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Reviews
| Hitler's New Disorder: The Second World War in Yugoslavia, by Stevan K. Pavlowitch. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. 256 pages. $34.50, cloth.
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| Stevan K. Pavlowitch's Hitler's New Disorder offers an insightful examination of the national and international political landscape of Yugoslavia during World War II. His work chronicles the internal political and ethnic struggles, as well as how the Italian and German occupation exacerbated and exploited this strife. The ousting of King Peter and the government in 1941 created a power vacuum within Yugoslavia that the occupying forces could not adequately fill. Therefore, Yugoslavia was shaped by the superimposing of German and Italian war aims (and the ongoing false hope of an Allied restoration of a constitutional monarchy) over a civil war, which brought its own destruction to the region in this period. While the course of the independent Yugoslavia was contested before the War, the events of 1941–1945 further distorted competing ideologies. The hope of a constitutional monarchy disappeared as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini overwhelmed the nation with their ultimately failing ambitions. On one hand, their policies, such as Hitler's forced relocations, subjugated Yugoslavia and rendered the pre-war government impotent. When the tide of the war turned, most notably during the Italian retreat in 1943, the political landscape dramatically shifted once again, making the Allied absence even more acute. In this climate, internal strife driven by pre-existing conflicts, numerous shortages, and the weapons left behind by the departing forces rearranged internal and external alliances once again. Amid these failed national and international agendas, Josip Tito's communist faction slowly gained the momentum necessary to emerge victorious by the end of the war. Pavlowitch expertly describes the reactionary nature of the political scene, which was ultimately dominated by short-term survival, erroneous assumptions, and continual readjustments rather than informed long-range strategy. Thus, disorder characterized the entire period, and Pavlowitch elucidates the nature and causes of this instability. |
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In his narrow focus on Yugoslavia, Pavlowitch sheds light on a relatively unexplored aspect of World War II. By straightforwardly navigating this tumultuous moment in history, he illustrates the steps and missteps of the numerous factions involved, and the attention to local and international responses is one of the strengths of this work. Additionally, the breadth of Pavlowitch's sources incorporates the multiple histories that collided in World War II Yugoslavia. His judicial use of oral accounts brings essential insights throughout the work, often illuminating the difference between perception and policy. This gap continued well beyond the Second World War, and Pavlowitch concludes that the failure to adequately explain and address the issues that Yugoslavia brought into the War only allowed them to ferment and re-emerge in the events of 1991. As he explains, the version of history put forth under the decades of communist rule "is a mess of myths, idealized and sanitized, that has distorted and continues to distort the story of the death and rebirth of Yugoslavia during the years 1941–1945" (p. 282). By excavating this period, Pavlowitch provides a solid foundation for the re-examination of contemporary assumptions about the region and context in which Tito came to power. |
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This work has much to offer the advanced scholar. Because this is a detailed study of a very specific area, it is best utilized in an upper division course. Pavlowitch deserves credit for his ability to lay out the maneuvering of the numerous parties involved; however, there is a lot of ground covered. Without a solid background in either World War II or Eastern European history, this would be a very difficult read. Pavlowitch has made it as lucid and accessible as possible, particularly through the addition of maps, chronology, and dramatis personae. As useful as these resources are, in the end, it is a very complex story and the work assumes a knowledge of the politics and policies of the major players in World War II. The background provided here is invaluable to anyone in search of an overview of Yugoslavia in this period, and it reveals many little-known aspects of German and Italian occupation and the multi-faceted nature of the devastation within Yugoslavia. Hitler's New Disorder is the starting point of many interesting discussions rather than a definitive answer to essential questions, as Pavlowitch acknowledges in the introduction. There is a definite benefit to this thorough examination of a small piece of a colossal event, and Pavlowitch is true to this stated ambition, creating a foundational text for the study of World War II in the region. |
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| Pasadena, California |
Stephanie McKinney |
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