1+-+WWI+Yugoslavia

What were the conditions that led to the creation of Yugoslavia in 1918-19, and to what extent was it linked to the Versailles treaty process? The creation of Yugoslavia in 1918-1919 was a result of the Habsburg Empire collapsing and the power vacuum yet need for unity that ensued. Pro – Entente Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs were the ones who gained control in Zagreb on October 6th, 1918. On October 29th, 1918, the Croatian government pronounced sovereignty and declared independence from the Habsburgs and also proclaimed a new State of Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, and also wanted to form a union with Serbia and Montenegro. Croatia asked the newly formed National Council in Zagreb for military help in controlling anarchy happening domestically. The nations created the Yugoslav committee and former kingdoms would now function under one entity, yet, dilemmas arose when the Yugoslav state had to solve issues that were once separate, domestic, and not interconnected. For examples, immediate disagreements about the terms proposed for Serbian union arose. Croatian Serb Svetozar Pribicevic wanted unconditional union, immediately. Stjepan Radic, leader of the opposition sought for a creation of a South Slavic Confederacy consisting of Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Pribicevic prevailed as the National Council of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs denied Radic’s notions. The political field was tense mainly with conflict between Croats and Serbians. The Serbian Army controlled many regions, and after the debate over Syrmia, a fertile agricultural region between Croatia and Serbia, the National Council agreed to a unification with Serbia. The final declaration said that the organization of the government should be allotted to the future Constituent Assembly which could only pass final decisions with a 2/3 majority. With compromise reached by the National Council, on December 4th, 1918, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was declared. The Treaty of Versailles process granted Yugoslavian states much of their land, including parts of Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, and Southern Hungary. This land was former Austrian-Hungarian territory that was given to the Yugoslavian states in an effort not only to undermine the Austro-Hungarian Empire but also ease tension between differing ethnicities and religions that Russia and Britain both thought would cause instability within the region. The Kingdom was nicknamed the “Versailles State,” due to its influence from allied forces. The name of it was only changed to Yugoslavia in 1929 What were the challenges faced by the new Yugoslav state in the decade after the Great War? What were its advantages in this process? The challenges faced was caused by the friction created mainly by different masses of ethnicities acclimating under one entity. Political beliefs, religious views and ethnic background all played a part in societal instability within the region. Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes all had ethnic disparities, and tension was fueled by the differences in between Orthodox and Catholic churches, along with a discourse in different states and political parties wanting more federalist or more centrist political governing. The Croatian Peasant Party was against the centralist state organization implemented by the Serbs. Political fights between Croats and Serbs would lead to the death of the Croat political figure Radic by a Serbian in Montenegro in 1928. King Alexander took complete control and banned political parties in an attempt to curb separatism. He outlawed flags, communism, and persisted on stalwart rule to attempt to regain stability. Alexander had much opposition as one can imagine, and was assassinated in 1934 by Croatian fascists also known as the Ustashe. To what extent could Yugoslavia be viewed as an example or a departure from Wilson’s principles in the 14 Points? To what extent was it a cure for the ills that plagued the Balkans up to 1914, and to what extent was it a continuation of those ills? The situation in Yugoslavia could be viewed as an example of Wilson’s principles but should rather be interpreted as a departure. Wilson’s 14 points outline the Great War as a moral cause and an effort for post-war peace in Europe, however this was not completely the case in The Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Even though the Balkan nations were no longer invading and destroying one another, political, ethnic, and religious disparities defined the struggles of the nation. Conflict was very much a part of daily life, and assassinations of political figures, clashes between political beliefs, and lingering nationalism all served to keep the situation hostile. The Great War cured the Balkans of complete war towards each other, however there was still a continuation of hostilities between multiple facets of political life.

Doder, Dusko. "Yugoslavia: New War, Old Hatreds." (n.d.): n. pag. JSTOR.org. Washington Post Newsweek Interactive, 1993. Web. STOREY, DAVID. "Territory and National Identity: Examples from the Former Yugoslavia." JSTOR. Geographical Association, 2002. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.