Review article
From the Illyrian Movement and the Yugoslav Idea to Neuralgic Points in Croatian - Serbian Relations in the 20th Century
Grgo Grbešić
orcid.org/0000-0003-0140-6697
; Catholic Faculty of Theology, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Đakovo, Croatia
Abstract
The political process of rapprochement between Croats and Serbs began with the Yugoslav idea in the second half of the 19th century. In this process, we introduced two characters with very different political conceptions, Strossmayer, the bishop of Djakovo, and Garašin, Serbian Minister. We can talk about the idea of Yugoslavianism when it comes to Strossmayer, but with Garašin there was no idea of the community of Yugoslav nations, only the idea of renewal and expansion of medieval Serbia. The political rapprochement was reinforced during World War I through the actions of the Yugoslav Committee. The joined state was comprised of several nations with different cultural and political history and different religions. The extremism of Ustashe and the implacability of the Serbs in Croatia with the destruction of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) were causes of major crimes. Many innocent Serbs lost their lives in these conflicts. In the same way the total number of casualties in Yugoslavia was exaggerated, so was the number of Serbs killed in Jasenovac. Kočović, a Serb, reached the number of 487,000 Serbs killed on the entire Yugoslavian territory and Žerjavić, a Croat, reached the number of 530,000. In light of these figures, the number proposed by V. Dedijer of 600,000 Serbs killed only in Jasenovac seems absurd. According to the list of victims of concentration camps from 1964, that had remained a secret until 1998, the number of Serbs killed in the Jasenovac concentration camp was 33,994. This number reveals a horrific crime. Is it not a crime to increase that number 18 times? Consequences of such manipulations have certainly contributed to Serbian crimes during recent wars on the territory of former Yugoslavia.
Keywords
Illyrian Movement; Strossmayer; Yugoslavianism; Načertanije; Yugoslavia; Jasenovac
Hrčak ID:
99623
URI
Publication date:
5.4.2013.
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