Resistance to the Persecution of Ethnic Minorities in Croatia and Bosnia During World War II (review)

Despite the passage of some seventy years since the end of World War II in Europe and the voluminous literature on this subject, some events that occurred in the war are only minimally covered by historians. For English speaking audiences in particular, the war years in the former Yugoslavia are often ignored by writers. Part of this problem is likely due to the absence of the necessary language skills to do primary research in this part of the world. Even more, it is difficult for some to understand the complex social and political currents that made up (and make up) this part of south Europe. Here Lisa Adeli makes a positive contribution.

Adeli's work promotes a better understanding of what was Yugoslavia by explaining an important factor often misunderstood; the issue of nationality. In short, within post World War I Yugoslavia there were two contrapuntal themes that caused conflict among the citizenry of that region. First, among some of the citizenry there was a sincere desire to promote the development of a genuine Yugoslav spirit which would result in the maturing of a united country composed of multiple ethnic entities. The desire of these citizens was to see a nation that would transcend the nationalism of the various ethnic groups. The former Yugoslavia, however, was a polyglot nation composed of Serbs, Croatians, Hungarians, Volks- Deutsche, Roma, to mention a few. The problem of nationality was also complicated by religion. The fact that a citizen was either Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, or Muslim was often more significant than ethnicity. Thus, despite the desires of those who promoted Yugoslavism, serious divisive currents existed in the nation from its inception.

In the author's narrative the most divisive elements in the country were the Croatian nationalists who dreamed of an independent nation. It is on the activities of the Croatian nationalists that Adeli's narrative focuses. Throughout the '20s and '30s an independent Croatia was not a possibility, but with the spring 1941 German invasion, an independent Croatia was created. It was supposedly an independent country, but from the outset the new Croatia was occupied by Axis forces, making it, in reality, an occupied country if not a puppet state. Following the pattern established by the National Socialists, once they had assumed power, the Croats led by the Ustasa organization determined that Aryans were the ruling caste and passed laws to define who would be recognized as an Aryan. As defined, Aryans were Croats, Hungarians, Germans, and Bosnian Muslims. Non-Aryans were Serbs, Roma, and Jews.

Again, much as in Germany, persecution of non-Aryans followed. As noted by the author, the Croats desired to establish an ethnically homogenous state. Jews were required to register, their property was documented, and they were obligated to wear identifying insignia. Camps were subsequently established for Jews, Serbs, and other so called undesirables. Though Jews were indeed persecuted by the Ustasa, this Croat Nationalist group also expended a considerable amount of its energy on subordinating and persecuting the Serbs, whom they regarded as the largest threat to their goals. Like their National Socialist occupiers they also targeted the Roma—the area's Gypsy population. Expertly using the testimony of numerous victims of Croatian persecution, Lisa Adeli documents the misery of those who did not "fit" into the Ustasa concept of a homogenous Croatian state. In some respects extreme Croatian nationalism and the resultant brutality seemed to exceed that of their Nazi occupiers.

The persecution of these non-Aryan minorities had an unintended consequence. The excesses of the Ustasa operating in both Croatia and Bosnia caused some citizens, including a number of Jews, to join the ranks of the Yugoslav partisans. In fact several Jews achieved considerable prominence in the partisan ranks. It is no exaggeration to conclude that Ustasa excesses, which were many, caused opposition ranks to swell, thus eroding any chances that the...