The Bosnian Muslims in the Second World War

The story of the Bosnian Muslims in World War II is an epic frequently alluded to in discussions of the 1990s Balkan conflicts, but almost as frequently misunderstood or falsified. This first comprehensive study of the topic in any language sets the record straight. Based on extensive research in the archives of Bosnia- Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia, it traces the history of Bosnia and its Muslims from the Nazi German and Fascist Italian occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941, through the years of the Yugoslav civil war, and up to the seizure of power by the Communists and their establishment of a new Yugoslav state. The book explores the reasons for Muslim opposition to the new order established by the Nazis and Fascists in Bosnia in 1941 and the different forms this opposition took. It de- scribes how the Yugoslav Communists were able to harness part of this Muslim opposition to support their own resistance movement and revolutionary bid for power. This Muslim element in the Communists' revolution shaped its form and outcome, but ultimately had itself to be curbed as the victorious Communists consolidated their dictatorship. In doing so, they set the scene for future struggles over Yugoslavia's Muslim question.

Marko Attila Hoare is a Reader in history at Kingston University. He has been researching the history of the former Yugoslavia since the early 1990s.

Introduction: The Muslim Road to the Communist Triumphin Yugoslavia 1. The dual Bosnian resistance: c. April 1941-April 1943 The Axis, the NDH and Bosnia-Hercegovina The Serb uprising and the birth of the Bosnian Partisan movement The origins of Muslim and Croat resistance The KPJ and the Bosnian Muslims The KPJ and the Bosnian Croats The Muslim autonomist opposition The Muslim National Military-Chetnik Organisation The Muslim Memorandum to Hitler The 13th SS Division 'Handschar' Beginnings of a synthesis 2. The People's Liberation Movement underground: c. April 1941-April 1943 The importance of personal connections The Ustasha-Communist overlap The limits of Ustasha repression Women in the NOP The resistance in Sarajevo The resistance in Banja Luka Enemy infiltration of the NOP The NOP and the Home Guard 3. The Muslim and Croat rebellion: c. April 1941-October 1943 The Chetnik 'March on Bosnia' and Muslim alienation from the Axis The Nazi turn towards the Great Serbs The 13th SS Division 'Handschar' as a catalyst to the Muslim revolt The 16th Muslim Brigade The revolt of the Muslim Legions and Home Guards The first liberation of Tuzla The rebellion of the Muslim notables The rebellion beyond East Bosnia The Muslim Liberation Movement 4. Bosnian assembly and Yugoslav federation: c. October 1943-April 1944 Tito censures the Bosnian leadership The road to ZAVNOBiH Republic or autonomous province? The launch of the First Session of ZAVNOBiH The speeches and actions of the First Session of ZAVNOBiH Jajce: the Yugoslav Partisan capital The Second Session of AVNOJ Popularising the Bosnian parliament Enemy responses to the Bosnian Partisan successes 5. Bosnian statehood and Partisan diversity: c. November 1943-April 1945 Expansion of the People's Liberation Movement The Yugoslav road to Bosnian statehood The Second Session of ZAVNOBiH The problem of an expanding base 'Feminist errors' The reconquest of Hercegovina The 18th Croat Brigade Huska Miljkovi? and the Una Operational Group 6. The liberation of Bosnia and Yugoslavia: c. April 1944-April 1945 The Independent State of Croatia crumbles Liberating the towns from without and within The battle for Banja Luka The collapse of the Handschar Division The liberation of Serbia The liberation of Mostar Sarajevo on the eve of liberation The liberation of Zenica 7. Constructing a Bosnian nation-state: c. July 1944-December 1946 Organising the Bosnian state The territorial organisation of Bosnia-Hercegovina The Third Session of ZAVNOBiH Serb unity vs Bosnian sovereignty The Constituent Assembly of Yugoslavia Did Bosnia-Hercegovina have the right to secede from Yugoslavia? The Bosnian Constituent Assembly opens The Bosnian coat of arms and flag The Bosnian constitution is promulgated 8. Bosnia and the Muslims after liberation: c. April 1945-September 1950 The Communists besieged from below The Republic and the army The colonisation of Vojvodina The Polish and Ukrainian minorities The Communists and Christianity The Muslim national identity and the Communist dilemma Muslim pressure for national recognition The Zulfikarpassi? affair Women as the vanguard Thermidor of the Muslims