Gaj Trifković, “Parleying with the Devil: Prisoner Exchange in Yugoslavia 1941-1945”
Nedavno se u štampi pojavila knjiga Gaja Trifkovića “Pregovori s đavolom: razmjena zarobljenika u Jugoslaviji 1941-1945.” (“Parleying with the Devil: Prisoner Exchange in Yugoslavia 1941-1945”) u izdanju University Press of Kentucky/Andarta Books. Knjiga predstavlja sintezu problematike razmjene zarobljenika između njemačkih vojnih i civilnih službi i Narodnooslobodilačkog pokreta sa svim njenim aspektima, uključujući pravni, vojno-politički, propagandni, i istoriografski. Drugim riječima, kroz prizmu razmjene se prikazuje i trnoviti put od statusa “bandita” do privilegovanog statusa ratnog zarobljenika koji su morali proći jugoslovenski partizani, uloga kontakata sa neprijateljem u strategijama NOP-a i okupacione sile, važnost zarobljenika u simboličnom smislu, te prikaz tretmana ove osjetljive teme u (post-) jugoslovenskoj istoriografiji i šire. Prvo poglavlje sadrži analizu Srbije kao “posebnog slučaja”, u kojem razmjena nikad nije zaživjela kao u drugim krajevima zemlje. Tema drugog poglavlja su kontakti ustanika sa njemačkim i vlastima Nezavisne Države Hrvatske od ljeta 1941. do početka zime 1942/43, sa akcentom na prvu veliku razmjenu kod Studenog Vrela. Treće poglavlje se bavi vjerovatno najkontroverznijom ratnom epizodom, “Martovskim pregovorima 1943.” i Titovom odlukom da ponudi primirje na vrhuncu Bitke na Neretvi. Četvrto, po mnogočemu glavno, poglavlje donosi priču o neutralnoj zoni kod Pisarovine i centralnom kartelu za razmjenu zarobljenika, o tome kako je nastao, funkcionisao, i nestao. Peto poglavlje analizira efekat kartela na spremnost lokalnih komandi u svim krajevima zemlje da uđu u slične pregovore sa najbližim suparničkim jedinicama. Šesto poglavlje sadrži kratke zaključne napomene.
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Naslov: Parleying with the Devil: Prisoner Exchange in Yugoslavia 1941-1945
Autor: Gaj Trifković
Predgovor: Klaus Schmider
Izdavač: University Press of Kentucky/Andarta Books
Godina: 2020
Broj stranica: 456
Jezik: engleski
Zainteresirani za pisanje recenzije mogu se javiti uredniku portala Historiografija.hr na e-mail bjankovi@ffzg.hr
Parleying with the Devil
Prisoner Exchange in Yugoslavia, 1941‒1945
New Perspectives on the Second World War
by Gaj Trifković
Foreword by Klaus Schmider
Published by: The University Press of Kentucky
456 pages
Published: June 2020
The Second World War in Yugoslavia is notorious for the brutal struggle between the armed forces of the Third Reich and the communist-led Partisans. Less known is the fact that the two sides negotiated prisoner exchanges throughout the war. Under extraordinary circumstances, these early communications evolved into a formal exchange agreement centered on the creation of a neutral zone — quite possibly the only such area in occupied Europe — where prisoners were regularly exchanged until late April 1945, saving thousands of lives. The leadership on both sides used these points of contact to hold secret political talks, for which they were nearly branded as traitors by their superiors in Berlin and Moscow. Parleying with the Devil is the first comprehensive analysis of prisoner exchanges and the attendant contacts between the German occupation authorities and the Yugoslav Partisans. Trifković argues that prisoner exchange had a decisive influence on prisoner of war policies on both sides and helped reduce the levels of violence for which this theater of war became infamous. Parleying with the Devil reveals that these points of contact, contrary to some claims, did not lead to collusion between these two parties against other Yugoslav factions or the Western Allies.
Gaj Trifković, PhD, is a Second World War historian based in Vienna, Austria.
“Deftly detailing the motives and actions of Tito’s Partisan movement and the German occupiers within the larger context of the war, Trifković provides a masterful analysis of a neglected and complex topic. A trailblazing work that modifies our traditional understanding of the brutal war waged within Yugoslavia’s borders.” — Jeff Rutherford, author of Combat and Genocide on the Eastern Front: The German Infantry’s War, 1941—1944
“Trifković’s Parleying with the Devil is a unique and monumental contribution to the literature on prisoners of war in the Second World War. It is exhaustively researched from sources in multiple languages, offering the only comprehensive treatment of the topic. This should be the standard work on the subject for the foreseeable future.” — Derek R. Mallett, author of Hitler’s Generals in America: Nazi POWs and Allied Military Intelligence