The result of painstaking work in the archives of the former Yugoslavia, this study of Sarajevo under the Ustasha dictatorship is essential for scholars with an interest in Yugoslav history, World War II, fascism, ethnicity, and community studies. How, Greble asks, did the cultural elites of Sarajevo attempt to secure autonomy for their communities—Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, and Orthodox—in a time of dictatorship and war?... Treating her subjects with great sensitivity and showing a keen eye for telling details, Greble compellingly demonstrates 'the persistence of a civic community spirit' during these difficult years. Summing Up: Highly recommended.
"Greble's book quietly takes on a much larger subject than is immediately apparent. Groups that have dominated accounts of Yugoslavia's war years are absent here. . . . Greble offers a different setting and new leading men."—London Review of Books
"The result of painstaking work in the archives of the former Yugoslavia, this study of Sarajevo under the Ustasha dictatorship is essential for scholars with an interest in Yugoslav history, World War II, fascism, ethnicity, and community studies. How, Greble asks, did the cultural elites of Sarajevo attempt to secure autonomy for their communities—Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, and Orthodox—in a time of dictatorship and war?. . . Treating her subjects with great sensitivity and showing a keen eye for telling details, Greble compellingly demonstrates 'the persistence of a civic community spirit' during these difficult years. Summing Up: Highly recommended."—Choice (January 2012)
"There is much to commend this study. Emily Greble capitalizes on a recent historiographical trend which prioritizes the local to observe the national and international. . . . Greble has contributed an important study which should be useful to others researching the war years in the region."—Hannah Holtschneider, Journal of Jewish Studies (Spring 2013)
"In addition to enriching our understanding of Sarajevo and of Yugoslavia during World War II, Greble's analysis adds to a growing historiography challenging the idea that nationality overshadowed other loyalties in early twentieth-century East-Central Europe.... This excellent study uses rich archival research to describe a complex situation in a nuanced and accessible way. It is an important contribution to the literature on Yugoslavia during World War II, and will be of broad interest to the scholars of East Central Europe, European nationalisms, and the Nazi Empire."—Caitlin E. Murdock, Canadian Journal of History (Autumn 2013)
"Emily Greble has written an enthralling history of Sarajevo under Nazi occupation, contributing very usefully to the histography of World War II and the former Yugoslavia. Mastering a wealth of archival sources and focusing specifically on Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital, Greble argues that a unique sense of community helped the city pull together and persist through the hardships of one of the worst ordeals in its history. . . . Greble’s book can serve as an inspiring template for future studies of cities in wartime."—Christian Axobe Nielsen, Austrian History Yearbook (April 2014)
"Emily Greble has written a marvelously subtle history of multicultural Sarajevo during World War II, when the city's traditions and loyalties were tested in the most divisive way. This is a grand justification of local historical research and of search for continuities that are often overlooked in overly schematic historical writing. Neglected Bosnia shines through this fine book in all of its severe beauty."—Ivo Banac, Bradford Durfee Professor of History Emeritus, Yale University
"With her remarkably detailed research Emily Greble offers a fascinating account of Sarajevo in wartime, analyzing the traumatic upheaval of an immensely complex urban society. This extraordinary book will be indispensable for anyone interested in Bosnia and the history of Yugoslavia, but it also gives European historians a whole new perspective on World War II."—Larry Wolff, New York University
