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Serbia (Territory of the German Military Commander)

Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia
Gebiet des Militärbefehlshabers in Serbien
Territory under German military administration
1941–1944
Flag
Flag
Emblem
Emblem
The Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia within Europe, circa 1942.
Capital Belgrade
Languages German
Serbian
Government a
Military Commander
 •  1941 Helmuth Förster
 •  1941 Ludwig von Schröder
 •  1941 Heinrich Danckelmann
 •  1941 Franz Böhme
 •  1941–1943 Paul Bader
 •  1943–1944 Hans Felber
Prime Minister (of puppet government)
 •  1941 Milan Aćimović
 •  1941–1944 Milan Nedić
Historical era World War II
 •  Established 22 April 1941
 •  Territory liberated 20 October 1944
Population
 •  1941 est. 4,500,000 
Currency Serbian dinar
Reich credit note
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Democratic Federal Yugoslavia
Today part of  Serbia
 Kosovo
a. With puppet government installed.

The Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia (German: Gebiet des Militärbefehlshabers in Serbien) was the area of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia that was placed under a military government of occupation by the Wehrmacht following the invasion, occupation and dismantling of Yugoslavia in April 1941. The territory included only central Serbia, with the addition of the northern part of Kosovo (around Kosovska Mitrovica), and the Banat. This territory was the only area of partitioned Yugoslavia in which the German occupants established a military government. This was due to the key rail and riverine transport routes that passed through it, and its valuable resources, particularly non-ferrous metals. On 22 April 1941, the territory was placed under the supreme authority of the German military commander in Serbia, with the day-to-day administration of the territory under the control of the chief of the military administration staff. The lines of command and control in the occupied territory were never unified, and were made more complex by the appointment of direct representatives of senior Nazi figures such as Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler (for police and security matters), Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (for the economy), and Reichsminister Joachim von Ribbentrop (for foreign affairs). The Germans used Bulgarian troops to assist in the occupation, but they were at all times under German control. Sources variously describe the territory as a puppet state, a protectorate, a "special administrative province", or describe it as having a puppet government. The military commander in Serbia had very limited German garrison troops and police detachments to maintain order, but could request assistance from a corps of three divisions of poorly-equipped occupation troops.


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Wikipedia

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