Veselin Đuretić

Veselin Đuretić
Born(1933-05-17)17 May 1933
Mojanovići, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Died18 February 2020(2020-02-18) (aged 86)
Belgrade, Serbia
NationalityYugoslav, Serbian
Occupationhistorian
Notable workSaveznici i ratna drama

Veselin Đuretić (Serbian Cyrillic: Веселин Ђуретић; 17 May 1933 – 18 February 2020) was a Yugoslav and Serbian historian.

Early life

Đuretić was born on 17 May 1933 in the village of Mojanovići near Podgorica, Zeta Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (modern-day Montenegro).[1] He was associate of Balkan Institute of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts and one of founders of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of the Republika Srpska (SANU).[1] During 1990's Đuretić was close to Serbian Radical Party and member of the International Committee for the Truth About Radovan Karadžić.[1] In 2012 he was a candidate for member of the Serbian academy.[1]

Allies and War Drama

The book authored by Đuretić in 1985 titled "Saveznici i ratna drama"(English: Allies and War Drama) was first book which rehabilitate Chetniks published in post-war Socialistic Yugoslavia.[2] The effect of this book was compared to the earthquake while rehabilitation of Chetniks it contained was received with big attention among Serbs.[3] Because this work opened taboo topic from the World War II, it was perceived by Yugoslav Peoples Army as an attack to the basic foundations of the communist revolution and its Admiral Branko Mamula publicly condemned Đuretić and its publisher Serbian Academy of Science and Arts[4] In this book Đuretić consistently emphasized that Chetniks of Draža Mihailović were antifascists, persistently rejecting any existence of Greater-Serbian hegemony or ethnicity based exploitation insuring the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.[5]

Reactions

Egbert Jahn emphasized that before Đuretić published this work the Yugoslav communist influenced historiography promoted a misrepresented image of Chetniks depicted only as "collaborators and traitors".[6] Jahn further underlined that Đuretić's work was a long overdue change of this misrepresented image of Chetniks and also a complete reinterpretation of the recent history of Serbs.[6]

According to some sources, Đuretić invested his substantial capabilities to try to fulfill Greater Serbian political ideology. The Serbian Supreme Court confirmed the first level court decision to ban the distribution of all three editions of Đuretić's work.[7]

Death

Đuretić died on 18 February 2020 in Belgrade.[1] He is interred at the New Bežanija Cemetery.[1]

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Matijević, J (22 February 2020). "Veselin Đuretić (87) se pridužio Besmrtnom puku". Novosti. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  2. ^ (Goluža 2005, p. 54)
  3. ^ Jugoslovenski istorijski časopis. 2000. p. 161.
  4. ^ (Marijan 2008, p. 91)
  5. ^ Časopis za suvremenu povijest (in Croatian). 1985. p. 96.
  6. ^ a b (Jahn 2009, p. 475)
  7. ^ Daily Report: Eastern Europe. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1987. p. 87. The Serbian Supreme Court confirmed the decision of the Belgrade District Court regarding the total ban on the distribution of all three editions of Veselin Djuretic's

Sources