Finansije JVuO u Srbiji 1941–1944.

English title: Financing of the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland of General Mihailović in Serbia, 1941–1944

The article examines the financial basis of the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland of General Mihailović in Serbia between 1941 and 1944. Securing money, gold and material resources was one of the key conditions for guerrilla warfare, the organization of resistance, the purchase of equipment, support for families, payment of couriers and maintenance of the command structure.

In its initial phase, the movement depended on small local donations, Yugoslav émigré channels, British deliveries and occasional financial contacts with the government of Milan Nedić. British and Yugoslav aid arrived irregularly, often in smaller amounts than planned, while part of the money and gold never reached Mihailović’s forces.

Special attention is given to the money from Užice in 1941, British and Yugoslav financial channels, the role of Istanbul, gold deliveries, lire, dollars, napoleons, Nedić dinars and local financial networks. The financing of JVuO reveals complex relations between the resistance movement, the Allies, the occupation authorities, the collaborationist administration, local elites and the civilian population.

After Allied assistance was interrupted in the second half of 1943, JVuO financing increasingly relied on coercion, seizures and informal sources. In 1944, money was taken from trains, post offices, banks, National Bank trucks and financial institutions controlled by the Nedić administration. This practice enabled the short-term survival of the organization, but also weakened its relationship with the population and intensified post-war myths about hidden gold.