Yugoslavia after the Second World War. Guerrilla warfare in Yugoslavia

The day before: initially neutrality. Pressure from Germany and Italy, Italy attacked Greece. But there is also pressure from the United States - Roosevelt threatens to stop American aid. In March 1941 Bulgaria joined the Axis powers => Yugoslavia is surrounded on all sides by Hitler and his allies. Direct threats. March 25, 1941 Yugoslavia signed the corresponding protocol in Vienna. Mass demonstrations. Movements in the senior officers of the army. March 27, 1941 The military carried out a coup. The heir to the throne, Peter, was proclaimed King. The new government was headed by Dusan Simovic

March 5, 1941 A treaty of friendship and non-aggression was signed in Moscow between Yugoslavia and the USSR. invasion of Yugoslavia by the Tripartite Pact troops. From 6 to 17 April. "April War" On April 17, “decisions on a truce and cessation of hostilities between the armed forces of Germany and Yugoslavia” were signed in Sarajevo - capitulation.

The northern part of Slovenia became part of the Third Reich, and its southern part became the Ljubljana province of Italy. Kosovo and Metohija and part of Macedonia were annexed to Albania, which itself was occupied by Italy in 1938, and were under Italian protectorate.

Serbia (within the borders before the Balkan Wars) was under the direct control of the commander of the German occupation forces stationed on Serbian territory.

The fascist leaders created the so-called Independent State of Croatia (ISH). There were German and Italian units in Croatia (as well as in “independent” Slovakia, proclaimed in 1939), and the activities of the created government were completely controlled by authorized representatives of the fascist powers.

Maczek wrote an appeal in which he called on all members and supporters of the HCP to cooperate with the new authorities. This contributed to the fact that almost all administrative bodies of Croatia, including the police, switched to the service of the Ustashe state.

The German attack on the USSR intensified the activities of all Yugoslav anti-fascists and, above all, communists and Komsomol members. Armed resistance to the “new order” began in late April - early May 1941.

On November 26-27, 1942, representatives of most national regions of the country gathered in the Bosnian city of Bihac, and a pan-Yugoslav political body was created - the Anti-Fascist Assembly of People's Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ). On November 29-30, 1943, the 2nd session of AVNOJ took place in the Bosnian city of Jajce. The Declaration defined the foundations of the new Yugoslavia. AVNOYA was proclaimed the highest legislative and executive body. The National Committee of Yugoslavia (NKJU) was also created, which took over the functions of the government. Its head was Josip Broz Tito. It was proclaimed that the new Yugoslavia would be built on the principles of federalism, brotherhood and unity of all peoples.

On October 20, 1944, Soviet troops, together with partisan detachments, liberated the capital of Yugoslavia, completing the Belgrade operation. During this operation, Macedonia, most of Montenegro and Serbia were liberated.

In March 1945, a unified government was formed, headed by I. Broz Tito. the government received international recognition. On May 15, 1945, the liberation of Yugoslavia was completely completed

Yugoslavia World War Germany

The gestation process of the Second World War lasted approximately twenty years. It is based on such facts as the uneven economic and political development of capitalist countries and the aggressive nature of imperialism. The Second World War. / Ed. G.K. Zhukova. M., 1984. P.8

One of the first countries to come under heavy pressure from Germany was Yugoslavia, whose internal difficulties and economic dependence were used against it.

German diplomacy sought to create a pro-German bloc of states in the Balkans consisting of Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria.

During the summer of 1939, German diplomacy achieved Yugoslavia's withdrawal from the Balkan Pact and the League of Nations. Joining the Anti-Comintern Pact and thereby joining the bloc of fascist states. History of Yugoslavia. T.2. M., 1963. P.169

From the first days of the war, the Yugoslav government declared the neutrality of its country, trying to maintain good relations with both the Axis countries (Rome-Berlin-Tokyo) and with the Western states that were at war with Germany and Italy.

After the defeat of France in May 1940, the political sympathies of Yugoslav political circles changed significantly. Experiencing political pressure from Germany and Italy, seeking to achieve Yugoslavia's accession to the “Three Power Pact,” Yugoslavia found itself in a deadlock after Italy's attack on Greece. On the other hand, a representative of US President F. Roosevelt, who arrived in Belgrade, stated at a meeting with Prince Regent Paul that Yugoslavia could lose American aid and support if it joins the Tripartite Pact. This led to even greater polarization of the foreign policy views of Yugoslav political circles.

After Bulgaria joined the Axis powers in March 1941, Yugoslavia found itself surrounded on all sides by the troops of Hitler and his allies. Direct threats from Germany and Italy forced the Cvetkovic-Maček government to make concessions and join the Tripartite Pact. On March 25, 1941, in Vienna, the Yugoslav delegation signed the corresponding protocol.

Mass protest demonstrations were a kind of response to the pro-fascist course of the government. They took place in a number of national regions in the cities of Ljubljana, Split, Podgorica, Skoplje. Demonstrations and rallies were especially massive in Belgrade.33 Soviet Historical Encyclopedia. T.16. M., 1976. P.722

Anti-fascist protests prompted energetic action among some of the senior officers and the army, who were oriented toward England and the United States. On March 27, 1941, the military carried out a coup d'etat, overthrowing Prince Regent Paul and the Cvetkovic-Maček government. The heir to the throne, Peter, was proclaimed king. The new government was headed by Dusan Simović, commander of the Yugoslav air force. The events of March 27, 1941 were fateful for the further history of Yugoslavia.

The government of D. Simovic, created on the same day, included representatives of the same parties that were part of the previous government. A few days later he agreed to join the government of V. Macek as deputy prime minister.

The March coup predetermined the fate of Yugoslavia. Hitler, having received information about the events in Belgrade, doubted its authenticity, but then urgently convened a meeting of military and political advisers of Germany and its allies. At the meeting, a decision was made on the occupation and division of Yugoslavia.

The actions of D. Simovic's government were contradictory and inconsistent. It announced its allegiance to the tripartite pact to Germany and Italy. At the same time, it declared an amnesty for all political prisoners and closed the concentration camps created to hold opponents of the ruling circles in the 1930s.

In June 1940, diplomatic relations were established between the USSR and Yugoslavia. After the coup d'etat on March 27, 1941, the new Yugoslav government of D. Simovic sent a delegation to Moscow, which on April 5, 1941 signed a treaty of friendship and non-aggression with the USSR, an extract from the text of which is given below.

Article 1. Both Contracting Parties mutually undertake to refrain from any attack against each other and to respect the independence, sovereign rights and territorial integrity of the USSR and Yugoslavia.

Article 2. In the event that one of the Contracting Parties is attacked by a third state, the other Contracting Party undertakes to maintain a policy of friendly relations towards it. From the Treaty of Friendship and Non-Aggression between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on April 5, 1941//Bolshevik.1941. No. 6.

And on April 6, 1941, the invasion of troops of the Tripartite Pact states into Yugoslavia began. Back in the summer of 1918, the Entente countries advocated for the preservation of the Habsburg monarchy after the war, believing that this state would be a guarantor of stability in the countries of the Danube region. Mass revolutionary uprisings that swept Austria-Hungary forced the political circles of Serbia's Western allies to change their position. France supported the creation of a unified Yugoslav state, fearing the strengthening of Italy, which had plans to gain as much of Dalmatia as possible.

After the creation of the Kingdom of the CXC and the Paris Peace Conference, a number of European states, as well as the United States, established diplomatic relations with the new state. The determination of the state borders of the Kingdom of the CXC took place at the end of 1919 and the beginning of 1920 on the basis of the Saint-Germain, Neuilly, Trianon and Rappal Treaties with Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Italy. Yugoslavia maintained good neighborly relations with Romania and Greece. After resolving a number of controversial border issues, smooth relations with Austria were established. At that time, relations with Albania, which in the 20s became the center of attraction for the interests of the Kingdom of the CXC and Italy, can sometimes be called hostile. The relationship between the Bulgarian and Yugoslav states was complex, and sometimes unpredictable. Smooth relationships alternated with periods of tension. In 1937, the Bulgarian-Yugoslav treaty on “eternal friendship” was signed. But throughout the interwar period, the stumbling block in relations between these countries was Macedonia, the dispute over which had dragged on since the Second Balkan War of 1913.

The issue of disputed territories in Vojvodina overshadowed the entire interwar period of Yugoslav-Hungarian relations. Vojvodina was distinguished by a very diverse composition of the population. In addition to Serbs, several hundred thousand Hungarians, Germans and Romanians lived in it, not to mention a large number of Czechs, Slovaks, Rusyns and other national minorities.

But the most tense relations in the 20s and 30s were with Italy. Already in 1918, its military circles developed a plan for the disintegration of the Yugoslav state. According to the Treaty of London in 1915, Italy seized a number of territories on the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic, where up to 500 thousand Yugoslavs lived. In 1923, Italy captured the port city of Rijeka, which was declared an independent territory. Questions about the borders of Italy and Yugoslavia were finally determined only in 1924 by a treaty in Rome.

In the early 30s, France and England initiated the creation of a new union of the countries of the Balkan Peninsula. The so-called Balkan Pact was signed in February 1934 in Athens by representatives of Yugoslavia, Romania, Greece and Turkey. The pact was aimed against increasing Italian influence in the Balkans.

Since the mid-30s, serious changes have been taking place in the foreign policy orientation of Yugoslavia. The Stojadinovic government proclaims the thesis of the neutrality of Yugoslavia and its non-interference in the event of an escalation of the conflict between France and Germany.

Ties between member countries of the Little Entente are weakening. In August 1938, the last meeting of its representatives took place in Yugoslavia. During the days of the Munich Agreement, the ruling circles of Yugoslavia and Romania did not provide any support to Czechoslovakia.

The policy of the so-called neutrality of the ruling circles of Yugoslavia contributed, in fact, to a significant increase in German influence on the country's economy. Germany becomes the first partner in foreign trade. The government of M. Stojadinovich perceived the Anschluss of Austria in a peculiar way, declaring that this finally eliminates the danger of recreating the Habsburg empire and is an internal German problem. With the Anschluss of Austria, Hitler's Germany became a state directly bordering Yugoslavia.

The defeat of France, the occupation of a number of European countries by Germany, and the accession of Hungary and Romania to the Tripartite Pact led to the accession of Yugoslavia itself to this pact on March 25, 1941.

V. DYMARSKY: Hello. The next program from the “Price of Victory” series, and we are its hosts, Dmitry Zakharov.

D. ZAKHAROV: And Vitaly Dymarsky. Good evening.

V. DYMARSKY: Today is another new topic in our series and a new guest. Sergei Romanenko, historian, specialist in the history of Yugoslavia and, accordingly, the topic of our today’s program, “Yugoslavia in the Second World War,” follows from this title of our guest. The topic, in our opinion, is very interesting, since Yugoslavia - well, we’ll talk about this later - in fact, long before the Second World War, it began to play a certain role.

D. ZAKHAROV: Stumbling block.

V. DYMARSKY: A stumbling block, yes. Began to play the role she played in World War II. Our phone number, or rather the number for your SMS messages, is +7 985 9 70-45-45, everything is as usual. And perhaps we can start talking.

D. ZAKHAROV: Well, yes. I think that the cards are in the hands of our guest here. And let's start from the beginning. How did it all happen? That is, even before the German invasion.

S. ROMANENKO: Good evening. So how did it all start? In general, here it must be said that, strictly speaking, those tragic, bloody events that began in Yugoslavia in 1941, they were prepared by the course of history in the 20-30s. First of all, this concerned the internal structure of Yugoslavia itself. As you know, it arose in 1918, and, as it turned out, many people thought...

V. DYMARSKY: Following the results of the First World War.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. Many thought that liberation from the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian yoke would lead to the brotherhood of peoples, but on the contrary, it led, unfortunately, to a worsening of relations between those peoples who entered Yugoslavia.

D. ZAKHAROV: And here they should be listed right away.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. Well, first of all, these are Serbs, Croats and Slovenes - this kingdom was originally called that way until 1929, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

V. DYMARSKY: KSHS, right?

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. Then it became known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. But the whole point is...

V. DYMARSKY: In 1929?

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. Even these 3 peoples - they, in general, were officially considered as one people, firstly, which naturally caused resistance, primarily from the Croats and Slovenes. On the other hand, the same Macedonians, Montenegrins, Bosnian Muslims, not to mention the Albanians of Kosovo - they were simply not recognized as any special ethnic and, especially, political community. This is the first point. The second point is that the system of alliances that was created after the First World War - first of all, the Little Entente, which included Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and then in 1934 the Balkan Entente - is the same Yugoslavia , Romania, Greece, Turkey. In general, they have shown their inability to act as guarantors of regional stability and, most importantly, to protect the region of Central Europe and the Balkans from external invasions. Well, we can add to this that literally the constant fear of the ruling circles of Yugoslavia and the royal dynasty was the possible restoration of the Habsburg dynasty to the throne. And, in general, there were such attempts. Whether in Budapest or Vienna. By the way, this largely explains Belgrade’s pro-German position at the end of the 30s, because they believed that Germany was better than the Habsburgs.

And, of course, we must add that Yugoslavia took a sharp anti-Soviet position, the Yugoslav state. And she recognized it as the last of all the Slavic and Balkan states only in the summer of 1940. And one more factor that also cannot be discounted is Russian emigration.

D. ZAKHAROV: Quite numerous, I must say.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes, both influential and militant. Well, I’ll just remind you that it was in Yugoslavia that the Russian all-military union of General Wrangel was located.

V. DYMARSKY: In general, there were 3 centers of Russian emigration in Europe after 1917 - Yugoslavia, Prague and, naturally, Paris and France.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. So, there were attempts, returning to the internal problems of Yugoslavia, to solve these interethnic contradictions through constitutional reforms several times. But in general, unfortunately, they all failed, and as a result, on each side - Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian - and on the side of all other peoples, in general, such mutual rejection and intolerance grew. Radical, even terrorist organizations emerged, such as the Croatian or Macedonian Internal Revolutionary Organization, which, by the way, in 1934, in general, their members killed King Alexander Karadjordjevic. Well, then - we’ll talk about this - after the attack by Germany and its allies... And I also want to say that it was not only Germany that attacked Yugoslavia, but it was also Italy, Tsarist Bulgaria and Chartist Hungary. And as a result, the Yugoslav state was defeated.

V. DYMARSKY: Sergey. Before we move on to the conquest of Yugoslavia, to the attack on Yugoslavia - this is April 1941, I think that we still need to say a few words about how Yugoslavia entered and joined the Tripartite Pact. And about the events of the end of March, probably 1941.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes, definitely. Indeed, Yugoslavia, as I already said, due to the fact that, firstly, due to fears...

V. DYMARSKY: When did they join?

S. ROMANENKO: The Habsburgs - it was in March 1941. This caused such indignation that the next day a coup d'état actually took place.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. And the slogan was the well-known catchphrase: “Bolje rat nego pact.”

V. DYMARSKY: And in translation?

S. ROMANENKO: “War is better than a pact.” But if you and I remember the situation in 1941 and the position of the Soviet Union, which had an agreement and the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, then this, in general, also sounded somewhat like that, ambivalent, I would say. That is, this concerned not only Yugoslavia.

D. ZAKHAROV: Here it is necessary to say a few words regarding the position of the Soviet Union in relation to Yugoslavia.

S. ROMANENKO: This is also a very complex, interesting and, in general, far unexplored topic. The fact is that the Comintern and the Soviet government in the 20s tried and set a course for the destruction of Yugoslavia both in socio-political terms and as a state. Well, rather, for transformation. The slogan of this Balkan Communist Federation was put forward.

V. DYMARSKY: Sorry, I’ll interrupt you. Of course, this is looking ahead, but, in general, this slogan was picked up by Tito after the war.

S. ROMANENKO: Oh, you know, no. This slogan, in fact, was not born in the 20s either, it was born earlier.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, it doesn’t matter. In any case, he took up the practical implementation of this, right? There, populating Kosovo with Albanians, thus attracting Albania and Bulgaria. Well, this is post-war history. Let's not do it now.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. This, perhaps, does not really apply to the Federation.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, how? He wanted to create the Balkan Federation.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. But this, I hope, maybe then. Unfortunately, this is beyond the scope of our program.

V. DYMARSKY: Yes, yes. Let's. Otherwise, we don’t have enough time for pre-war and wartime.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. So. On the one hand, the Soviet Union and the Comintern sought to transform Yugoslavia along communist lines, and on the other hand, the Soviet government made every effort to achieve recognition by Yugoslavia and establish diplomatic relations. But, as I already said, this happened only in 1940, already in the conditions of the immediate threat from Germany and Italy that Yugoslavia experienced.

D. ZAKHAROV: Here it is necessary to explain why Germany threatened Yugoslavia. Italy – this is understandable – is nearby. What did the Germans forget there?

S. ROMANENKO: No, not only nearby. And it was simply about the implementation of German policy - this applied not only to Yugoslavia, this also applied to Greece. That is, German expansion to the southeast. And by the way. Balkan problems, however, Yugoslavia was not mentioned there, but the Balkans were discussed at the famous meeting between Molotov and Hitler during the visit. Therefore, in general, the position of the Soviet Union towards Yugoslavia was contradictory. In addition, I must remind you once again that, after all, Yugoslavia was a center of emigration. And, naturally, the Soviet government could not ignore this issue one way or another. Because the emigration was, for the most part, still strongly anti-Soviet. Although later, especially the younger generation, began to show sympathy for the Soviet Union. Especially during the war.

V. DYMARSKY: During the war, of course.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. And in historiography there are different points of view. But it seems that the fact that the British intelligence services also took some part in it is considered proven, so to speak. But as far as I understand, there are some hints that suggest that the Soviet intelligence services also took part in this. But to what extent and how—those documents will probably go to historians of future generations. And, of course, of course, the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, which was then already headed by Tito - of course, it also took part in this. But again, here we must keep in mind that she was generally in a very ambivalent position. This was also evident after the attack on the night of April 5-6. Because, on the one hand, it had to take an anti-German position, and on the other hand, it was oriented towards the Soviet Union, which had an agreement with Germany.

Here you go. And, in short, a coup d'état took place. But, nevertheless, Yugoslavia was simply forced to confirm that it would still adhere to the tripartite pact, and in the documents there are statements that, in general, the Soviet Union reacted to this with understanding, just purely practically. Then the Soviet-Yugoslav negotiations began, which ended, as I already said, with the signing of the Soviet-Yugoslav treaty on the night of April 5-6.

D. ZAKHAROV: 1941.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. But it was then, precisely on this night that Germany attacked Yugoslavia. By the way, I must say that the attack on Yugoslavia did not cause much delight among the allies and, in particular, Hungary and Bulgaria, in general, not very much...

V. DYMARSKY: Although they got territorial pieces.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes, yes.

D. ZAKHAROV: Did they directly participate in the aggression?

S. ROMANENKO: Yes, of course.

D. ZAKHAROV: And by what forces? Nominal? Or so, in an adult way?

S. ROMANENKO: No, like an adult. Then, well, as for Bulgaria, it was she who, so to speak, seemed to have taken revenge for the second Balkan war. She got Macedonia, which was part of Serbia. Well, Hungary got a piece of Slovenia too, yes.

V. DYMARSKY: She got a piece of Slovenia, right?

S. ROMANENKO: No, and Slovenia too.

V. DYMARSKY: Slovenia too? In Slovenia – there were mostly Germans there, right?

S. ROMANENKO: No. There, Slovenia was divided into 3 parts - Italy, Germany and Hungary. There, I want to say again that each territory had its own destiny, which, in general, introduces additional complexity into our story, because we need to somehow tell about everything. But at the same time, I must say that I will have to be forced to speak, to name some kind of ethnonym, for example, Serbs or Croats, but it is clear that we are not talking about a whole people, but about some groups or individuals. I also wanted to emphasize this, because, after all, such collective guilt does not exist.

D. ZAKHAROV: Yes. Well, the Germans attacked along with the Bulgarians and Hungarians.

S. ROMANENKO: And Italians.

V. DYMARSKY: And the Italians.

D. ZAKHAROV: And Italians, yes. What happened next chronologically?

V. DYMARSKY: No. I am sorry. So they attacked, they captured and divided Yugoslavia among themselves, right? Yugoslavia was already such a rather patchwork quilt, where different peoples gathered at one time.

D. ZAKHAROV: Vitaly, let them fight a little before (INAUDIBLE).

V. DYMARSKY: No, no, no. So how? They immediately... Was there some new division within Yugoslavia? And how was it formed?

S. ROMANENKO: Well, firstly, Yugoslavia was divided, basically, well, with the exception of these small Hungarian and Bulgarian pieces, it was divided mainly into Italian and German occupation zones. Secondly, on April 10, even before the signing of the capitulation in Zagreb, this independent state of Croatia was proclaimed, formally led by the Duke of Spoleto, but in fact the Ustasha came to power. That is, it is a nationalist, terrorist organization led by Ante Pavelic, which was created back in 1929.

Then, on April 17, the capitulation was signed, and King Peter II Karageorgievich and his government went first to Greece, then to Egypt, well, in order to then move to London. And, in general, a situation has arisen that several political centers have been formed on the territory of Yugoslavia, or something. Well. relatively speaking, all the occupiers - I won’t list them then, then the communist resistance led by Tito gradually began to form. And then the anti-communist resistance. Probably its most prominent representative was the Serbian movement of the so-called Chetniks, led by Draže Mihailovic. As for other parts of Yugoslavia, there was no such pronounced non-communist resistance, but there were significant manifestations of collaboration. This, by the way, also applies to Serbia. Maybe then we should start with Serbia?

V. DYMARSKY: Nedich?

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. Well, the first prime minister of this government under the Germans was Milan Acimovic. He was then replaced by Milan Nedić in August. And, by the way, I must tell you that in one of the books dedicated to the allies of the Soviet Union, Nedich mysteriously turned out to be ranked among the allies of the Soviet Union. But this is by no means true. I don't really know how this happened, but just keep it in mind.

And it must be said that in Serbia there were negotiations, on the one hand, between Draže Mihailovic and Tito - there was an attempt to create a united resistance, which failed. Well, simply because it was initially clear that they represent 2 different concepts for the restoration of Yugoslavia - communist internationalist and royal, in general, Serbian nationalist. And, besides, of course, there was personal rivalry. But in addition, there were attempts to establish contacts between Draže Mihailovich and Nedic. And sometimes now in modern Serbian publications you come across such, you know, regrets, or something, that they were unable to come to an agreement. Well, the Nedich government, in fact, lasted until 1945. Here’s something else that’s probably important to note. Sometimes they try to portray him as the savior of the Serbian people, but I think that this, in general, does not correspond to reality and, so to speak, he should probably be treated the same way as Pétain.

V. DYMARSKY: I just wanted to say that the figure is probably very similar to Pétain.

S. ROMANENKO: He was absolutely under German command.

D. ZAKHAROV: Control.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes, control, indeed. And, in general, of course, I think that, in general, it’s not worth talking about the fact that he saved the Serbian people. As for his political ideal, it was a great peasant Serbia. In this he may have differed from Draž Mihailovic, who, after all, advocated the creation of Yugoslavia. Although on a Serbian basis, nevertheless, there should have been 3 parts - great Serbia, great Croatia, very much cut up, and great Slovenia. And one of the main, probably, political moments in the history of the Chetnik movement was the Svyatoslav so-called congress in 1944, where there was an attempt to present some kind of detailed political program. Well, in general, it must be said that the attempt was already quite belated, because by that time the military-political situation during the war itself was completely different, and besides, Tito and his supporters were able to develop their own program.

V. DYMARSKY: Sergey, here’s a question. These are the 2 resistances - Mikhailovich and Tito. They fought the Germans, but were there any clashes between them? Did they have to fight among themselves? Between Mihailovic and Tito.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes, definitely. Yes, sure.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, in fact, each of these movements fought with two opponents.

S. ROMANENKO: Everyone is against everyone. But here’s another thing, you know?

D. ZAKHAROV: Did you fight against the Italians, Bulgarians, and Hungarians? Or, as it were, treated it as something secondary?

S. ROMANENKO: Well, firstly, the Chetniks also participated in the operations of German and Italian troops against the communists, naturally. Well, this was simply the logic of the struggle. Secondly, I'm just lost, who are they with?

V. DYMARSKY: Well, against the allies - Italians, Hungarians, Bulgarians.

S. ROMANENKO: No. Rather, with the Italians, in general, I think, we had, perhaps, the best, if I may use such a word, relations.

V. DYMARSKY: The Chetniks?

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. Well, in general, the Chetniks were not the only armed formation on the territory of Serbia. There were some others there too. For example, supporters of Dmitry Letich. And, by the way, they, perhaps, aroused the greatest sympathy of part of the Russian corps, which I already mentioned. Well, like the Chetniks, too. But then, somewhere at the end of 1944, when such a situation arose that it was necessary to choose not some ideological subtleties, but the offensive of the Soviet army and the strengthened army of Tito, then that’s all, in general , acted on the same side, and the Chetniks fought alongside the Ustasha side by side.

V. DYMARSKY: We still have some time before the break. I would like you to answer a question that has already come two or three times from different people: is anything known about the Serbian SS units? Another version of this question is whether there was an SS legion like Galicia in Ukraine on the territory of Yugoslavia?

S. ROMANENKO: Well, you know, there are 2 different questions here. Because Serbs are one thing, on the territory of Yugoslavia is another matter.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, I think that now let’s talk about Serbia.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. Well, I’ll tell you about others too. As for the special parts themselves. As far as I know, there were none, but according to the Russian historian Mikhail Ivanovich Semiryagi, who wrote a large volume about collaboration. In my opinion, about 2 thousand Serbs served in the SS troops - this is the figure given there.

D. ZAKHAROV: Well, as volunteers - not as formations?

S. ROMANENKO: No, not as a formation, no. As for other nations, well, yes, the Croats had SS units, and the Bosnian Muslims had them. And, by the way, if it’s interesting, my colleague, a historian with a surname similar to mine - his surname is Romanko - published a book, I think it’s called “The Muslim Legion in the Second World War” - all this is written in detail there.

V. DYMARSKY: We no longer have time, not only to listen to your answer, but even to ask a question. Therefore, I simply inform our audience: we will now pause for a few minutes, after which we will continue our conversation with Sergei Romanenko on the topic of “Yugoslavia in the Second World War.” See you in a few minutes.

V. DYMARSKY: The “Price of Victory” program. Dmitry Zakharov.

D. ZAKHAROV: And Vitaly Dymarsky.

V. DYMARSKY: And our guest Sergei Romanenko. We are talking about Yugoslavia during the Second World War. We talked about Serbia, about the fate of Serbia after the German attack and after the division of virtually pre-war Yugoslavia, or rather, the tearing away of the Yugoslavia that was on the eve of the war into pieces that went to Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy and Germany. Well, we should probably move on, here, again, judging by the SMS we receive, and also by the questions that came on the eve of the broadcast, let’s now move on to Croatia - everyone is very interested in Croatia, this famous NGH - the independent state of Croatia, which was formed from the ruins of everything that was there. And, by the way, I’ll immediately ask you a question after you tell us about the independent state: is it correct to draw a parallel or consider that today’s Croatia is a successor, heir, a product of that independent state of Croatia? So, from the beginning and from the end.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. As a historian, I am drawn to start at the beginning. So. As I already said, on April 10, 1941, the independent state of Croatia was proclaimed, or in Croatian and, naturally, in Serbian, NGH - it’s just better known that way than in Russian transcription. Led by leader Ante Pavelić, it was an ideological, nationalist state that covered the territory of not only Croatia, but also Bosnia and Herzegovina. It must be said that this, among other things, also gave rise to contradictions between the Croatian and Bosnian-Muslim national movements, and in a very interesting form. Supporters of Pavelic believed that the Croats were Goths, of Gothic origin, and supporters of Bosnian-Muslim nationalism believed that the Bosniaks were also of Gothic origin, that they belonged to a certain Bosno tribe, which was in the Balkans in the early Middle Ages.

V. DYMARSKY: What about Islam?

S. ROMANENKO: No. Here. And on the other hand, you know, Islam. This is difficult, because it’s the same Pavelich, and I must say, he’s not the only one, but this goes back to the ideological tradition of the 19th century. The Croats considered Bosnian Muslims - well, not all Croats, of course - just Muslim Croats. And even moreover, the purest part of the Croatian nation. Even so. Well, I want to say again that it was an ideological state, which was based, firstly, on foreign bayonets - let’s be honest. Secondly, initially a large part of the population of Croatia, the Croats welcomed the creation of this state, because it was believed that this was liberation from Serbian rule. Once again I want to say that this goes back to the politics of the 20-30s, when, indeed, Belgrade’s policy was not the most reasonable in relation to the non-Serbian peoples of the kingdom. And then gradually, when his terrorist essence began to manifest itself in relation not only, by the way, to Serbs, Jews and Bosnian Muslims, but also in relation to the Croats themselves... Well, naturally, the situation at the fronts affected. The Ustasha were increasingly losing support, then, if I’m not mistaken, in 1943, in my opinion, there was an attempt, something like the assassination of the famous Hitler, against Ante Pavelic, but it also ended in failure.

V. DYMARSKY: Here, excuse me, I will literally interrupt you for a second. But after the occupation of those parts of Yugoslavia that fell to Germany, Hitler came there, right?

D. ZAKHAROV: Well, about the assassination attempt.

S. ROMANENKO: No, no, not on Hitler - on Ante Pavelic.

V. DYMARSKY: No, but I say, Hitler came, by the way, there, to Yugoslavia. Moreover, he visited the Croats.

D. ZAKHAROV: Sergey, I have such an inevitable question. Here, Yugoslavia is occupied. What kind of regime was there? Hard, very hard or quite...

V. DYMARSKY: Occupation.

D. ZAKHAROV: Occupation, yes. Or quite calm?

S. ROMANENKO: You know, in different ways, at different times.

V. DYMARSKY: Does it also vary by territory?

S. ROMANENKO: And then, in general terms, we can say that the Italian regime seemed to be considered softer. Well, not the most, but softer.

D. ZAKHAROV: And the Bulgarians, Hungarians? Were you angry?

S. ROMANENKO: The fact is that there were somewhat different relationships there. And, of course, this always brought additional aggravation between neighboring peoples. It is also, of course, impossible to ignore the question of the participation, strictly speaking, of the residents of the former Yugoslavia, regardless of nationality, in the war on the Russian front.

D. ZAKHAROV: On the territory of the Soviet Union.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. Well, firstly, of course, the most important thing is that Croatian units were sent there, which took part in the battle of Stalingrad. And, naturally, the Croatian military personnel shared the fate of, in general, German, Romanian and other military personnel. They were, those who survived, taken prisoner, and then, on the basis of these prisoners, a military formation was created, which already fought together with the Soviet army against the invaders, and which entered Belgrade already in 1944.

D. ZAKHAROV: Well, I must say that there were also aviation units staffed by Croats.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. And there were sailors. And, by the way, they were in Crimea. And now, unfortunately, I don’t remember in which publication, the memoirs of one woman were published, who as a girl communicated, so to speak, with the Croatian sailors who were there in 1942.

V. DYMARSKY: Were there any atrocities committed by the Croats against the Serbs?

S. ROMANENKO: Of course, yes. But I have to tell you...

V. DYMARSKY: Did you take revenge?

S. ROMANENKO: No. This is not a rematch. I think that this is just some kind of psychology, accumulated contradictions. But I must tell you, by the way, that there were not only atrocities of the Croats against the Serbs. Although, perhaps, they were to the greatest extent. But there were also atrocities by Serbs against Bosnian Muslims, Croats, and Bosnian Muslims against Serbs, and so on.

D. ZAKHAROV: Well, yes.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, everyone loved each other very much.

D. ZAKHAROV: This is a layer cake. But let's go back to the east.

S. ROMANENKO: And I must tell you that, of course, Tito’s partisans also made their contribution. That is, the civilian population found itself caught between all the fires.

D. ZAKHAROV: Let's fight on the Eastern Front before Tito. After all, the Serbs were also on the Eastern Front, and there were also various Serbian formations, from which they quite often defected to the side of the Red Army. As for the Croats. A very characteristic detail was that some of Germany’s allies who fought on the territory of the Soviet Union were Romanians, some others...

V. DYMARSKY: Italians, Hungarians.

D. ZAKHAROV: Yes. They committed atrocities worse than the Wehrmacht. This is how Yugoslav envoys behaved on our land?

S. ROMANENKO: Well, you know, there are no special studies about this. Well, based only on those memories that I spoke about, of course, in general, it is impossible to build any theory. But I think that, perhaps, they, in general, did not particularly stand out against the general background. And this was within the framework of some general situation of relations between the population and the occupiers. And I think that if it was necessary to fight the partisans, then they naturally fought the partisans.

D. ZAKHAROV: No, I mean something else. Let’s say that, according to the recollections of people who ended up under the Italians, they are the most benevolent - that is, they don’t rob, don’t rape, they’re politically correct. If Romanians were there, then often the Germans even stood up for the civilian population - it was such a riot.

S. ROMANENKO: Well, you know, this just requires additional study, because, frankly speaking, no one specifically did this...

V. DYMARSKY: But Alexander from St. Petersburg asks us: “Is it true that Croatia was the only country other than Germany that had its own concentration camps.”

S. ROMANENKO: Well, the only one - I don’t know, but there really were concentration camps, yes.

D. ZAKHAROV: And where?

S. ROMANENKO: Well, the most famous, excuse me, is Yasenovets. But the fact is that in Croatia, naturally, a racial policy was pursued - I have already mentioned this briefly - and its victims, of course, were, first of all, Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies. Well, anti-fascist Croats too.

V. DYMARSKY: Sergey, you did not answer one question, only, if possible, very briefly. The Independent State of Croatia, or IHC, and present-day Croatia.

S. ROMANENKO: I will answer briefly: “No.” The current Croatian statehood dates back to the decisions of the regional council of national liberation of Croatia during the war. No.

V. DYMARSKY: That is, it has nothing to do with the Ustasha?

S. ROMANENKO: Although, do you understand how? There, of course, there was a very strong and continues to be a certain nationalist current associated with Croatian migration. But in principle, of course, the Croatian state, through the socialist Republic of Croatia, into which the Republic of Croatia has become, it conducts its...

V. DYMARSKY: Well, don’t forget that, by the way, Tito was a Croat.

S. ROMANENKO: Well, you know, I think it doesn’t matter much. Well, Stalin was Georgian - so what?

D. ZAKHAROV: Well, yes.

V. DYMARSKY: By the way, they ask here: “Is Tito a pseudonym?”

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. His real name is Broz. Well, there are many different legends about Tito, such as that he was a woman or a lieutenant general in the Red Army, but let's not discuss that. (laughs)

V. DYMARSKY: This is known.

D. ZAKHAROV: Yes, yes, yes. Then he moved to his homeland with all the ensuing consequences. Let's finish the war on the Eastern Front. The contribution of the people of Yugoslavia to the overall cause of the Axis was clearly insignificant, as far as I understand. How many were there?

S. ROMANENKO: No. Certainly not.

D. ZAKHAROV: The exact numbers are not known? Plus or minus.

S. ROMANENKO: Well, you know, it’s really hard to say. Because, in general, historiography is quite, so to speak, tendentious, I generally treat all these figures with great caution.

D. ZAKHAROV: Well, what kind of order was there?

S. ROMANENKO: Several tens of thousands, I think. Well, considering these Croatian ones, the 369th, in my opinion, regiment.

D. ZAKHAROV: Because the same Spaniards, they marked themselves with one volunteer regiment, and there were nothing of them there. Now I think...

V. DYMARSKY: Slovenia?

D. ZAKHAROV: Yes.

S. ROMANENKO: Well, Slovenia, as I already said, was divided between Italy, Germany and Hungary. And there, too, there was a rather complicated situation, about which we know practically nothing. And, by the way, this also manifested itself in the assessment of events already in the early 90s, when they said that the Slovenes were traditionally oriented towards Germany. But the point is that the Slovenians resisted Germany precisely because they were under the threat of national destruction, simply because they could disappear as a people. It was either destruction or assimilation.

V. DYMARSKY: Well, at that time the Germans also had a plan to resettle the Bessarabian Germans there, to Slovenia.

S. ROMANENKO: Well, by the way, in general these resettlement plans - they also existed among the Serbs, for example, an exchange of population with the NGH. And, by the way, I must tell you that there was a diplomatic representation of the NGH in Belgrade, despite the contradictions.

D. ZAKHAROV: On the complexity of relationships.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. And, returning to Slovenia. There were also 2 resistances. One is the liberation front led by the communists, the other is the national council, which was oriented towards the London government, on the one hand. And on the other hand, of course, there were some contacts with the occupation administrations. There were various kinds of projects. And, in particular, it is very interesting: Slovenian, so to speak, liberals and clergy reproached the communists for wanting to create a Central European federation, well, this is around 1943-44. Well, then, however, the communists already began to create a Yugoslav federation, and the same Slovenian clerics really wanted to create the same Central European Catholic federation as a barrier against communism. But nothing came of it. They also had their own armed formations, and it must be said that the Yugoslav, or Slovenian, communists in this case treated them quite harshly, and Edward Kardel, one of Tito’s closest associates and friends, proposed killing members of the White and Blue Guards, these paramilitary forces. By the way, do you know what we haven't touched on yet? Kosovo, sorry. Here, too, I will say very briefly, there was a difficult situation, because, on the one hand, there is a known case when Albanians saved Serbs from the occupiers. And, by the way, the first national hero of Yugoslavia was an Albanian. On the other hand, in Serbian political thought there were widespread ideas that Kosovo is a purely ethnically Serbian territory, and all Albanians, so to speak, should be evicted from there. Well, the head of the Albanian administration under the Italians, he said, “The Serbs must be killed.”

D. ZAKHAROV: Yes, wonderful, wonderful.

V. DYMARSKY: By the way, I’ll take literally 20 seconds here. Here Andrey from Moscow asks: “So what about the Albanians in Kosovo?” Andrey, I have all the statistics on the population of Kosovo, for different years. I'll just give you 2 numbers. 1921 - immediately after the First World War - 66% Albanians, 26% Serbs. Well, the rest is the rest of the nations. 1939, the beginning of the First World War - 60% Albanians, 34% Serbs. And let’s take the year 1991 – 82% Albanians, 11% Serbs. This is before all the passions, before all the wars. That is, it was increasing all the time. However, about 2 ⁄ 3 and one, and even a quarter are Serbs.

D. ZAKHAROV: I mean Albanians.

V. DYMARSKY: Albanians - 2/3, basically, and then more and more, and Serbs - somewhere around a quarter of the population, well, and even less.

D. ZAKHAROV: Sergey, the question for which we have very little time left is the partisan movement in Yugoslavia. Who fought against the Germans? How effective and how much did it cost the civilian Yugoslav population?

S. ROMANENKO: No, well, naturally, I already said that it was communist resistance. And the Communist Party of Yugoslavia turned out to be the only party that acted from an internationalist position, which in the end, probably, attracted a significant part of the population to them, along with the change in the situation on the Soviet-German front in the first place. But the fact is that, as I already said, in 1942-1943 the foundations of the modern Yugoslav statehood, until 1991, were laid. An anti-fascist veche was created, that is, the People's Liberation Council of Yugoslavia. Then a government was formed, which was recognized by the Soviet Union in 1944, and a military mission was sent to Tito, and Tito’s representatives ended up in Moscow. Well, along the way, in general, the foundations of a new statehood began to be created, that is, the authorities. And, as recently published research documents suggest, in general, this concerned not only some general political and military problems, but also the creation, naturally, of security agencies, counterintelligence, and so on. Which, in turn, again, going a little beyond the scope, had an impact in 1948 during the Stalin-Tito conflict.

V. DYMARSKY: I want to ask a very, in my opinion, interesting question about the partisans. Ruslan Shaipov, computer technology, Moscow, Russia. He asks the following question, I will try in a condensed form, since it is written quite extensively here: how could partisans, not professionals, and in general he says that partisan movements - well, they are effective, but quite on a limited scale, in a limited meaning - could ...

D. ZAKHAROV: They are effective if they are staffed by professionals.

V. DYMARSKY: Yes. So, they could form a whole army that actually won the war with the same Germans, with the occupiers?

S. ROMANENKO: Yes, you know, in general, this is a very interesting question.

V. DYMARSKY: Where does the military training come from?

D. ZAKHAROV: Supply, which is the most important thing.

S. ROMANENKO: No. Well, supplies – it was, after all, from the allies, firstly.

D. ZAKHAROV: Well, how?

S. ROMANENKO: Although also about supplies - there, too, it is still believed that the Soviet Union provided insufficient military assistance. But there was also help from Great Britain. But you see, on the one hand, the policy of the occupiers pushed just ordinary ordinary people to fight, one way or another. And I think that it was precisely for this, so to speak, preparation that many lives were paid. I think there is no need to exaggerate here - they really were... Now, if, excuse me, in the 90s everyone fought against everyone, then here people somehow united, precisely on the basis of some idea and resistance to this violence, which came from all directions.

D. ZAKHAROV: Well, by doing so they increased the violence. After all, hostages were taken for the destruction of German soldiers.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes. How could it have been different, on the other side?

V. DYMARSKY: Well, Yugoslavia paid a high price, because as a percentage of the population, the number of victims is in 3rd place after Poland, which is in first place, and the Soviet Union.

S. ROMANENKO: Well, then, I think that, after all, there was some kind of help and personnel from the allies, I think. We just don’t know about it yet.

D. ZAKHAROV: But the fact remains a fact. The partisan movement there was quite active, well, on a national scale. And they could not destroy it throughout the entire period of occupation.

S. ROMANENKO: There were very difficult times there in 1942-1943. Well, besides, indeed, Yugoslavia turned out to be the only country that was liberated on its own, with the exception of the Belgrade operation. Because Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia. And probably the very last thing I want to say. Yes, of course, there were those very crimes, unfortunately committed by all sides, but at the core was this desire for national self-determination, the creation of their own states. This happened among the Serbs, among the Croats, among the Bosnian Muslims, Slovenes, Albanians and Macedonians.

V. DYMARSKY: Which was realized already at the end of the 20th century.

S. ROMANENKO: Yes.

D. ZAKHAROV: Thank you for participating in today’s program.

V. DYMARSKY: It was “The Price of Victory.” This was this part of “The Price of Victory”, and at the end, as usual, a portrait from Tikhon Dzyadko. All the best.

D. ZAKHAROV: Goodbye.

S. ROMANENKO: Goodbye.

PORTRAIT FROM TIKHON DZYADKO

The life of Vasily Blucher as an explanation of what the Stalinist USSR was. Today he is a hero of the Civil War, a famous military leader who defeated the “whites” in the Far East, and tomorrow he is arrested on charges of military conspiracy and espionage for Japan. Blucher's biography is a revolutionary dream. From the lower classes, born in a village in the Yaroslavl province, participant in the demonstration, and for this, persecuted from the factory, a legend of the Civil War.

Blücher became Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1935, one of the first five senior military officers to receive this rank. He played by the rules, or rather, by the concepts of that time, most of all showing this during the case of Tukhachevsky and those who were convicted along with him. Together with other famous military leaders, he became a member of the special judicial presence of the Supreme Court, which in June 1937 sentenced Tukhachevsky and a group of Soviet military officers to death in the so-called “fascist military conspiracy case.” And a year later he himself became the accused.

He experienced all the delights of the Soviet repressive machine in full. He did not last long in Lefortovo - he died from torture and torture. And the death sentence for Vasily Blucher appeared only six months after he died. The deadly machine worked like clockwork, and yesterday’s marshal turned from an executioner into a victim, essentially becoming the last one for everything that happened during the conflict at Lake Khasan. The renowned hero was accused of defeatism, duplicity, indiscipline and sabotaging the armed resistance to Japanese troops. The Soviet leadership's skills in rewriting history were impeccable.

A state in the Balkans led by the ruling Karageorgievic dynasty.

As a result of the severe political crisis that engulfed the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, associated with the death of one of the opposition leaders, the head of the Croatian Peasant Party faction, who was mortally wounded in 1928 in the assembly (parliament), on January 6, 1929, King Alexander I Karadjordjević abolished The Vidovdan constitution was dissolved by the current parliament. The king's next step was to rename the country the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (October 3, 1929). Behind the renaming of the country was hidden the new official ideology of the so-called. integral Yugoslavism, when instead of different peoples living in the country, the authorities proclaimed on paper a single people - the Yugoslavs. The authorities attempted not only to suppress the sprouts of nationalism by force, but also to breathe new life into society. At the same time, the police actively fought against communists, Ustashas and other opponents of the regime. Only two years after the coup d'état, the king granted the Octroted Constitution of 1931, which consolidated the unlimited power of the monarch, established a bicameral parliament (so that the king would enjoy the undoubted support of the upper house), in the elections of which those political parties whose voters would be eligible could participate. throughout the country, and not in individual regions. The king's decision caused protest on the part of most political figures; some politicians even emigrated from the country (S. Pribicevic).

According to the Constitution, only one party was allowed to participate in the elections - the Yugoslav Radical Peasant Democracy (since 1933 the Yugoslav National Party), the leader of which was Prime Minister P. Zivkovic. It is curious that the elections themselves were held through open voting. The leaders of the opposition Peasant Democratic Coalition adopted the “Zagreb Punctuations” in 1932, demanding federalization of the country and guarantees of equal rights for all peoples of the country. In the same year, the Ustasha, led by Yugoslav, who fled the country, made an unsuccessful attempt to raise an uprising in Yugoslavia. In 1933 on the island. Hvar was interned by the leader of the Slovenian National Party A. Korošec, one of the few politicians who initially approved of the king's decisive actions.

Reign of Prince Regent Paul

The situation in the country changed dramatically after the assassination of Alexander I Karageorgievich in Marseille in October 1934. Under the young heir Peter II, a regency council was created headed by the late king's cousin Prince Paul, which weakened the dictatorship. The united opposition led by V. Maczek took part in the elections of 1935; the victory by a slight majority of votes of the pro-government coalition was considered a failure and led to the resignation of the current cabinet of ministers. There was a revival of the oldest Serbian radical party called the Yugoslav Radical Union (YURS). The leader of this party and at the same time the head of government in 1935-1939. M. Stojadinovic took a number of decisive steps in foreign policy (agreements were concluded with Bulgaria and Italy), the prime minister also tried to resolve the internal political conflict. In 1937, he initiated the signing of the Concordat with the Vatican, but this government step caused violent indignation among representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church (during the crisis, Patriarch Varnava (Rosich) suddenly died, which again led to a severe crisis and numerous demonstrations of opponents of the agreement). As a result of this unsuccessful step in the 1938 elections, the opposition received even more votes, which predetermined the resignation of Stojadinović on February 5, 1939. The new head of government, D. Cvetković (JRS), made serious concessions to opposition representatives, signing an agreement with V on August 26, 1939. Machek, the leader of the HCP, on the creation of the Croatian Banovina, consisting of the Sava and Primorska Banovinas, as well as several areas of the neighboring Banovinas, which actually included territories with a predominantly Croatian population. The post of ban was established, and a local parliament, the Sabor, was created (the issue of the final division of powers and determining the boundaries of the ban was postponed until the king came of age in September 1941). According to this agreement, a coalition government was formed led by Cvetkovic, and Macek was given the post of deputy prime minister.

Defeat of Yugoslavia

The new government tried to maintain neutrality during the period, largely continuing the policies of M. Stojadinovic, but direct threats from Italy and Germany forced the government to sign the protocol of March 25, 1941 on joining the Tripartite Pact. In response, anti-fascist demonstrations swept across the country (Belgrade, Ljubljana, Split, Podgorica, Skopje). Just two days later, a group of military men led by Air Force General D. Simovich carried out a coup d'état and overthrew the government, Peter II was proclaimed king ahead of schedule. The actions of the new government were hectic and inconsistent. Despite the official statement confirming loyalty to the agreement, the Wehrmacht war machine had already been launched. On April 6, 1941, German troops and their allies launched Operation Punishment, which ended with the rapid capture of the entire country. The Yugoslav army offered virtually no resistance; in Zagreb, German units were greeted with flowers. On April 18, in Belgrade, Yugoslav Foreign Minister Cincar-Marković and General Janković signed the surrender. Peter II and part of the government left the country, promulgating the Declaration on the continuation of the fight against the occupiers.

Background

During the early stages of World War II, Berlin viewed Yugoslavia as an "unreliable neutral" and believed that it should either be firmly tied to the Tripartite Pact or destroyed. In November 1940, intensive negotiations between Yugoslav leaders and representatives of the Axis powers began. For its accession to the Tripartite Pact, Yugoslavia demanded the port of Thessaloniki (despite the fact that the fighting Greece formally remained an ally of Yugoslavia), but Italy opposed this. To bring some sense to Belgrade, Mussolini ordered the bombing of Yugoslav territory. The raid of Italian bombers on the city of Bitol in Macedonia somewhat reduced the claims of Yugoslav politicians.

In parallel with German efforts, Anglo-American diplomacy was active in Belgrade. Winston Churchill sent a personal letter to Yugoslav Prime Minister Dragisa Cvetkovic, warning that Yugoslavia's accession to the Triple Alliance would make the country's disintegration inevitable. From the beginning of 1941, the British embassy in Belgrade became the headquarters of the anti-German opposition in Yugoslavia.

On March 1, 1941, Bulgaria joined the Tripartite Pact, and German troops entered its territory. Yugoslavia found itself surrounded by Axis member countries. On March 19, a meeting of the Crown Council took place in Belgrade. Prince Regent Paul and almost all the country's leading politicians spoke in favor of Yugoslavia joining the Triple Alliance. On 25 March, the Yugoslav delegation signed a protocol in Vienna on Yugoslavia's accession to the Tripartite Pact.

At the news of the signing of the Vienna Protocol, Yugoslavia was swept by mass demonstrations under the slogan “Better war than a pact!” On the night of March 26–27, a group of senior Yugoslav army officers with close ties to London carried out a military coup. The new government was headed by General Dusan Simović. The press of Great Britain, the USA and neutral countries regarded the coup in Belgrade as “spit in the face of Hitler.” The Yugoslav coup was assessed in the same way in Berlin. On March 27, Hitler issued “Directive No. 025,” in which he stated that “the military putsch in Yugoslavia changed the political situation in the Balkans.” The declaration ordered the Wehrmacht command to consider Yugoslavia as an enemy, regardless of possible manifestations of loyalty, and to begin preparations for the invasion.

Invasion

At dawn on April 6, 1941, German aircraft invaded Yugoslav airspace. Belgrade was subjected to especially fierce bombing - this was Hitler’s response to “spit in the face.” On the same day, German, Italian, Bulgarian and Hungarian troops invaded Yugoslav territory. By the end of April 10, on the fourth day of the war, the Yugoslav army ceased to exist as an organized force. On the morning of April 13, the Germans entered Belgrade. On April 15, the Yugoslav government left the country. On April 17, an act of complete and unconditional surrender of the Yugoslav army was signed in Belgrade.

Already in the first days of Hitler's aggression, the collapse of the Yugoslav state began. On April 10, in Zagreb, the Ustasha proclaimed the Independent State of Croatia (it included Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina). Italian troops occupied Montenegro and the southern part of Slovenia. The northern part of Slovenia went to Germany, the eastern part to Hungary. Hungary also received Vojvodina, Bulgaria - Macedonia, and Albania - Kosovo. The puppet Government of National Salvation of Milan Nedić was created in German-occupied Serbia, and a kingdom under Italian protectorate was created in Italian-occupied Montenegro.

Yugoslav resistance

After the occupation and collapse of Yugoslavia, there were only two real forces that advocated the restoration of the unity of the country: the royal government, which fled the country, and the Communist Party, which, despite the terror of the occupation authorities, retained its organizational structure throughout its territory.

The exile government of Yugoslavia, led by General Dusan Simović, based in Cairo, was also supported by the United States. It did not have its own armed forces or its own network of underground organizations, and all its activities in organizing resistance at first came down to broadcasts on English radio, in which the people of Yugoslavia were asked to wait until better times.

Since April, a small group of Serbian officers led by Colonel Dragoljub Mihailović was operating in Serbia, in the Ravna Gora area. After the surrender of the army, this group did not lay down its arms and, having gone to the mountains, began organizing partisan detachments on the territory of Serbia. By tradition, Serbian partisans called themselves "Chetniks". Mikhailovich established contact with the exile government, but avoided any military action against the occupiers. Mihailovich's Chetniks stood in Great Serbian positions; he himself liked to repeat: “My enemies are Croats, Muslims and communists.”

Since the end of May, the Communist Party of Yugoslavia began the formation of partisan groups in Serbia. Initially, their numbers were small, but in May 1941, the Croatian Ustasha began mass extermination of the Serbian population, and thousands of Serbs fled to the mountains to escape the massacre, as a result of which the first partisan detachments appeared.

The only Yugoslav territory where resistance to the occupiers immediately acquired the character of an organized movement was Slovenia. Already on April 27, an underground meeting of all leading political and social movements in Slovenia, including the Communist Party, took place in Ljubljana, at which it was decided to create a single anti-Nazi organization - the Liberation Front of Slovenia.

Partisan movement and civil war

The beginning of the partisan struggle

The attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR on June 22, 1941 created a new military-political situation in the Balkans. On June 27, 1941, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia decided to create the Main Headquarters of the Partisan Movement led by Tito. In July, a plan was developed to expand partisan operations in Serbia, which primarily provided for an increase in the number of partisan groups and a transition to active operations. However, already on July 7, a mass uprising against the occupiers began in Western Serbia and then in Montenegro. In Montenegro alone, the number of rebels reached 32 thousand people. On July 22, armed partisan struggle began in Slovenia, on July 27 - in Croatia, where at first partisan detachments of Serbs fleeing genocide operated. In October 1941, partisans began operating in Macedonia.

In Bosnia-Herzegovina, in response to the actions of the Ustasha partisans, they began a new massacre of Serbs. These atrocities aroused outrage even among the command of the Italian occupation forces, which was forced to send troops into Herzegovina to protect the Serbian population. This step calmed passions for a while, and partisan actions in Herzegovina practically ceased.

By October 1941, about 70 thousand partisans were operating on the territory of Yugoslavia. A vast liberated zone (“Užice Republic”) was formed in Western Serbia, where the Main Headquarters of the partisan movement was relocated and where the formation of new government bodies, the People’s Liberation Committees, began.

Civil war and interaction with the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition

The emergence of a new real force in occupied Yugoslavia - a partisan movement led by communists - created a new situation in the country. In the eyes of Great Britain, the Chetnik movement in Serbia was an organic continuation of the anti-Hitler and pro-British policy that the Simovic government was trying to pursue, so the Chetniks were viewed in London as natural allies. As for Tito’s partisans, the communist ideas of their leaders and the obvious pro-Moscow orientation did not cause any delight among the British, so official London constantly put pressure on Moscow through diplomatic channels, trying to convince Stalin that only Mikhailovich could be considered the true leader of the Yugoslav resistance and that it should be considered as a partner in the anti-Hitler coalition. Moscow was demanded to influence the partisan leadership so that the Chetniks and partisans would “put aside their differences and form a united front.” British Ambassador to Moscow Stafford Cripps, addressing the USSR People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov, expressed the wish: "The Soviet government may be inclined to persuade the communist elements in Yugoslavia to place themselves militarily at the disposal of Mikhailovich, as the national leader."

In October, a representative of the British military command in the Middle East, Captain Hudson, arrived at the headquarters of Mikhailovich, whom the emigrant royal government appointed Minister of War. He brought with him a message in which the British urgently recommended not to allow the Yugoslav resistance “to turn into a communist uprising in favor of Soviet Russia.”

Joint photograph of Mihailović's Chetniks and German soldiers in a Yugoslav village

However, Mikhailovich consistently acted in this direction. At the beginning of September 1941, with the knowledge of the Nazi command, he entered into an agreement with the pro-fascist Belgrade government of Nedic on a joint fight against Tito’s partisans. On November 13, Mikhailovich personally met with representatives of the German command and discussed issues of the joint struggle of the Chetniks and fascists against the partisans. In an order dated December 20, 1941, Mihailović formulated the tasks facing him as follows: “To create a Greater Yugoslavia and within it a Greater Serbia, ethnically pure within the borders of Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina... To cleanse the state territory of all national minorities and alien elements... Clear Bosnia from the Muslim and Croat population." Instead of fighting the occupiers, Mihailović’s Chetniks were engaged in the massacre of Bosnian Muslims, carrying out ethnic cleansing.

The attitude of the Soviet Union towards the Yugoslav resistance movement was initially wait-and-see. Moscow finally decided on the “Yugoslav question” only at the beginning of 1942, when the USSR Ambassador in London, Maisky, stated: “The Soviet government is not inclined to participate together with His Majesty’s Government in an attempt to curb the activities of the partisans.”

1942

April 1942. Tito inspects the 1st Proletarian Brigade

In December 1941, the formation of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia began from partisan detachments. On December 21, 1941, the first military unit of the NOAU was created - the 1st Proletarian Brigade, the backbone of which was made up of Serbian and Montenegrin workers. In March 1942, the 2nd Proletarian Brigade was created, in June 1942 - the 3rd, 4th and 5th. By the end of 1942, the NOAU had 2 army corps, 8 divisions, 31 brigades and 36 partisan detachments - a total of more than 150 thousand people.

In the summer of 1942, a massive offensive by the Germans, Italians and Serbian Chetniks forced the main forces of the partisans to fight into Western Bosnia. From that moment on, the mood among the Croats began to change in favor of the partisans: by November 1942, more than 18 thousand partisans were already operating in Croatia. The partisan movement in Slovenia developed in some isolation from other parts of the country due to geographical reasons, and has its own history of ups and downs. In October 1942, guerrilla warfare began in Kosovo.

By the end of 1942, partisans controlled 20% of the territory of Yugoslavia. In parallel with the expansion of the armed struggle, the Supreme Headquarters of the partisan movement created a network of local authorities in the liberated territories. On November 26, 1942, a meeting of the Constituent Assembly opened in the city of Bihac, in which representatives of all anti-fascist groups operating in Yugoslavia took part. The assembly elected the highest all-Yugoslav political body - the Anti-Fascist Assembly of People's Liberation of Yugoslavia. The executive committee of AVNOJ was headed by the famous politician Ivan Ribar.

1943

The first half of 1943 became the period of the most difficult trials for the Yugoslav partisans. Fierce battles on the Neretva River (February-March) and on the Sutjeska River (May) marked the beginning of a turning point in the partisan war. Despite the heavy losses suffered by the NOLA units, the invaders, even at the cost of maximum effort, failed to defeat the main forces of the NOLA. The main focus of the partisan movement moved to Eastern Bosnia.

The growing influence of the NOLA and the falling popularity of the Chetniks caused increasing concern in London. The British government put constant pressure on Moscow, seeking its recognition of Mihailovich's Chetniks as one of the constituent forces of the Yugoslav resistance. Knowing about Mikhailovich’s connections with the Italian-German command and the real balance of power in Yugoslavia, the Soviet government refused to recognize the Chetniks as a “resistance force”, making a clear choice in favor of Tito’s partisans. In May 1943, the British government, in the face of real facts, was forced to admit that the partisans were the leading force in the anti-fascist struggle in Yugoslavia. At the end of May, a British military mission arrived at Tito's headquarters. At the same time, the British continued to support the Chetniks, helping to incite a civil war, but this did not help the latter: under the attacks of the partisans, by the fall of 1943, the Chetniks’ zone of influence was reduced to several regions of Serbia.

On September 8, 1943, Italy capitulated. 15 Italian divisions that fought against the partisans withdrew from the war, and their weapons and equipment fell into the hands of the NOAI. This made it possible to increase the ranks of the partisans by 80 thousand fighters. The formation of regional authorities began in the liberated territories. In June 1943, the Regional Anti-Fascist Assembly of People's Liberation of Croatia was created, in October - the Slovenian People's Liberation Committee, in November - the Regional Anti-fascist Assembly of People's Liberation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. On November 29-30, the second session of AVNOJ took place in the Bosnian city of Jajce, which made a number of important decisions regarding the post-war structure of Yugoslavia. AVNOJ forbade King Peter II to return to the country and deprived the emigrant royal government of its legal authority. The National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia became the supreme body in Yugoslavia for the duration of the war.

Although the decisions of the second session of AVNOJ put an end to Great Britain’s plans for Yugoslavia, London did not consider the situation hopeless. At the Tehran Conference, where, in particular, the Yugoslav issue was discussed, the British raised the issue of landing Anglo-American troops in the Balkans as part of the opening of a “second front” in Europe. Trying to ignore the fact of the creation of the supreme authority of the new Yugoslavia, in December 1943, at the prompting of London, the royal emigrant government of Yugoslavia turned to the government of the USSR with a proposal to conclude a Soviet-Yugoslav treaty of friendship, mutual assistance and post-war cooperation. The USSR rejected this proposal, refusing to recognize the royal government's right to represent anyone other than itself.

January-September 1944

British and American officers who were in Yugoslavia as part of military missions informed London and Washington about the growing popularity of Tito's partisans, about the sharp decline in the influence of the Chetniks, and about Mikhailovich's cooperation with the Germans. In January 1944, Churchill was forced to send a letter to Tito: “The British government will not further provide any military assistance to Mikhailovich and will only provide assistance to you...”. However, although in the autumn of 1943, British planes actually began to regularly deliver weapons and equipment to the partisans, and in February 1944, British officers were recalled from Mikhailovich’s headquarters, Great Britain and the United States continued to provide assistance to the Chetniks until the end of the war. In the spring of 1944, Anglo-American aviation carried out massive bombings of Yugoslav cities several times (in particular, on the eve of Orthodox Easter, allied aviation bombed Belgrade for four days, and a few days later subjected Zagreb to air raids).

On February 23, 1944, a Soviet military mission led by Lieutenant General N.V. Korneev arrived in Yugoslavia, and in April a Yugoslav military mission led by Lieutenant General NOAU V. Terzic arrived in Moscow to coordinate military cooperation. To supply the NOLA, a base was established in Romania near the Yugoslav border. To help the anti-fascist forces of Yugoslavia, the Soviet command created a special air group in the spring of 1944. On the territory of the USSR, a separate volunteer Yugoslav infantry brigade was formed from among Yugoslav volunteers, which subsequently took part in the battles for the liberation of Yugoslavia.

In August 1944, a US military mission led by Colonel McDowell was sent to Mikhailovich, who told Mikhailovich: “Germany has lost the war. Your fight with the Germans does not interest us. Your task is to stay among the people. I have come to help you with this." By this time, there were about 30 thousand people in the ranks of the Chetniks, and 350 thousand in the ranks of the partisans. The plan of the Western powers was to unite the exile government with the People's Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia, the Chetniks with the partisans, return King Peter II to the country, and then cut off the partisans from power and ultimately eliminate them as a political force. This was done in post-war Greece, but the plan failed in Yugoslavia.

In September 1944, the Soviet army entered Bulgaria. The Fatherland Front government came to power in Bulgaria and joined the anti-Hitler coalition. On September 21, Josip Broz Tito flew to Moscow, where he met with Stalin. During negotiations in Moscow, an agreement was reached that Soviet troops would enter the territory of Yugoslavia to carry out a limited task - units of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, together with units of the NOAU, were to liberate Belgrade and Eastern Serbia. After this, Soviet troops had to leave Yugoslavia.

Liberation of Yugoslavia

Trieste events

On May 2, 1945, units of the NOAU occupied Trieste, which in 1920, under the Treaty of Rappal, went to Italy. The English and Americans demanded that the Yugoslavs immediately clear the Italian territories. The Yugoslavs refused. The Trieste crisis threatened to turn into a military clash between the NOAU and the Anglo-American troops. On May 22, the USSR issued a statement in support of Yugoslavia. As a result, the crisis was resolved peacefully: the Yugoslav troops retreated beyond the so-called. "Morgan Line", and the further fate of Trieste was determined after the war.

Results

The People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia was the fourth largest of the armies of the anti-Hitler coalition (after the armies of the USSR, USA and Great Britain). Until 1944, she, in fact, single-handedly held the “second front” in Europe, at various times pinning down from 12 to 15 German divisions, not counting the Italian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Croatian formations and armed nationalist formations. In World War II, Yugoslavia lost 1.7 million people, that is, every tenth inhabitant of pre-war Yugoslavia died. NOAU lost 305 thousand people in battles.

On November 29, 1945, the Constituent Assembly opened in Belgrade, which adopted a declaration proclaiming the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia.

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