Title

Serbs and Croats: the struggle in Yugoslavia.

Description

For Yugoslavia, the triumph of independent statehood following World War I became a tragedy seventy years later. "Yugoslavia was born in 1918 as the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, with King Alexander its sovereign. In 1929 the country was renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. After the Nazi invasion in World War II, Slovenia became part of Greater Germany, Croatia a Fascist state ruled by the Ustashi. Mass killings by the Ustashi followed, in concentration camps, churches, and homes, of Serbs, Jews, Gypsies. Killings of Serbs by Croats - both Slavic peoples and neighbors, speaking the same language but divided by religion and cultural allegiances." "In this highly informative and lucid account, Professor Dragnich discusses the ideals and hopes that the South Slavs brought to Yugoslavia, their tortured attempt to create a workable political system, and the reasons behind the chaos and violence of recent months."--BOOK JACKET.

Identifier

2500013

151810737

Creator

Dragnich, Alex N

Source

Brian Lamb Booknotes Collection

Gift of Brian Lamb, 2011.

Catalog record

Language

eng

Date

1992

Program air date: March 6, 1993.

Publisher

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives

Text

Transcription of Annotations
Notes on front endpapers: Where does Balkan come from. 1st and 2nd Yugoslavia--3rd Yugo April 92. Serbs--Tito 1/3 outside Serbia. Tito hated Serbs; Croats & Serbs fought against Serbs in WWI p. 185. Underlinings/notes: South Slav. Journalism--inadequate/incorrect.14 points (1918)--Wilson's espousal of self-determination, kindled flames of latent nationalism. 5 empires--Ottoman, Russian, Austro-Hungarian, British, French. 1991, Croatia seceded from Yugoslavia. Serbs/Montenegrins Orthodox Christians, Slavic by blood. 1867 Austria recog. Hungary--dual monarchy--large number of South Slavs, Croats, Slovenes, Serbs. Germany's ambitions 19th century--Berlin-Baghdad railway. Triple Alliance--Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy. British-French agreement, Russia became Triple Entente. WWI 1914--Serb patriot in Sarajevo. Triple Alliance at war with Triple Entente. US troops arrive, 1918. 14 pts.--January 1918. South Slavs--Serbs, Croats, Slovenes--1918--Yugoslavia--1929. Yug meaning south. 1913 2nd Balkan War. Yugoslavia 1918-1941; WWII Slovenes part of Germany, Croatia, fascist state. Yugoslavia now Serbia/Montenegro. Croats/Slovenes, many Serbs--under foreign rule until after the 2nd decade of 20th century. Serbs/Croats same lang., same writing; Serbs use Cyrillic lettering, Croats Latin. Slovenes Slavic lang. Serbs Orthodox. Slovenes/Croats Catholic. Muslims provinces, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbian society--peasant/patriarchal, relatively homogeneous. Croatian society, class stratification pronounced, little social mobility. Slovenian society--more indust. Serbs in 5 Southern Slav territories--Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro; Croats in 3 (Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia)--idea of 1 state could not unite--common denominator--lang. Bosnian Muslims--Croat "blood brothers." Slavo-Serb--slave origin. Diff. among South Slavs magnified in media outside Yugoslavia. Croats/Slovenes are "western"/Serbs "eastern". Flames of hatred fanned by extremist Croat Catholic priests. No similar actions by Serbian Orthodox priests/Slav Muslim leaders. South Slavs ethnically alike--Serbs/Croats same lang.1 might call himself Croatian, the other Serb--lang.=Serbo-Croatian/ Croato-Serbian. Britain did not want Serbia expanded; Serbia, Russia's natural ally. Vatican influence. South Slavs near end of 1918--Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Alexander, Serb, but sincere Yugoslav. Indep. State of Croatia. Slovenia absorbed by Germany. Other parts of Yugoslavia ceded to Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria. June 1941--Serbs, Jews, Gypsies massacred, driven out. Western press 1990-92 impossible to find admission of holocaust in Croatia. Est. of Serbs killed vary 300,000 to more than million--accepted est. 500,000 to 700,000. 1. Communists knew what fighting for. 2. Nucleus of Partisan movement small, but well-organized/disciplined Communist Party. 3. Mihailovic believed common cause shared by all. 4. Partisans aided by strategic location in mountain ranges of Bosnia-Herzegovina, surrounding territory--mainly in Pavelic's puppet state of Croatia. 5. Partisans helped by 2 factors: Western aid/Red Army. Tito det. to punish Serbia--father Croat, mother Slovene. 6 republics--Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro. Bosnia-Herzegovina--large Muslim population up to 45% of total. Serbs 34% of total; Croats 17%. Montenegro--4% of Yugoslav pop. June 1948 Yugoslavia expelled from Communist Information Bureau. Stalin, problems with Tito. Tito clique betrayed Marxism, sold out to imperialist West. Tito arrested Stalinists--12,000 sent to island. Not until 1949 was mutual expulsion of diplomats--no break in diplomatic relations. Financial/moral support provided by the US. At congress in 1952 changed name to: League of Yugoslav Communists to signify that LCY not a command. Cominform, Milovan Djilas--became Yugoslavia's leading dissident. 1971, Tito intro. concept--collective presidency; purged Croatian Party leadership for tolerating nationalistic tendencies. 1974 constitution--more autonomy for republics. Tightening of censorship. 1945-1953--Agriculture decollectivized. Worked less, expected more money, new bureaucracies created, reduction in efficiency. By mid '70s--Tito lived too long. Stalin died in '53/Tito died in '80. Ruled Yugoslavia 35 years. West gave considerable aid. In econ. sphere--people told to manage their own affairs--but party told them how. Tito's rev. neither mild nor benevolent. Killed to get/keep power. Pitting neighbor against neighbor/nationality against nationality acceptable if it served the Party. South Slav moral fiber demolished. After 35 years, few expected downfall of system. 23 member Presidium--League of Yugoslav Communists--collective presidency of 8 swore they would not deviate from "Tito's Road." 8 parties--no longer Yugoslav Communist Party. By 1989 republic/province parties quarrel publicly. 1986 Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Serb grievances--Yugoslav Communist Party--against Stalin and Comintern, against non-Serb party leaders, incl. Tito, Vladimir Bakaric, Croats, Edward Kardelj, a Slovene. Yugoslav econ. never operated at a profit. Slovenes/Croats insisted they were contributing more to central treasury than received--for being exploited by lazy, inefficient republics. Croats/Slovenes able to buy inexpensive electricity/raw materials from Serbia/Macedonia. Kosovo--autonomous province created out of republic of Serbia. Holy ground of Kosovo not regained until Balkan War of 1912. Italy enabled Albanians to create Greater Albania which incorp. Kosovo. Kosovo, Albanians tried to make Kosovo ethnically pure area--continual/brutal persecution of Serbs--rape, pillage; desecrated Serbian religious institutions--including cemeteries. Serbian barns/haystacks set on fire, timber cut. April 1987--Slobodan Milosevic, head of Serbian Communist Party, went to Kosovo to listen to the Serbs. Constitution recog. Nations/nationalities. Serbs outside Serbia not minorities. Serbs--sacrificed more for common state/blamed for failures of 1st/2nd Yugoslavias. Milosevic recog. appeal of nationalism stood up for rights of Serbs in Kosovo. 1990 election--Slovenia/Croatia--non-Communists won. In Bosnia-Herzegovina--3-way split, closely prop. to division of Muslim, Serb, Croat. In Kosovo Albanian majority boycotted elections; Serbia had decisive voice in affairs of its autonomous provinces. Serbia/Montenegro formed 3rd Yugoslavia, April, 1992.

Relation

Original Booknotes interview

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