Florian Thomas Rulitz Livres

The atrocities and mass murders committed by Josip Broz Tito's Partisan units of the Yugoslav Army after World War II were largely ignored in Socialist Yugoslavia. Annual commemorations of the Bleiburg victims faced state-sponsored attacks, and even abroad, the Yugoslav secret service (UDBA) assassinated key figures like Nicola Martinovic in 1975. The official narrative glorified the anti-fascist "people's liberation resistance." Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, accounts from contemporary witnesses, previously shared in exile, gained prominence in Croatia and Slovenia, revealing suppressed memories of the Bleiburg tragedy and the Viktring tragedy, named after Slovenia's largest refugee camp. Recent years have seen increased media coverage of communist postwar crimes and mass grave discoveries in German-speaking regions. Florian Rulitz's meticulously researched book, now in English, challenges the previously accepted historical narrative. He addresses two critical questions: whether the "final encirclement battles" occurred in specific areas, leading to Yugoslav military victories, and whether refugees fought to reach British-controlled territories after the capitulation. Rulitz also investigates the overlooked murders on Austrian soil, often misrepresented in Partisan literature. This groundbreaking study will appeal to scholars and students of modern European history.

Die sowohl im österreichischen und als auch im slowenischen Teil Kärntens fast bis Ende Mai 1945 – also rund drei Wochen nach der Kapitulation Hitler-Deutschlands – währenden Kampfhandlungen und Massaker, denen zahlreiche antikommunistische Flüchtlinge aus Jugoslawien zum Opfer fielen, spielen in den Erinnerungskulturen der jungen, selbständigen Staaten Kroatien und Slowenien eine zentrale Rolle. In der sozialistischen-jugoslawischen Erinnerungskultur waren die Ereignisse als „Endkesselschlachten“, „abschließende militärische Operationen“ oder „das große Finale in Kärnten“ bekannt.