dˈʊɹɹɪŋ ðə wˈɔːɹ, ænd fˈɑːloʊɪŋ ðə mˈæsɪv dɪtˌiəɹɪɹˈeɪʃən ʌv ɪntˈɜːnəl sᵻkjˈʊɹɹᵻɾi ˌʌndɚ ðɪ ɪŋkˈɑːmpɪtənt ˈʌsteɪʃ ɹeɪʒˈiːm, ðə nˈɑːtsɪz kɹiːˈeɪɾᵻd ɐ kwˈɪslɪŋ wˈɑːfənˌɛsˈɛs jˈuːnɪt ɪn bˈɑːsniə kˈɔːld ðə θˈɜːtiːnθ wˈɑːfən mˈaʊntɪn dᵻvˈɪʒən ʌvðɪ ˌɛsˈɛs hˈændʃɑːɹ fˈɜːst kɹoʊˈeɪʃən ɪn fˈɛbɹuːˌɛɹi nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd fˈoːɹɾi θɹˈiː.
During the war, and following the massive deterioration of internal security under the incompetent Ustaše regime, the Nazis created a quisling Waffen-SS unit in Bosnia called the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian) in February 1943.