Abstract
The volume you hold in your hands offers a broad and comprehensive analysis of the history and development of national minorities in Yugoslavia. As the title Briiderlichkeit und Eigenheit:Minderheiten im sozialistischen Jugoslawien (Brotherhood and Unity: Minorities in Socialist Yugoslavia) suggests, its focus is on Tito's policies and th e way they were implemented in everyday life.
The subject is treated in a broad context of the historical background, structure, and community life of fifteen of the most important ethnic minority groups, while taking into account the practices of the socialist Yugoslav state and its interna l and external policies. Aware of the fact that nationalist tensions tore apart the interwar Yugoslav kingdom, Tito's leadership tried to restore balance and equality among local ethnic groups under the all embracing umbrella of socialist ideology.
The book follows the results of these efforts during the entire period of the existence of socialist Yugoslavia, from the end of Second World War until the breakup of Yugoslavia. Complicated ethno -linguistic and religious structure of the regional ethnic groups has been of cruci al impor tance not only for the successor states but also their neighbors and historical homelands of these minorities in other parts of Europe.