Yugoslavia during the Second World War

Abstract

The reason for Yugoslav involvement in the affairs of the Second World War can be trace back to the period of its creation. In 1918 with the proclamation of the South Slavic state and the adoption the first constitution, the seed of unrest were thrown. Multinational and multicultural as it was, Yugoslavia spent its inter-war period trying to find a perfect formula for its nationalist and irredentist wounds. Unfortunately, the national unity was newer achieved and country was already dragged into whirlpool of conspiracies at the end of thirties. Just like other new states of Europe, whose experiment with democracy failed, Yugoslavia found itself not strong enough to resist growing German domination. What fallowed then is the worst possible scenario. Yugoslavia was occupied from out side, and by the civil war and the revolution torn a part from inside. The only rule known during the war is policy of Wehrmacht was, "hundred civilians for a killed soldier". It is thought that Yugoslavia in this conflict lost more than tent of its populations. The Yugoslav politicians of this era lucked democratic practice and suffered from narrowed wives. The game, in which the party interests prevail over national one, could be played only for a short time.