Serbs of Croatia are the largest single national minority in the Republic of Croatia. Majority of Serbs trace their roots in the territory of present day Croatia for over 400 years. A large number of ethnic Serbs immigrated in 1538 when
Kaiser Ferdinand IFerdinand I was a Central European monarch from the House of Habsburg. He was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558, King of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526. He ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs most of his public life, at the behest of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and...
, ruler of the
Habsburg MonarchyThe Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The capital was mainly Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when the capital was Prague...
offered sanctuary and permanent settlement to displaced Serbs (
RascaRaška was the central and most successful medieval Serbian state that unified neighboring Serbian tribes into a main medieval Serbian state in the Balkans.-Background:Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos describes Raška in...
) fleeing from the Turks, placing them under Austrian military administration. The newly established military region was called
Militärgrenze or Vojna Krajina. In exchange for military services, Serbs received land and were not taxed. Although Serbs were a part of many different changing states and empires, a large number continued to live in the territory of present day Croatia. The most recent figures approximate the Serb population to be 201,631.
A significant exodus of Serbs from Croatia occurred during
Operation StormOperation Storm is the code name given to a large-scale military operation carried out by Croatian Armed Forces, in conjunction with the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to retake the parts of Croatia which had been controlled by separatist ethnic Serbs since early 1991.The...
, during the
Yugoslav WarsThe Yugoslav Wars were a series of violent conflicts fought in former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the 1990s and 2001...
.
Religion
The Serbs of Croatia are Serbian Orthodox. There are many Orthodox monasteries across Croatia, built since the 12th century. Most notable are the
Krka MonasteryKrka Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Archangel Michael, located near the river Krka, 3 km east of Kistanje, in central Dalmatia, Croatia...
, Krupa Monastery,
Dragović MonasteryMonastery Dragović is a Serbian Orthodox monastery situated on a hill downstream the Cetina River not far from Vrlika in Croatia. It was built on the foundations of the older Roman Catholic monastery. Unfortunately, when the artificial Peruća Lake was created, monastery sunken into lake...
,
Lepavina MonasteryLepavina is a monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the village of Lepavina, near the town of Koprivnica in the Republic of Croatia. It is dedicated to the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.- From the Beginning Until World War II :...
and
Gomirje Monastery- See also :*List of Serb Orthodox monasteries...
. Many Orthodox churches were demolished during World War II, the recent Yugoslav war, while some were rebuilt by the Croatian government with money partially donated by the Serbian diaspora. . Smaller part, Serbs that live in Žumberak are Greek Catholics and belong to Eparchy of
KriževciKriževci is a town in central Croatia with a population of 22,324 , the oldest town in its county, the Koprivnica-Križevci county.-History:...
.
History
The Serbs have lived in Croatia since the 7th century but a large influx of Rascians (mainland Serbs) in 1538 during the Austrian Military Border (Militärgrenze), created as an Austrian military administered region which was established along the Austro-Ottoman border, by Kaiser Ferdinand I. Emperor Ferdinand offered sanctuary and permanent settlement to displaced Serbs largely coming from
RasciaRaška was the central and most successful medieval Serbian state that unified neighboring Serbian tribes into a main medieval Serbian state in the Balkans.-Background:Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos describes Raška in...
, who were fleeing from the Turks. The Serb frontier farmers enjoyed freedom of faith and tax exemption in return for military service in the Austrian army. In addition, they were permitted to raid and pillage Turkish settlements across the border. The three Serb military officers of Koprivnica, Križevci and Ivanic formed the Varaždin general command.
On 12 September 1683, a relieving force under Polish King Jan III. Sobieski surprised and defeated the Turkish army at the Battle of Kahlenberg, thereby ending the
second Siege of ViennaThe Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...
. Prince Eugene of Savoy's impressive victory at the
Battle of ZentaThe Battle of Zenta or Battle of Senta, fought on 11 September 1697 just south of the modern Serbian town of Senta , on the east side of the Tisa river, was a major engagement in the Great Turkish War and one of the most decisive defeats in Ottoman history.-Prelude:After the relief of the Habsburg...
, 11 September 1697, marked the turning point in the Austrian struggle against the Turks. Following the
Treaty of KarlowitzThe Treaty of Karlowitz was signed on 26 January 1699 in Sremski Karlovci , a town in modern-day Serbia, concluding the Austro-Ottoman War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman side had finally been defeated at the Battle of...
, 26 January 1699,
KarlovacKarlovac is a city and municipality in central Croatia. The city proper has a population of 49,082, while the whole municipality has a population of 59,395 inhabitants .Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County...
,
VaraždinVaraždin is a city in north Croatia, north of Zagreb on the highway A4. City population is 41,434 on , urban area population is 49,075 on , and the metro area population Varaždin is a city in north Croatia, north of Zagreb on the highway A4. City population is 41,434 on , urban area...
, and
BanatThe Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in Romania , the western part in Serbia , and a...
general commands of the Military Border were created. During the reign of
Emperor Leopold I| align=right | Leopold I Habsburg , Holy Roman emperor, King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, was the second son of the emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margarita of Austria...
. The
Slavonian borderThe Slavonian Military Frontier or Slavonian Krajina was part of the Habsburg Military Frontier. It was formed out of the territories that the Habsburgs conquered from the Ottoman Empire and included southern parts of the Slavonia and Syrmia regions...
was established by
Luigi Ferdinando Conte de MarsigliCount Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli , was an Italian soldier and naturalist.He was born in Bologna. He was a member of an old patrician family and was educated in accordance with his rank...
in 1702, from lands along the Sava, Theis, and Maros rivers, which were largely incorporated into Hungary in 1747.
The Military Border was dissolved in 1881 into self-administered region of Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia which later became State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs. In 1918 the territory joined Kingdom of Serbia to form
Kingdom of YugoslaviaThe Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a kingdom stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
until 1945. Afterward, this state became
Socialist Federal Republic of YugoslaviaThe Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the second half of World War II until it was formally dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro,...
, and finally
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
.
Prominent individuals
Many famed ethnic Serbs were born in what is today's
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
, including:
- Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was an inventor and a mechanical and electrical engineer. He is frequently cited as one of the most important contributors to the birth of commercial electricity and is best known for his many revolutionary developments in the field of electromagnetism in the late 19th and early 20th...
, an electrical engineer who is often described as the most important scientist and inventor of the modern age.
- Geophysicist Milutin Milanković
Milutin Milanković , was a Serbian civil engineer and geophysicist, best known for his theory of ice ages, relating variations of the Earth's orbit and long-term climate change, now known as Milankovitch cycles.- Beginnings :Born in Dalj, West Syrmia region, near Osijek, Austria-Hungary , Milutin...
who confounded the Theory of Ice AgeThe general term "ice age" or, more precisely, "glacial age" denotes a geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Within a long-term ice age, individual...
and is considered in the top 15 greatest scientists of the world.
- Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and/or research is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with particular problems related to logic, space, transformations, numbers and more general ideas which encompass these concepts...
Jovan KaramataJovan Karamata was one of the greatest Serbian mathematicians of the 20th century.- Life :...
created two theories now named after him, Tauberian theoremIn mathematics, abelian and tauberian theorems relate to the meaningful assignment of a value as the "sum" of a class of divergent series. A large number of methods have been proposed for the summation of such series, generally taking the form of some linear functional L with domain contained in...
, Karamata's inequalityIn mathematics, Karamata's inequality, named after Jovan Karamata, also known as the Majorization Inequality, is a theorem in elementary algebra...
and has added to the Weierstrass theorem, Schmidt theorem, and LittlewoodJohn Edensor Littlewood was a British mathematician, best known for his long collaboration with G. H. Hardy.-Life:...
's theorem, among others.
- Serbian Prince Bjeloš (1110-1198) of the Vukanović dynasty, Ban of Croatia between 1142 and 1163
- Momčilo R. Đujić World War II Military leader
- Dr Božidar Petranović
Dr Božidar Petranović was the founder of the first Serbian literal and scientific paper in Zadar, Dalmatia in the 19th century, the "Serbian-Dalmatian Magazine"....
founded the first Serbian literal and scientific paper in DalmatiaDalmatia , is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea and is situated in modern Croatia. It spreads between the island of Rab in the northwest and the Bay of Kotor, in Montenegro, in the southeast...
(ZadarZadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Zadar faces the islands of Ugljan and Pašman, from which it is separated by the narrow Zadar Strait. The promontory on which the old city stands used to be separated from the...
) in the 19th centuryThe 19th century was a period in history marked by the collapse of the Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Ottoman, Holy Roman and Mughal empires...
, the Serbian-Dalmatian Magazine (Srpsko-dalmatinski magazin).
- Svetozar Pribićević
Svetozar Pribićević was a Serbian politician from Croatia who worked hard for creation of unitaristic Yugoslavia...
was the main Serbian representative from Austro-Hungary, a politician in the State of Slovenes, Croats and SerbsThe State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs...
.
- Jovo Stanisavljević Čaruga
Jovo Stanisavljević, called Čaruga was an outlaw, or hajduk, in Slavonia in the early 20th century....
was a famous outlawAn outlaw or bandit is a person living the lifestyle of outlawry; the word literally means "outside the law".In the common law of England, a "Writ of Outlawry" declared the subject to be "Caput gerat lupinum" , and it followed not only that, since the subject was no longer human, he had no legal...
in SlavoniaSlavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
during the Kingdom of YugoslaviaThe Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a kingdom stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
who started his own "revolutionA revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
" by stealing from the rich and giving to the poor in the likeness of Robin HoodRobin Hood is a hero in English folklore, a highly-skilled archer and outlaw. In particular, he is known for "stealing from the rich and giving to the poor," assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men"...
.
- Josif Pančić
Josif Pančić was a Serbian botanist of Croatian origin. He was a famous lecturer at the Great School in Belgrade and the first president of the Serbian Royal Academy...
botanist who discovered the Serbian Spruce
- Writer Dejan Medaković
Dejan Medaković was a Serbian writer, historian and professor. He was the author of Serben in Wien. He resided in Belgrade. Medaković was President of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts from 1999 - 2003.Medaković was born on July 7, 1922, in Zagreb, in the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and...
was a writer and historian who has received the Herder PrizeThe Herder Prize, established in 1963 and named for Johann Gottfried von Herder, is a prestigious international prize, dedicated to the promotion of scientific, art and literature relations, and presented to scholars and artists from Central and Southeastern Europe whose life and work have improved...
among many other awards.
- Ivan Desnica
Ivan Desnica was a Serb in the Austrian Empire , head of the Military Frontier. Ivan is the ancestor of Serbian writer Vladan Desnica....
was from a noble family and leader of the Military FrontierThe Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against Turkish incursions from the Ottoman Empire...
)
- Simo Matavulj
Simo Matavulj was a Serbian novelist, a representative of lyric Realism, especially in short prose.Originally from Šibenik in Dalmatia, Austria , he travelled in Italy and France and lived in Paris for a short time, before marrying a rich heiress from Belgrade, Serbia. The marriage allowed him to...
, novelist
- Sava Mrkalj
Sava Mrkalj was a Serbian linguist best known for attempting to reform the Serbian language before Vuk Stefanović Karadžić. In one publication, a pamphlet titled Fat of the Thick Jer, he proposed a simplification of the Serbian alphabet from forty-two to twenty-six letters...
attempted to simplify the Serbian language.
- Jovan Rašković
Jovan Rašković was an ethnic Serbian psychiatrist and politician from Croatia.Rašković was born in Knin on July 5, 1929. He grew up there and in Kistanje in Dalmatia, the southern region of Croatia...
was the initiator of a movement for Serbian autonomy within CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
.
- Mihailo Merćep
Mihailo Merćep , Serb flight pioneer.Born in Dubrovnik in a tradesman family, then a part of Austria-Hungary, Merćep started his primary education in Kladovo, Serbia and finished on the other side of the Danube in Turn-Severin , He returned to his native town in 1878 where he worked as a merchant...
was a famous bicyclist and flight pioneer.
- Jovo Stanisavljević Čaruga
Jovo Stanisavljević, called Čaruga was an outlaw, or hajduk, in Slavonia in the early 20th century....
(1897-1925), outlaw SlavoniaSlavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
nhaiduk
- Vladimir Matijević
Vladimir Matijevic was the founder of the Serbian Business Association Privrednik, the biggest Serbian humanitarian society, in 1897 in Zagreb,Serbian bank and Union of agricultural cooperatives....
(1854-1929), economist and humanitarian
- Dejan Medaković
Dejan Medaković was a Serbian writer, historian and professor. He was the author of Serben in Wien. He resided in Belgrade. Medaković was President of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts from 1999 - 2003.Medaković was born on July 7, 1922, in Zagreb, in the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and...
(1922-2008) historian, writer and academic of noble descent
- Miloš Milošević
Miloš Milošević is a swimmer from Croatia. His best swimming discipline was butterfly stroke, but he also competed in freestyle and backstroke....
(born 1972) swimmer
- Lukijan Mušicki
Lukijan Mušicki was a famous Serbian prose writer, poet, and polyglot.-References:* *...
(1777-1837), notable Baroque writer and Eastern Orthodox Bishop
- Zaharije Stefanović Orfelin
Zaharije Orfelin was a prominent Serbian historian, writer and poet. He was one of the most notable representatives of Serbian Baroque literature ; yet his writings bear certain ideas of...
(1726-1785), one of the most prominent BaroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
poets, historian and writer
- Patriarch Pavle of Serbia (born 1914) (born Gojko Stojčević), Serbian Patriarch
- Božidar Petranović
Dr Božidar Petranović was the founder of the first Serbian literal and scientific paper in Zadar, Dalmatia in the 19th century, the "Serbian-Dalmatian Magazine"....
(1809-1874), Dalmatian Serb activist
- Svetozar Pribićević
Svetozar Pribićević was a Serbian politician from Croatia who worked hard for creation of unitaristic Yugoslavia...
(1875-1936), Political leader
- Josif (Ilija) Rajačić
Josif Rajačić was a metropolitan of Sremski Karlovci, Serbian patriarch, administrator of Serbian Vojvodina and baron.-Life:...
(1785-1861), Karlovac Metropolitan, Serbian Patriarch, political activist and founder of the Serbian VojvodinaThe Serbian Vojvodina was a Serbian autonomous region within the Austrian Empire...
- Josif Runjanin
Josif Runjanin was a Croatian composer of Serbian ethnicity, most notably composing the melody but not the lyrics of the Croatian national anthem. He was lieutenant-colonel in the Austro-Hungarian Army.- Origins :The Runjanin family originates from the village of Runjani in Jadar, in the Drina...
(1821-1878), composer of the melody of the Croatian national anthem.
- Jasna (Branković) Šekarić
|- bgcolor="#eeeeee" align=center! colspan="4" | Competed as an Jasna Šekarić |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" align=center! colspan="4" | Competed as an Jasna Šekarić |- bgcolor="#eeeeee" align=center! colspan="4" | Competed as an Jasna Šekarić ; born December 17, 1965 in Belgrade,...
(born 1965), Sharpshooter and Olympic champion
- Rade Šerbedžija
Rade Šerbedžija is a Croat actor, director and musician of Serbian origin. He was one of the most popular Yugoslav actors in the 1970s and 1980s...
(born 1946), famous actor
- Pavle Solarić (1779-1821), writer and Slavist
- Predrag Stojaković
Predrag “Peja” Stojaković is a Serbian basketball player currently playing for the New Orleans Hornets of the National Basketball Association...
(born 1977), Serbian basketball player
- Jelena (Nemanjić) Šubić
Jelena Šubić was the daughter of Stefan Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia and the half-sister of Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia. She was married to the Croatian magnate Mladen III Šubić, Prince of Bribir from noble Šubić family. They ruled from Klis Fortress in Dalmatia.- See also :*Šubić*Nemanjić...
, prominent Croatian Banness, wife of Ban Mladen III Šubić, sister of Serbian Emperor DušanDušan is a Slavic name predominantly used by Serbs, Czechs, Slovaks, Croats and Slovenes. Its meaning is soul, spirit.-People:*Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia, Serbian medieval emperor, the author of Dušan's Code...
and 14th century founder of earliest Serbian cultural monuments
- Jelena Dokic
Jelena Dokić is a Yugoslav-Australian female professional tennis player of Serbian and Croatian descent.During the height of her career, she played for Serbia and Montenegro and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 4 on 19 August 2002...
, tennis player, ranked 4th in 2002.
- Footballer Dado Pršo
Miladin "Dado" Pršo is a former Croatian professional football striker of Serbian descent. He retired in June 2007 from the Scottish Premier League club Rangers.- Career :...
- Petar Bergamo
Petar Bergamo graduated from the Belgrade Music Academy , where hestudied composition with Stanojlo Rajičić and conducting with Živojin Zdravković...
composer
- Vladan Desnica
Vladan Desnica was a Serbian and Croatian writer.He was born in Zadar, then part of Austria-Hungary. His father Uroš Desnica was politician from noble Serbian orthodox family from Obrovac and Islam Grčki, descendant of Stojan Janković , and his mother Fani Desnica was from catholic family Luković...
writer
- Ivo Vojnović
Ivo Vojnović also Conte Iván de Vojnovich was a Croatian writer from Dubrovnik. He is often nicknamed The last great Dubrovnik writer....
, titular count of UžiceUžice is a town and municipality located in Serbia at 43.87° North, 19.84° East. The 2002 Census Data records that the town has a total population of 55,025. Including the suburban settlements of Buar and Sevojno, the Užice city proper has 63,577 inhabitants. It is the administrative center of the...
, writer
- Petar Preradović
Petar Preradović was a Croatian poet.-Biography:Preradović was born in the village of Grabrovnica, which was part of the Austrian Military Frontier, in Serbian Orthodox family of Jovan Preradović and Pelagija Preradović . He spent childhood in Grubišno Polje, were his father was born...
, poet
- Stojan Janković
Stojan Janković was a leader of Dalmatian Serbs in the 17th century, uskok, a military officer of the Republic of Venice and life-long fighter against Ottoman Turks. Son of another great uskok, Janko Mitrović and a main character in many epic poems. He was killed in a battle with Turks in 1687 in...
- Janko Mitrović
Janko Mitrović was a 17th century leader of Dalmatian Morlachs and a fighter against the Ottoman Turks as a Venetian officer and a uskok. He is the Father of another Dalmatian serdar,Stojan Janković. He died from wounds caused in a battle against the Turks....
- Svetozar Borojević, Austro-Hungarian fieldmarshall
- Stevan Šupljikac
Stevan Šupljikac was the first Duke of Serbian Vojvodina....
, vojvoda of Serbian VojvodinaThe Serbian Vojvodina was a Serbian autonomous region within the Austrian Empire...
- Stephan Freiherr von Jovanovich
Baron Stephan Freiherr von Jovanovich was a Serbian military commander of Austrian Empire....
, military commander of Austrian EmpireThe Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire founded on a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire centered on what is today's Austria that officially lasted from 1804 to 1867...
- Petar Preradović
Petar Preradović was a Croatian poet.-Biography:Preradović was born in the village of Grabrovnica, which was part of the Austrian Military Frontier, in Serbian Orthodox family of Jovan Preradović and Pelagija Preradović . He spent childhood in Grubišno Polje, were his father was born...
World War II
During World War II, the
Axis powersThe Axis powers comprised the countries that were opposed to the Allies during World War II. The three major Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—were part of a military alliance on the signing of the Tripartite Pact in September 1940, which officially founded the Axis powers...
occupied
YugoslaviaYugoslavia is a term that describes three political entities that existed successively on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century.The first country to be known by this...
, partially partitioning it and on territory of today
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( or (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Latin: Bosna i Hercegovina; Serbian Cyrillic: Босна и Херцеговина) is a country in Southeast Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula...
and
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
creating the
Independent State of CroatiaThe Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany. The NDH was established on April 10, 1941 after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers...
, with the
UstašeThe Ustaša - Croatian Revolutionary Movement , members known collectively as Ustaše, but sometimes anglicised as Ustashe, Ustashas or Ustashi) was a Croatian anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The ideology of the movement was blend of fascism, nazism, Croatian ultranationalism, and Roman Catholic...
movement installed at its head
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005456. Catholic monks and priests, including Archbishop Sarić of Sarajevo (nicknamed the "Hangman of Serbs"), supported forcible conversions and were largely silent about the killings. In addition, the regime organized extermination camps, the most notorious of which was the
Jasenovac concentration campJasenovac concentration camp was the largest extermination camp in the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. The camp was established by the Ustaše regime in August 1941 and dismantled in April 1945...
, where Serbs, Jews, Gypsies, and anti-fascist Croats were massacred in large numbers. Between 330,000 and 500,000 of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia were killed by the Ustaše during the war. One example was the
Glina massacreThe Glina massacre was the August 1941 killing of hundreds of Serbs by members of the Croatian fascist Ustaše movement in the town of Glina in Croatia. It was one of the largest single acts of mass murder to occur in Yugoslavia during the Second World War....
.
Yugoslav wars
After the war
The war ended with a military success of the Croatian government in 1995 and subsequent peaceful reintegration of the remaining renegade territory in eastern Slavonia in 1998. The exodus of the Krajina Serbs in 1995 was prompted by the advance of the Croatian troops, but was mostly self-organized rather than forced. All Serbs were officially called upon to stay in Croatia shortly before the operation,. Many Croat refugees moved to homes abandoned by Serbs during
Operation StormOperation Storm is the code name given to a large-scale military operation carried out by Croatian Armed Forces, in conjunction with the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to retake the parts of Croatia which had been controlled by separatist ethnic Serbs since early 1991.The...
, ostensibly because their homes were destroyed by the Serbs. At the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former YugoslaviaThe International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
at
The HagueThe Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 485,818 and an area of approximately 100 km²...
,
Milan BabićMilan Babić was from 1991 to 1995 the first President of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, a Croatian region largely populated by a Serb minority that wished to break away from Croatia...
was indicted, pleaded guilty and was convicted for "persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds, a crime against humanity". Babić stated during his trial that "during the events, and in particular at the beginning of his political career, he was strongly influenced and misled by Serbian propaganda".
Population
Generally, during the course of history the population of Serbs in Croatia has steadily gone down. This trend can chiefly be attributed to the casualties of war, as well as mass migrations that were induced by it. The loss of the heavily Serb populated Eastern Srijem region, the incorporation of Istria and Dalmatia, and the non-inclusion of Croat dominated regions of
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( or (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Latin: Bosna i Hercegovina; Serbian Cyrillic: Босна и Херцеговина) is a country in Southeast Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula...
into the People's Republic of Croatia (as had been done in the
Banovina of CroatiaThe Banovina of Croatia or Banate of Croatia was a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1939 and 1943 . Its capital was at Zagreb and it included most of present-day Croatia along with portions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia...
), are examples of territorial changes that either increased or reduced the relative percentage of the Serb population of Croatia.
- 1931 - 633000 Serbs out of 3430270 People in Croatia (18.45%)
- 1948 - 543795 Serbs out of 3779858 People in Croatia (14.39%)
- 1953 - 588756 Serbs out of 3936022 People in Croatia (14.96%)
- 1961 - 624991 Serbs out of 4159696 People in Croatia (15.02%)
- 1971 - 626789 Serbs out of 4426221 People in Croatia (14.16%)
- 1981 - 531502 Serbs out of 4601469 People in Croatia (11.55%)
- 1991 - 581663 Serbs out of 4784265 People in Croatia (12.16%)
- 2001 - 201631 Serbs out of 4437460 People in Croatia ( 4.54%)
Some Census years after ww2 had Serbs recorded themselves as Yugoslavs.
Changes during the 1990s
Most of the Serbs from Bilogora and northwestern Slavonia fled those areas as they fell under Croatian military control. In the later stages of the war, under order of
Republic of Serbian KrajinaThe Republic of Serbian Krajina was a self-proclaimed Serbian-dominated entity within Croatia during the 1990s. Established in 1991, it was not recognized internationally...
government most of the Serbs of western Slavonia, Banija, Kordun, eastern Lika and northern Dalmatian Zagora fled those areas also came under Croatian military control
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Martic-order1995.jpg
The largest decrease in the number of Serbs in Croatia occurred during the
Croatian War of IndependenceThe Croatian War of Independence was a war fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995. It was fought between the Croatian government, having declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and both the Yugoslav People's Army and Serb forces, who established the self-proclaimed...
which was part of
Yugoslav warsThe Yugoslav Wars were a series of violent conflicts fought in former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the 1990s and 2001...
. Prewar census of 1991 was the last Serbian consensus held in Croatia. Around 580,000 citizens declared themselves as Serbs. At that time Serbs represented 12.2% on the Croatian population. After the war, the Serbian population reduced radically to 4.5%. Today the majority of the population continues to live in exile in
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( or (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Latin: Bosna i Hercegovina; Serbian Cyrillic: Босна и Херцеговина) is a country in Southeast Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula...
,
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
, and
MontenegroMontenegro , is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east and Albania to the south...
, where, , there were still 200,000 refugees.
Tensions in modern Croatia
Tension between Serbs and Croatians were violently high in 1990s. The violence has reduced since 2000 and has remained low to this day, however, significant problems remain. The participation of the largest Serbian party
SDSSThe Independent Democratic Serbian Party is a social democratic political party of Serbs living in Croatia.-History:It was formed in 1997 as a liberal/social-democrat party said to be based on the doctrine of Svetozar Pribićević's Independent Democratic Party from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.The...
in the Croatian Government of
Ivo SanaderIvo Sanader is a Croatian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009.-Early life, education and family life:...
has eased tensions to an extent, but the refugee situation is still politically sensitive. The main issue is high-level official and social discrimination against the Serbs.
http://thereport.amnesty.org/eng/regions/europe-and-central-asia/croatia
At the height levels of the government, new laws are continuously being introduced in order to combat this discrimination, thus, demonstrating an effort on the part of government. For example, lengthy and in some cases unfair proceedings, particularly in lower level courts, remain a major problem for Serbian returnees pursuing their rights in court. In addition, Serbs continue to be discriminated against in access to employment and in realizing other economic and social rights. Also some cases of violence and harassment against Croatian Serbs continue to be reported.
The property laws allegedly favor Bosnian Croatians refugees who took residence in houses that were left unoccupied and unguarded by Serbs after
Operation StormOperation Storm is the code name given to a large-scale military operation carried out by Croatian Armed Forces, in conjunction with the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to retake the parts of Croatia which had been controlled by separatist ethnic Serbs since early 1991.The...
.
Amnesty International's 2005 report considers one of the greatest obstacles to the return of thousands of Croatian Serbs has been the failure of the Croatian authorities to provide adequate housing solutions to Croatian Serbs who were stripped of their occupancy rights, including where possible by reinstating occupancy rights to those who had been affected by their discriminatory termination
The
European Court of Human RightsThe European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is an international judicial body established under the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950 to monitor respect of human rights by states...
decided against Croatian Serb Kristina Blečić, stripped her of occupancy rights after leaving his house in 1991 in Zadar.
Other sources
- Development of Astronomy among Serbs II, Publications of the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade,, Belgrade: M. S. Dimitrijević, 2002.
- Vladimir Ćorović. Illustrated History of Serbs, Books 1 - 6. Belgrade: Politika and Narodna Knjiga, 2005
- Nicholas J. Miller. Between Nation and State: Serbian Politics in Croatia before the First World War, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997.
- OSCE Report on Croatian treatment of Serbs http://www.osce.org/documents/mc/2004/04/2783_en.pdf
Other Notes
In an interview on Fokus (30 September 2005), Croat academic Petar Simunovic explained that the name of Srb originates from an old Croatian verb serbati, srebati meaning "to sip", from which the noun "srb" has been derived. Thus "srb" denotes the spring of river Una, where the village lies. Compare this with the villages of Srbani (near Pula), and Srbinjak, both in Istria, which clearly have nothing to do with the Serbian name. The Istarski razvod from 13th century mentions the name of srbar, meaning a water spring.
See also
- Independent Democratic Serbian Party
The Independent Democratic Serbian Party is a social democratic political party of Serbs living in Croatia.-History:It was formed in 1997 as a liberal/social-democrat party said to be based on the doctrine of Svetozar Pribićević's Independent Democratic Party from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.The...
- Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
- Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was a war fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995. It was fought between the Croatian government, having declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and both the Yugoslav People's Army and Serb forces, who established the self-proclaimed...
- List of Serbs
- Republic of Serbian Krajina
The Republic of Serbian Krajina was a self-proclaimed Serbian-dominated entity within Croatia during the 1990s. Established in 1991, it was not recognized internationally...
- Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
- Serbs
Serbs are a South Slavic people living in the Central Europe and the Balkans , between the Balkan- and Carpathian mountains in the east and the Adriatic sea in the west. They are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia...
- Serbs of Croatia Timeline
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 80%; float: center;"| style="width: 20%; background: #efefef;" align=center | Date| style="width: 80%; background: #efefef;" align=center | Peacetime Events|-...
- Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany. The NDH was established on April 10, 1941 after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers...
External links