Istorija 20. Veka (Aug 2023)
PRINC ĐORĐE KARAĐORĐEVIĆ U OKUPIRANOJ SRBIJI 1941–1944.
Abstract
Djordje Karadjordjević, the eldest son of King Peter I, was remembered as a brave and honest person, who didn’t agree to compromises. In public opinion, this impression often overshadowed the fact that his inappropriate behavior caused numerous incidents. Because of them, he renounced his right to inherit the throne in 1909, and was isolated and under medical supervision from 1925 until the beginning of the Second World War. During the Second World War, the German occupation authorities allowed Prince Djordje to live in Belgrade under certain conditions. He was under surveillance by the police and intelligence services, but despite this, he maintained contacts with representatives of the resistance movements. Both among the population and among the representatives of the resistance movements, there was an expectation that he would support and participate in the fight against the occupiers. In this sense, numerous rumors appeared in the public, and some of them were consciously created. Prince Djordje refused the offers of the occupation and collaborationist authorities to engage in their favor. Through his secretary Milorad Panić Surep, he provided financial assistance to the communist organization and tried to join the People’s Liberation Movement, but these efforts were not realized. After liberation, the authorities treated him with respect, but he was marginalized and his support and assistance to the People’s Liberation Movement remained unknown to the public. His fate was used for the propaganda of anti-dynastic views, primarily through the promotion of his memories, which only reached the beginning of the Second World War and portrayed King Aleksandar Karadjordjević in a negative light. Although seen as brave and determined person like his ancestor Karadjordje, Prince Djordje was also seen as a tragic figure, as a new Hamlet, whose fate, despite his personal courage, was embodied in the tragedy and suffering caused by his closest environment.
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