PRAVNA OBAVEZA ILI KOLABORACIJA? USPOSTAVLJANJE I FUNKCIONISANJE UPRAVE GRADA BEOGRADA POD OKUPACIJOM 1941–1944.
LEGAL OBLIGATION OR COLLABORATION? ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONING OF THE BELGRADE CITY ADMINISTRATION UNDER GERMAN OCCUPATION 1941-1944

Summary/Abstract: The issue of collaboration has provoked much debate since the end of the Second World War. Appearances of collaboration, diversity depending on geographical location, plans of the Third Reich for a particular country and others were some main phenomena analyzed. However, to adequately study the form of collaboration, it is necessary to start from the legal framework that defined the phenomenon itself. In the pre-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Belgrade City Administration was part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The institution of the same name was formed after the beginning of the occupation in 1941. However, it was established in multiple violations of The Hague Conventions and following the decisions of the Third Reich. Organizational changes made to the Belgrade City Administration adjusted it to the occupation system. All of this was against the provisions of The Hague Conventions, which were supposed to determine the form of occupation and be compulsory for Germany. The purpose of this article is to examine the establishment and functioning of the Belgrade City Administration under occupation from the perspective of international law. The legal framework is put in the context of the historical facts and used to analyze comparative experiences in the case of France and Belgium. Thus, the global context of the plans of the Third Reich and the executive practice in the creation of occupation systems in the west of Europe, are compared to the establishment of the Belgrade City Administration, as an occupation institution of domestic origin.

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