The Man Who Saved Thousands of Serbs from Genocide in Tuzla (1942)
Few people in the tragic and bloody history of Bosnia deserve to have their names remembered and honored as much as Muhamed Šefket-efendija Kurt, who through selfless dedication saved thousands of Tuzla Serbs from massacre in January 1942.
This distinguished and prominent Muslim scholar led a group of respected Bosniaks who intervened with the Ustasha authorities to prevent the burning of a packed Orthodox church in Tuzla on Christmas Eve 1942—a revenge plan by the NDH regime following the deaths of a group of Ustashas near Doboj.
At the beginning of January 1942, it became known that the Ustashas were preparing a massacre of Tuzla Serbs in retaliation for the liquidation of a group of Ustashas captured near Doboj, who were executed by Chetniks on Ozren. The secret Ustasha committee for the extermination of Tuzla Jews and Serbs called upon the notorious Vjekoslav Montanja, district administrator for Brčko who had already distinguished himself through crimes, to come with his Ustashas to Tuzla and, with their help, carry out revenge against the Serbs by placing explosives in the Orthodox church, filled with believers, on Christmas Eve. After this, they planned to destroy the Serbian quarter of Tuzla and kill or expel the remaining Serbian population.
Into a family of distinguished Bosniak intellectuals
Prevented massacre of Tuzla Serbs
Thousands of Serbs spared from genocide
Over 10,000 people attended his funeral
A conference of prominent Tuzla Bosniaks organized resistance
Kurt was chosen to lead a delegation that would ask the German command in Tuzla to prevent and obstruct the Ustasha plans, which they did. The German command, in addition to preventing the crime, also ordered that posters be printed and posted throughout Tuzla with a significant warning.
After learning of this plan, a conference of prominent Bosniaks of Tuzla was organized. The decision was made that a three-member delegation led by Mufti Kurt would go to Hochbauer, the German commander of Tuzla, and his deputy Lieutenant Colonel Wüst, and request that these two prevent the Ustasha plan. When the German command saw how strong the Bosniak opposition was, they issued a written order prohibiting the Ustashas from taking any retaliatory measures without their approval. At the same time, similar actions were undertaken by prominent Tuzla Croats: Jure Begić, Ante Kamenjašević, and others. After all this, the Ustashas did not dare to realize their plan. The German command, again for its own reasons, immediately posted a placard with a warning that "no one may mistreat anyone, take away or destroy someone else's property, or touch those who are celebrating."
Šefket-ef. Kurt's efforts to save the Serbian population did not end with the intervention at the German command in Tuzla. He, along with several other prominent Tuzla citizens, traveled to Zagreb with the intention of personally asking the Poglavnik (leader) of the NDH, Ante Pavelić, to protect their Serbian fellow citizens. The Poglavnik did not receive them, but Minister Andrija Artuković in the Ustasha government did, from whom they requested that the Ustashas not harm "the peaceful Serbian population."
The act that Šefket-ef. Kurt dared to undertake is an example of extraordinary courage and sacrifice, because through his efforts to spare the lives of Tuzla Serbs, he exposed his own life to danger. Given the time and circumstances, this was an exceptional act of bravery for which he could have been killed himself, either by the Ustashas or by the Germans.
A scholar dedicated to knowledge, justice, and coexistence
Born in Travnik in 1879, completed mekteb and began studying madrasa under his father Fadil, a muderis. After his father's death in 1893, moved to Mostar to his grandfather hadži Ahmed, an Islamic theologian, where he completed ruždija and studied under the renowned Mostar alim Ali Fehmi-ef. Džabić, a mufti and fighter for religious autonomy.
After his grandfather's death in 1895, went to Sarajevo and enrolled in Kuršumlija madrasa. After one year, left for Istanbul where he studied for ten years, then traveled to Damascus to study Arabic language. His quest for knowledge took him to the great centers of Islamic learning.
Returned in 1908 and appointed as imam and khatib of hadži Ali-beg's mosque and muderis of its madrasa in Travnik. In 1914 moved to Banja Luka, remaining until 1925. Then came to Tuzla, serving as Tuzla mufti until 1933, when he was elected as a member of the Ulema-Medžlis.
Had eight children; three sons were killed in World War II. Two died as Partisans fighting fascism, and one perished under unclear circumstances at the end of the war. Three sons graduated from Zagreb University. His family's commitment to opposing fascism matched his own.
The significance of Šefket-efendija's actions best witnessed at his funeral
The significance and greatness of Šefket-efendija's act is best witnessed by one interesting and unusual detail that occurred during his funeral, which testifies to the gratitude that the Serbian community of Tuzla felt toward the man who had helped them so much.
"When ef. Kurt passed away, Orthodox priest Đorđe Jovanović expressed his wish to give a speech at his funeral, and before more than 10,000 people, descended into the grave, received ef. Kurt's coffin, and laid it in the tomb."
This extraordinary gesture—an Orthodox priest descending into the grave to receive and lay to rest a Muslim mufti—stands as one of the most powerful symbols of interfaith respect and gratitude in Bosnian history. It represents the genuine bonds of humanity that transcended religious differences, forged through Kurt's selfless courage.
A hero who deserves greater remembrance
Thanks to ef. Kurt's efforts, mass crimes did not occur in Tuzla. In short, it was about defending communal life in the Tuzla region. After the war, Efendija Kurt was awarded the Order of Brotherhood and Unity, First Class.
Unfortunately, today the name of the noble Šefket-efendija is mentioned very rarely, and his role in saving the Serbian population of Tuzla was properly processed and valued in a scientific manner only in publications from this millennium. Until the beginning of the 1980s, little was known about ef. Kurt. We first get a complete picture of the wartime realism and resonance of the civic courage resolutions from 1941 in Dr. Safet Bandžović's 2010 monograph Bošnjaci i antifašizam (Bosniaks and Antifascism).
His act should not only be mentioned more frequently but also highlighted as an example of personal courage and sacrifice. History textbooks and historical readers must include exactly such content. His origin and education are not mentioned accidentally in the story of his bravery—it was precisely the environment from which he came that taught Šefket-efendija the fundamental laws of morality, foundations he never abandoned or betrayed.
Šefket-efendija Kurt came from a family of distinguished Bosniak and Muslim intellectuals who were raised on the purest foundations of Islamic faith. His commitment to the idea of justice was most clearly shown in his attitude toward new ideas, progress, and the concept of coexistence.
1. "Šefket ef. Kurt: Muftija koji je Srbe spasavao od genocida" (Šefket ef. Kurt: The Mufti Who Saved Serbs from Genocide)
Al Jazeera Balkans, January 13, 2018
https://balkans.aljazeera.net/teme/2018/1/13/sefket-ef-kurt-muftija-koji-je-srbe-spasavao-od-genocida
2. "Kako je muftija Muhamed Šefket Kurt na Badnju večer prije 80 godina brzom akcijom spriječio ustaški plan brutalne likvidacije tuzlanskih Srba" (How Mufti Muhamed Šefket Kurt on Christmas Eve 80 Years Ago Prevented the Ustasha Plan for Brutal Liquidation of Tuzla Serbs)
Slobodna Dalmacija
https://slobodnadalmacija.hr/mozaik/panorama/kako-je-muftija-muhamed-sefket-kurt-na-badnju-vecer-prije-80-godina-brzom-akcijom-sprijecio-ustaski-plan-brutalne-likvidacije-tuzlanskih-srba-1157199
3. "Kako je muftija Muhamed Šefket Kurt spriječio ustaški pokolj Srba u Tuzli" (How Mufti Muhamed Šefket Kurt Prevented the Ustasha Massacre of Serbs in Tuzla)
Radio Sarajevo
https://radiosarajevo.ba/metromahala/ja-mislim/kako-je-muftija-muhamed-sefket-kurt-sprijecio-ustaski-pokolj-srba-u-tuzli/402471
4. "Historijski datum: Kako je muftija Kurt prije 82 godine spriječio pokolj Srba u Tuzli" (Historic Date: How Mufti Kurt Prevented the Massacre of Serbs in Tuzla 82 Years Ago)
Klix.ba, January 6, 2024
https://www.klix.ba/vijesti/bih/historijski-datum-kako-je-muftija-kurt-prije-82-godine-sprijecio-pokolj-srba-u-tuzli/240106050
Dr. Safet Bandžović, "Bošnjaci i antifašizam rezolucije građanske hrabrosti (1941) i savremenost." Godišnjak Bošnjačke zajednice kulture» Preporod « 1 (2011): 116-137.
These sources document the extraordinary courage of Mufti Muhamed Šefket Kurt and his role in preventing genocide in Tuzla during World War II, exemplifying interfaith solidarity and moral resistance during the darkest period of Bosnian history.