THE “SAVAGE PURGES” IN SERBIA IN 1944-1945, WITH A BRIEF CONSIDERATION OF YUGOSLAVIA AS A WHOLE
THE “SAVAGE PURGES” IN SERBIA IN 1944-1945, WITH A BRIEF CONSIDERATION OF YUGOSLAVIA AS A WHOLE
Author(s): Srđan CvetkovićSubject(s): History, Cultural history, Local History / Microhistory, Military history, Political history, Social history, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), History of Communism
Published by: Hrvatski institut za povijest
Keywords: Yugoslavia: Europe: Serbia: Second World War: communist revolution: savage purges: repression
Summary/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.
Journal: Review of Croatian History
- Issue Year: XII/2016
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 67-102
- Page Count: 36
- Language: English