From Library Journal
Cohen, a physician who researched sources never before available to the West, weaves a rich tapestry covering the last 200 years of Balkan history while emphasizing the role the Serbs played in World War II. He gives us a detailed picture of Yugoslav society and politics, with numerous ethnic groups exercising Machiavelli's dictum: "The end justifies the means." They manipulate power, quarrel and debate, and, more often than not, murder over the fate of their ethnic societies. This book is not cheerful. With few exceptions, Cohen finds the Serbs propelled by anything but the ideals of tolerance and democratic values. Detailing Serbian anti-Semitism before the war and quoting from collaborationist papers that said, "the Serbs should not wait for the Germans to begin the extermination of the Jews," he reveals how the Serbian propaganda machine attempted to promote the idea that Serbs, along with the Jews, were the victims of the Nazis. Thus, he shows that the ethnic cleansing the Serbs are engaging in today has deep roots in Serbian culture. Offering a wealth of new information, this impressive, scholarly book is highly recommended for all history collections. [To conduct his research, Cohen made four trips to the Balkans from 1992 to 1995, where he oversaw a team of native speakers who translated the relevant documents for him.?Ed.]?John Xanthopoulos, Florida Atlantic Univ., Boca Rato.-?John Xanthopoulos, Florida Atlantic Univ., Boca RatonCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Book News, Inc.
To understand Serbian nationalism requires profound attention to history and careful analysis. Cohen accomplishes both through years of studying primary sources never before translated, focusing on World War II and uncovering the foundations of ethnic cleansing. He argues that the Serbs collaborated with the Nazis in contrast to later Serbian rhetoric that claimed the Serbs were victims, "the thirteenth tribe of Israel." This official duplicity veiled the true objectives of the government to create an ethnically pure homeland. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

An entire piece of Serbian history is missing. And in the middle of the latest Yugoslav war - Europe's worst blood bath since World War II - Serbian politicians, propagandists, and revisionist historians have made a cynical attempt at replacing the missing piece by rewriting the Holocaust record. They claim that Serbs were not Nazi collaborators in genocide, but purely victims of the same atrocities that befell the Jews; and that Serbian aspirations for a Greater Serbia are not driven by a murderous, nationalistic hatred, but rather are propelled by a victim's desire to lay claim to a safe homeland, a Serbian Promised Land. Thus has the current spilling of blood been justified. Philip J. Cohen argues that the existence of such a propaganda campaign, emanating from Belgrade, began in the earliest days of the post-World War II era and, since then, has been reflected in the world media, as well as in popular commentary and scholarly analysis. More astonishing is that this campaign has been widely successful, particularly in Israel. Remarkable for its broad portrayal and penetrating examination of the Yugoslav social and political experience, Serbia's Secret War draws heavily on documents that have been previously unavailable to the West. Some of the written record has been translated and is published here for the first time. Destined to be regarded as an important contribution to the field, Cohen's careful study of the Serbian role in the Second World War will dramatically alter how scholars, policy makers, and the general public view the bloodshed in the former Yugoslavia - and how they will come to understand the reasons behind it.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Cohen, a physician who researched sources never before available to the West, weaves a rich tapestry covering the last 200 years of Balkan history while emphasizing the role the Serbs played in World War II. He gives us a detailed picture of Yugoslav society and politics, with numerous ethnic groups exercising Machiavelli's dictum: "The end justifies the means." They manipulate power, quarrel and debate, and, more often than not, murder over the fate of their ethnic societies. This book is not cheerful. With few exceptions, Cohen finds the Serbs propelled by anything but the ideals of tolerance and democratic values. Detailing Serbian anti-Semitism before the war and quoting from collaborationist papers that said, "the Serbs should not wait for the Germans to begin the extermination of the Jews," he reveals how the Serbian propaganda machine attempted to promote the idea that Serbs, along with the Jews, were the victims of the Nazis. Thus, he shows that the ethnic cleansing the Serbs are engaging in today has deep roots in Serbian culture. Offering a wealth of new information, this impressive, scholarly book is highly recommended for all history collections. [To conduct his research, Cohen made four trips to the Balkans from 1992 to 1995, where he oversaw a team of native speakers who translated the relevant documents for him.Ed.]John Xanthopoulos, Florida Atlantic Univ., Boca Raton

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