Currents of History 3/2019  

Nataša MILIĆEVIĆ
Institute for Recent History of Serbia
natasa.milicevic@mts.rs

Always in the Minority: Žvojin Perić in Occupied Serbia 1941–1944* 

Summary 

Živojin Perić was a unique figure in the history of Serbia, primarily its intellectual history of the first half of the 20^th century. He stood out with his original and, in many ways, daring political views and activities. That often meant he was out of and against the mainstream of Serbian politics of his time. During the Nazi occupation of Serbia, Živojin Perić was in Belgrade, just as he was during the Austro-Hungarian occupation in World War I. As in the case of the first occupation of Serbia, he soon started cooperating with the Germans and the Serbian authorities under occupation. He belonged to a small circle of pre-war Serbian intellectuals who consciously chose a strategy of cooperation, i.e. collaboration under Nazi occupation. The strategy entailed versatile cooperation with and support of the Serbian authorities, from participating in expert bodies and ministry committees, lectures and memberships in judging panels, to writing newspaper articles. His participation in the Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice is especially significant. This was important for the legal functioning of not only the Serbian authorities, but also Serbian society under occupation. According to available sources, he refused any kind of fees for his work under occupation. This again is what set him apart from other intellectuals of the time who had opted for the strategy of collaboration. Research has shown that Perić’s engagement and views under Nazi occupation were a logical and natural extension of his earlier views, beliefs, and activities. It should be noted that he was an Austrophile and a Germanophile. This can be said to have been a constant in Perić’s political thought, one that was not even shaken by two world wars. He believed that neither Russia nor England were countries that Serbia, i.e. Yugoslavia, should be leaning on in its politics. He believed that those countries should be Austro-Hungary in the first place, and then Germany. His second peculiarity was his extremely critical stance on Yugoslavia from the very beginning, from the time of the pro-Yugoslav euphoria in World War I. He also insisted on a federal organization of Yugoslavia from its inception. He was especially known for his struggle for strict legality, which was present ever since he had started his engagement and work in the public sphere. This led him to oppose the rebellion of March 27 1941. Perić believed that there was no state without legality, and that the March 27 coup had subverted this. And not only that, but the coup led to war, which he, being a pacifist, opposed very strongly. That is why he did not recognize the putschist government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as legal nor as his own. Instead, he supported the government of Milan Nedić. Moreover, it seemed that his interwar ideas of a League of European States, even if under German domination, were becoming a reality. However, the outcome of World War II dissuaded him from that. The outcome made him leave the country and spend his last years as an emigrant in Switzerland.