Abstract: During World War I, the territory of the Kingdom of Serbia was divided into two occupation zones: the central and western parts were occupied by the Austro-Hungarians, while the eastern and southern parts were annexed to Bulgaria. The occupation apparatuses had a distinctly repressive character. Particularly in the territories under Bulgarian occupation, war crimes were committed, and a policy of Bulgarization of the Serbian population was implemented. At the end of the war, the state authorities of the Kingdom, and later the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, raised the issue of punishing foreign war criminals, but also “domestic collaborators”, that is, subjects who collaborated with the occupiers or had some benefit from the occupation. The article analyzes the issue of punishing “collaborators with the occupier” in the territory of the former Kingdom of Serbia, based on existing literature and previously unused material from the Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. 

Keywords: World War I, war criminals, collaboration with the occupiers, Criminal Code of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians, Courts of first instance

Summary: The study addresses the punishment of “collaborators with the occupier” in Serbia after World War I. The territory of the Kingdom of Serbia was divided into two occupation zones, in which, among other things, numerous crimes against civilians were committed. At the end of the war, state authorities raised the issue of punishing foreign war criminals, as well as those who cooperated with the occupiers. The article analyzes the issue of punishing the “collaborators” with the occupier on the territory of the former Kingdom of Serbia, drawing on existing literature as well as previously unused material from the Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, taking in consideration first of all its legal aspects and the general attitude of the States’ institutions. It analyzes the legislative framework for punishing “collaborators” with the occupier, as well as the problems faced by the authorities in its implementation, like the problems related to the lack of qualified personnel and the large number of reports, especially in 1920, that were submitted to the courts. The paper also explores the potential reasons for collaborating with the occupier. Finally, the article proposes directions for further research aimed at illuminating other aspects of life under occupation, such as interpersonal relations, ways of surviving under occupation, and the attitude towards the occupation itself, as well as the comparative analysis of the punishment of collaborators in Serbia relative to other countries.