Author: Marcus Tanner
In less than two weeks we are heading to Croatia on vacation and I realized that I knew very little about this country and its people. I looked online for a book on Croatia’s history and this one came up as highly recommended.
The early days of the people living in this land are not well documented. Dalmatia was part of the Roman Empire and Emperor Diocletian was born in the town of Salona (modern day suburb of Split). The Croats at that time were a South Slavik group that inhabited most of Eastern Europe. Around 7th and 8th century AD there was a significant migration of people living in White Croatia (modern day Poland, Ukraine, Czechia and Slovakia) to settle in the region around the West Adriatic Coast.
Over the next couple of centuries they organized themselves into an independent state and Tomislav became the first king in 925. But Croatia was always too small to defend itself agains the Venetians who were just across the Adriatic Sea, so they entered into a union with Hungary to provide them with protection. This lasted for eight centuries, but then the Ottoman’s came charging in from the Middle East and conquered most of Croatia (what is now Bosnia, Serbia and Albania).
The 20th century was a tumultuous period for Croatia. Following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian empire at the end of World War I, Croatia joined the newly formed kingdom of Serbs, Albanians, Slovenes and Macedonians that eventually got named as Yugoslavia. During World War 2 (1941) the Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia and established the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) which was a fascist puppet state governed by the Ustaše regime. This government was notorious for its brutal policies against Serbs, Jews, and Muslims during the Holocaust.
Throughout the war, resistance movements emerged, led by Josip Broz Tito and his Communist partisans. By 1945, after a protracted struggle, the partisans succeeded in defeating the Ustaše regime and reestablished Croatia as part of a socialist federation under Tito's leadership. After WW II, Croatia became one of six republics — along with Serbia, Slovenia, Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro — in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Tito's regime promoted a unique brand of socialism that allowed for some degree of autonomy and freedom compared to other Eastern Bloc countries. This period saw significant industrialization and urbanization. Following Tito's death in 1980, nationalist sentiments began to rise across Yugoslavia, leading to increasing ethnic tensions and calls for independence among various republics
As nationalist movements gained momentum in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Croatia declared independence on June 25, 1991. Franjo Tudjman founded the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) in 1989 and played a pivotal role in the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995). Under Tudjman's leadership, Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991, following a referendum that showed overwhelming support for secession. This declaration was met with immediate resistance from the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Serbian paramilitary forces. August of 1995 was a turning point in the War as the Croatian Army launched a co-ordinated offensive to retake the Krajina region which had been controlled by Serb forces since 1991. The Dayton agreement in December 1995 further solidified its boarders and ended the Bosnian War.
In summary, this is a very detailed book and is densely packed with information about all the historical figures and their contributions to Croatia. In its quest to get all the facts and figures about the history it loses the narrative aspect. I could not get a good understanding of what parts of the history are significant in the Croatia that we see today.
No comments:
Post a Comment