Wilhelm Keiper


Wilhelm Keiper was a Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Between September 1943 and November 1944 he was the German plenipotentiary general of the German occupied territory of Montenegro.

German occupied territory of Montenegro

When the German occupied territory of Montenegro was put under the military commander south-east in September 1943, Keiper was appointed as German plenipotentiary general. He was in charge for military affairs, while political affairs were entrusted to Neubaucher who followed wishes of the Montenegrin governmental committee of Ljubomir Vuksanović.

Feldkomandanture number 1040

Germany established a new Field Headquarters to govern over Montenegro. Keiper's residence was building of the former British envoy in Cetinje. On the wall of his cabinet there were two copies of the paintings of Serb painter Paja Jovanović, The Second Serb Uprising and Migration of the Serbs.
On 30 September 1943 Keiper published his statement in which he emphasized that Germany had no territorial pretensions over Montenegro and that German forces are in Montenegro only because of the military circumstances in order to secure Montenegrin Adriatic coast from Allied invasion. Keiper invited population of Montenegro to be loyal. Keiper emphasized that it is not important if Montenegro is White or Green, it is important that Montenegro would not be Red.

Gendarmerie and militia

On 20 October 1943 Keiper invited all male population of Montenegro aged between 18 and 40 to join gendarmerie. He recruited 1,500 men in militia and 7,500 in gendarmerie which would support German forces to struggle against Communists. Keiper organized six battalions of gendarmerie in six Montenegrin counties controlled by Germans: Boka Kotorska, Bar, Cetinje, Podgorica, Danilovgrad and Nikšić. Keiper established two more battalions consisting of 3,000 former Chetniks from two counties occupied by the Communist forces: Kolašin and Šavnik. The commander of Gendarmerie was former artillery lieutenant Pero Marušić.
On 1 November Keiper issued an announcement that people who would follow instructions of Communists or Dragoslav Mihailović would be severely punished. Keiper treated Mihailovics Chetniks as enemies but that did not stop him from making secret arrangements to jointly fight against the Communists.

National Administrative Council

On 9 November 1943 Germans established local government in form of National Administrative Council led by Ljubomir Vuksanović. Pavle Đurišić began his cooperation with Keiper since June 1944. On 12 November 1943 Keiper published a threat that the German occupying forces would kill 20 hostages for each German soldier killed in Montenegro and 10 for each wounded German soldier.
After numerous people and priests evacuated from Cetinje, Keiper also did not stay in Cetinje.