A recent analysis in the Times of Israel sharply criticized Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik for allegedly misrepresenting the Holocaust and Bosniak involvement during a lobbying visit to Washington, D.C.
Richard Newell, a doctoral researcher at the University of Graz studying Holocaust legacies in the Western Balkans, said Dodik’s statements were politically motivated and intended to undermine Bosnia and Herzegovina while seeking support from the current U.S. administration. Dodik reportedly claimed that Bosnian Muslims, or Bosniaks, were enthusiastic participants in the Holocaust.
Newell noted that such claims distort historical reality. During World War II, Serbs, Jews, and Roma were victims of genocide perpetrated by the Croatian Ustaše regime, which operated with Nazi support. While some Bosniaks held minor positions in the Ustaše administration or joined units such as the Handžar SS division, the majority either resisted the Ustaše through local militias or joined the Partisan resistance movement.
The analysis highlighted atrocities in concentration camps such as Jasenovac, where tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma, and others were killed. It also documented numerous instances of Bosniak individuals and communities protecting Jews from persecution, including the safeguarding of Sarajevo’s historic Hagadah and providing shelter to Jewish families.
Newell emphasized that while some Bosniaks collaborated with Ustaše authorities, historical evidence demonstrates significant resistance and humanitarian efforts that challenge the narrative advanced by Dodik.
In response to Dodik’s claims, the Bosnian Jewish ambassador to the United States, Sven Alkalaj, urged public discourse to be guided by historical accuracy and moral clarity. Newell’s analysis warns that political exploitation of Holocaust history can perpetuate misinformation and harm the memory of victims and the small Jewish communities that still reside in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar, and elsewhere in the region.