Warriors from the Border. Muslims from Stara Raška in the German Army, SS and Police (1941-1945.)

The promotion of the book by Milutin Živković “Warriors from the Border. Old Raška Muslims in the German Army, SS, and Police (1941–1945)” will be held at the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo, on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026, starting at 6 p.m.

This study represents the result of more than a decade of research work and relies on extensive, partly previously unused archival material of German and Albanian provenance. The monograph synthesizes the author’s previous knowledge about the past of Old Raška/Sandžak and brings new insights into the complex processes of collaboration, motivation, and the role of Old Raška Muslims within the German occupation system during the Second World War.

The book provides answers to numerous important questions: about the reasons and scope of collaboration with the occupier, the differences between participation in German units and fighting alongside them, the social and economic background of the “warriors from the border,” as well as their postwar fate. Of special value are the extensive lists of members of German formations and previously unpublished photographs, which make this topic more visible and understandable to the wider public.

Milutin Živković, PhD, born in Kraljevo in 1986, is a historian and senior research associate at the Institute for Contemporary History in Belgrade. He completed undergraduate and doctoral studies in history at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, where in 2017 he defended his doctoral dissertation “Sandžak 1941–1943” under the mentorship of academician Prof. Ljubodrag Dimić.

His scientific interest is directed toward the political, military, and social history of Kosovo and Metohija and Old Raška

(Sandžak) in the 20th century, especially toward questions of occupation systems, national identities, and interethnic relations during the Second World War. He has conducted research in numerous domestic and foreign
archives. He is the author of three notable monographs and about fifty scientific papers in domestic and international publications.

In addition to the author, the monograph will be discussed by reviewers Kosta Nikolić, PhD, scientific advisor at the Institute for Contemporary History in Belgrade, and Bojan Dimitrijević, PhD, scientific advisor at the Institute for Contemporary History in Belgrade.

We invite all interested to attend the promotion and participate in the discussion about one of the more sensitive and less researched topics of the history of the Second World War in the territory of Serbia.