Serbia purchases directive that ordered attack on Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The Serbian government stated that the Republic of Serbia today purchased the infamous Directive no. 25 of 27 March 1941, by which German chancellor Adolf Hitler ordered the attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Kingdom of Greece.

On the basis of an initiative sent by the Museum of Genocide Victims to President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic and at the request of the President of the Republic, the Serbian government secured the necessary funds to purchase one of the most important documents for the entire history of the Serbian people.

Directive no. 25, signed by Adolf Hitler, was made in thirteen originals, one of which is owned today by the Republic of Serbia.

This document, whose content marked the beginning of the Second World War on the entire territory of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which started in the early morning hours of 6 April 1941, is comparable in its importance to the telegram of declaration of war on the Kingdom of Serbia by the Austro-Hungarian Empire dated 28 July 1914.

By issuing the order for the start of joint combat operations against the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Kingdom of Greece, German chancellor Adolf Hitler marked with this document the beginning of four years of dramatic battles and the immeasurable suffering of the civilian population, especially the Serbian people.