KOSOVO AND METOHIJA DURING WORLD WAR II - SEVEN DECADES LATER

Thematic collection of international importance KOSOVO AND METOHIJA DURING WORLD WAR II - SEVEN DECADES LATER emerged as the realization of an idea in a time when there is a growing attempt to relativise the base of the anti-fascist struggle by various unscientific, mostly daily-political reasons in former Yugoslavia, and to point out the characteristics of the Second World War in Kosovo and Metohija by objective and critical observations of some historical events and processes. So far, the historiography of socialist Yugoslavia presented the past of Kosovo and Metohija in chronological limits of the April war from 1941 until the autumn of 1945 from a rather emphasised one-sided ideological position.Uncritical and largely biased writing, especially from the ranks of historians of Arbanas minority, was inspired by the ideological policy of “brotherhood and unity of nations and nationalities”, and by abolishing of Arbanas quislings and collaborators, trying to make their commitment to the Axis powers characterized as a legitimate reaction to the “great Serbian hegemony” during the period between wars. “The teacher of life” found itself “harnessed” in the project of Albanization of Kosovo and Metohija, which was, in the field of historiography, led by the flagship of Arbanas historiography, Ali Hadri. It was not until the mid-eighties of the century that is behind us, that a slight withdrawal from previous black-and-white scheme could be noticed, due to loosening the rigid ideological constraints and decreasing of distress which daily politics brought upon historiography. Applying new resources and opening topics that were, until then, primarily proscribed, gave rise to a critical review of existing knowledge about the Second World War in Kosovo and Metohija. Terror, violence, murder, persecution and internment of Serbs and other non-Albanians, the role and operation characteristics of numerous vulnetari and ballistic groups, chauvinistic character of quisling formations, so-called second Prizren League, resistance and rebellions of Arbanas population against the newly established socialist government, ban on the return of the colonists of Serbian and Montenegrin nationality to their pre-war habitat and the like, slowly began to develop into the subject of serious historiographi- cal observations and journalistic reports, both in the press and in literature. Although the historiographical work on the history of Kosovo and Metohija during World War II is plentiful, it can be concluded that there is still quite a “whiteness”, particularly in the field of study of microspace, the role of social structures, institutions and destiny of common, “small” man, left to doom of major historical fractures. Panegyric texts created during the sixth, seventh and eighth decade of the last century, full of ideological mythomania and superficiality, provide a distorted vision thereby obliging to critical observations, devoid of stereotypes, prejudice and “national-chauvinistic engagement”, one that will show the past, “the way it really was”. Such an approach is the only possible path based on “firm ground of history,” and was our leading idea while preparing this collection. There are 16 articles in this collection, whose authors come from Serbia, Russia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Montenegro and the Serbian Republic, i.e. Bosnia and Herzegovina, of which there are15 historians and one author with PhD in literature.They are all affirmed scientific research workers, and members of the youngest generation of Serbian and European historians, who, mastering the methodological patterns of their profession, decisively march along the path of Klio the muse, and who will, we believe, contribute a handful of accomplishments to science. The thematic and chronological frameworks of their texts shed light on a series of questions about the past of Kosovo and Metohija during the period of the Second World War, as well as immediately before and after it. The fact that the fundamental topic of this collection aroused the attention of historians abroad, testifies about its importance. We dare say that precisely this “side view” contributes to a more objective perception of the complexity of the processes and events that marked one of the most tragic periods in the long historical development of Kosovo and Metohija. Putting the collection to the public criticism, we emphasize the fact that it represents only a piece of the mosaic of this complex subject, given the multifaceted nature and destructiveness of the biggest ordeal in the history of mankind. Aware that knowledge is never final, we hope that the published papers will represent a modest contribution to better understanding of the phenomenon of the Second World War in Kosovo and Metohija, but also in the wider South Slavic and Balkan region, as well as a useful starting point for future research. Associate professor Vladan Virijevic Assistant professor Dalibor ElezovicThis Thematic collectionis the result of the research conducted within the project III 47023 funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia