Written by: Srećko Ignjatović
In the registration record, JDŽ/HDŽ 1941-1945., unpublished collection, held at the National Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, we present the list/declaration of an Islamic faith officer at the Directorate of the Croatian State Railways (HDŽ) Sarajevo, made on July 21, 1941.
The list was compiled based on a telegram order (dated July 21, 1941, number 1341 F) issued by the Ministry of the Home Guard – Department of Railway Traffic.
The first minister of the aforementioned Ministry was Slavko Kvaternik, Deputy Poglavnik, who took over command of the entire armed forces and all transportation in Croatia (railways, roads, rivers, coasts, post, telegraph, telephone, etc.).
The Ministry’s order states that a report/list of Muslim officials at the Directorate of the Croatian State Railways in Sarajevo must be urgently submitted, including those from the Mechanical Department Sarajevo, Central Workshop Sarajevo, and the locomotive sheds in Sarajevo, Zenica, Derventa, Bosanski Brod, Konjic, and Mostar.
The current situation as of the date of the completed census reported a total of 1,809 workers of the Islamic faith. The personnel departments of the aforementioned organizations properly archived the signed certificates of swearing the oath, or loyalty to the state, of all employees listed. Specifically, the “Law of April 10, 1941, on Loyalty Oaths to the Independent State of Croatia” and the “Legal Provision on Citizenship,” or national affiliation, were enacted. All those registered who identified their religious affiliation as “Islam” are recorded as “Croats” by nationality.
The list of officials can be seen in the gallery at the end of the text.
Source: Bosnia and Herzegovina Archives Sarajevo, JDŽ/HDŽ Fund 1941–1945, Protocol 31792, box 79.
Similar articles: List of workers employed at the boilers in Sarajevo, Alipašin Most, Podlugovi, and Višegrad under the Directorate of the Croatian State Railways in Sarajevo, May 1941. Click on the link: https://vremeplov.ba/?p=19332
This modest research paper, which we have presented in this article, concludes with a sincere thanks to the staff at the Bosnia and Herzegovina Archive in Sarajevo, without whose assistance in recommending the use of available library and archival materials, this would not have been possible.
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