Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. It began as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes and was often called "Yugoslavia," meaning "Land of the South Slavs." It was formed in late 1918 when the Kingdom of Serbia joined with the Kingdom of Montenegro and parts of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, including areas that are now Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The kingdom was ruled by the Serbian dynasty of Karađorđević. King Peter I was the first ruler, followed by his son Alexander I. In 1929, Alexander I changed the country's name to "Yugoslavia" and took control in a dictatorship known as the 6 January Dictatorship. In 1934, he was killed in Marseille while visiting France. His young son Peter became king, with his cousin Paul acting as Prince regent until 1941.

In April 1941, the country was invaded and taken over by the Axis powers. A royal government-in-exile was set up in London and recognized by the United Kingdom and its allies. Later, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia recognized a new government led by Josip Broz Tito and his Yugoslav Partisans.

Formation

Main article: Creation of Yugoslavia

After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and the start of World War I, many people in the area wanted to unite. This led to talks about creating a new country where different South Slavic groups could live together.

Leaders from different groups worked together to form a new nation. In 1917, they agreed to create a united state of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. After the war ended in 1918, this new country was officially formed. It included parts of old countries like Serbia, Montenegro, and areas that were once part of Austria-Hungary. The new nation was first called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.

Economy

Three-quarters of people in Yugoslavia worked in farming. Most were poor peasants, especially in the south, where the land was hilly and not very fertile. In the north, large farms owned by foreigners were broken up after World War I. Many farmers owned small plots of land and also worked in industry during different times of the year.

Manufacturing was mostly found in cities like Belgrade and produced goods only for local use. Mining was important because Yugoslavia had many minerals, but much of it was owned by foreigners and sent abroad. The country had little electricity and struggled to build up its industries. Factories opened mostly in Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia.

Yugoslavia borrowed money from Western countries in the 1920s but could not pay it back when the Great Depression began in 1929. This made the economy very weak. Education was required by law, but many people in rural areas could not attend school. About half of the population could read and write, with fewer people able to read in some areas like Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only about 10% of students went on to higher education at universities in Belgrade, Ljubljana, and Zagreb.

Political history

Early politics

Negotiations between the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and the Serbian government led to an agreement for a new government headed by Nikola Pašić. However, the regent, Alexander Karađorđević, rejected this agreement, causing the new state's first governmental crisis. The matter was resolved by replacing Pašić with Stojan Protić, a leading member of Pašić's People's Radical Party. The new government began on 20 December 1918.

Before elections for the Constituent Assembly, a Provisional Representation served as a parliament, formed by delegates from existing elected bodies. A realignment of parties created the Democratic Party, which dominated the Provisional Representation and the government. However, because the Democratic Party pushed for a highly centralized agenda, many Croatian delegates moved into opposition. Eventually, the government decided to rule by decree after opposition boycotts made it impossible to hold quorate meetings of parliament.

Constituent assembly to dictatorship

One successful law passed by the Provisional Representation was the electoral law for the constituent assembly. The election was held on 28 November 1920. The Democratic Party won the most seats, but it was a defeat for them as they did poorly in former Austria-Hungarian areas. The Croatian Republican Peasant Party and the Communist Party of Yugoslavia gained significant support.

The Vidovdan Constitution was passed on 28 June 1921, establishing a unitary monarchy. Traditional regions were abolished, and 33 new administrative provinces, called oblasts, were created. King Peter I died on 16 August 1921, and Prince-regent Alexander became King Alexander I.

In 1928, a violent incident occurred in parliament when a government member shot several members of the Croatian Peasant Party, including their leader Stjepan Radić. This led to further political crisis.

6 January dictatorship

On 6 January 1929, King Alexander abolished the Constitution, dissolved Parliament, and introduced a personal dictatorship to establish a single Yugoslav nation. He changed the country's name to "Kingdom of Yugoslavia" and reorganized the internal divisions into nine new banovinas. A Court for the Protection of the State was established to suppress dissent.

Yugoslav regency

Because Alexander's eldest son, Peter II, was too young to rule, a regency council took over. Prince Paul became the leader of the regency. In 1939, an agreement was reached with the Croatian opposition, establishing an autonomous Banovina of Croatia with its own parliament.

Downfall

Fearing an invasion by the Axis powers, Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact on 25 March 1941. However, a military coup on 27 March overthrew the regime, and Yugoslavia withdrew support for the Axis. On 6 April 1941, the Axis powers invaded and quickly conquered Yugoslavia. The country was divided among the Axis powers, with various regions annexed by Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria. An expanded Croatia became the Independent State of Croatia under Italian and German control.

Exile of the king

King Peter II, who had escaped into exile, was still recognized by the Allies as the King of Yugoslavia. A resistance movement led by Royalist General Draža Mihailović, known as the Chetniks, opposed the Axis occupation. However, effective resistance was largely taken over by Josip Broz Tito's Communist Partisans. By 1945, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was formally restored, but real power lay with Tito's Communist Partisans. The monarchy was abolished, and Yugoslavia became a federal republic ruled by the Communist Party.

Foreign policy

Main article: Foreign relations of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia worked closely with countries that helped during World War I, especially Britain and France, from 1920 to 1934.

It joined a group called the Little Entente with Czechoslovakia and Romania, supported by France. This group aimed to stop Hungary from taking back lands it lost after the First World War. However, by 1937, this group lost its importance when Yugoslavia and Romania did not support Czechoslovakia against Germany.

In 1934, Yugoslavia formed another alliance called the Balkan Bloc with Greece, Romania, and Turkey to keep peace in the Balkan peninsula. This became the "Balkan Entente" on February 9, 1934. But after the death of King Alexander I in 1934, this alliance weakened.

Italy wanted land from Yugoslavia and had unfriendly relations. In 1927, Yugoslavia signed a friendship agreement with the United Kingdom and France to counter Italy’s growing influence.

From 1935 to 1941, Yugoslavia faced many challenges. France, which used to support Yugoslavia, was struggling and could not help much. Germany became more powerful and offered better deals. Yugoslavia tried to stay neutral but found it hard. In 1939, Yugoslavia agreed to create the Banovina of Croatia, but pressures from Germany and Italy continued. By April 1941, Germany invaded Yugoslavia. Belgrade was bombed on April 6, 1941, and the Yugoslav Army surrendered on April 17, 1941.

After the invasion, the royal government went into exile. Local forces resisted the occupying powers. In 1944, an agreement recognized a new provisional government. On November 29, 1945, King Peter II was deposed, and Yugoslavia became a republic.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

See also: Demographics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Ethnic groups

Main article: Ethnic groups in Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was home to many different groups of people. The largest groups were Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Other groups included Montenegrins, Bosnian Muslims, Macedonians, Germans, Italians, Hungarians, Slovaks, Jews, and Rusyns.

People in the country practiced different religions. About half followed Orthodox Christianity, around 40% followed Roman Catholicism, and most of the rest followed Sunni Islam. Many languages were spoken, with "Serbo-Croato-Slovene" being the most common, along with Albanian, Italian, Hungarian, German, Slovak, and Rusyn.

Because there were so many different groups, there were sometimes tensions and disagreements, especially between the larger groups like the Serbs and Croats. The government sometimes had difficulty treating all groups fairly.

Lists of rulers

Main article: List of heads of state of Yugoslavia § Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Kings

• Peter I (1 December 1918 – 16 August 1921; Prince regent Alexander ruled in the name of the King)
• Alexander I (16 August 1921 – 9 October 1934)
• Peter II (9 October 1934 – 29 November 1945; in exile from 13/14 April 1941)
  • Regency headed by Prince Paul (9 October 1934 – 27 March 1941)

Prime Ministers 1918–1941

• Stojan Protić: 1918–1919
• Ljubomir Davidović: 1919–1920
• Stojan Protić: 1920
• Milenko Vesnić: 1920–1921
• Nikola Pašić: 1921–1924
• Ljubomir Davidović: 1924
• Nikola Pašić: 1924–1926
• Nikola Uzunović: 1926–1927
• Velimir Vukićević: 1927–1928
• Anton Korošec: 1928–1929
• Petar Živković: 1929–1932
• Vojislav Marinković: 1932
• Milan Srškić: 1932–1934
• Nikola Uzunović: 1934
• Bogoljub Jevtić: 1934–1935
• Milan Stojadinović: 1935–1939
• Dragiša Cvetković: 1939–1941
• Dušan Simović: 1941

Prime Ministers-in-exile 1941–1945

• Dušan Simović: 1941–1942
• Slobodan Jovanović: 1942–1943
• Miloš Trifunović: 1943
• Božidar Purić: 1943–1944
• Ivan Šubašić: 1944–1945
• Josip Broz Tito: 1945

Subdivisions

Main article: Subdivisions of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia had different ways of organizing its areas. From 1918 to 1922, it used the old ways of dividing the land from before World War I. In 1922, it changed to thirty-three oblasts, which are like provinces. Then in 1929, after a special rule called the January 6 Dictatorship began, it switched to nine banovinas, or regions. Later, in 1939, a special agreement led to creating a single Banovina of Croatia from some of these regions to please the Croats.

Sport

Main article: Sport in Yugoslavia

Football was the most popular sport in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav Football Association started in Zagreb in 1919 and later moved to Belgrade. Each year, there was a national football competition, and the national team played in the 1920 Summer Olympics and the first FIFA World Cup, where they came in fourth place.

Other favorite sports included water polo, especially with the team VK Jug from Croatia. The Kingdom took part in the Olympic Games from 1920 to 1936, winning eight medals in gymnastics. Most of these medals were won by Leon Štukelj, a gymnast from Slovenia.