The tumultuous history of the Balkans has been subject to a plethora of conflicting interpretations, both local and external. In an attempt to help overcome the stereotypes that still pervade Balkan history, Battling over the Balkans concentrates on a set of five principal controversies from the precommunist period with which the region\u2019s history and historiography must contend: (1) the pre-1914 Ottoman and Eastern Christian Orthodox legacies; (2) the post-1918 struggles for state-building; (3) the range of European economic and cultural influence across the interwar period, as opposed to diplomatic or political intervention; (4) the role of violence and paramilitary forces in challenging the interwar political regimes in the region; and (5) the fate of ethnic minorities into and after World War II, particularly Jews, Muslims and Roma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an attempt to give a voice to eminent local authors, the chapters provide samples of new regional scholarship exploring these contested issues\u2014most of them translated into English for the first time\u2014and are prefaced with historiographical overviews addressing the state of the debate on these specific controversies. These translations help bridge the language barriers that often separate scholarly traditions within Southeast Europe, as well as scholars in Southeast Europe and English-speaking academia. It is hoped that the volume will enable readers to identify common patterns and influences that characterize the writing of history in the region, and will stimulate new transnational and comparative approaches to the history of the Balkans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Table of contents<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John R. Lampe and Constantin Iordachi: \u201cBeyond Stereotypes: Recent Trends in the Historiography on the Balkans\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chapter 1 The Ottoman Balkans and Nation-Building<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Vangelis Kechriotis and Roumiana Preshlenova<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roumiana Preshlenova: \u201cBulgarian Debates on the Ottoman Political Legacy\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nadia Danova, Osmanskoto vreme v b\u016dlgarskiia natsionalen diskurs prez Vangelis Kechriotis, \u201cGreek Historiography and the Role of the Orthodox Church\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elli Skopetea, \u0112 D\u00fds\u0113 t\u0113s Anatol\u1e17s: Eik\u00f3nes ap\u00f3 to t\u00e9los t\u0113s Oth\u014dmanik\u1e17s Autokrator\u00edas [The Twilight of the East: Images from the Fall of the Ottoman Empire] (Athens: Gnosi, 1992), 166\u201373. Chapter 2 Struggling with State-Building in Interwar Yugoslavia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Vjeran Pavlakovi\u0107 and Vladan Jovanovi\u0107<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vjeran Pavlakovi\u0107: \u201cRecent Croatian Historiography on the Interwar Period\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mira Kolar-Dimitrijevi\u0107, \u201cGospodarske prilike na hrvatskom prostoru izmedju dva rata\u201d [Economic Opportunities on Croatian Territory between the Two World Wars]. In Ivo Peric (ed.), Povijest Hrvata od 1918 do danas [History of the Croats from 1918 Until the Present] (Zagreb: \u0160kolska knjiga, 2007), 103\u20135. Vladan Jovanovi\u0107: \u201cRecent Serbian Historiography on the Interwar Period\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ivana Dobrivojevi\u0107, Dr\u017eavna represija u doba diktature kralja Aleksandra 1929\u20131935 [Governmental Repression during the King Alexander\u2019s Dictatorship, 1929\u20131935] (Belgrade: Institut za savremenu istoriju, 2006), 193\u20138. Chapter 3 Irregular Violence: Bandits, Guerillas, and Militias<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n James Frusetta and Stefan Sotiris Papaioannou<\/p>\n\n\n\n James Frusetta and Stefan Sotiris Papaioannou: \u201cIrregular Violence: Bandits, Guerillas, and Militias in Southeastern European Historiography\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paramilitaries versus Armies: Bulgaria, Greece, and Yugoslavia<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tasos Kostopoulos, P\u00f3lemos kai Ethnok\u00e1thars\u0113: \u0112 xechasm\u00e9n\u0113 pleur\u00e1 mias dekaeto\u00fas ethnik\u1e17s ex\u00f3rm\u0113s\u0113s, 1912\u20131922 [War and Ethnic Cleansing: The Forgotten Side of a Decade-Long National Campaign, 1912\u20131922] (Athens: Vivliorama, 2007), 40\u20132. Fascism in the Interwar Balkans<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mario Jareb, Usta\u0161ko-domobranski pokret [The Ustasha-Homeguard Movement] (Zagreb: \u0160kolska knjiga, 2006), 225, 230\u20137. Chapter 4 European Influence and Reaction: Economics and Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Roumiana Preshlenova and John R. Lampe<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roumiana Preshlenova and John R. Lampe: \u201cThe Retreat from European Historiography\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accommodating the Interwar European Economic Order and Influence<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ivan M. Beci\u0107, Finansiska politika Kr. SHS, 1918\u20131923. [Financial Policy in Kingdom SCS] (Belgrade: Stubovi culture, 2003), 220\u20133, 227\u20138. Roumiana Preshlenova and John R. Lampe: \u201cEuropean Cultural Influences in Yugoslavia and Bulgaria\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comparing European Cultural Influences in Belgrade and Sofia<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ranka Ga\u0161i\u0107, Beograd u hodu ka Evropi. Kulturni uticaji Britanije i Nema\u010dke na beogradsku elitu 1918\u20131941 [Belgrade on the Way Toward Europe: British and German Cultural Influences on the Belgrade Elite, 1918\u20131941] (Belgrade: Institut za savremenu istoriju, 2005), 259\u201365. Chapter 5 The Jews and Other Minorities during the World War II<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Constantin Iordachi and James Frusetta<\/p>\n\n\n\n Constantin Iordachi and James Frusetta: \u201cThe Holocaust and the Treatment of Minorities in Wartime Balkans\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Holocaust in Romania<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Comparative Trivialization of the Holocaust\u201d in Chapter 13, \u201cDistortion, negationism, and minimalization of the holocaust in postwar Romania.\u201d In The Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania, 2004, 45\u201355, available at http:\/\/www.yadvashem.org\/yv\/pdf-drupal\/en\/report\/english\/1.13_Distortion…<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lya Benjamin, \u201cBazele doctrinaire ale antisemitismului antonescian.\u201d In Viorel Achim and Constantin Iordachi (eds.), Rom\u00e2nia \u015fi Transnistria: Problema Holocaustului. Perspective istorice \u015fi comparative [Romania and Transnistria: The Question of the Holocaust. Historical and Comparative Perspectives] (Bucure\u015fti: Curtea Veche, 2004), 242\u201351.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bulgarian Debate over \u201cWho Saved the Jews?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yosif Ilel, \u201cWhy did the Bulgarians save the Jews in Bulgaria.\u201d In Vladimir Paunovski and Yosif Ilel, Evreite v Balgariya mezhdu unishtozhenieto i spasenieto [The Jews in Bulgaria between the Holocaust and the Rescue]. Bilingual edition (Sofia: Adasa Press, 2000), 165\u20136, 167\u20139. The Albanian Debate over \u201cWho Saved the Jews?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artan Puto, \u201cDisa Plane p\u00ebr Emigrimin e \u00c7ifut\u00ebve n\u00eb Shqip\u00ebri\u201d [Plans for the Emigration of Jews in Albania], P\u00ebrpjekja 2 (1995) no. 3: 102\u20137.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Valentina Duka, \u00c7\u00ebshtje t\u00eb Historis\u00eb Bashk\u00ebkohore t\u00eb Shqiptar\u00ebve [Contemporary Questions of the History of Albanians] (Tirana: Libri Universitar, 2008), 202\u20135.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
XIX i XX vek [The Ottoman Time in the Bulgarian National Discourse in
the 19th and 20th Centuries]. In Sledva (Sofia: New Bulgarian University,
2009), 31\u201342.
Roumen Daskalov, \u201cProblematizatsiia na V\u016dzrazhdaneto\u201d [Problematizing the Revival]. In Diana Mishkova (ed.), Balkanskiiat XIX vek: drugi prochiti [The Balkan Nineteenth Century: Other Readings] (Sofia: Riva, 2006), 159\u201363.
Aleksand\u01d4r Vezenkov, \u201cOchevidno samo na pr\u01d4v pogled: \u2018B\u01d4lgarskoto v\u01d4zrazhdane\u2019 kato otdelna epoha\u201d [Not So Apparent Truths: The \u2018Bulgarian Revival\u2019 as a Separate Era]. In Diana Mishkova (ed.), Balkanskiiat XIX vek: drugi prochiti [The Balkan Nineteenth Century: Other Readings] (Sofia: Riva, 2006), 82\u2013127.
Iliia Todev, \u201cEkzarkhiyata\u2014fakticheskoto nachalo na modernata b\u016dlgarska d\u016drzhavnost?\u201d [The Exarchate\u2014The Real Establishment of the Modern Bulgarian Statehood?]. In Gochev Ganev, Georgi Bakalov, and Iliia Todev (eds.), D\u016drzhava & ts\u016drkva, ts\u016drkva & d\u016drzhava v b\u016dlgarskata istoriia [State & Church, Church & State in Bulgarian History] (Sofia: Universitetsko izdatelstvo \u201cSv. Kliment Okhridski,\u201d 2006), 235\u201346.
Iliia Todev, \u201cV\u016dzgledut na Marin Drinov za B\u016dlgarskoto natsionalno v\u016dzrazhdane\u201d [Marin Drinov\u2019s View on the Bulgarian National Revival]. In Iliia Todev, Mikhail Stanchev, Roumiana Radkova, and Serge\u012d Strashniuk (eds.), Sbornik po slucha\u01d0 170\u2013godishninata ot rozhdenieto na prof. Marin Drinov [Corpus Dedicated to the 170th Anniversary of Prof. Marin Drinov] (Sofia: Akademichno izdatelstvo \u201cProf. M. Drinov,\u201d 2009), 135\u201342.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sia Anagnostopoulou, \u201c\u0112 Neotourkik\u1e17 epan\u00e1stas\u0113: To n\u00e9o oth\u014dmanik\u00f3 pla\u00edsio exous\u00edas 1908\u20131914\u201d [The Young Turk Revolution: The New \u2018Ottoman\u2019 Framework of Authority: 1908\u20131914]. In Mikr\u00e1 As\u00eda 19os ai-1919 Oi Ell\u0113north\u00f3doxes koin\u00f3t\u0113tes. Ap\u00f3 to Mill\u00e9t t\u014dn R\u014dmi\u1e53n sto Ell\u0113nik\u00f3 \u00c9thnos [Asia Minor, 19th Century\u20131919. The Greek Orthodox Communities from Rum Millet to Greek Nation] (Athens: Ellinika Grammata, 1998), 453\u20139.
Paraskevas Konortas, Oth\u014dmanik\u00e9s the\u014dr\u1e17seis gia to Oikoumenik\u00f3 Patriarche\u00edo: Ver\u00e1tia gia tous prokath\u0113m\u00e9nous t\u0113s Meg\u00e1l\u0113s Ekkl\u0113s\u00edas 17os\u2014arch\u00e9s 20ou ai [Ottoman Views of the Ecumenical Patriarchate: Berats for the Prelatesof the Grand Church 17th\u2013Early 20th Centuries] (Athens: Alexandria, 1998), 39\u201346.
Eleni Gara, \u201cChristiano\u00ed kai mousoulm\u00e1noi st\u0113n Oth\u014dmanik\u1e17 Autokrator\u00eda t\u014dn pr\u1e53im\u014dn ne\u00f3ter\u014dn chr\u00f3n\u014dn: istoriographik\u00e9s proseng\u00edseis\u201d [Christians and Muslims in the Ottoman Empire in Early Modern Times: Historiographical Approaches]. In Molly Greene, Kr\u1e17t\u0113, \u00e9nas koin\u00f3s k\u00f3smos: Christiano\u00ed kai mousoulm\u00e1noi st\u0113 Mes\u00f3geio t\u014dn pr\u1e53im\u014dn neot\u00e9r\u014dn chr\u00f3n\u014dn (Athens: Ekdoseis tou Eikostou Protou, 2005), 17\u201323 [Greek translation of A Shared World: Christians and Muslims in the Early Modern Mediterranean, Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press: 2000].
Andreas Lyberatos, Oikonom\u00eda, politik\u1e17 kai ethnik\u1e17 ideolog\u00eda \u0112 diam\u00f3rph\u014ds\u0113 t\u014dn ethnik\u1e53n komm\u00e1t\u014dn st\u0113 Philippo\u00fapol\u0113 tou 19ou ai\u1e53na [Economy, Politics and National Ideology: The shaping of national parties in Philippoupolis (Plovdiv) of the 19th Century] (Herakleio: Panepistimiakes Ekdoseis Kritis, 2009), xiv- xxi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ivo Goldstein, Hrvatska 1918\u20132008 [Croatia 1918\u20132008] (Zagreb: EPH, 2008), 79\u201380, 84\u20135.
Aleksandar Jakir, \u201cO nekim aspektima oblikovanja nacionalnih identiteta na primjeru Dalmacije izme\u0111u dva rata\u201d [Several Aspects in the Formation of National Identity in Dalmatia between the Two World Wars]. In Tihomir Cipek and Josip Vrande\u010di\u0107 (eds.), Nacija i nacionalizam u hrvatskoj povijesnoj tradiciji [Nations and Nationalism in the Croatian Historical Tradition] (Zagreb: Alinea, 2007), 134\u20138.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zoran Janjetovi\u0107, \u201cUticaj srpskog faktora na polo\u017eaj nacionalnih manjina u Jugoslaviji u razdoblju izme\u0111u dva svetska rata\u201d [The Influence of the Serbian Factor on the Position of National Minorities in Yugoslavia during the Interwar Period]. In Pisati istoriju Jugoslavije: Vi\u0111enje srpskog faktora [Writing a History of Yugoslavia: The Perspective of the Serbian Factor] (Belgrade: INIS, 2007), 105\u20139.
Sofija Bo\u017ei\u0107, \u201cSrbi u Hrvatskoj, hegemonisti ili potla\u010deni? slu\u010daj osje\u010dkih Srba (1918-1924)\u201d [Serbs in Croatia, Hegemonists, or the Oppressed? The Case of Osijek Serbs (1918\u20131924)]. In Pisati istoriju Jugoslavije: Vi\u0111enje srpskog faktora [Writing a History of Yugoslavia: The Perspective of the Serbian Factor] (Belgrade: INIS, 2007), 65\u201378.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dmitar Tasi\u0107, Rat posle rata: Vojska Kraljevine Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca na Kosovu i Metohiji i u Makedoniji, 1918\u20131920 [War After the War: The Army of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in Kosovo and Metohia and in Macedonia, 1918\u20131920] (Belgrade: Utopija & Institut za Strategijska Istra\u017eivanja, 2008), 475\u20137, 479.
Vladan Jovanovi\u0107, Jugoslovenska dr\u017eava i Ju\u017ena Srbija 1918\u20131929. Makedonija, Sand\u017eak, Kosovo i Metohija u Kraljevini SHS [The Yugoslav State and Southern Serbia, 1918\u2013 1929. Macedonia, Sanjak, Kosovo, and Metohija in the Kingdom of S.C.S] (Belgrade: Institut za noviju istoriju Srbije, 2002), 197\u2013205.
Veselin Yanchev, Armiya, obshtestven red i vutreshna sigurnost. Bulgarskiyat opit 1878\u20131912 [Army, Public Order and Internal Security: The Bulgarian Experience 1878\u20131912] (Sofia: IF-94, 2006), 203, 208\u20139.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ivo Goldstein, Hrvatska 1918\u20132008 [Croatia 1918\u20132008] (Zagreb: EPH 2008), 145\u20138.
Nikolai Poppetrov, Fashizmut v Bulgariia: razvitie i proiavi [Fascism in Bulgaria: Development and Activities] (Sofia: IK Kama, 2008), 7\u20139, 69\u201372.
Constantin Iordachi, \u201cCharisma and Violence: Criminal Revenge versus Christian Morality.\u201d In Charisma, Politics and Violence: The Legion of the \u201cArchangel Michael\u201d in Inter-war Romania (Trondheim: Trondheim Studies on East European Cultures & Societies, 2004), 137\u201345.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roumen Avramov, Stopanskiyat XX vek na Bulgariya [Bulgaria\u2019s Twentieth Century Economy] (Sofia: Tsentur za liberalni strategii, 2001), 25\u20139, 63\u20134, 81\u20132, 103\u20134.
Dimitar Dimitrov, Znaesh li ti koi sme? (Ili trite bulgarski prehodi kum Evropa [Do You Know Who We Are? Or Three Bulgarian Transitions Toward Europe] (Blagoevgrad: Univ. Izd-vo \u201cNeofit Rilski,\u201d 2006), 42\u20138.
Goran Nikoli\u0107, Kurs dinara i devizna politika Kraljevine Jugoslavije, 1918\u20131941 [The Course of the Dinar and Foreign Exchange Policy in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, 1918\u20131941] (Belgrade: Stubovi kulture, 2001), 219\u201321, 226\u20139.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Miroslav Jovanovi\u0107, Ruska emigracija na Balkanu 1929\u20131940 [The Russian Emigration in the Balkans, 1920\u20131940] (Belgrade: \u010cigoja \u0161tampa, 2006), 199\u2013200, 203\u20134, 409\u201311, 419.
Milcho Lalkov, \u201cGermaniya v bulgarskata istoriya 1878\u20131939\u2014problemi i tendentsii na edno neravnomerno prisustvie\u201d [Germany in the Bulgarian History 1878\u20131939. Problems and Trends of an Uneven Presence]. In Atanas Natev (ed.), Usvoyavane i emantsipatsiya: vstupitelni izsledvaniya vurhu nemska kultura v Bulgariya [Acquisition and Emancipation. Introductory Studies on German Culture in Bulgaria] (Sofia: \u201cK&M,\u201d 1997), 177\u201394.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mihail Gruev, Mezhdu petoluchkata i polumesetsa: Bulgarite miosiolmani i politicheskiiat rezhim (1944\u20131959) [Between the Five-Pointed Star and the Crescent: The Bulgarian Muslims and the Political Regime (1944\u20131959)] (Sofia: IK Kota, 2003), 107\u20138, 122\u20134.<\/p>\n\n\n\n