picture study of LW pilot in an interesting uniform

[NickG]

Hello, if they are POWs they certainly were not captured from a downed aircraft as they aren't wearing flight boots. Bill

They're not POWs guys! see RED.
It might be a LW contract Hungarian made Femaru P.37(ü) holster.
The one with the extra straps on the outside of the flap!

[PaulR]

I have seen a blow up of the photo, provided by the owner. The holster on the Feldwebel in the back is the flat type and it looks empty.

[John T]

The somber look on the faces is understandable as for much of the war, the war was not going well for Croatia, what with losing a lot of men on the Eastern Front and at home with constantly dealing with the Partisans--I believe at any one time a good part of the countryside was contested while the cities and rail lines, although under attack, were under government control. These guys look too relaxed to be POW's as POW's generally were "mistreated" to say the least and many thousands were murdered immediately upon surrender at the end of the war.

I read somewhere that one in five Yugoslavs lost their lives in the war...most at the hands of fellow Yugoslavs...

This looks like a city street scene in perhaps Zagreb, Osijek or Sarajevo..I have seen similar photos and the guys did not look too happy as there was a war going on, while on the other hand I have seen other photos where the guys in the photo appeared to be in a great mood such as group shots of Croatian Ustasa troops. I have heard the saying that "War is Hell" and the war in Croatia was an especially brutal one...the Germans had to disband one Ustasa unit known as the "Black Legion" for brutalities (it continued to operate--the Croats just renamed it)....another Ustasa Unit continued to operate was disguised as part of the Home Army or "Domobran" Units within the Italian Zone of influence in Croatia as they did not want Croatian Ustasa units in their area after a certain point in the war due to brutalities.

John