War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration [Hardcover]

Jozo Tomasevich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

This is the long-awaited second part of the author’s meticulously researched and scrupulously impartial study of the complicated and anguished history of Yugoslavia during the years of World War II. The previous volume dealt with the Chetniks, the resistance movement formed by officers of the defeated Yugoslav army who came to regard the Communist-led Partisans as their chief enemy, and who reached accords with the occupying powers—first with the Italians and then with the Germans. The present volume deals with the rule of the Axis powers in occupied Yugoslavia, along with the role of the other groups that collaborated with them—primarily the extremist Croatian nationalist organization known as the Ustashas.

The book begins by briefly describing the establishment of Yugoslavia in 1918 and its internal history during the interwar period. It then discusses the breakup of the state in April 1941, the annexation or occupation of parts of its territory by its neighbors, and the establishment by the Ustashas of the independent state of Croatia as a German-Italian quasi protectorate, focusing on its governmental policies and its problems with the Bosnian Muslims. The book also examines the role of religion during the occupation, the destruction of the Yugoslav Jewish community, and the economic exploitation of Yugoslav territory by the Axis powers. The work concludes by discussing the wartime population losses of the country and the ultimate fate of the collaborationist forces.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This is a magnificent work of superb scholarship. No other book in any language so clearly presents and analyzes the aims and policies of the Axis in occupied Yugoslavia, as well as those of the various collaborators. . . . The need for such a book is greater than ever, as controversies over the past rage in the post-Yugoslav states.”—Ivo Banac, Yale University

“There is plenty of significance in this truly monumental work of scholarship. Tomasevich’s exhaustive mining of German and Italian government documents opens a fascinating window on the wartime exploitation of Yugoslavia’s economic and human resources.”—Choice

“The present work is the long-awaited sequel to [Tomasevich’s] equally monumental War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: The Chetniks. . . . War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration aims at an academic audience, but it would be valuable to anyone interested in understanding the Yugoslav past and present. It is a must for any college library and desirable for larger public ones.”—History: Reviews of New Books

“All the distinguishing features Tomasevich showed in writing the first volume are also expressed in this book, which describes how the occupying forces ruled some parts of Yugoslavia, and how their collaborators adapted under such circumstances. . . . This book, together with its predecessor, is an invaluable foundation that no new research into World War II on the territory of former Yugoslavia will be able to bypass. It promises to remain for a long time to come.”—American Historical Review

“War and Revolution in Yugoslaia, 1941-1945 will almost certainly be considered the definitive work on the . . . .controversial topic of occupation and collaboration regimes in wartime Yugoslavia . . . .Tomasevich covered in meticulous and awe-inspiring detail the activities and experiences of those parts of Yugoslavia occupied by or in active collaboration with the various axis regimes during te Second World War . . . .What Tomasevich has done is certainly deserving of our highest praise. This volume, like his first, is an indispensable addition in the library of every serious scholar of Yugoslavia or the Second World War.”—Canadian Slavonic Papers

From the Inside Flap

This is the long-awaited second part of the author’s meticulously researched and scrupulously impartial study of the complicated and anguished history of Yugoslavia during the years of World War II. The previous volume dealt with the Chetniks, the resistance movement formed by officers of the defeated Yugoslav army who came to regard the Communist-led Partisans as their chief enemy, and who reached accords with the occupying powers—first with the Italians and then with the Germans. The present volume deals with the rule of the Axis powers in occupied Yugoslavia, along with the role of the other groups that collaborated with them—primarily the extremist Croatian nationalist organization known as the Ustashas.
The book begins by briefly describing the establishment of Yugoslavia in 1918 and its internal history during the interwar period. It then discusses the breakup of the state in April 1941, the annexation or occupation of parts of its territory by its neighbors, and the establishment by the Ustashas of the independent state of Croatia as a German-Italian quasi protectorate, focusing on its governmental policies and its problems with the Bosnian Muslims. The book also examines the role of religion during the occupation, the destruction of the Yugoslav Jewish community, and the economic exploitation of Yugoslav territory by the Axis powers. The work concludes by discussing the wartime population losses of the country and the ultimate fate of the collaborationist forces.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 864 pages
• Publisher: Stanford University Press; First edition (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804736154
• ISBN-13: 978-0804736152
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.4 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,643,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential reference work on WWII Yugoslavia, January 31, 2003

By 

David Ivanov (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration (Hardcover)

Tomasevich did a phenomenal job on a daunting subject: the political and economic history of Yugoslavia during the Second World War, focusing on Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. This massive book will be especially valuable for the chapters on economic activity in the Axis-occupied Independent State of Croatia from 1941 to 1945, material that has rarely been presented in English in such detail (over a hundred pages in the two chapters on this subject). The sections on the many religious groups of Yugoslavia are likewise comprehensive, with a great deal of new information. The bibliography is in itself a triumph of thoroughness.

What makes the book not only useful but remarkable is the author's story of how he conducted his research, interviewing contentious sources and wading through the conflicting evidence on controversial topics such as the numbers of people murdered by the several parties to the conflict (Nazis, Italian Fascists, Ustase, Chetniks, Partisans). His analysis is masterful and sensible.

My only complaint is the book's high price. I can only hope that there will be a paperback edition, as this work is too significant to go out of print.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A necessary volume for the WWII historian, May 31, 2007

By 

Joseph Wayne Heckert "jwh" (Harrisburg, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration (Hardcover)

If the researcher is seeking one book that presents wartime Yugoslavia completely and objectively, this is it. Tomasevich clarifies a complex subject which is frequently one of the least understood aspects of WWII. The book also lays the groundwork for an understanding of post-war unfinished business which continues to plague the region. A necessary component to any library on the Balkans.

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good in parts., August 20, 2005

By 

Devl's Advocate "RSHA" (Hölle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration (Hardcover)

This is a welcome work on the history of Jugoslavia under German and Italian occupation, sheding light on some unexpected facets of life during the period in question.

Apparently, despite all the Communist propaganda about the Partisans, they were no more successful in fighting their occupiers than the regular Army in 1941. In fact, they, like the royalst Chetniks, the Croats of the Independent State of Croatia, the Slovenes, the Bosnian Muslims (whom Croats claimed to be their kin) and the Serbs under Nedic were more interested in slaugthering each other above all else.

What is surprising are that,

1. Serbia under German occupation was a pacified country, despite all the traditional hatred between the Germans, and especially the Austrians and the Serbs.
2. That the German occupiers did save a lot of Serbs from the bloodthirsty Croats.
3. That the Italians were as atrocious as the Germans in terms of the burning of villages, looting of livestock and shooting of hostages.
4. That most of the Partisan activities occured in Croatia, though mostly from the Serbs there fighting it out with the Croatian authorities of Pavelic.

What is also surprising, but regrettable is that the author has tried to exculpate the Croatian atrocities against fellow Serbs by blaming them on Pavelic and his followers, that he has all but ignored the atrocities of the Moslems, Serbs and especially the Partisans in the internicine strife.

Tomasevich also sheds light on the pathetic incompetence and fighting quality of the Croats and the Bosnian Moslems, as against the Serbs (historically one of the most martial Slav races), as well as on some obscure units like the Serbian Protection/Volunteer Corps.

All in all, a well researched book on the country at war and under foreign rule, but marred by the author's attempt, as a Croat, to blame all and sundry on Pavelic and his uncritical praise of the Communist.