Historiography on Causes of Defeat of Kingdom of Yugoslavia in April War 1941. – Continuation of War by Other Means

Još za vrijeme Drugoga svjetskog rata srpski su nacionalisti često tvrdili da je izdaja Hrvata i drugih nesrpskih naroda glavni razlog brzog sloma Kraljevine Jugoslavije u Travanjskom ratu 1941. Iako je Komunistička partija Jugoslavije (KPJ) oštro osuđivala takve teorije, potkraj komunističke vlasti te su ideje prihvaćene u dijelu tadašnje srpske historiografije i hitro upotrijebljene u velikosrpskoj propagandi radi diskreditacije nesrpskih jugoslavenskih naroda. U radu je pokazano kako takav prikaz uzroka jugoslavenskog poraza ne odgovara istini. Pravi uzroci poraza Kraljevine Jugoslavije leže u lošoj dugoročnoj vanjskoj i obrambenoj politici te neadekvatno riješenim civilno-vojnim odnosima. Neriješeno nacionalno pitanje hrvatskog i drugih jugoslavenskih naroda pridonosilo je jugoslavenskoj slabosti, no nije jedini niti glavni uzrok propasti Kraljevine Jugoslavije.
During the World War II Serbian nationalists often claimed that treacherous behavior of Croats and other non-Serbian peoples of Yugoslavia was the main reason for a quick breakup of Kingdom of Yugoslavia in April War of 1941. Even though Communist party of Yugoslavia (CPY) sharply objected to such claims, decline of communist supremacy made it possible for these ideas to gain foothold in modern Serbian history. These theories were quickly used by Serbian nationalistic propaganda in order to discredit non-Serbian peoples of Yugoslavia. This article argues that bad long term foreign and defence policy and inadequate civilmilitary relations were true reasons for defeat of Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1941. Unsolved national question of Croat and other non-Serbian nations of Yugoslavia contributed to its weakness, but it is neither the only nor the main reason of Yugoslav defeat.