Balkan Holocausts? Comparing Genocide Myths and Historical Revisionism in Serbian and Croatian Nationalist Writing; 1986-1999 Written by: David Bruce MACDONALD, B.A. Honours, M.A. Supervised by: Dr. Spyros ECONOMIDES Dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations London School of Economics and Political Science London, United Kingdom April, 2001. UMI Number: U162955 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 U162955 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. 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Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 \ X - 4 ~ " > A 00 T\ fl\ _o Ca ) CO CA K> U) CA to Table of Contents Abstract 5 Acknowledgements 6 Introduction 7 Chapter One: Nationalist Myths and Structure: Towards a Teleological Model of Nationalism Introduction: 20 Myths of the Nation: Teleology and Time: 21 Myths of Covenant and Renewal: 25 Primary Myths of Identification: 27 The Golden Age of Nationalism: 28 Negative Myths of Identification: 32 A Taxonomy of Fall and Persecution Myths: 34 Modernism and its Approach to Nationalism: 36 Conclusions: 40 Chapter Two: The Functionalisation of Jewish Nationalism Introduction: 42 Biblical and Jewish Ethics: Nationalism and Zionism: 43 Universalising the Holocaust: 46 The Comparative Genocide Debate and the Holocaust: 52 The Holocaust and the State of Israel: Anti-Zionism or Anti-Semitism? 53 The Holocaust as Unique in the Annals of Comparative Genocide: 54 Against Uniqueness: Multiple Genocides and Holocausts in History: 55 ‘Acting* like a Victim: The Holocaust as Performative: 58 Performativity and Nationalism: The Nation as Invented and Constructed: 61 Conclusions: 63 Chapter Three: The Rise of Serbian Nationalism Introduction: 66 Contextualising Propaganda: The Rise of Serbian Nationalism: 67 ‘Kosovo’ and the Development of Serbian Consciousness: 72 Renewal of the Serbian Orthodox Church: 75 Generalising Kosovo: Serbian and Jewish Connections: 77 The First Targets: Myths of Persecution and the Kosovar Albanians: 79 Contextualising Serbian Nationalism in Croatia: 82 Serbian Territorial Claims in the Krajina and Eastern Slavonia: 84 Moral Claims: The Myth of ‘Serbophobia’: 86 Serbian Interpretations of the First Yugoslavia: 91 Conclusions: 95 2 Chapter Four: The Rise of Croatian Nationalism Introduction: 97 The Beginnings of Croatian Nationalism: 97 Contextualising the War in Croatia: 102 Croatia Confronts ‘Greater Serbia’: 105 Croatian Perceptions of the First Yugoslavia: 111 Croatian State Right and the Antemurale Christianitatis: 115 The Civilisational Divide Between East and West: 116 TheMythofMedjugoije: 120 The Different Racial Origins of the Serbs: 122 Conclusions: 125 Chapter Five: Revising World War II History Introduction: 127 A Short Overview of World War II: 128 Rehabilitating the NDH: Conflicting Perceptions Among the Croats: 130 Serbian Views of the Ustasa and Cetniks: 133 Croatian Views of the Cetniks: 135 Anti-Semitism in Croatia: Stepinac and the People: 138 Serbian Views of Collaboration and Anti-Semitism: 141 The Myth of Partisan Participation: 145 Conclusions: 147 Chapter Six: ‘Numbers Games’ and the Myths of Jasenovac and Bleiburg Introduction: 149 The ‘Numbers Game’ at Jasenovac: 149 Jasenovac and the Serbian ‘Holocaust’: 151 Jasenovac, the Croatians, and the ‘Black Legend’: 155 Bleiburg: The Croatian ‘Holocaust’: 159 Croats and the Numbers Game: 161 Motives and Participants in Bleiburg: 162 Bleiburg as a Ustasa ‘Sacrifice’: 163 Conclusions: 166 Chapter Seven: Communism, Post-Communism, and the War in Croatia Introduction: 168 The Communist Era: 1945 - 1990: 169 Serbian Views of Tito’s Yugoslavia: 171 Administrative Versus Natural Borders: 172 The 1974 Constitution and Genocide: 175 Genocidal Croats: Croatian Nationalism in the SFRY: 176 Croatian Perceptions of the SFRY: 178 Serbian Economic Domination: 179 The Serbian Character Explained: 181 Linguistic Repression in Yugoslavia: 182 3 The Rise of Serbian and Croatian Nationalism: Interpretations: 185 ‘Operation Storm’: 190 Contemporary Fears of the Catholic Church: 192 Croatian Views of the War in Croatia: 194 The Long Awaited Evil - Greater Serbia: 195 Serbian Nazis and Collective Psychosis: 197 Conclusions: 200 Chapter Eight: ‘Greater Serbia’ and ‘Greater Croatia’: The Moslem Question in Bosnia- Hercegovina Introduction: 202 Primordial and Constructed Nations: The Case of the Bosnian Moslems: 203 Denouncing Constructed Nationalism and Islam: 204 The Moslems as ‘Fallen’ Serbs: Ethnic and Territorial Dimensions: 206 Bosnian Moslems and their Croatian Heritage: 208 Bosnia-Hercegovina as a Croatian Land: 210 Analysing Serbian and Croatian Arguments: 211 The Moslems as ‘Traitors’: The Islamic Conspiracy Theory: 213 Serbs and the ‘Moslem Traitors’ in Bosnia-Hercegovina: 213 Imagining the Islamic State: Serbian Perspectives: 215 The Moslems as Genocidal Killers: 218 Croatian Views of the Bosnian Moslems: 220 Assigning Blame in Bosnia-Hercegovina: 222 The Bosnian Moslem Perspective: 223 Conclusions: 225 Conclusions 227 Religious Nationalism and ‘Ethnic’ Nations: 228 Holocaust Imagery and the Comparative Genocide Debate: 234 Instrumentalising the Fall: 238 Was There Ever a Genocide in Serbia or Croatia?: 240 Western Reactions: Does the Comparative Genocide Debate Work? 245 Endnotes 250 Bibliography 304 4 Abstract This thesis explores, from both a theoretical and practical basis, how and why Serbian and Croatian nationalist elites used victim centred propaganda to legitimate new state creation during the collapse of Communist Yugoslavia (1986-1999). This often involved applying imagery from the Jewish Holocaust, with overt comparisons between Jewish suffering and the imagined genocides of Serbs and Croats. Chapters ‘One’ and ‘Two’ discuss why a rhetoric of victimisation and persecution has been an enduring aspect of national identity, from the ancient Hebrews onwards. This theoretical section develops a model for analysing nationalist teleology, comprising a Golden Age, a Fall from grace, and a Redemption. It also provides a critique of nationalism theory, analysing its successes and failures in understanding the importance of victim centred propaganda and the Holocaust in nationalism writings. Chapters ‘Three* to ‘Nine’ examine how a fear of genocide was used by Serbian and Croatian nationalists to push their people into wars of “self defence”. Through a detailed examination of primary source material, these chapters dissect many of the arguments advanced during the conflicts in, Kosovo, Croatia, and Bosnia-Hercegovina. Important comparisons can be made about how history was revised and what purpose these revisions served. Serbian and Croatian propaganda is divided into specific time periods. The time periods examined include the earliest eras, from the 3rd to the 15th centuries AD, followed by i t . A t. the medieval era, and the 19 century. The 20 century is divided into several periods, beginning with the first kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918), World War II, Communist Yugoslavia, the breakdown of the Federation, and the rise of nationalism and violence. A chapter on Bosnia-Hercegovina and the Bosnian Moslems demonstrates how effectively Serbian and Croatian propaganda was applied to a third party. 5 Acknowledgements Many thanks to Ambassador John Fraser, Dejan Gizina, and Professors Carl Jacobsen, Zlatko Isakovic, and Mihailo Cmobmja, for shaping my early interest in the Balkans and its people. Thanks to Vesela Mrden at the Croatian Embassy (Ottawa), and Aleksander Mitic at the Serbian Embassy (Ottawa), for getting me started with all the latest views and information about the war in Yugoslavia, from 1992 to 1995. Many thanks to Silvija Letica at the Matica Hrvatska Iseljenika for her illuminating insight on the people of Croatia. Thank you to the Hamza family in Sarajevo for their colourful, and at times distressing, stories about the war in Bosnia, and of course, their wonderful hospitality. A special thanks to the editors of Slovo at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies for having published two of my articles. These were based on two conference papers, which were in turn based on several aspects of my doctoral research. Some of that information collected during my time as a PhD student can be found within this thesis.1 Thanks also to Nick Bisley, for his rigorous editing skills and suggestions during the second draft of this thesis. Thanks very much to my supervisor, Spyros Economides, for ploughing through much of the good, bad, and horribly disfigured, with consummate and tireless skill. Thank you to the Regina Industrial Parks Rotary Club for funding two years of my doctoral research through the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship. My time at LSE would have been impossible without their gracious assistance. Thanks also to the Stepney Rotary Club for their kind hosting of me during my time in London. Their tasty lunches and witty conversation will not soon be forgotten. I dedicate this thesis to my wife, Dana Wensley, for her loving support during