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The population of Serbia is primarily ethnic Serbs. There are, however, many ethnic minorities in Serbia, in part because of the turbulent history of the Balkans. Important minority group include Albanians, Croats, Germans, Hungarian, Jewish, Macedonians, Romani (Gypseys), Romanian, Ruthenian (Ukranian), Serbian, and Slovak. Under Ottoman rule there was considerable mixing of peoples. Some of the minorities, such as the Germans, had rights to their own schools. We do not have much detail there. World War I had little impact on minorities, however, World War II did. The Jewish minority was destroyed in the World War II Holocaust. Large numbers of Gypseys were also killed along with many Serbs, primarly by the Fascist Croatian Ustachi. There is still a Gypsey population in the country. The NAZIs supported the Croatian puppet state. Albanians in Kosovo were recrited by the NAZIs and formed into SS units. After the War, Tito supressed nationalist violence. Fairly accurate date on minorities exosted during the post-War Communist era. Nationalist tensions surfaced again with Milosivich's efforts to contruct a Greater Serbia. The resulting wars associated with constiuent republics withdrawing from Yugoslavia had the affect of significantly reducing the minority population in Serbia and the Serbian population in the neighboring states. Data on minorities became politically charged as Yugoslavia descended in civil war and ethnic violence.
Soon after the German World War II invasion (April 1941), Serbian paramilitary units in Kosovo and neigboring aras began attacking Kosovars (ethnic Albanianas). The Kosovars in self cdefensecbegan forming self-defense militias. Albanians in Kosovo were recrited by the NAZIs and formed into SS units. The Kosovars were primarily intereested in self-defense. The Germans wanted a force that could be deployed in anti-partisan operations.
The NAZIs supported the Croatian puppet state. There were, hiwever, many Croats living throughout Serbia.
Serbia's northern province is Vojvodina. Slavs settled Vojvodina (6th and 7th centuries). It was ruled by both the Austro Empire/Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. As a result it was the most most ethnically diverse Serbian province. It was the scene of fighting betweem the Hapsburg Empire and Ottomon Turks (18th century). As a result, a large part of the population which was primarily Serb were killed or fled the fighting, depolulating large areas. Some Serbs had remained in the province during the fishing and many reurned after the province was fully in Austrian hands. And there were Hungarians from the period of Hungarian rule. The Hapsburgs once in control of the province, promoted the resettlement of the province. A wide diversity of ethnic groups from the Empire settled in Vojvodina. This included ethnic Germans as well as Crosts, Czechs, Hungarians, Romanians, Ruthenians (Ukrainians), Slovaks, and others. As a frontier province of the Austrian Empire, the Hapsburgs granted considerable autonomy to the province. World War I had little impact on minorities. The Central Powers occupied Serbia (1915), but were ultimarely defeated. The Austro-Hungarian Empire desintegrated at the end of the War. Serbia/Yugoslavia gained control of the province as part of the World War I peace settlement. The Yugoslavs reported a population of 1.6 million people in Vojvodina. [1931 Census] Only about a third of the population was Serbian. The German population was substantial--about 20 percent of the population (0.35 million). Most of the ethnic-Germans in Serbia were in Vojvodina. Some of the Yugoslav/Serbian minorities, such as the Germans, had rights to their own schools. The Lazarevo village school here is an example (figure 1). We do not have much detail about these minority-language schools. After the Germans invaded Yugoslavia during World d War II (April 1941), a portion of Vojvodina called the Banat was formed into a separate autonomous region ruled by the German minority. Terrible attrocuties were perpetrated against Jews, Serbs and others in the Banat. When the Germans withdrew from the Balkans (1944), many of the etnic Germans, afraid of the Partisans accompsnied the retreating Whermacht. Those Germans that attempted to remain were attacked, deported, or killed.
The Jewish minority was desroyed in the World War II Holocaust. Large numbers of Gypseys were also killed along with many Serbs, primarly by the Fascist Croatian Ustachi. There is still a Gypsey population in the country. The photograph here is of a blind gypsy boy. He was around the corner from the stree football tournament. He was sitting on cardboard with a begging bowl. He is being exploited by a sub culture that sees him as an money earning. No time for him to enjoy being in a team playing street football. Somewhere was the adult charge-hand waiting to collect the boys and their takings.
Serbia was one of the Balkan kingdoms conquerred by the Ottomans. King Lazar Grebelyanovich was killed at the Battle of Kosovo Polje 1389 when the Serbs suffered a disatrous defeat at the hands of Turkish Sultan Murat I. This ended the Serbian royal line and devestated the Serbian nobility. This ended the existance of Serbia as an independent state. The first of Serbia to be liberated from the Ottomans was Vojvodina in the northwest which was acquired by the Hapsburggs and administered by the Hungarians. Jews began arrving their in the (16th century). The first group of Jews were the Sephardic refugees from Spain and Portugal. They were followed by Ashkenazic Jews (17th=19th centuries). Emperor Joseph II issued the Tolerance Edict on the eve of the French Revolution (1782). The Jews made an inportant contrubution in eastablishing new industries. One source reports that there were about 40 Jewish communities in Vojvodina (late-19th century). Most of the Vojvodina Jews were Orthodox. Serbian nationalists afer the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815) began to agitate for indeopendence from the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan grabted Serbia internal independence (1830). As part of the Sultan's charter, Jews were given equal rights. The Serbian Constitution gve full civil rights to Jews (1888). Jews served in the Serbian Army that fought the Central Powers during World War I. Yugoslavia after World War I as built around Serbia. Jews throughout Yugoslavia received full civil rights. Anyti-Semitic incidents in Serbia were rare during the inter-War era. Serbia was at the center of resistance to NAZI encroachments in the Balkans. Riots in Belrade ousted Prince Paul who HItler had forced to join the Axis. Hitler's resonse was a the terror bombing of Belgrade and the invasion of Yugoslavia. World war II, unlike World War I had a huge impact on minorities. The Jewish minority was destroyed in the World War II Holocaust.
The Serbs are of course the dominant etnic group in Serbia. Large numbers of Serbs were killed during the World War II German occupation. The Fascist Croatian Ustachi was particularly murderous. Tito supressed nationalist violence. Fairly accurate date on minorities existed during the post-War Communist era. Nationalist tensions surfaced again with Milosivich's efforts to contruct a Greater Serbia. The resulting wars associated with constiuent republics withdrawing from Yugoslavia had the affect of significantly reducing the minority population in Serbia and the Serbian population in the neighboring states. Data on minorities became politically charged as Yugoslavia descended in civil war and ethnic violence.
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Created: 2:51 AM 7/21/2010
Last updated: 11:04 AM 12/19/2016
