Review article
THE “SAVAGE PURGES” IN SERBIA IN 1944-1945, WITH A BRIEF CONSIDERATION OF YUGOSLAVIA AS A WHOLE
Srđan Cvetković
; Institute for Contemporary History
Abstract
At the end of the Second World War and immediately thereafter, a powerful wave of repression and revolutionary terror ensued in all countries in Eastern Europe, including Yugoslavia and Serbia, by exploiting antifascism for the purpose of eliminating opponents of the revolution. This violence was only partially dictated by the war, the “ethos of retaliation” and even the personal motives which inevitably accompany virtually every armed conflict in history, while the major part constituted the first phase in a well-planned communist revolution which eliminated its class and political adversaries in stages. This was initially accomplished by extra-judiciary liquidations organized by the secret police, but then the primacy was assumed by show trials generally based on accusations of war crimes or some form of collaboration.
Keywords
Yugoslavia; Europe; Serbia; Second World War; communist revolution; savage purges; repression
Hrčak ID:
171820
URI
Publication date:
19.12.2016.
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