DOCSLIB.ORG

Ethnonational Identity and Detached Lives in a Serbian Province: a Study of Parallelism Among Vojvodina's Hungarian Community

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ethnonational Identity and Detached Lives in a Serbian Province: a Study of Parallelism Among Vojvodina's Hungarian Community Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 12-18-2019 Ethnonational Identity and Detached Lives in a Serbian Province: a Study of Parallelism Among Vojvodina's Hungarian Community Uros Prokic Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Eastern European Studies Commons, and the Public Policy Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Prokic, Uros, "Ethnonational Identity and Detached Lives in a Serbian Province: a Study of Parallelism Among Vojvodina's Hungarian Community" (2019). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 5413. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.7286 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. Ethnonational Identity and Detached Lives in a Serbian Province: A Study of Parallelism Among Vojvodina’s Hungarian Community by Uros Prokic A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Affairs and Policy Dissertation Committee: David Kinsella, Chair Bruce Gilley Aleksandar Jokic Vandy Kanyako Portland State University 2020 © 2019 Uros Prokic Abstract Current theories of interethnic relations generally posit assimilation, integration and marginalization as possible outcomes between minority and dominant groups in Eastern Europe (Berry, 1974; Dimitras & Papanikolatos, 2002). However, there may be cases that are not adequately described by any of these existing interethnic relations paradigms. This dissertation explores one alternative, dubbed parallelism, which can be described as institutionally-driven self-isolation and detachment leading to communities living side by side on parallel trajectories and not interacting. Using the Hungarian ethnonational minority community in Serbia’s autonomous northern province of Vojvodina as a case study, I examine the institutional factors that have led to parallelism. Primary data from 23 interviews and a variety of secondary sources reveal that two institutional factors are responsible for the current dynamic: repeated policy oscillations on the issue of Vojvodina’s territorial and cultural autonomy and activism from the minority’s kin-state, Hungary. Contentions over Vojvodina’s autonomy act as the push factor, leading Hungarians in Vojvodina to self-isolate and cling to ingroup cultural markers, such as language. Hungary’s activism towards it’s kin-minority across borders, especially the 2001 “Status Law” and the Prosperitati economic assistance program, act as a pull factor, enticing Hungarians in Vojvodina to look to the Republic of Hungary for political, economic, social, and ethnic belonging. These mutually-reinforcing push and pull factors have ultimately resulted in a Vojvodinian Hungarians’ disassociation and detachment from the dominant group on a number of levels. In this case, parallelism may just present an optimal solution to maintain the status quo by managing minority nationalism without necessitating border revision and eroding state sovereignty. In this i particular case, parallelism has led to largely non-violent relations between Serbs and Hungarians in an otherwise tumultuous region. As there are currently very few in-depth studies of parallelism, elaborating on the factors that lead to such an outcome provides a useful case study that may be referenced when examining whether parallelism may exist in other contexts. ii Acknowledgments I am grateful to the members of the Hungarian community in Vojvodina who were so generous to take time out of their schedules to share their stories and perspectives with me for this research. It was an honor being invited into their homes and gaining a glimpse into their lives and experiences. Their hospitality and keenness to partake in this study was uplifting. I only hope that I have done justice to their perspectives and experiences by capturing and retelling them as adequately as possible in this study. I am indebted to my dissertation committee who have been wonderful mentors throughout this process. I am especially thankful to my dissertation chair, Dr. David Kinsella, for taking me under his stewardship throughout this entire process. His guidance, perseverance, and academic rigor have been invaluable in this experience; he always encouraged me to do better, to ponder the deeper questions and issues, and he inevitably provided me with a roadmap to my work. I am further thankful to Dr. Bruce Gilley for his enthusiasm, astute insight, and alternative approaches to thinking through issues; to Dr. Aleksandar Jokic for always forcing me to consider alternative perspectives and taking care to provide logically-coherent arguments; and to Dr. Vandy Kanyako for impressing on me the need to value the human experience in academic research. I am further thankful to my wife, Laura, for her loving support and motivation throughout this process. Our continuous discussions about my research, along with countless hours of copy-editing (several times over), have been invaluable in articulating the main ideas in this dissertation. I am blessed to be your husband, Laura Prokic. I could also not have accomplished this without the support of by fellows in the PAP program, especially Rebecca Jensen Craven who has been a wonderful colleague iii and counselor on this invaluable personal and academic journey. I would also like to thank kuma Mia Grijakovic for her translations, Dan Lyons for his copy-editing, Ethan Snyder for his encouragement, and my dear friend Chris Green for being such a trustworthy confidant throughout this process. Finally, none of this would have been possible without the immeasurable love and unconditional support of my parents, Miroslav and Gordana. My mother’s unwavering belief in me, even when I doubted myself, is humbling. As I wrote this dissertation I found myself reflecting on the intellectually stimulating discussions my mother and I used to have on our regular evening strolls. I am who I am because of my parents’ generous sacrifices. I am forever grateful for all that they have done, and continue to do for me. They are both my role models, and my only hope is that I have made them proud with this. My success is their success. iv Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….i Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………..iii List of Figures………..…………………………………………………………………....x Introduction – Parallel Lives in the Age of Retrenched Ethnonational Identities………...1 Prelude – A Glimpse of Life in the Village……………………………………………..1 Vojvodina – A Beacon for Stability Amid Interethnic Separateness…………………...4 Considering Acculturation Models…………………………………………………….10 The Argument.…………………………………………………………………………12 Roadmap to Conclusions………………………………………………………………18 Chapter I – Case Study Approach of Hungarian Community in Vojvodina…………….22 Methodology for Examining Hungarian Parallelism…………………………………..25 Chapter II – Issues of Identity in Vojvodina……………………………………………..30 Hungarian Ethnicity as Collective Identity Basis……………………………………...30 Hungarian Community in Vojvodina as Categorized “Narodnost”……………………32 Perspectives on Nationhood……………………………………………………………34 Modernist Perspective on Nations…………………………………………………34 Ethno-Symbolic Perspective on Nations…………………………………………..37 Hungarian Community in Vojvodina as an Ethnonationality……………………...39 Issue of National Identity………………………………………………………………40 Overarching Supranational Identity………………………………………………..45 Question of Vojvodinian Identity………………………………………………….46 v Ethnocultural, Multicultural and Liberal Pluralist Interpretation of Vojvodinian Identity……………………………………………………………………………..46 Chapter III – Parallelism…………………………………………………………………55 Questions Concerning Multiculturalism and Interculturalism in Vojvodina…………..57 Interethnic Dynamic of Parallelism……………………………………………………60 Parallelism for the Hungarian Community in Vojvodina……………………………...62 Parallelism Through Language…………………………………………………….75 Parallelism Through Education…………………………………………………….78 Parallelism Through Political Affiliation…………………………………………..82 Parallelism in Daily Life…………………………………………………………...83 Parallelism as a Result of Institutional Realities……………………………………….84 Parallelism as Institutional Outcome Versus Berry’s Self-Segregation Outcome…84 Factors Facilitating Hungarian Parallelism in Vojvodina………………………….87 Chapter IV – Historical Contentions Surrounding Vojvodinian Territorial and Cultural Autonomy………………………………………………………………………………..91 Amplitudes of Autonomy in Vojvodina……………………………………………….94 Preluding “Golden Age” of Vojvodinian Autonomy…………………………………..97 Vojvodina Before 1945………………………………………………………………...98 Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar…………………………………98 Vojvodina and the First World War………………………………………………..99 Vojvodina in the Interwar Kingdom of Yugoslavia……………………………….99 Vojvodina and the Communist Party of Yugoslavia……………………………..107 Vojvodina and the Second World War…………………………………………...108 vi Vojvodina During the Communist Era……………………………………………….109 Vojvodina and the National Question in the FNRJ and Subsequent SFRJ……….109 Problem of Hungarian National Partiality in the FNRJ and SFRJ………………..116 Vojvodina in the FNRJ of the 1950s……………………………………………...118 Vojvodina – Administrative Region Versus Political Category………………….119 Debates Concerning Vojvodina’s Duties in 1967………………………………...121 Vojvodina and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • PLEASE NOTE: This Book Contains Graphic Description of Inhuman Acts
    PLEASE NOTE: This book contains graphic description of inhuman acts committed by a small but unfortunately significant segment of the Serb nation. It is published for the information of politicians, diplomats, historians, soldiers, reporters and other professionals. Not recommended to the general public. To keep one's sanity it should be read with total professional detachment. Please read POSTSCRIPTUM on page 162 before you start reading the book. It will give you basic knowledge and better understanding of the true nature of the Partisan Warfare. The Publisher TITOIST ATROCITIES in VOJVODINA 1944-1945 SERBIAN VENDETTA IN BACSKA TIBOR CSERES HUNYADI PUBLISHING Copyright © Tibor Cseres 1993 All rights reserved First edition in the English Language Hunyadi Publishing Buffalo, NY - Toronto, Ont. Hungarian title: VERBOSSZU BACSKABAN Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 92-76218 ISBN 1-882785-01-0 Manufactured in the United States of America 9 AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION At the end of World War I, the southern part of the thousand year old historical Hungary was occupied by Serbian troops. Under the terms of the Paris Peace Treaty in 1921 it was annexed to the Serbo-Croat-Slovenian Kingdom, that later became Yugoslavia. The new name of this territory, situated to the east of present Croatia, was VOJVODINA (also spelled Voivodina or Voyvodina). Its former Hungarian name had been Bacska and Banat. During World War II, in 1941, Germany occupied Yugoslavia. At the same time, Hungary took possession of and re-annexed VOJVODINA from divided Yugoslavia. At the end of 1944, the Serbs reoccupied Bacska, which has belonged to Serbia ever since.
    [Show full text]
  • Editorial by Nicolás Smirnoff
    WWW.PRENSARIO.TV WWW.PRENSARIO.TV //// EDITORIAL BY NICOLÁS SMIRNOFF CEE: ups & downs at the new digital era Central & Eastern Europe is going forward through the new digital era with its own tips. The region has suffered a deep crisis from 2008 to 2017- 2018, with many economies Prensario just standing up. This has International meant rare investment pow- er and long-term plans, but at the same time the change ©2018 EDITORIAL PRENSARIO SRL PAYMENTS TO THE ORDER OF moves fast and comparing to EDITORIAL PRENSARIO SRL other territories, CEE shows OR BY CREDIT CARD. REGISTRO NACIONAL DE DERECHO strong digital poles and de- DE AUTOR Nº 10878 velopment appeals. Argentina: In favor, most of the biggest broadcast- OTT platforms? It is what main broadcasters Las Casas 3535 ers are group of channels that include many of the world are doing, to compete better in CP: 1238 the new converged market and to generate Buenos Aires, Argentina countries, so it is easier to set up cross region- Tel: (+54-11) 4924-7908 al plans and to generate high-scale moves. proper synergies. If content business moves Fax: (+54-11) 4925-2507 On the opposite, there are many different to franchise management, it is important to USA: languages and audiences, so it is difficult to be flexible enough to any formula. 12307 SW 133 Court - Suite #1432 spread solutions that work to every context. This Natpe Budapest? It promises to be bet- Miami, Florida 33186-USA Phone: (305) 890-1813 Russia is a big Internet pole and now it is ter than last ones, with the region going up Email: [email protected] also a big production hub for international and the need of pushing more and more col- Website: www.prensario.tv companies setting up studios or coproduc- laborations.
    [Show full text]
  • January / February
    CELTIC MUSIC • KENNY HALL • WORLD MUSIC • KIDS MUSIC • MEXICAN PAPER MAKING • CD REVIEWS FREE Volume 3 Number 1 January-February 2003 THE BI-MONTHLY NEWSPAPER ABOUT THE HAPPENINGS IN & AROUND THE GREATER LOS ANGELES FOLK COMMUNITY A Little“Don’t you know that Folk Music Ukulele is illegal in Los Angeles?” — WARREN C ASEYof theWicket Tinkers is A Lot of Fun – a Beginner’s Tale BY MARY PAT COONEY t all started three workshop at UKE-topia hosted by Jim Beloff at years ago when I McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. I was met Joel Eckhaus over my head in about 15 minutes, but I did at the Augusta learn stuff during the rest of the hour – I Heritage Festival just couldn’t execute any of it! But in Elkins, West my fear of chords in any key but I Virginia. The C was conquered. Augusta Heritage The concert that Festival is has been in existence evening was a for over 25 years, and produces delight with an annual 5-week festival of traditional music almost every uke and dance. Each week of the Festival specialist in the explores different styles, including Cajun, SoCal area on the bill. Irish, Old-Time, Blues, Bluegrass. The pro- The theme was old gram also features folk arts and crafts, espe- time gospel, in line with cially those of West Virginia. Fourteen years the subject of Jim’s latest ago Swing Week was instigated by Western book, and the performers that evening had Swing performers Liz Masterson and Sean quite a romp – some playing respectful Blackburn of Denver, CO as a program of gospel, and others playing whatever they music.
    [Show full text]
  • Subotica Profilex
    Subotica Intercultural Profile Background The Kosztolányi Dezső Theatre describes Subotica as at ‘the entrance to the European Union, and the limit to the Balkan region’ and as ‘an open-minded city, full of possibilities’. In the past 150 years it has been part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, Hungary (twice), the two manifestations of Yugoslavia and its successor states, and now Serbia. Roads out of the city lead variously to Hungary, Romania, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, connecting hundreds of thousands of people of various nationalities and religions, immigrants and emigrants, relatives and mixed marriages. Subotica has an unusual, in some ways unique, ambience. One explanation of the derivation of its Hungarian name, Sabatka, is that it means ‘free place’ and Subotica’s citizens did buy their freedom in the 18 th century from Maria Theresa of Austria. This has allowed of a history of individual liberty (and entrepreneurship) more conducive to the idea of intercultural tolerance than collectivistic, nationalistic ideologies. Thus the city always voted for opposition parties during the Milošević years and the nationalistic parties are barely represented in the City Assembly. The Subotica-born writer Danilo Kiš encapsulated the multi-ethnic city thus: ‘Subotica: Kosztolányi, synagogue, baroque town hall … multilingualism’. The municipality has three official languages: Hungarian, Serbian and Croatian—although the latter two have their common root in Serbo-Croat. The demographic breakdown of Subotica is: Hungarians 38.5 per cent, Serbs 24.1, Croats 11.2, Bunjevci 11.0 per cent and 17.2 per cent comprising self- defined Yugoslavs, Montenegrins, Roma, Albanians, Ruthenians and others.
    [Show full text]
  • The Hungarian Historical Review Nationalism & Discourses
    The Hungarian Historical Review New Series of Acta Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae Volume 5 No. 2 2016 Nationalism & Discourses of Objectivity: The Humanities in Central Europe in the Long Nineteenth Century Bálint Varga Special Editor of the Thematic Issue Contents Articles GÁBOR ALMÁSI Faking the National Spirit: Spurious Historical Documents in the Service of the Hungarian National Movement in the Early Nineteenth Century 225 MILOŠ ŘEZNÍK The Institutionalization of the Historical Science betwixt Identity Politics and the New Orientation of Academic Studies: Wácslaw Wladiwoj Tomek and the Introduction of History Seminars in Austria 250 ÁDÁM BOLLÓK Excavating Early Medieval Material Culture and Writing History in Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Hungarian Archaeology 277 FILIP TOMIĆ The Institutionalization of Expert Systems in the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia: The Founding of the University of Zagreb as the Keystone of Historiographic Professionalization, 1867–1918 305 MICHAEL ANTOLOVIĆ Modern Serbian Historiography between Nation-Building and Critical Scholarship: The Case of Ilarion Ruvarac (1832–1905) 332 ALEKSANDAR PAVLOVIĆ From Myth to Territory: AND Vuk Karadžić, Kosovo Epics and the Role SRĐAN ATANASOVSKI of Nineteenth-Century Intellectuals in Establishing National Narratives 357 http://www.hunghist.org HHHR_2016-2.indbHR_2016-2.indb 1 22016.07.29.016.07.29. 112:50:102:50:10 Contents Featured Review The Past as History: National Identity and Historical Consciousness in Modern Europe. By Stefan Berger, with Christoph Conrad. (Writing the Nation series) Reviewed by Gábor Gyáni 377 Book Reviews Zsigmond király Sienában [King Sigismund in Siena]. By Péter E. Kovács. Reviewed by Emőke Rita Szilágyi 384 Imprinting Identities: Illustrated Latin-Language Histories of St.
    [Show full text]
  • HUNGARIAN STUDIES 19. No. 1. Nemzetközi Magyar Filológiai
    ET IN HUNGÁRIA EGO: TRIANON, REVISIONISM AND THE JOURNAL MAGYAR SZEMLE (1927-1944) MATTHEW CAPLES Indiana University, Bloomington, IN USA The journal Magyar Szemle (1927-1944), founded by Prime Minister István Bethlen and edited by the historian Gyula Szekfïï, was the primary forum for the dis­ cussion of the revision of the Treaty of Trianon and the situation of the Hungarian minorities in the neighboring states. Rejecting all proposals for border revision on an ethnic basis, the journal espoused integral revisionism, or the restoration of the his­ torical Kingdom of Hungary. The periodical's own position on revision is best illus­ trated by the "New Hungária" essays of the legal scholar László Ottlik, published between 1928 and 1940, which hoped to win back the former national minorities through promises of wide-ranging autonomy within a re-established Greater Hun­ gary. Keywords: Trianon, Revisionism, Irredentism, Magyar Szemle, Hungarian minori­ ties I. Introduction Magyar Szemle (Hungarian Review, 1927-1944) was the conservative journal par excellence and one of the outstanding periodicals of interwar Hungary. In­ spired by Prime Minister István Bethlen ( 1874-1946)l and for many years edited by the prominent historian Gyula Szekfïï (1883-1955), the journal represented the most significant gathering of conservative intellectuals to be found during the pe­ riod of Admiral Miklós Horthy's regency (1920-1944). In the wide variety of the topics it covered as well as the quality of its writing, Magyar Szemle far surpassed other conservative journals of the day. In addition to essays on history, literature, art, culture, education, politics, economics and social issues, the journal focused on the pressing questions of Hungarian foreign policy.
    [Show full text]
  • Explaining Irredentism: the Case of Hungary and Its Transborder Minorities in Romania and Slovakia
    Explaining irredentism: the case of Hungary and its transborder minorities in Romania and Slovakia by Julianna Christa Elisabeth Fuzesi A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in Government London School of Economics and Political Science University of London 2006 1 UMI Number: U615886 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615886 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 DECLARATION I hereby declare that the work presented in this thesis is entirely my own. Signature Date ....... 2 UNIVERSITY OF LONDON Abstract of Thesis Author (full names) ..Julianna Christa Elisabeth Fiizesi...................................................................... Title of thesis ..Explaining irredentism: the case of Hungary and its transborder minorities in Romania and Slovakia............................................................................................................................. ....................................................................................... Degree..PhD in Government............... This thesis seeks to explain irredentism by identifying the set of variables that determine its occurrence. To do so it provides the necessary definition and comparative analytical framework, both lacking so far, and thus establishes irredentism as a field of study in its own right. The thesis develops a multi-variate explanatory model that is generalisable yet succinct.
    [Show full text]
  • Minority-Language Related Broadcasting and Legislation in the OSCE
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Other Publications from the Center for Global Center for Global Communication Studies Communication Studies (CGCS) 4-2003 Minority-Language Related Broadcasting and Legislation in the OSCE Tarlach McGonagle Bethany Davis Noll Monroe Price University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/cgcs_publications Part of the Critical and Cultural Studies Commons Recommended Citation McGonagle, Tarlach; Davis Noll, Bethany; and Price, Monroe. (2003). Minority-Language Related Broadcasting and Legislation in the OSCE. Other Publications from the Center for Global Communication Studies. Retrieved from https://repository.upenn.edu/cgcs_publications/3 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/cgcs_publications/3 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Minority-Language Related Broadcasting and Legislation in the OSCE Abstract There are a large number of language-related regulations (both prescriptive and proscriptive) that affect the shape of the broadcasting media and therefore have an impact on the life of persons belonging to minorities. Of course, language has been and remains an important instrument in State-building and maintenance. In this context, requirements have also been put in place to accommodate national minorities. In some settings, there is legislation to assure availability of programming in minority languages.1 Language rules have also been manipulated for restrictive, sometimes punitive ends. A language can become or be made a focus of loyalty for a minority community that thinks itself suppressed, persecuted, or subjected to discrimination. Regulations relating to broadcasting may make language a target for attack or suppression if the authorities associate it with what they consider a disaffected or secessionist group or even just a culturally inferior one.
    [Show full text]
  • Serbia in 2001 Under the Spotlight
    1 Human Rights in Transition – Serbia 2001 Introduction The situation of human rights in Serbia was largely influenced by the foregoing circumstances. Although the severe repression characteristic especially of the last two years of Milosevic’s rule was gone, there were no conditions in place for dealing with the problems accumulated during the previous decade. All the mechanisms necessary to ensure the exercise of human rights - from the judiciary to the police, remained unchanged. However, the major concern of citizens is the mere existential survival and personal security. Furthermore, the general atmosphere in the society was just as xenophobic and intolerant as before. The identity crisis of the Serb people and of all minorities living in Serbia continued. If anything, it deepened and the relationship between the state and its citizens became seriously jeopardized by the problem of Serbia’s undefined borders. The crisis was manifest with regard to certain minorities such as Vlachs who were believed to have been successfully assimilated. This false belief was partly due to the fact that neighbouring Romania had been in a far worse situation than Yugoslavia during the past fifty years. In considerably changed situation in Romania and Serbia Vlachs are now undergoing the process of self identification though still unclear whether they would choose to call themselves Vlachs or Romanians-Vlachs. Considering that the international factor has become the main generator of change in Serbia, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia believes that an accurate picture of the situation in Serbia is absolutely necessary. It is essential to establish the differences between Belgrade and the rest of Serbia, taking into account its internal diversities.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Landscapes of Capital Cities Jessica Joyce Christie East Carolina University
    Masthead Logo Architecture Books Architecture 2016 Political Landscapes of Capital Cities Jessica Joyce Christie East Carolina University Jelena Bogdanović Iowa State University, [email protected] Eulogio Guzmán School of the Museum of Fine Arts Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/arch_books Part of the Architectural History and Criticism Commons Recommended Citation Christie, Jessica Joyce; Bogdanović, Jelena; and Guzmán, Eulogio, "Political Landscapes of Capital Cities" (2016). Architecture Books. 4. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/arch_books/4 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Architecture at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Architecture Books by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 3 Strategically located on a peninsula on the European The Relational side of the narrow Bosphorus strait that connects the Spiritual Geopolitics of Mediterranean and the Black Seas (by way also of the Constantinople, the Capital Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles), Constantinople, of the Byzantine Empire the capital city of the medieval Roman Empire that we know as the Byzantine Empire (324–1453), was the larg- 1 est and most thriving urban center in the Old World. Jelena Bogdanović The city was founded by the first Roman Emperor who embraced Christianity, Constantine I (d. 337), as the eponymous capital outside historically dominant urban centers and as the alternative
    [Show full text]
  • The Bunjevci Studies 311
    Summary: The Bunjevci Studies 311 SUMMARY The Bunjevci Studies he book consists of several short studies of the Croat ethnic group of Bunjevci, Tand various aspects of their traditional culture, ethnicity and the way of life. The Bunjevci are a group of the ethnic Croats, originating from Dalmatia, southwestern Bosnia and Hercegovina; in the 17th century they migrated to the regions of Primorje, Lika and Gorski kotar in the western Croatia, and the Danube area in the north (Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro). The book is divided in three units. The first unit deals with a branch of the Bunjevci in Primorje, Lika and Gorski kotar, the second unit with the Bunjevci branch in the Danube area, and the third one with the ethnocultural processes con- cerning the Bunjevci ethnic group in the context of South East Europe. The introductory chapter deals with the question: How to Approach the Study of Bunjevci group identities (which is also the chapter’s title). The holistic approach to the research of their cultural heritage, and the ethnocultural processes through which the Bunjevci have been formed as a distinct ethnic group, could contribute to the bet- ter understanding of the way in which the identity of an ethnic group has been, and is being, formed, as well as in which the manifold identites of each particular branch have been constructed. The author points to the differences in the construction of two Bunjevci branches’ identities (the Primorje and the Danube area Bunjevci), based on the analysis of their perception of the way of dressing. In both cases the way of dressing stands as a symbol of the collective identity.
    [Show full text]
  • ABSTRACT Title of Document: the FURTHEST
    ABSTRACT Title of Document: THE FURTHEST WATCH OF THE REICH: NATIONAL SOCIALISM, ETHNIC GERMANS, AND THE OCCUPATION OF THE SERBIAN BANAT, 1941-1944 Mirna Zakic, Ph.D., 2011 Directed by: Professor Jeffrey Herf, Department of History This dissertation examines the Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) of the Serbian Banat (northeastern Serbia) during World War II, with a focus on their collaboration with the invading Germans from the Third Reich, and their participation in the occupation of their home region. It focuses on the occupation period (April 1941-October 1944) so as to illuminate three major themes: the mutual perceptions held by ethnic and Reich Germans and how these shaped policy; the motivation behind ethnic German collaboration; and the events which drew ethnic Germans ever deeper into complicity with the Third Reich. The Banat ethnic Germans profited from a fortuitous meeting of diplomatic, military, ideological and economic reasons, which prompted the Third Reich to occupy their home region in April 1941. They played a leading role in the administration and policing of the Serbian Banat until October 1944, when the Red Army invaded the Banat. The ethnic Germans collaborated with the Nazi regime in many ways: they accepted its worldview as their own, supplied it with food, administrative services and eventually soldiers. They acted as enforcers and executors of its policies, which benefited them as perceived racial and ideological kin to Reich Germans. These policies did so at the expense of the multiethnic Banat‟s other residents, especially Jews and Serbs. In this, the Third Reich replicated general policy guidelines already implemented inside Germany and elsewhere in German-occupied Europe.
    [Show full text]