Execution of Chetnik General who Massacred 70,000: Draža Mihailović

Video Description

Narrator: Marchand Steenkamp. About the story: In April 1941, Yugoslavia collapsed under the Axis invasion. German bombs destroyed Belgrade, the army disintegrated, and the country was carved apart by occupiers and collaborators. Out of this chaos emerged multiple resistance movements—some fighting for liberation, others for power. Among them was Dragoljub “Draža” Mihailović, a Serbian royalist officer who became the leader of the Chetnik movement. Initially presented as an anti-Axis resistance force loyal to the Yugoslav monarchy, the Chetniks soon followed a different path. Mihailović envisioned a postwar Greater Serbia and believed that waiting, selective cooperation, and ethnic “cleansing” were necessary to achieve it. While his forces occasionally clashed with German troops, they increasingly focused on fighting rival Partisan units and terrorizing civilian populations—especially Muslims and Croats—in areas they sought to control. Throughout the war, Chetnik units carried out massacres, expulsions, and reprisals against non-Serbs, often coordinating tactically with Axis forces or local collaborationist regimes. As evidence of these actions mounted, Allied support shifted decisively toward Josip Broz Tito’s Communist Partisans, who proved more effective militarily and politically in resisting the occupiers. By 1945, Mihailović was isolated and abandoned. His final attempt to regroup failed, and he was captured in 1946. Tried by the new Yugoslav authorities for war crimes and collaboration, he was sentenced to death and executed in Belgrade. This documentary examines Draža Mihailović’s life, ideology, and wartime actions—exploring how a man once hailed as a resistance leader became one of the most controversial figures of World War II in the Balkans. His story reveals the brutal complexity of occupation, civil war, and competing visions of power in Yugoslavia during the Second World War. Join World History channel and get access to benefits: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKKy_pNKZBX4KcCct8505HA/join Disclaimer: All opinions and comments below are from members of the public and do not reflect the views of World History channel. We do not accept promoting violence or hatred against individuals or groups based on attributes such as: race, nationality, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation. World History has right to review the comments and delete them if they are deemed inappropriate. ► CLICK the SUBSCRIBE button for more interesting clips: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKKy_pNKZBX4KcCct8505HA/?sub_confirmation=1 #DražaMihailović #WWII #ww2 #nazi #kommando #history #holocaust #documentary #europe #adolfhitler #warcriminals #warcrime #collaborators #worldhistory #worldwar2videos #Wehrmacht #belgrade #yugoslavia #partisans #serbia # Draža Mihailović biography, Ustaša, Holocaust in Yugoslavia, Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia, Nazi SS, Nazi war crimes, WW2 war crimes, War trials, Nazi criminals, War criminals, War criminals WW2, German war crimes, SS in Yugoslavia , Yugoslavia WW2, Yugoslavia during WW2, World War 2 Yugoslavia, Jews in Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia resistance, Yugoslavia in WW2, Yugoslavia partisans, WW2 Yugoslavia, German occupation of Yugoslavia, Nazi executions, Nazi collaborators, Chetniks, Chetniks meaning, Chetniks vs Partisans, Josip Broz Tito, Belgrade WW2, Chetnik war crimes, Serbian Chetniks,