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Yugoslavia The Sporazum, Tripartitate Pact, and Outbreak of World War II
Nationalist strife and portents of war induced Pavle to shore
up national unity by reconciling the Serbs and Croats. On August
26, 1939, after months of negotiation, Cvetkovic and Macek sealed
an agreement, the Sporazum, creating an autonomous
Croatia. Under the Sporazum, Belgrade continued to control
defense, internal security, foreign affairs, trade, and
transport; but an elected Sabor and a crown-appointed ban would
decide internal matters in Croatia. Ironically, the
Sporazum fueled separatism. Macek and other Croats viewed
autonomy as a first step toward full Croatian independence, so
they began haggling over territory; Serbs attacked Cvetkovic,
charging that the Sporazum brought them no return to democracy
and no autonomy; Muslims demanded an autonomous Bosnia; and
Slovenes and Montenegrins espoused federalism. Pavle appointed a
new government with Cvetkovic as premier and Macek as vice
premier, but it gained little support.
World War II began on September 1, 1939. The collapse of
France in June 1940 crushed Yugoslavian hopes of French support.
When Greece repelled Italian attacks in October 1940, Mussolini
requested aid from Germany. Berlin in turn pressed the Balkan
countries to sign the Tripartite Pact and align themselves with
the Axis powers--Germany, Italy, and Japan. Romania signed in
November 1940, and Bulgaria in March 1941. Now virtually
surrounded by enemies, neutral Yugoslavia desperately sought
allies. It recognized the Soviet Union in 1940 and signed a
nonaggression agreement with Moscow in 1941. When Adolph Hitler
redoubled pressure on Yugoslavia to sign his pact, Pavle and the
cabinet stalled, hoping that Germany would attack the Soviet
Union and ease the pressure on them. Time ran out for Yugoslavia
on March 25. Convinced that the military situation of the country
was hopeless, the government ignored pro-Western public opinion
and signed a protocol of adherence to the Tripartite Pact. In
return, Hitler guaranteed that Germany would not press Yugoslavia
for military assistance, move its army into Yugoslav territory,
or violate Yugoslav sovereignty.
On March 27, military officers overthrew the Cvetkovic-Macek
cabinet, declared the sixteen-year-old Petar II king, and formed
a new cabinet under General Dusan Simovic. Anti-German euphoria
swept Belgrade; Yugoslav, British, French, and United States
flags flew; and crowds shouted anti-Tripartite slogans. The
demonstrations, however, unnerved the new government, which
affirmed Yugoslav loyalty to the Tripartite Pact because of the
country's perilous position. But the declaration did not convince
Hitler. On April 6, 1941, the Luftwaffe bombed Belgrade, killing
thousands. Axis forces then invaded, the Yugoslav army collapsed,
the king and government fled, and on April 17 remaining
resistance forces surrendered unconditionally.
Data as of December 1990
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