Forfatter billede

Ivo Goldstein

Forfatter af Croatia: A History

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Fødselsdato
1958-03-15
Køn
male
Nationalitet
Croatia
Fødested
Zagreb, Croatia
Uddannelse
University of Zagreb
Relationer
Goldstein, Slavko (father)
Kort biografi
Ivo Goldstein, born in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (present-day Croatia) is the son of famed publisher and writer Slavko Goldstein and his wife Vera. He earned a Ph.D. in history at the University of Zagreb, and became a professor in the Faculty of Philosophy. His areas of expertise are Byzantium and Croatian history in the Middle Ages, as well as history of the Jews in Croatia and 20th century Croatian history. Together with his father, he wrote The Holocaust in Croatia, which first appeared in Serbo-Croatian as Holokaust u Zagrebu (2001) and Jasenovac i Bleiburg nisu isto (Jasenovac and Bleiburg Are Not the Same, 2011). His solo works include Croatia: A History (1999). In 2012, he was named Croatia's ambassador to France and to UNESCO.

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Accurate, balanced, reasoned and readable, Ivo Goldstein’s book Croatia is an enjoyable and comprehensive introduction to the history of this Balkan nation. Goldstein’s work also thankfully lacks the usual histrionic nationalist polemics that frequently mar the historical works from partisans of all sides of the former Yugoslavia. Recommended.
 
Markeret
madcatnip72 | 1 anden anmeldelse | Aug 25, 2010 |
This book was my first serious excursion into Balkan Slav histories - my primary interest is in Polish and Rus histories. IG describes a much more vibrant Croatian culture than my previous general readings of the area lead me to believe. Croatian culture not only survived virtual foreign occupation, but was able to strengthen its claims on lands that were being contested by other states.

It was therefore surprising to read his description of cultural development in the 19th and 20th centuries. In a time when small nationalities were pushing for independence, the Croatians were struggling to establish their identity. The vibrancy of the past mysteriously vanished.

It casts doubts on the integrity of IG’s analysis and description of Croatia’s cultural development between the 12th and 19th centuries. I have 3 points of concern.

Firstly, in the 19th century there was no singular Croatian identity as measured by language and regional identification. It appears that Croatians identified with their specific regions – Croatia proper, Slavonia and Littoral Croatia (Dalmatia and Istria) plus parts of Bosnia – rather than with a singular national identity. Three distinct dialects were in use and a common language only developed later.

Secondly, the Croatians identified strongly with their Slavic neighbours – the idea of a ‘Yugoslavia’ was originally their idea. But rather than this identification being one of equality or leadership, it was one seeking support in its efforts of cultural development and independence from their political masters. I would have expected that a vibrant culture as described by IG would have justified itself in its own terms and perhaps taken leadership for the wider area.

Thirdly, when the opportunity for unity of the Balkan Slavs did come about it was the Serbian identity that took leadership from the outset and even organised the new state to the detriment of other cultural identities. In one sense you could say that in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the Croats went from being dominated by Hungarians to being dominated by Serbs.

I find it difficult to accept IG’s description of the Croatian identity from the 12th to the 19th centuries. I am more inclined to believe that the foreign occupation since the 12th century undermined the unity of the Croatian national identity but did not break it totally (thanks largely to the decentralised nature of Hungarian polity), so that a Croatian elite could survive and participate to some extent in the developments of the times. (In other areas of Europe like Slovenia, Slovakia and Belarus, the national identity was reduced to just a peasant culture.) In these conditions it is understandable that regional characteristics would be more important than national characteristics. As the 19th century unfolded and Croatia remained under Hungarian authority, it was Serbia that gained its independence early, developed faster, and when the time for an independent state came, to dominate it.

Croatia appears to be a microcosm of the wider Balkan Slav environment – a series of regional identities still striving for national identities. At the start of the 21st century these developmental processes have come a long way, but the troubles the Balkans are still experiencing, indicates that this process is not yet complete. I wish the Croatians, as well as the other Balkan nationalities, well in their task of building nation states that are as enduring as other European nation states and respected by their neighbours.
… (mere)
 
Markeret
motorbike | 1 anden anmeldelse | Nov 25, 2009 |

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Værker
15
Medlemmer
56
Popularitet
#291,557
Vurdering
4.0
Anmeldelser
2
ISBN
17
Sprog
3

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