Heavenly Serbia: From Myth to Genocide

by Branimir Anzulović

Traces Serbia's nationalist and expansionist impulses to the legendary battle of Kosovo in 1389

As violence and turmoil continue to define the former Yugoslavia, basic questions remain What are the forces behind the Serbian expansionist drive that has brought death and destruction to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo? How did the Serbs rationalize, and rally support for, this genocidal activity?

Heavenly Serbia traces Serbia's nationalist and expansionist impulses to the legendary battle of Kosovo in 1389. Anzulovic shows how the myth of "Heavenly Serbia" developed to help the Serbs endure foreign domination, explaining their military defeat and the loss of their medieval state by emphasizing their own moral superiority over military victory. Heavenly Serbia shows how this myth resulted in an aggressive nationalist ideology which has triumphed in the late twentieth century and marginalized those Serbs who strive for the establishment of a civil society.

Author interview with

Genres: History, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1993

Reviews

[Jorge Matheos · Rating 1 out of 5]

As some reviewer said before me, this slim volume definitely wears its bias on its sleeve.

If you take it for granted that the Serbian national epic is somehow more guilty in the Bosnian War than that of the Croats or Muslims, you might be interested to read some of the other books not written by either Serb or Croat, and whom therefore don't have a stake in the issue. Even Rebecca West's 'Black Lamb and Gray Falcon', a somewhat notorious precursor to British anti-Serbian policy in Yugoslavia would be considered a landmark of objectivity in the case of this volume which basically amounts to Serb-bashing. It's almost unbelievable that someone with so much partisan bias would even be taken seriously. Taking the source 'The Mountain Wreath" as evidence that all Serbians subconsciously wanted to eliminate all neighboring tribes is perhaps more than a little narrow. Serbian folk tradition and their Orthodox faith are a bit more substantial than that. The author surely could find aspect of other Balkan cultures with similar outlooks. So what makes Serbia special?

Although we should be be hesitant to always rely on the "victim complex" as many of the nations of the Byzantine Commonwealth have done to explain their less-than-honorable actions, if one does not look at the root cause of Serbia's hatred of the Croats, then one is being willfully blind. Jasenovac concentration camp. graveyard of millions of Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies is an integral part of the equation. The Serbs cry victim because they were victims.

The most important thing to take out of histories such as this is that they are irresponsible for more than one reason. First of all, and most obviously, they present a historical picture that distorts events to fit not only a political point of view (perhaps neo-liberalism? interventionism?) but also a nationalistic point of view, that of a regime such as modern Croatia, a nation that is under no respondibility to come to terms with their past. But second of all, books like this reaffirm to the Serbs that they are perpetual victims, that the world is against them and they stand alone as the last bastion of Christianity against Muslim, Papist, and Crusader hoardes ready to destroy them and their culture. It invites them to create the myth that it accuses the Serbian people of holding so dear and which they clutch to themselves throughout their crimes. A Pygmalion prophecy in the making, "Heavenly Serbia" is not worthy of serious study and only serves as another piece of the hateful mosaic of the Balkans in the 20th Century.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for my master's thesis, and while I wished it was longer and had more information and analysis on Serbia's LONG colonial period, it is a very important and fascinating book on the role of myth and religion in Serbia's nationalism.

[Milomir Plakalovic · Rating 1 out of 5]

Taking the tragic history of the Balkans into consideration, I guess a certain level of prejudice and resentment toward the neighboring ethnic group should be somewhat expected from a Croatian author. However, Anzulovic goes way beyond the expected. By using the well-known clichés of the modern war propaganda, the author dares to accuse the entire nation and its Eastern Orthodox Church of collective insanity and inferiority. Anzulovic’s far-fetched conspiracy theories would definitely put any anti-Semitic pamphlets from the Nazi era to shame. To make the long story short, whether you are interested in some in-depth studying of the main sources of toxic chauvinism in the Balkans or if you are simply interested in reading hateful rants written by a Croatian quasi historian to support your pathological hatred of the Serbs, Heavenly Serbia is a perfect book for you.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous book about Religion gone nuts.

[De Jean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Basically he says that Serbs were always genocidal mostly cause they have tribal minds and major problem was and is orthodox church. He says also there was Ustashas in Croatia cause they were under the serb terror in time when they were in kingdom of "Serbs Croatians and Slovenians".
Of course he said for serb hero in battle for Kosovo that is coward, says for Petar Petrović Njegoš that he's genocidal man who hate Islam especially in his "Gorski vijenac".
This book is only for Croats to read, all worst about Serbs

[kirkesque · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative book that wears its bias openly.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great view of Serbia and how their identity was constructed by the church, old myths with King Lazar, and the idea of greater Serbia. It is very interesting and the conclusion was great for my paper in addressing the Serbian identity. well documented,and I learned a lot about the Serbian history and how they perceive themselves as the victims in the world.

[Thorsten Rydving · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who works for years with people from former Yougoslavia, I am looking forward to put the genocidal politics into deeper historical and cultursa context.

[Tim O'Hearn · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone trying to understand Serbia as part of a journalistic assignment, this book was definitely the best bang for the buck. Great writing, research, and historical context. You could structure a college class around this book. Good source material if you want to learn about the Albanian blood feuds that get mentioned on Reddit from time to time.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a book to read for pleasure. Anzulovic tries to help the reader understand how the myth of Serbia as a heavenly kingdom affects the Serbian peoples' strong violent history and willingness to fight to protect their identity. The author also shows how the decisions of leaders of other nations actually foster the conflicts between the Serbs and other Balkan nations by the creation of arbitrary boundaries following World War I and World War II. Helps me realize how much more I need to learn about World War I and how the ineffectual resolution of that war led, in many ways to the conflicts that led to WWII and other conflicts in Europe since then.