The Holocaust in Sarajevo

Genocidal Policies, Regional Variations and Political Rivalries

Abstract

This article examines the implementation of the Holocaust in Sarajevo within the broader context of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), highlighting how regional variation and local political rivalries shaped the trajectory of genocide. While antisemitic policies were enacted across the NDH, Sarajevo initially stood out as a case of genocidal underperformance. The city’s multiethnic composition and fractured elite – divided primarily between Catholic and Muslim factions – generated delays in the deportation and extermination of Jews. Local elites weaponised antisemitism to pursue competing nation-building agendas, further complicating the implementation of centrally coordinated genocidal policies. By analysing the political dynamics between local authorities and the Ustaša regime in Zagreb, this study underscores the crucial role of mid-level actors and bureaucratic manoeuvring in facilitating or obstructing mass violence. Drawing on archival sources and recent scholarship, the article argues that the Holocaust in Sarajevo cannot be understood solely through top-down directives. Instead, it must be viewed as the product of local power struggles, strategic negotiation, and the agency of mid-level perpetrators. The case of Sarajevo illustrates how regional variations and internal political rivalries influenced the timing, intensity, and form of genocidal violence within the NDH.