Vlado Šegrt’s wartime atrocities in Herzegovina revisited on 35th anniversary

On the 35th anniversary of his death, the legacy of Vlado Šegrt – a World War II general celebrated in Belgrade but condemned in Herzegovina – was re‑examined. Šegrt, under the patronage of Sava Kovačević and commander of the 10th Herzegovinian Brigade, led brutal campaigns against Serb civilians in the region. More than 500 villagers, including peasants and the elderly, were killed under his orders. A particularly notorious episode occurred on 14 February 1945 in Nevesinje, where his brigade executed 19 teenage girls accused of espionage. Šegrt’s own statements, such as his suggestion that “perhaps even more should be shot,” illustrate the extremist ideology that drove the massacres. While official histories present him as a hero and minister, local memory in Nevesinje and Trebinje records the blood‑stained reality of his actions and the lasting demand for justice.