Kulen Vakuf massacre
The Kulen Vakuf massacre was perpetrated by Communist-led Yugoslav Partisans and groups of non-communist Serb rebels, and involved the killing of between 1,000 and 3,000 Muslim and members of Ustaše in early September 1941 in Kulen Vakuf, then part of the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. The local Ustaše had previously committed massacres of Serbs in Kulen Vakuf and surrounding villages.
Background
Ethnic Serbs were targeted by the genocidal policies of the Ustaše-led Independent State of Croatia, a puppet state of Nazi Germany established after the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia. The massacres of Serbs committed by the local Ustaše, such as those that took place during July and early August 1941 in villages around Kulen Vakuf, led to reprisals. Such retaliations lasted for short time and were quickly repressed, unlike Ustaše war crimes which were organized from the top of the Croatian government in Zagreb which systematically and persistently pushed and sometimes even forced local Ustaše to commit massacres. Therefore, the formula to describe this kind of events as conflicts of local Chetniks and Ustaše motivated with mutual ethnic hatred and intolerance can be characterized as an oversimplification.Ustaše massacres of Serbs
The Kulen Vakuf massacre was committed in retaliation for earlier equally massive Ustaše massacres of local Serbs. There are more than 280 identified places where Serbs in Bosnian Krajina were tortured and murdered during the summer of 1941.In case of region of Kulen Vakuf and its surrounding, there is a long list of villages whose Serb population was subjected to mass massacres: Oraško Brdo, Prkosi, Veliki Stenjani, Renovac, Kalati, Bušević, Kestenovac, Bosanski Srbci, Malo Seoce,.... In one of earlier massacres around Kulen Vakuf Ustaše slaughtered 862 Serbs during one single day, while 950 Serbs were killed in Kulen Vakuf, with particular participation of Miroslav Matijević, a Croat who owned local restaurant. Matijević was one of organizers and main participants in the massacres of Serbs which were initially committed on the hill near church in Kulen Vakuf. Ustaše set on fire an Orthodox church in Kulen Vakuf after they murdered many Serbs in it. The Serb priest of church in Kulen Vakuf was murdered by Ustaše after they first killed his wife and children in June 1941. Ustaše killed all family members of Vukosav, the former priest of Kulen Vakuf church, in front of him, including his two daughters in law and two grandsons.
In early August 1941 all Serb civilians from village Kalati were either massacred or imprisoned in Kulen Vakuf, leaving the village depopulated until Kulen Vakuf and imprisoned civilians were liberated on 6 September 1941. By 30 August 1941 Ustaše killed nearly 200 Serb women and children in the village Kalati near Kulen Vakuf.
The Kulen Vakuf massacre was committed in early September 1941 in Kulen Vakuf, then Independent State of Croatia by the Communist-led Yugoslav Partisans forces and groups of non-communist Serb rebels. The motive was not only retaliation, but also involved deliberate liquidation of the Muslim community. Some of the Muslim victims were members of Ustaše who had committed the massacres of Serbs, while other were murdered because they were thought to be linked to the Ustaše through their ethnicity.
Earlier retaliation massacres
The Kulen Vakuf massacre was preceded by Krnjeuša massacre when rebels killed on 9 August 1941 as many as 240 Croat civilians.When rebels decided to attack Ustaše stronghold Boričevac, they knew that this village was predominantly populated by Croats who could be targeted by some of the rebels. The rebel commanders were concerned about the fate of the Croat population of Boričevac which was perceived as Ustaše stronghold by rebels furious because of the mass massacres of Serb population of Lika, and were glad that civilians escaped from the village to Kulen Vakuf. The Croat population of Boričevac was informed about the expected attack of rebels by one of their leaders who sent them a letter to alarm them about the planned rebel attack so they could escape and avoid blood feud. After capture of Boričevac the rebels discovered two mass graves of Serb civilians in nearby pit Jasenovača, one big pit full of corpses and the other one half-full of corpses of Serb civilians. Some rebels recognized their relatives or members of their families. Although they were ordered not to raize the village, soon the houses in village were set to fire because the command over the rebels at that moment was not possible. Serb rebels subsequently massacred 179 Croat civilians in Boričevac.
Capture of Kulen Vakuf
Forces
The rebel forces were under command of headquarter in Drvar.The Communist forces consisted of the battalion Freedom commanded by Stevan Pilipović - Maćuka and Đoko Jovanić and one detachment of communist forces from Lika was commanded by Stojan Matić while Gojko Polovina was their political commessair. Several other communist detachments were commanded by Nikola Karanović and Pero Đilas. The communist forces had their headquarter in Doljanski Bubanj. The rebel forces also included non-communists who were in some sources also referred to as Chetniks. Their commanders included Mane Rokvić who later joined Chetniks and became well known military officer.
The Croatian garrison in Kulen Vakuf was commanded by bojovnik Vladimir Veber and consisted of one battalion of Ustaše forces and Home Guard together with numerous members of local militia whose members were recruitet among Muslims from villages of Ćukovo, Orašac and Klis. Veber was notorious in the whole region of Kulen Vakuf because of massacres of Serbs he committed in period between June and September 1941. Veber found himself blocked in Kulen Vakuf after he first tried to reach Srb from Bihać to fight against the rebels in the Srb uprising and Drvar uprising, but retreated to Kulen Vakuf after being ambushed in village Boričevac and losing 20 of his men. Ustaše managed to gather substantial forces in Bosanski Petrovac, so the rebels first cut connection between Kulen Vakuf and Bosanski Petrovac, and then attacked village Ćukovi and Orašac, struggling for every house against Ustaše who eventually had to retreat to Kulen Vakuf.
Capture
The decision to attack Kulen Vakuf was made by communist leaders including Marko Orešković, Gojko Polovina and Stevan Pilipović, when they estimated that rebel forces that encircled the town are strong enough for its capture. According to the communist plan for capture of Kulen Vakuf, Freedom battalion was to attack Kulen Vakuf from direction of villages Vrtoče and Prkosi, while detachment from Lika was ordered to cross river Una when after receiving the agreed signal.When Veber realized that Kulen Vakuf was surrounded by superior rebel forces he decide to break through the rebel lines along the road toward Prkos and further to Bihać, using civilians refugees from Croat populated villages as living shield in front of his forces. Veber had intention to retreat his forces regardless of the possible civil victims.
To disguise their real intentions, Ustaše attacked battalion Freedom late at night on 5 September 1941. When Veber ordered evacuation of the civilians from the town, the Croatian civilians left the town in organized manner. The Muslims were reluctant to leave the town, expecting the surrender of the town's garrison while Muslim traders insisted on evacuation.
Then, during the night Ustaše tried to break through rebel lines meeting strong resistance when they reached village Prkosi.
The captured civilians were brought back to Kulen Vakuf with intention to transport them to Bihać, against the order of Stojan Matić. That has not happened because Matić was informed about Ustaše attack on Drenovača toward Lapac, so he handed over imprisoned civilians to towns guard and headed toward Lapac with his forces.
Massacre
The first massacres were committed when some of the rebel got drunk and targeted imprisoned Ustaše. Later, when rebels who entered Kulen Vakuf organized exhumation of mass graves they found in the town, they discovered that besides 1,000 Serbs killed by Ustaše little earlier that year in surrounding villages Ustaše killed another 1,000 Serbs in Kulen Vakuf just several days earlier. This incited massive histeria among rebels who blamed all Muslims for Ustaše massacres of Serbs, and they killed more than 1,000 Muslims, including women and children. Some communist officers did whatever they could to protect imprisoned civilians, but they only managed to save small number of them.The number of massacred Muslims is estimated between over 1,000 and more than 3,000.
The communist forces issued a report on 9 September 1941 emphasizing that the order received on 7 September has been executed and Kulen Vakuf liberated, stating that communist detachment from Lika transported prisoners to Martin Brod. The detachment from Lika was commanded by Pero Đilas and they brutally molested imprisoned adults during their transport to Martin Brod.
Aftermath
Kulen Vakuf was set to fire by refugees and some rebels and drunk people.Veber managed to avoid capture and escaped from rebels encirclement. He and all members of his headquarter were killed by communist shock battalion "Čapajev" on 3 October 1941.
When it was informed about what happened during and after the capture of Kulen Vakuf, the Communist leadership requested a detailed report about the massacre insisting on the list of detachments that participated in massacres, looting and burning of houses. This event served as excuse for already planned internal communist struggle against Gojko Polovina, who together with Stojan Matić issued direct order for attack on Kulen Vakuf. According to Polovina, the main cause of this internal conflicts was intention of Vladimir Bakarić to put Partisan detachments from Lika, the most numerous and best rebel units in Croatia, under command of the Communist party of Croatia, which was refused by Polovina since the beginning of the uprising.
To avoid implications that Partisans were war criminals the communist authorities were silent about the Kulen Vakuf massacre, particularly because some of the responsible commanders, like survived the war and advanced in communist hierarchy, i.e. General Đoko Jovanić awarded with the Order of the People's Hero.