Yugoslavia’s Implosion

Author(s): Sonja Biserko / Language(s): English

This is a courageous book, in which the author indicts a large portion of her society, and most especially politicians, for aggressive nationalism. This, she argues, has been the main reason both for the wars of 1991–99 and for the continued volatility which characterizes Serbian political life. This is also a work of passion, reflecting simultaneously a deep sadness about the decisions and actions taken by Serbian political figures over a period of more than a century, and a determination on her part to work for a better future for Serbia. Biserko has many admirers but, inevitably, she also has foes, and has been attacked at times in the local nationalist press.

Zsidókérdés Magyarországon 1944 után

Author(s): István Bibó,Ferenc Fehér / Language(s): Hungarian

In 1948 in his seminal study “The Jewish Question in Hungary After 1944” István Bibó did draw attention to the role of Hungarian society at large in the implementation of the logic of the Holocaust. Bibó bravely suggested “that the anti-Jewish legislative measures were supported, if not by a clearly visible majority, then at least by a force more massive than their opponents.” What Bibó saw to be a “slippage” from the 1930s onwards resulted in the events of 1944, which Bibó interpreted as evidence of “the moral decline of Hungarian society.” Bibó claims that the opportunities for upward mobility that ‘non-Jews’ seized in 1944 Hungary provided “an appalling picture of insatiable avarice, a hypocritical lack of scruples, or at best cold opportunism in a sizeable segment of this society that was profoundly shocking not only to the Jews involved, but also all decent Hungarians.” This question of postwar remembrance of the Holocaust is of continuing relevance. History is a subject of interest not simply to historians; it has contemporary implications. Whether the Holocaust in Hungary is remembered as a part of or apart from Hungarian history has important implications for the kind of past Hungary remembers. (Tim Cole in Hungary and the Holocaust/Confrontation with the Past/Symposium Proceedings/Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies/United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 2001)

Ideologija i vjerska politika nadbiskupa Stepinca u Jugoslaviji 1934–1946.

Author(s): Nikola Žutić / Language(s): Serbian

Под сянката на Сталин и Хитлер. Втората световна война и съдбата на европейските народи, 1939-1941 г. Т. 3. Подялбата на Европа

Author(s): Plamen Tzvetkov / Language(s): Bulgarian

In the third volume of the five-volume work on the fate of the European nations during the alliance between Stalin and Hitler, the reader will find a detailed account of the finalization of the devastation in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and annexing Bessarabia and North Bukovina, going beyond the pre-arrangements with Hitler, from Stalin. Frustrated by the rapid Soviet expansion, the German leader brutally enforces his decision on Hungary's claims for Transylvania, annexing that part, while guarantying the sovereignty of the rest of the Romanian territory, triggering sharp reactions from Soviet Union side.

POSLEDNJA INSTANCA – KNJIGA I

Author(s): Srđa Popović / Language(s): Serbian

POSLEDNJA INSTANCA – KNJIGA III

Author(s): Srđa Popović / Language(s): Serbian

Srbija zalutala u tranziciji

Author(s): Sonja Biserko / Language(s): Serbian

Činjenice i tumačenja. Dva razgovora sa Latinkom Perović

Author(s): Olivera Milosavljević,Latinka Perović / Language(s): Serbian

Rat u brojkama. Demografski gubici u ratovima na teritoriji bivše Jugoslavije od 1991. do 1999. Glavni izveštaji demografskih veštaka predstavljeni od strane tužilaštva na suđenjima u Međunarodnom krivičnom sudu za bivšu Jugoslaviju

Author(s): / Language(s): Serbian

Kosovo: Realnost i mit

Author(s): Ilija Đukić / Language(s): Serbian

Međnarodni položaj Srbije i SR Jugoslavije i dalje je izuzetno složen i nepovoljan. Karakteriše ga: – Ukupno i veliko zaostajanje za promenama do kojih je došlo u svetu i posebno u Evropi, pa čak i pružanje otpora oficijalne i srpske politike (ali ne samo nje) tim promenama. Propuštene su godine i vreme, u kojima je trebalo da se izvrši usklađivanje kako spoljne politike i međunarodnih odnosa Srbije i SRJ, tako i njihovog unutrašnjeg razvoja sa dalekosežnim i temeljnim promenama u Evropi i svetu. – Produženo odsustvo stvarne i pune normalizacije odnosa sa glavnim centrima moći u međunarodnim odnosima. Postojeći kontakti se svode i dalje na razgovore i pregovore u funkciji primene mirovnog paketa sporazuma iz Dejtona. Uz to, ovi kontakti su po pravilu inicirani od strane međunarodne zajednice, odnosno nosioca njenih obaveza proizašlih u Dejtonu, a ne na inicijativu Srbije i SRJ, pa i ne idu dalje od iznuđene "kooperativnosti" srpskojugoslovenske strane.

Na pomoc zesłańczej edukacji. Działalność wydawnicza Komitetu do spraw Dzieci Polskich w ZSRR (1943-1946). Wydanie drugie

Author(s): Albin Głowacki / Language(s): Polish

The latest monograph showcases the publishing activity of the Committee for Polish Children in the USSR in the years 1943–1946. It also presents the dramatic state of education among the deportees’ children until 1943 against the backdrop of Polish-Soviet relations. Analysing post-Soviet archives, the author discusses the political conditions and context of the publishing work of the Committee that was meant to shape the consciousness of pupils as desired by the Polish communists. The reader discovers a behind-the-scenes reality of the committee’s efforts to provide teaching programmes and coursebooks steeped in factual as well as ideological and political content to Polish-medium schools. The author offers a particularly interesting commentary on the preparation and publishing of original material, such as the alphabet book, reading practice texts, native literature excerpts and a Polish geography, as well as a Polish history teaching programme. He also makes critical observations on the obstacles to the Committee’s editorial activity, many of which resulted from the limitations of the war period, censorship and political determinants.

Wyobrażenia zbiorowe społeczeństw byłej Jugosławii w XXI wieku. Perspektywa politologiczna

Author(s): Magdalena Rekść / Language(s): Polish

The publication is a novel study in the field of Polish political science regarding collective representations – a category associated mainly with sociology – from the point of view of a political sphere researcher. The theoretical model adopted by the author has been used to outline and analyze the shapes of collective representations of the peoples of the former Yugoslavia in the difficult period of protracted economic crisis and the accumulation of further political problems. The in-depth diagnosis of ordinary people's feelings about the reality that surrounds them has led to the ascertainment that, over the recent years, rising problems and negative emotions have begun to predominate over optimistic premises, while maintaining stability in the region requires some more determined and well-thought-out actions by the international community. The monograph, written from the perspective of political science and based on qualitative data, combines the elements of other social sciences and humanities, which appeared necessary to explain the interdisciplinary category of collective representations in an integral manner. This broader view of the complicated Balkan region can contribute to improving the knowledge and understanding of it.

Lidové milice 1948-1969: nelegální armáda Komunistické strany Československa

Author(s): Jiří Bašta / Language(s): Czech

Přestože od zániku komunistického režimu a s ním nedílně spjatých Lidových milicí uplynulo více než dvacet let, nebyla dosud problematika LM podrobně a objektivně zpracována. Přitom tato ozbrojená složka vládnoucí Komunistické strany Československa tvořená na dobrovolnickém principu prověřenými členy strany patřila mezi významné preventivně-represivní a současně ideologické opory komunistického aparátu. Od svého zrodu v roce 1948 po celé čtyři desítky let nesvobody patřily milice ke konzervativním mocenským nástrojům totalitního režimu, přestože nebyly navzdory svému významu nikdy pevně legislativně ukotveny. De facto se jednalo o mimozákonnou „stranickou armádu“. Jednotky miličního typu vznikaly i v dalších komunistických režimech, i když důvod jejich existence se lišil stát od státu. Impulz k založení miličních jednotek zpravidla přicházel v období zásadních vnitropolitických krizí. K předchůdcům Lidových milicí v Československu patřily v roce 1945 ustavené dobrovolnické jednotky Závodních milicí (Závodní stráže). Postupem času se začaly tyto sbory, původně určené na ochranu továrních objektů, de facto přetvářet v ozbrojené složky KSČ. To bylo umožněno jednak početným zastoupením komunistů v těchto sborech a jednak vlivem podnikových odborů. Na tuto nebezpečnou situaci reagovaly nekomunistické strany interpelacemi a snahou zastavit nepřirozený nárůst členů Závodních milicí, kteří navzdory přijatým zásadám trávili většinu pracovní doby ve strážní službě. Tento nekoncepční stav se udržel až do osudného roku 1948.

Porodica Kurt iz Mostara : historija i rodoslov

Author(s): Ahmet Kurt / Language(s): Bosnian

After all the research and resources available for Kurt family members from Mostar, on the basis of their position in society then, we can say that their ancestors in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth century were members of the army of the Ottoman Empire. For carrying out military service they were given tymars i.e. feuds which generated income. After the conquest of parts of today’s Croatia and Hungary, they were received properties in that part of the empire, probably due to their warrior or other merits. They later moved to Lika, Perusic. Their nickname or surname was Kasumović. After taking Lika by Austria they fled to Bosnia. Around 1700, they came to Mostar and took the nickname / surname Kurt. They had several houses in the mahalle Carina in Mostar, where all Kurt family members lived. Thanks primarily to their military merits, they were received tymars which they later, either by purchase and marriage, increased around Nevesinje (villages Kljuna, Sopilja, Bijenja), in West Herzegovina (Duvno, Broćanac Biograci and Široki Brijeg), Stolac (Dabrica and Trijebanj) and in the villages north of Mostar (Potoci, Humi and Lišani, Vrapčići, Goranci, Vihovići, Dobrč, Zijemlja) and south of Mostar (Žulja, Hodbina and Opine). These properties later became hereditary. They used to marry members of the families belonging to the same social class. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, thanks to their incomes and abilities, they gained a place and reputation in Mostar, and gradually transformed into an ulema social class. They accepted the beginning of the industrial era passively. The value of their immovable properties were not invested in the creation of new value. In the period from 1908 to 1965, during the various agrarian reforms, they generally lost their properties, and thus lost a place and influence in the new societies. During the Ottoman Empire they belonged to the ruling class, firstly the military-feudal, and then the ulema class; during the Austro-Hungarian monarchy they belonged to the class of small landowners and religious intelligence. With the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Mostar Kurt family shared the fate of other Bosniaks, and came in a subordinate position and lost their properties. Some Kurt family members learned trades and became part of the working class, which in Bosnia and Herzegovina began to form between the two world wars. Other Kurt family members were educated and took their places in society according to their professions and skills.

Teodor Parnicki: Ja, Eurypides. Wywiady, wypowiedzi i autokomentarze z lat 1957–1988

Author(s): / Language(s): Polish

The book I, Euripides presents a wide array of interviews, records of meetings, and remembrances of Teodor Parnicki, published in press from 1957 to 1988. They are programmatic, critical, and autobiographical in character, and they reveal a very interesting image of literary life in the Polish People’s Republic. The texts collected in the book enable a better understanding of the reformulation of the poetics of the historical novel, a goal Parnicki accomplished in the 1950s and 1960s. They also show the turn toward experimental prose in the author’s writings in the subsequent decade and explain Parnicki’s philosophical, theological, and literary inspirations. Parnicki’s biography plays an essential role in both Parnicki’s literary and non-literary work. The changes over time in his autobiographical discourse, itself conditioned by changing political circumstances, are immensely interesting. The first texts gathered in this volume were published during Parnicki’s period in Mexico, when Instytut Wydawniczy PAX [PAX Publishing House] reprinted Aecjusz, ostatni Rzymianin [Aetius, the Last Roman] and Srebrne orły [Silver Eagles], both heralding Parnicki’s return to national literary life. In the 1960s and 1970s, Parnicki published over a dozen novels which were widely commented upon in the press and during literary sessions. The last text reprinted in the volume is a recording prepared by Parnicki for the event promoting his prose, which took place in Moscow several days before his death. By bringing together the texts written during three decades, it is possible to perceive changes in Parnicki’s attitude toward the historical novel and toward literature and the role of the writer. The book I, Euripides gathers texts which have not been published together in any anthology and were written by one of the most outstanding Polish prose writers of the twentieth century.

Une Reponse Bosniaque. Modernité et Tradition

Author(s): Rusmir Mahmutćehajić / Language(s): French

The events that struck Bosnia at the turn of the millennium - its people slaughtered and expelled, assaulted and humiliated, its towns and villages ravaged - did not concern only Bosnia. No individual, nation, region or state was protected from it, although their role took different forms. It is the whole human person who has suffered. It would be a never-ending task to list and describe these various experiences, and anyway, no matter how deep we go, their essence may well remain elusive. This is why this book attempts, on a more general level, to differentiate the modern world view from the traditional one, allowing a "Bosnian response" to take shape as they meet. // PUBLISHED IN 2005 BY DURIEUX PUBLISHING HOUSE BASED IN ZAGREB

Ostatnie fastrygi. Irit Amiel w rozmowie z Agnieszką Piśkiewicz-Bornstein

Author(s): Irit Amiel,Agnieszka Piśkiewicz-Bornstein / Language(s): Polish

Drawn from conversations with Irit Amiel, the author of the famous Osmalone, Ostatnie fastrygi is, in a sense, her testament, her last, though not final, literary word. Sensing that she is writing for the last time, the writer once again tells her secretary, Agnieszka Piśkiewicz-Bornstein, her own biography and answers a number of previously unasked, sometimes quite uncomfortable questions, but this time she also lets herself be guided into various little alleys – she reveals details about Częstochowa, the ghetto, her first years in Israel, and raising her children. She also dissects the literature of the Holocaust, her relationship with Poland and with God. She is as strong and convincing in her judgments as she is in her feelings. It is also the first time she lets another person get so close to her, which is why Ostatnie fastrygi is also a masterpiece of intimate, long-running conversation, but a very meandering and warm one. The book is supplemented by numerous colour photos from the family album, footnotes, and an afterword.

Králové Šumavy

Author(s): Pavel Fencl,Martin Tichý,Markéta Doležalová ,Libor Svoboda,Václav Veber,Petr Blažek,Petr Mallota,Martin Jindra / Language(s): Czech,German

The twenty-panel exhibition recalls the activities of couriers and smugglers who, in the western Šumava region, risked their lives to help Czechoslovak citizens on their way to the free world. The Iron Curtain: post-war Europe was divided by the Iron Curtain. Czechs running for freedom tried to overcome this guarded space by various means. The luckier ones succeeded, others were detained or killed. What did the border guard look like? What is the balance sheet of the iron curtain? Detention and investigative methods: the State Security became a powerful support of the communist regime, which participated in mass lawlessness, persecution and repression. She followed real opponents of the regime, but also produced them herself. What methods did she use? Did she treat women better than men? Prison: the StB secret prison in Wintrová Street in Prague was used to extract intelligence from arrested couriers and their own associates.

Dosije: Svetozar Andrić

Author(s): Katarina Maruna / Language(s): Serbian

Mediji i revizionizam o ratovima devedesetih u Srbiji

Author(s): Katarina Ristić / Language(s): Serbian