushed forward and politically seen developed the difference between Zagreb and Belgrade during the course of the centuries. This extremely increased controversy prevailed just at the moment when the German occupation force was in that area and through the fact that Jugoslavia as a state was defeated and through the fact that the majority of the weight was transferred to Zagreb, the National pride of the Serbs was severely hit. From a certain point of view, historically seen, rightly so, because for centuries the Serb nationalism has shown politically more gifted, than the Croats who did not understand during the course of the last few centuries to create a real state. Now, however, at the time when the German occupation power was in that area through the preference of Zagreb and through the instrument of the Ustasha which was available there, the political-religious contrast to the Serbs was sharpened so much that a defeating or an abolishing of these conflicts - I don't want to make any judgment here, - I am not justified in that - but it constituted a conflict for the Wehrmache.
Q. What National-political problems exist in the Balkans?
A. If the religious-political contrast of the Balkan area at that time had confronted each other in the territorially limited areas then the conflict would not have been so sharp. The danger is to be seen in the fact that the hostile parts of the Serbian population lived mixed up and were forced to live that way. I ask you to allow me to make a comparison. If one took a handful of salt and mixed it with a handful of sugar and then tried to separate the two things again, it is just as impossible to do that, just as impossible it is to disentangle the mixed-up parts of the population on the Serbo-Croation map.
Q. Witness, I had asked you after the developing problems and conflicts and if I have understood you correctly there was the difference on the one hand of the population and on the other hand the occupation powers, then the religious problems, Orthodox and Roman Catholic, the Serbs confronting the Croats, then the different spheres of influence of the great powers which met there and now what could be felt just at that time during the occupation at that time especially.
A. The decisive influences in the whole sector are without question the successes of the Tito organization. Here too one could make a false conclusion if on the first glance one regarded the successes of this organization as the success of a Communist Revolution. Long dealings with and our knowledge of all the notes about the Tito organization must lead to the conviction that here we are probably, firstly, faced with a sentimental love upon the part of the Slav nations to Mother Russia. At the moment it doesn't matter whether it is Communistic or anything else. Decisive was the feeling of common sentiment towards that great Russia that now was also a belligerent power and was able to fill the Slav nations with hopes.
Q. Witness, all the things which you have mentioned here, if I understood you correctly, were the main problems which confronted the occupation forces.
A. I believe that I have named them as completely as possible.
Q. You mentioned first of all the relationship between the population and the occupation forces. How was that relationship in Serbia?
A. I can testify less about the relationship regarding the lower troops in the country because I didn't come to the Balkans until later but from my knowledge of the files I ascertained a very impressive fact, a fact which impressed me deeply at that time - and that is that during the first time there was a kind of expectant and not really hostile attitude on the part of the Serbs towards the occupation force and that as a second phase I might say roughly, about two months after the end of the campaign, the German leadership in the Balkan area suffered almost a shock when suddenly and not recognizable in its connections on numerous isolated spots in the country there seemed to be an insurection and revolutionary movement which, however, in the beginning only found its expression in individual, little enterprises by small bands.
I believe at that time Field Marshal List was the person who as the first in a discussion ascertained that that couldn't possible be an unorganized activity; behind all that had to be a central leadership. Actually such a central leadership, as far as I remember, at the earliest, six months after the end of the campaign was found and more clearly recognizable in the person of Mihajlovic. However, one did see that the numerous individual partisans gradually joined into smaller units although it was not possible to connect all these little organizations to a central leadership. I especially mention in this connection that Mihajlovic did not succeed to the very last day in establishing real discipline amongst his followers. Instead in addition to the many little wars mentioned within the country there were also struggles of the band leaders against their alleged leader. In order to clarify this, my statement, may I emphasize that this bad cooperation between the bands was the consequence of the character of the Balkan people. They are all individualists and they are gifted. All these band leaders are led and guided by the idea, eventually, to be the leader. Everybody has its own policy and it is the great achievement, of Tito, to be the first, to create a real comprehensive organization on the background of this half-Slav half-Communist ideology.
Q. What were the methods of these bands?
MR. FENSTERMACHER: Your Honor please, I object to the question. I don't think this man has been qualified to know what the methods of the bands were. I think he is testifying to certain conclusions which he draws from the documents he has read and not to anything he himself knows personally.
JUDGE CARTER: I suppose he ought to state the basis of his information. 3771 Dr. LATERNSER:
That would have been the next question, your Honor.
Q Witness, I have asked you about the methods of the bands, and will you now, please, name them to the Tribunal, and at the same time tell the Tribunal where you gathered your knowledge?
AAt the beginning of my examination I stated that I had seen a thousand documents of the 12th Army and of Army Corps E and F, and that these documents form the bulk of all the available material in the staffs and Army corps, and that these documents also form the basis of my testimony.
Q Now, on the basis of these files what did you personally ascertain about the methods of the bands?
MR. FENSTERMACHER: I object to the question. I don't believe this man is competent to testify to the questions he is being asked. He is asked to state his conclusions from certain material which he has read.
JUDGE CARTER: I think we had a similar situation when the Greek correspondent testified. He gathered information in the same manner and testified to it here.
MR. FENSTERMACHER: If you please, Your Honor, that man was back and forth and participated in battles, fired guns and was an assistant to the Commander and Chief, and participated in what he testified to. He had personal knowledge of the jump to which he testified.
JUDGE CARTER: I think that is true to part of his testimony but not to the whole of it. I think the testimony will be admitted for what it is worth.
Q Witness, I had asked you about the methods, did you yourself look at any documents which might have shown the methods of the bands, above all did you see pictures, did you read reports; will you tell us something briefly about all this?
A In the documentary material mentioned there are numerous reports about the methods of fighting of the Partisans, in such an abundance that somebody who for a year and a half studies these figures for the period from 1941 to 1944 at least gains a file knowledge of these facts, and beyond that I can only personally state that to land with an airplane an the occupational area Zagreb would generally be in this way.
That as soon as one wanted to alight from the plane there would be machine guns from the partisans all around, and they would shoot until German anti-aircraft guns quieted those guns, and then one would land.
Q Did that happen to yon personally?
A Yes. And from personal knowledge I could personally say that during the time when I was in the Balkans, and repeatedly after I went home to the Reich to work in the archives, it was the regular situation that in each leave train a combat force was formed in order not to be surprised during sleep by partisan attacks. Those were matters of course to us.
Q Witness, did you see pictures, photographs, which shewed mutilated German soldiers?
A The documentary material mentioned contained a considerable number of photographs which showed, mutilations. The photographs which I remember concerned first of all atrocities between the fighting parties of the population, that is Ustasha against the Serbs, and the Serbs against the Moslems. The pictures were submitted so often down there that finally one just pushed them aside, because they are not a very pleasant sight, but there is one detail I want to mention. Amongst the documentary material of the staff of the division stationed in 1942 in Sarajevo there must be pictures which were submitted to the division judge. These pictures showed murdered women, who were murdered in a manner by driving long wooden sticks into their genitals. Then there were numerous other pictures, and I ask not to have to testify about these, because I cannot give their source exactly.
Q Witness, we strayed from the actual subject. I had asked you about the actual relation between the occupation powers in Serbia and the population; what was the attitude of the officers, as far as you knew them, towards the Serbs?
A I knew the officers of tho staff of Armed Fores Commander Southeast, and I was mainly interested in the political problems of the area. It was the constantly returning opinion of these officers that the Serbs were the most remarkable and most gifted elements in that area, but nobody really trusted them very far.
Q What now were the relations between the occupation power and the population in Croatia?
A This relation was completely different from a political and military point of view. It had to be different, because Croatia was an independent state, where the German Wehrmacht, to put it quite briefly, had nothing to say. In Croatia, under the head of the State, the Poglavnic, who had come from -- Italian immigration.
Q What does the word "Poglavnic" mean?
A It moans head of State, leader.
Q Who was it at that time?
A It was Pavelic.
Q Will you spell the name?
A P-a-v-o-l-i-c.
Q Now, will you please continue in the description of the relationship toward the population?
A There was no considerable relationship toward the population, not to the extent as in Serbia. Croatia was an independent state. It was not exposed to the hands of the German armed forces, instead it was exposed to tho hands of the Ustasha.
Q What kind of an organization do we have in the Ustasha?
A The Ustasha is in its neucleus, a body guard of tho Poglavnic, let us say a Fascist Military organization which has half the character of a police troop too.
Q Was the Ustasha the only Croat bearer of arms?
A No.
Q Who else carried weapons there?
A Croatia had tried in the so-called Domobranen ----
Q Will you spell that, please?
A I spell it, -- D-o-m-o-b-r-a-n-e-n. Croat tried in the Domobranen to establish a kind of armed force, without the comparison really being exact in detail, one might compare the relationship between the Domobranen and the Ustasha as the relationship between the SS and the Armed forces in Germany. I don't know whether I may say that just as there was a continued difference between the SS and the Wehrmacht, there was a continued difference between the Ustasha and the Domobranen.
Q To whom were the Domobranen subordinate to?
A The Domobranen wore subordinated to the Croat Ministry of War. But to this problem of the Domobranen I wanted to make a decisive statement, they supplied the partisans with weapons.
Q How?
A In going over to the partisans almost like regiments with their leaders, and their guns wore fired against us.
Q And that applies to Croatia, what you said just now?
A Beg pardon, I said almost like regiments, in order to be absolutely based on the material available to me, certainly in the size of battalions.
Q Now, what you have stated about Domobranen and Ustasha applies to the sphere of the State of Croatia?
A Yes.
Q Now, about the Ustasha, whom were they subordinate to?
A To the Poglavnic.
Q And what wore the methods of these Ustasha, and whom did the Ustasha fight?
MR. FENSTERMACHER: I wish to object to the Question as not being covered by the indictment, and there is no charge at all brought by the Prosecution as regards to the activities of the Ustasha. I object to the question on the grounds it is irrelevant and immaterial.
DR. LATERNSER: Your Honor, the defense maintains the point of view that the conditions in the Balkans are of decisive importance, because these conditions explain the measures which had to be, or which were ordered by the military authorities; the total conditions which the prosecution describes as though they were normal European conditions. I have the duty, as defense counsel, with the means at my disposal, to prove to the Tribunal how, at that time, the conditions in the Balkans actually were, and the Ustasha belongs to the whole problem.
JUDGE CARTER: The objection will be overruled.
DR. LATERNSER: Thank you.
Witness, I asked you about the Ustasha, and I had asked you what methods they used, and whom they fought.
Will you be brief and clear on this subject?
A The main opponents of the Ustasha were the Serbs. There was Ustasha, the struggle of the Ustasha against the Chetniks was the struggle of the Faschist Croats against the National-minded Serbians, and finally, the struggle Ustasha gainst Chetnik is the struggle of the orthodox against the Catholics.
Q What methods did the Ustasha apply?
A Balkan methods, partisan methods.
Q What do you mean by that?
AAlthough they were an organized unit, they did not remain behind concerning cruelties, cruelties which became known to us of the unorganized partisan groups, through this, they made extreme difficulties for the German occupation, because after all, the Ustasha were the instrument of the Croat Government, recognized, by us, and of course all of the things which were committed by the Ustasha -- was put at our expense as the political supporters of Croatia.
Q Do you know whether the Wehrmacht authorities have tried to intervene against the Ustasha methods when they became known, or whether they tried to cause the Croat Government to take influence on the Ustasha?
A I refer to the extensive correspondence between General GlaiseHorstenau, and the Armed Forces Commander Southeast, which dealt with all of the Croat problems, and with all Ustasha problems. These reports by General Glaise-Horstenau were one continuous complaint, and one continuous begging to free the German Wehrmacht of the Ustasha and I know that the endeavors for a restriction of the influence of the Ustasha went right up to the highest German authorities, on the part of the Armed Forces Commander Southeast.
I believe that one of the representations to Hitler personally via the Reich Government, was sabotaged by the Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, and never reached the Fuehrer Headquarters, the reason for this may well be that the German clinging to the Croat position in the total area, was first of all the result of the political tendencies of Foreign minister Ribbentrop, and he and the SA Envoy Kasche, supported this Croat Fascist system partly to the disgust of the Wehrmacht.
Q Witness, you have now shown us the relationship between the Armed Forces and the Serbs, and between the Armed Forces and the Croats, and you have already mentioned the difference, the contrast between the Serbs on one hand and the Croats on the other hand. Of what kind were the differences between the Serbs and the Croats, and how did they affect the conditions at the tine of the occupation?
A Most sharply in the fact that the occupation power had no uniform tendency and directness when fighting the partisans, because the fighting activities in the total area, was not clear-cut and directed merely against the occupation forces from the opponents but because there was fighting everywhere.
Q How then, witness, did the differences between Croats and Serbs show up; what was the consequence? How, for instance, were the Serbs treated in Croatia, and the other way around, how were the Croats treated in Serbia?
A I believe one must not separate Croatia and Serbia thus sharply. Of course it was impossible for the Serbs to have a political leading position in Croatia and Serbia; on the other hand was a German occupation area. I am not quite clear about the meaning of the question which was put to me.
Q I wanted to know the consequences of the differences between the Croats and the Serbs in the occupational area. For instance, during the occupation time, did the Serbs remain in Croatia and what measures would the Croats take against the Serbs, and the other way around?
A During the course of the fights between the Croats and the Serbs, and the Ustasha and Chetniks, and later during the course of fights between Tito and Chetniks and Tito and Ustasha, there were movements of the population which were quite considerable. Whole parts of the country were thrown into such unrest; later they were torn away with the streams of partisans in the course of the big military operation, so that one can well say that this inner struggle between Croats and Serbs at least resulted in the dissolution of the whole social structure of the country.
Q The Serbs and Croats speak the same language?
A There is a strong difference in dialect, not a basically different language, but there is a very great difficulty arising from the fact that the Serbs use kyrillian handwriting, and the Croats the Latin handwriting.
Q You have already mentioned the Moslems during your examination. What was the relation of the Moslems to the National Serbs?
A One does not have to see a very great difference in the contrast between the Orthodox and Catholics on the one side and the contrast between Orthodox and Moslems on the other hand. In both cases, the confessional, the religious contrast, has taken a political nature and thus found its effect in the Balkan political differences.
If, on the basis of my documentary knowledge, I should draw conclusions, I would say that probably the most cruel thing which occurred in this Slav brother warfare, was that it was carried out on the body of the Moslems.
Q Witness, yon further mentioned the various spheres of influence of the great powers in the Balkans. I am not asking you now for political opinions. I am merely putting the question in order to establish a dividing effect on the population caused by these spheres of influence. How as an occupation power did one regarded these spheres of influence.
A The occupational power, through the existence of spheres of influence by the great powers on these areas, was confronted with the fact that the population of this area was now split in even more parties, even more than it had already been split up, on the basis of their own inner conflicts and of the differences to the occupation power, because traditionally, the sympathies of the Greeks are with Great Britain; that is caused through the old. Mediterranean interests, but from the frontier, via Bulgaria, the stream of the Russian influence in the Communistic form penetrates but by no means that is a free stream. I am talking of the time of the occupation. In this moment there is a new factor. While there is still a struggle between these English and Russian attempts of influence, right in the middle there is the old historical attempt of an independent nation, Macedonia. One more conflict is added. The influence of Italy by Trieste, by the Dalmatian Coast, Albania, made life difficult for the German Wehrmacht - more difficult probably than any other factor caused by the great powers in those days. This influence plays in the immediate military operations, where this influence leads to a catastrophe.
Q I think, witness, we will have to conclude now there will be a recess.
JUDGE CARTER: We will recess until nine thirty tomorrow morning.
(In recess until nine-thirty o'clock October 7, 1947)
Official Transcript of the American Military Tribunal in the matter of the United States of America, against Wilhelm List, et al, defendants sitting at Nurnberg, Germany, on 7 October 1947, 0930-1630, Justice Carter Presiding.
THE MARSHAL: Persons in the courtroom will please find their seats.
The Honorable, the Judges of Military Tribunal V.
Military Tribunal V is now in session. God save the United States of America and this Honorable Tribunal.
There will be order in the court.
THE PRESIDENT: Ascertain whether or not all defendants are present in the courtroom.
THE MARSHAL: May it please Your Honor, all defendants are present in the courtroom except the defendant von Weichs, who is absent due to illness.
THE PRESIDENT: Judge Carter will preside at this session.
MR. FENSTERMACHER: Your Honor will recall the conference which Dr. Laternser and I had with the Tribunal Friday morning with reference to the defendant von Weichs. I am advised by the prison officer that von Weichs was sent to the hospital today for a few days or a few weeks. It is hoped at the end of that time he will be able to return to Court and testify on his own behalf. The Prosecution has no objection to Dr. Laternser visiting von Weichs on his behalf and talking to him about the case.
JUDGE CARTER: The Tribunal understands, of course, this action is probably necessary, and it is done with the further understanding that it is without prejudice to the rights of the defendant von Weichs. Is that agreeable to Dr. Laternser?
DR. LATERNSER: Yes.
JUDGE CARTER: Dr. Laternser having indicated his assent thereto we will permit it to stand in the manner in which it has been handled.
You may proceed.
RUDOLF IBBEKEN - Resumed DIRECT EXAMINATION (Continued) BY DR. LATERNSER:
Q Witness, yesterday we had stopped with the description of the various spheres of influence on the Balkans. Now, I would like to ask you what political interest existed on the part of the Germans during the time of the occupation?
A The German interest in the Serb-Croat area, or rather in the whole area of Southeastern Europe consisted first of all in the maintenance of the lines of communication between Zagreb and Saloniki up to Crete. There was further a strong political interest regarding the war in the country, and the real political interest was restricted and was comparatively small, because the political prestige of Italy had been fixed in the course of German policy. Only one direct political interest was essential and has to be named, this is the fact that Germany, in spite of allowing the Italians to retain prestige still made a strong distinction between Italy and Hungary, and thus at least secured the political entrance into that area.
Q Witness, what effects were caused by the various spheres of influence on the population of the Balkans?
A This question I would like to answer in calling that the area, as I have stated yesterday was inhabited by a great number of various groups and political tendencies. All these tendencies conflicting with each other, had, of course, the one tendency to find support and help from the outside in order to gain advantage over the opponent in this manner politically, as well as regards supply of ammunitions, etc. As a consequence we find in all these groups and tendencies the inclination to lean on the great power which is geographically closest, and thus to gain for their own fight and for their fight against the occupation powers certain advantages. As a consequence the answer of this question would again include a circle around the whole southeastern area, which I drew yesterday, and we would find that from Serbia, at least during the first years of the occupation, there was a strong tendency to keep contact from Russia on the part of Mihajlovic, as the representative of Serbia.
We could, at first, clearly see a tendency to lean on England. The Tito movement again severs connections and leans on Russia. The Greek insurgents were divided in their political tendency. The National Greeks looked for support in England, and the Communist bands again leant on the Eastern influence. The whole tendency goes towards making the influences of the great powers useful to them and thus leads politically also practically to a splitting up of the whole Balkan area.
Q In other words, then, Witness, in these spheres of influence did that result in a further division of the population in political and other matters?
A Yes.
Q And now briefly turn to the Partisan activities. How was it possible in the Balkans that such a strong Partisan activity managed to exist, how do you explain that on the basis of the experiences which you gained there?
A The ethnic explanation for the strong appearance of Partisans in the Balkans again demanded high action, and here again we have a struggle of political wills which was fed by religious sources, and therefore took on an enormously ethnic character. The distinction of the Partisan groups, the fact that the Partisans acted on their own initiative without any orders, the fact that they turned out of the smallest villages, out of every isolated hut, can be explained by the national character. The Balkans, especially the central area, the Serb-Croat area, partly until today lives in the concept of a patriot order. By this I mean the family is the political sphere, where the man lives and thinks. The smallest cells are the most important center to the simple man in the street. The head of the family to him is the most important authority he knows. An order by the head of the family or by the head of a clan of about 50 to 100 people is almost sacred.
Such a head of a clan only has to say one word, like say, for instance, "tomorrow morning on the first motor car that passes at a certain spot stones shall be thrown," and that would be sufficient for this thing to be carried out the next day. And through the fact that orders are observed within a very small circle alone it becomes possible that on numerous spots in the country there are simultaneously attacks on the German troops, which are disastrous. The Partisans of the Balkans spring from population used to living with the idea of blood revenge. The history of the Balkans during the last BOO to 600 years can almost be regarded as a history of vendetta and party struggle. But the large scale point of view which makes up the history of a country or a state played a smaller part, and just because these smaller parts refused to become states, only by the fact that they split up among themselves. There is only one exception from this Partisan activity, and I might almost say activity without order, and that is Tito's Communist movement. That is something absolutely new in the Balkan area. The fact that Tito's Partisans, for the first time, achieved a large scale movement seems significant to us and that he overcame these divisions and combined these numerous individual ideas under one leadership. In spite of this feat in which Tito succeeded, and which gave the Partisans a slightly changed character, it did not mean a decreasing of the conflicts in the Balkans, but only a sharpening- The stronger Tito's Partisans became the more embittered the struggle became on the part of his people towards the Cetniks, Ustasha and against the Wehrmacht.