By Ismet Azizi
Part Two
– A Distorted History, a Reality Deliberately Erased –
Memorie.al / The events of the autumn of 1941 in Sandžak, and especially in Novi Pazar, constitute one of the bloodiest and most distorted episodes in the region’s history. What happened that year were not “local skirmishes,” as Serbian historiography has systematically called them, but the first organized attempt at ethnic cleansing of Sandžak, carried out by Chetnik formations under the command of Dragoljub Mihailović, Kosta Pećanac, and local leaders such as Radomir Cvetić, Todor Dobrić, Mašan Đurović, and others. In Serbian historiography – from the work of Vaso Čubrilović to the post-war interpretations of the “Partisan” school – the events of Novi Pazar have been intentionally presented as softened: as “interethnic conflict,” “local revenge,” “Muslim treachery,” and even as “Albanian and Bosniak collaborationism.”
Continued from the previous issue
Why Did the Chetnik Attack Fail Again?
The reasons are similar to the first attack:
- Low Chetnik Discipline. This included: drunkenness during the fighting, mass looting, burning of houses without operational order, disobedience to orders.
- Poor Command Coordination; Captain Cvetić and Pavlović were in open conflict.
- Well-organized Muslim Defence; Aqif Efendi Blyta organized a dual defence system: static roadblock positions, mobile striking units.New reinforcements from Peja, Drenica, and Rugova. During November 15–20, another 300–400 fighters arrived from Kosovo.
Panic of the Serbian Population and their demand to stop the attacks. One of the most unusual facts of the war: the Serbian population of Novi Pazar itself begged the Chetniks to cease the attacks. Documented written requests have remained from: 2,500 Serbs of Pazar, 227 signatories from the villages of Vojkovaca and Sopoćani. They demanded: an immediate stop to the attacks, entry into negotiations, an end to the burnings and massacres. This is evidence that: the Serbian population did not share the same goal as the Chetniks; the Chetniks were not fighting for their defence, but for ideological plans; the Serbs of Pazar knew that the Muslim population was ready to defend them (as it did defend 420 of them). The Third Chetnik Attack on Novi Pazar (December 4, 1941)
When genocide attempts to hide under the German flag!
The third attack is the only one in which the Chetniks attempted to misuse the Wehrmacht to pave the way for their plan to conquer Novi Pazar and massacre the Muslim population. This attack is also the most flagrant example of the manipulation, deception, and treachery used by the Chetniks, even against their momentary ally.
The Plan: Deceiving the German Command in Raška
Vojvoda Mašan Đurović, having failed in the first two attacks, decided to use another method: to tell the Germans that Novi Pazar was controlled by the Partisans. The reason was clear: the Germans had orders that any territory under Partisan control be immediately destroyed. If they believed that Novi Pazar was a “communist centre,” then the bombing would be carried out by the Wehrmacht itself. This would cut the Chetniks’ work short: the city would fall without a fight.
And the Germans fell into the trap – for 30 minutes.
On December 4, 1941, a German formation of the 113th Infantry Division rushed from Raška towards Pazar, taking with them: about 100 soldiers, four anti-aircraft guns, air reconnaissance squads.
The Attack Begins with German Bombing
As early as 09:00, the positions of the Muslim and Albanian defenders near Petrova Crkva were heavily bombed. If the Germans had continued just 30 minutes longer, the city could have fallen. But then what no one expected happened: The Germans realized they had been deceived. When the reconnaissance planes flew over Novi Pazar, they did not see: Partisan flags, or armed communist units, or traces of Partisan fortifications.
What did they see? German flags raised by the Muslim population. (Açif Ef. Blyta had given the order to raise them to avoid bombing.)
The Germans understood that: the Chetniks had lied, there were no Partisans in the city, the goal was the ethnic cleansing of Muslims. For the Wehrmacht, the manipulation of an ally was intolerable.
The Germans Withdraw, Taking the Chetniks with Them
Furious, the German commander gave the order: Immediate withdrawal to Raška. Any further Chetnik operation is forbidden. At this moment, it became clear that the third attack turned into a total fiasco for the Chetniks.
Consequences: The Chetniks Exposed Themselves as a Terrorist Force, Not as Allies
This episode is extremely important for several reasons: The Chetniks proved that they were not fighting against the Germans, but cooperating with them. Their sole aim was the elimination of the Albanian and Bosniak elements. They were ready to massacre even the Serbs of Pazar, if necessary, to realize the ideological madness of Greater Serbia.
Even German documents from World War II describe this episode as: “an attempt by the Chetniks to instrumentalize the Wehrmacht in achieving their ethnic objectives.”
The Return of the Germans to Novi Pazar (December 7, 1941)
On December 7, 1941, the Germans entered Novi Pazar for the second time. They were greeted with: applause, flowers, enthusiasm, from all communities, including Serb women and children. The German presence meant: the cessation of Chetnik operations, the end of the massacres, and the preservation of a minimal balance of violence.
Xhafer Deva, accompanied by two German officers, arrived in Raška on December 6. There he spoke with the Chetnik leaders, Sharković and Đurović, and then continued to Novi Pazar. After Deva’s visit, a decision was made to stop the military operations.
The Toll of the Massacres (October–December 1941)
This is the most serious and necessary part of the analysis. According to the author Živković: 634 killed in total, 394 killed in combat, 240 massacred civilians, 216 Muslims (Albanian and Bosniak) killed (144 of them from Kosovo), 178 Serbs killed, 193 Serb civilians killed, 47 Albanian and Bosniak civilians killed.
According to Radović (post-war): 756 victims, 482 killed in battles, 274 civilians killed by the terror of sides, 2,792 houses burned, and 2,016 Serb, 776 Albanian and Bosniak. Ibrahim Luftiu and Bajazit Boletini, among others, presented the figure of about 800 Albanian and Bosniak houses burned in the Deževa region. Nedić’s Government. It mentions 892 Muslim houses burned and 1,299 Christian houses in the Novi Pazar area.
These figures are not equal, because each author has a different methodology, but they converge on a single point: The Novi Pazar Massacre was the greatest ethnic crime in Sandžak during World War II, after that of Bihor and the Lim River valley.
The Human Dimension: The Rescue of 420 Serbs
One of the greatest stories in the darkness is the light: 420 Serbs of Novi Pazar were rescued by Muslims. This was organized by: Aqif Blyta, Mulla Jakub Kardović, Mumin Ef. Halidović, dozens of Muslim families who sheltered, fed, and protected their neighbours.
This fact: is not mentioned in Serbian school books, is not mentioned in the historiography of the 1950s–1980s, and has been deliberately erased from the Serbian memory. But it is documented in: reports of local communists, family testimonies, and post-war documents. This act is a clear argument against the Serbian narrative that “the Muslims of Pazar were pro-German collaborators.”
Why the Truth Must Be Returned to These Events
The truth is undeniable; The Chetnik attacks on Novi Pazar were an attempt at the ethnic cleansing of Sandžak; The Albanian-Bosniak population defended itself with organization, dignity, and heroism with around 3,200 volunteer forces; Aqif Efendi Blyta was the central figure in the city’s survival- not a “collaborator,” but the legitimate leader of self-defence; Hundreds of Serbs were rescued by Muslims – one of the rare cases of inter-ethnic humanitarianism in the Balkans; Serbian historiography has deliberately distorted this chapter; This episode requires historiographical rewriting, the preparation of a documentary, and the opening of archives. / Memorie.al
Source: Ismet Azizi, AĆIF EF. HADŽIAHMETOVIĆ BLJUTA: VELIKAN SANDŽAKA Publisher: Fondacija “Memorijalni centar Hadžet” 2022 Novi Pazar
