On this day in 1941, a reconnaissance platoon of the SS division entered Belgrade. The city was handed over to the occupier where the plateau of the National Assembly is now. The occupation lasted 1.287 days
On April 12, 1941, at five in the afternoon, a reconnaissance unit of the German 41st Motorized Corps of the SS Division Das Reich entered Belgrade under the command of Lieutenant Franz Klingenberg, from the direction of Pancevo. During the night and morning, parts of the VII Armored Division from the direction of Zemun and the XI Armored Division from the direction of Topola arrived in the city.
It was the beginning of an occupation lasting 1.287 days.
The then mayor of Belgrade handed over the city to them the next day, at the place where the plateau in front of the National Assembly is now, and since yesterday the main stage of the "We will not give Serbia" rally. General Von Tusson became the military commander of the city.
Deserted streets
Historian Kosta Nikolić tells the "Vremena" portal that there was no military parade on April 12, as is recounted, and that the parade was in May, after the capitulation was signed. The parade was led by Wehrmacht General Ludwig Schroeder.
On April 12, 1941, Belgrade was a sad city. As, after six days of constant bombardment, a large part of the population fled to the interior of the country, the streets were deserted, the city was without water, electricity, transportation and food.
In the book Fear and hope in Serbia 1941-1944. Everyday life under occupation Kosta Nikolić quotes German sources: "Already during the first bombing by the German air force, Belgrade was rendered incapable of life. The German aviation already destroyed the electrical and waterworks during the first attack. By noon on April 6, all enterprises important for the supply of Belgrade were put out of use."
Kostić further quotes that "an important moment of the effect of the air attack on Belgrade was surprise. It was completely successful. Shortly before the attack, an alarm was given from the air, but the population, who believed that it was some kind of exercise, did not look back on it. The attack was time-concentrated and surprised the population in the houses but on the streets. Some people were still sleeping, and the peasants drove from the outskirts to the city center, to the markets. Hence, the beginning of the attack was special with a lot of losses, and the moral impression is strong. The moral consequence of the attack is a significantly increased roar of pikes and bombs, which left the impression of an immediate threat on the inexperienced even when the effect was far away."
Occupier rules
.The next day, April 13, 1941, the then City Administration called on the citizens of Belgrade to be "aware of the times and circumstances in which they live" and to respect the rules of the occupiers. Any incident will be punished "according to military laws".
By proclamation, the citizens of Belgrade are allowed to move through the streets in the period from five in the morning to 19:XNUMX p.m. in the evening. At night, only armed civil guards could be on the streets to maintain order and peace.
The population was obliged to show "respect and attention" to the German soldiers they met on the street. This meant getting out of the way and having the right of way, and failure to show respect resulted in a prison sentence.
Five days later, at the Headquarters of the German Second Army, the unconditional capitulation of the Yugoslav Royal Army was signed.
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