Government of National Salvation

This article is about the World War II Serbian puppet government. For the territory where this government operated, see Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia. For the Albanian caretaker government, see Government of National Reconciliation.
Not to be confused with National Salvation Government.
Government of National Salvation
Serbian: Министарски савет Србије, romanized: Ministarski savet Srbije)
German: Ministerrat von Serbien
(Council of Ministers of Serbia)
Map
Overview
Established29 August 1941 (1941-08-29)
Dissolved4 October 1944 (1944-10-04) (Belgrade Offensive)
PolityGerman-occupied territory of Serbia
LeaderMilan Nedić
HeadquartersBelgrade

The Government of National Salvation (Serbian: Влада народног спаса, romanized: Vlada narodnog spasa; German: Regierung der nationalen Rettung, abbr. VNS), also referred to as Nedić's government or Nedić's regime, was the colloquial name of the second Serbian collaborationist puppet government established after the Commissioner Government in the German-occupied territory of Serbia[Note 1] during World War II in Yugoslavia. Appointed by the German Military Commander in Serbia, it operated from 29 August 1941 to 4 October 1944. Unlike the Independent State of Croatia, the regime in occupied Serbia was never accorded status in international law and did not enjoy formal diplomatic recognition of the Axis powers.[2]

Although the regime was tolerated by many Serbs living in the occupied territory and even actively supported by a part of the Serb population, it was unpopular with a majority of the population who supported one of the two factions which at first were perceived as connected to the Allied Powers, the Yugoslav Partisans or the royalist Chetniks.[3][4][5] The Prime Minister throughout was General Milan Nedić. The Government of National Salvation was evacuated from Belgrade through Budapest to Kitzbühel in the first week of October 1944, before the German withdrawal from the occupied territory was complete.

  1. ^ Hehn (1971), pp. 344-73
  2. ^ Tomasevich (2001), p. 78.
  3. ^ Turnock, David (1999). "Serbia". In Carter, Francis; Turnock, David (eds.). The States of Eastern Europe. Ashgate. p. 269. ISBN 1855215128. Although both Serbian nationalist and Titoist historians have strenuously minimized this fact (for obvious reasons) the Nedić regime was tolerated by many Serbs and even received the active and enthusiastic support of some.
  4. ^ MacDonald, David Bruce (2002). Balkan holocausts?: Serbian and Croatian victim-centred propaganda and the war in Yugoslavia. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 142. ISBN 0719064678.
  5. ^ MacDonald, David Bruce (2007). Identity Politics in the Age of Genocide: The Holocaust and Historical Representation. Routledge. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-134-08572-9.


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