Sarajevo 1941- German occupation - Ilijas

[Blondie]

I remember the Wehrmacht and SS soldiers didn't like each other, they had rivalized.

[Synapsid]

Siege of Budapest, Stalingrad, Battle of Kharkov but I don't know exactly other battles, they were in Army Group South as simple soldiers, 3 or 4 people have been in the war (from mother and father side) but only one survived, i will ask my father.

How did your grandparents evade the destruction of the 6th army in stanlingrad if they fought later battles of Kharov and Budapest (i am amusing you are talking about the 3rd battle of Kharkov)? German POW certainly didn't participate in the latter campaigns and very few survived the Gulag camps after the war.

[Jana]

Have a Bosnian serb as a roommate in my university suite. We both have good interest in history, specifically military history (always arguing about WW2 what ifs scenario). He was telling me about the experience of his great grandfather as a partisan. Scary family stories of Wehrmacht half tracks pulling into villages and ethnic feuds. The Balkans is often a ignored area of interest for British ww2 historians/enthusiast.

Well, my paternal grandfather was mobilised only in the end of the war as Croatian Home Guard. He didn't see any fighting. More interesting is how he survived concentration camp and ''way of the cross'' after the war.
My maternal grandfather was a partisan, he saw fighting and some major battles. But he was a southern Croat.

[Synapsid]

Well, my paternal grandfather was mobilised only in the end of the war as Croatian Home Guard. He didn't see any fighting. More interesting is how he survived concentration camp and ''way of the cross'' after the war.
My maternal grandfather was a partisan, he saw fighting and some major battles. But he was a southern Croat.

Interesting. What concentration camp are you alluding to? Postwar Yugo or Soviet?

[Blondie]

How did your grandparents evade the destruction of the 6th army in stanlingrad if they fought later battles of Kharov and Budapest (i am amusing you are talking about the 3rd battle of Kharkov)? German POW certainly didn't participate in the latter campaigns and very few survived the Gulag camps after the war.

I have never said that anyone survived Stalingrad for example, there were 3-4 people from my family on different places, but i don't know exactly that's why i said i will ask my father.

[Jana]

Interesting. What concentration camp are you alluding to? Postwar Yugo or Soviet?

Jasenovac concentration camp. He was imprisoned there during the war for 3 months.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaseno...entration_camp

His hometown was closest settlement to the camp. One of family members (a girl) was publically hanged on grounds she was helping partisans and he brought flowers to her corpse.
Than he was arrested and thrown in camp jail. Upon release he was mobilised in Croatian regular army. That's pretty much it.

[Synapsid]

Jasenovac concentration camp. He was imprisoned there during the war for 3 months.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaseno...entration_camp

His hometown was closest settlement to the camp. One of family members (a girl) was publically hanged on grounds she was helping partisans and he brought flowers to her corpse.
Than he was arrested and thrown in camp jail. Upon release he was mobilised in Croatian regular army. That's pretty much it.

That is a terrible thing to experience, my condolences. Thankfully there is peace now in that part of Europe. But are the chances of conflict re-irrupting again?

[Jana]

That is a terrible thing to experience, my condolences. Thankfully there is peace now in that part of Europe. But are the chances of conflict re-irrupting again?

Well, the relations between Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs are extremelly bad, worse than in 2000s. I don't have much hope for better future.

[Synapsid]

Well, the relations between Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs are extremelly bad, worse than in 2000s. I don't have much hope for better future.

Hopefully it will not erupt into violence. but if it does, what scares me is a Russian intervention and a showdown between NATO and CIS countries. Back in the 90s, the USSR disintegrated and the Russians were struggling to survive (and fighting a blood war in Chechnya). A resurgent Russia under Putin could launch a new cold war or even worse.

[pulstar]

Is there any Balkan member have stories that relate to their great/grandparent experience of world war 2? Are there German members on TA who have Grandfather's who served in that region of Europe during WW2?

I've been told that the WW2 started with the Russians, so in 1943-1944.