Editing Serbs (section)

==History==
{{main article|History of the Serbs|History of Serbia}}

===Arrival of the Slavs===
{{main article|White Serbs|White Serbia}}
[[Early Slavs]], especially [[Sclaveni]] and [[Antae]], including the [[White Serbs]], invaded and settled [[Southeastern Europe]] in the 6th and 7th century.{{sfn|Fine|1991|pp=26–41}} Up until the late 560s, their activity was raiding, crossing from the Danube, though with limited Slavic settlement mainly through Byzantine ''[[foederati]]'' colonies.{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=29}} The [[Danube]] and [[Sava]] frontier was overwhelmed by large-scale Slavic settlement in the late 6th and early 7th century.{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=33}} What is today [[central Serbia]] was an important geo-strategical province, through which the ''[[Via Militaris]]'' crossed.{{sfn|Živković|2002|p=187}} This area was frequently intruded by [[Barbarians in the Byzantine Empire|barbarians]] in the 5th and 6th centuries.{{sfn|Živković|2002|p=187}} The numerous Slavs mixed with and assimilated the descendants of the indigenous population (Illyrians, Thracians, Dacians, Romans, Celts).<ref>{{harvnb|Fine|1991|pp=38, 41}}; {{harvnb|Ćorović|2001|loc="Балканска култура у доба сеобе Словена"}}</ref> White Serbs from [[White Serbia]] came to [[Servia, Greece|an area near Thessaloniki]] and then they settled area between Dinaric Alps and Adriatic coast.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ćirković |first1=Sima M. |title=Srbi među europskim narodima (excerpt) |url=http://www.mo-vrebac-pavlovac.hr/attachments/article/451/Sima%20%C4%86irkovi%C4%87%20SRBI%20ME%C4%90U%20EVROPSKIM%20NARODIMA.pdf |website=www.mo-vrebac-pavlovac.hr |publisher=Golden Marketing-Tehnička Knjiga |pages=26–27 |date=2008 |access-date=5 December 2019 |archive-date=8 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108093618/http://www.mo-vrebac-pavlovac.hr/attachments/article/451/Sima%20%C4%86irkovi%C4%87%20SRBI%20ME%C4%90U%20EVROPSKIM%20NARODIMA.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The region of "Rascia" ([[Raška (region)|Raška]]) was the center of Serb settlement and Serb tribes also occupied parts of modern-day [[Herzegovina]] and [[Montenegro]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kardaras |first1=Georgios |title=Byzantium and the Avars, 6th–9th Century AD: Political, Diplomatic and Cultural Relations |date=2018 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-9-00438-226-8 |page=96 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1IN1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA96 |access-date=13 December 2021 |archive-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327094702/https://books.google.com/books?id=1IN1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA96 |url-status=live }}</ref> Prior to their arrival to the Balkans, early Slavs were predominantly involved in agriculture, which is why they settled in areas which were cultivated even during Roman times.{{Sfn|Blagojević|1989|p=19}}

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Loza nemanjica.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Nemanjić dynasty]] members, the most important dynasty of [[Serbia in the Middle Ages]]]]
{{main article|Serbia in the Middle Ages}}
The first Serb states, [[Principality of Serbia (early medieval)|Serbia]] (780–960) and [[Duklja]] (825–1120), were formed chiefly under the [[Vlastimirović dynasty|Vlastimirović]] and [[Vojislavljević dynasty|Vojislavljević]] dynasties respectively.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Deliso |first1=Christopher |title=Culture and Customs of Serbia and Montenegro |date=2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-31334-437-4 |page=13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6pFxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR13 |access-date=13 December 2021 |archive-date=27 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927202243/https://books.google.com/books?id=6pFxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR13 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Morozova">{{cite journal |last1=Morozova |first1=Maria |title=Language Contact in Social Context: Kinship Terms and Kinship Relations of the Mrkovići in Southern Montenegro |journal=Journal of Language Contact |date=2019 |volume=12 |issue=2 |page=307 |doi=10.1163/19552629-01202003 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335305555 |access-date=15 February 2020 |ref=Morozova|doi-access=free }}</ref> The other Serb-inhabited lands, or principalities, that were mentioned included the "countries" of [[Paganija]], [[Zahumlje]], [[Travunija]].{{sfn|Komatina|2014|p=38}}{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=160,202,225}} With the decline of the Serbian state of Duklja in the late 11th century, Raška separated from it and replaced it as the most powerful Serbian state.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=533}} Prince [[Stefan Nemanja]] (r. 1169–96) conquered the neighbouring territories of [[Kosovo]], [[Duklja]] and [[Zachlumia]]. The [[Nemanjić dynasty]] ruled over Serbia until the 14th century. Nemanja's older son, [[Stefan the First-Crowned|Stefan Nemanjić]], became Serbia's first recognized king, while his younger son, Rastko, founded the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] in the year 1219, and became known as [[Saint Sava]] after his death.{{sfn|Cox|2002|p=20}} Parts of modern-day Montenegro, [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], and central Serbia would come under the control of Nemanjić.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Vance |first1=Charles |last2=Paik |first2=Yongsun |title=Managing a Global Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities in International Human Resource Management |date=2006 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn=978-0-76562-016-3 |page=379 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9gGKtLTQlUcC&pg=PA379 |access-date=13 December 2021 |archive-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327094744/https://books.google.com/books?id=9gGKtLTQlUcC&pg=PA379 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Over the next 140 years, Serbia expanded its borders, from numerous smaller principalities, reaching to a unified [[Serbian Empire]]. Its cultural model remained Byzantine, despite political ambitions directed against the empire. The medieval power and influence of Serbia culminated in the reign of [[Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia|Stefan Dušan]], who ruled the state from 1331 until his death in 1355. Ruling as Emperor from 1346, his territory included [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], northern Greece, Montenegro, and almost all of modern [[Albania]].{{sfn|Cox|2002|p=21}} When Dušan died, his son [[Stephen Uroš V of Serbia|Stephen Uroš V]] became Emperor.{{sfn|Cox|2002|pp=23–24}}

With [[Turkish people|Turkish]] invaders beginning their conquest of the Balkans in the 1350s, a major conflict ensued between them and the Serbs, the first major battle was the [[Battle of Maritsa]] (1371),{{sfn|Cox|2002|pp=23–24}} in which the Serbs were defeated.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=}} With the death of two important Serb leaders in the battle, and with the death of Stephen Uroš that same year, the [[Serbian Empire]] broke up into several small Serbian domains.{{sfn|Cox|2002|pp=23–24}} These states were ruled by feudal lords, with Zeta controlled by the [[Balšić noble family|Balšić family]], Raška, Kosovo and northern Macedonia held by the [[Branković family]] and [[Lazar Hrebeljanović]] holding today's [[Central Serbia]] and a portion of Kosovo.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=}} Hrebeljanović was subsequently accepted as the titular leader of the Serbs because he was married to a member of the Nemanjić dynasty.{{sfn|Cox|2002|pp=23–24}} In 1389, the Serbs faced the Ottomans at the [[Battle of Kosovo]] on the plain of [[Kosovo Polje]], near the town of [[Priština]].{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=}} Both Lazar and [[Sultan]] [[Murad I]] were killed in the fighting.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=}} The battle most likely ended in a stalemate, and afterwards [[Serbian Despotate|Serbia]] enjoyed a short period of prosperity under despot [[Stefan Lazarević]] and resisted falling to the Turks until 1459.{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|p=}}

===Early modern period===
{{main article|Serbia in the Early Modern Period}}
The Serbs had taken an active part in the wars fought in the Balkans against the Ottoman Empire, and also organized uprisings;<ref name="Veselinović1966">{{cite book|author=Rajko L. Veselinović|title=(1219–1766). Udžbenik za IV razred srpskih pravoslavnih bogoslovija. (Yu 68-1914)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QogsAQAAMAAJ|year=1966|publisher=Sv. Arh. Sinod Srpske pravoslavne crkve|pages=70–71|quote=Устанак Срба у Банату и спалмваъье моштийу св. Саве 1594. — Почетком 1594. године Срби у Банату почели су нападати Турке. Устанак се -нарочито почео ширити после освадаъьа и спашьиваъьа Вршца од стране чете -Петра Маджадца. Устаници осводе неколико утврЬених градова (Охат [...]}}</ref><ref name=ES-1971>{{cite book|title=Editions speciales|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uo0KVB-MPQ0C|year=1971|publisher=Naučno delo|quote=Дошло ]е до похреаа Срба у Ба- нату, ко]и су помагали тадаппьи црногоски владика, Херувим и тре- бюьски, Висарион. До покрета и борбе против Ту рака дошло ]е 1596. године и у Цр- иэ] Гори и сус]едним племенима у Харцеговгаш, нарочито под утица- ]ем поменутог владике Висариона. Идупе, 1597. године, [...] Али, а\адика Висарион и во]вода Грдан радили су и дал>е на организован>у борбе, па су придобили и ...|access-date=8 July 2019|archive-date=27 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927202355/https://books.google.com/books?id=uo0KVB-MPQ0C|url-status=live}}</ref> because of this, they suffered persecution and their territories were devastated – major migrations from Serbia into Habsburg territory ensued.{{sfn|Fotić|2008a|p=517–519}} After allied Christian forces [[Battle of Buda (1686)|had captured Buda]] from the Ottoman Empire in 1686 during the [[Great Turkish War]], Serbs from [[Pannonian Plain]] (present-day [[Hungary]], [[Slavonia]] region in present-day [[Croatia]], [[Bačka]] and [[Banat]] regions in present-day [[Serbia]]) joined the troops of the Habsburg monarchy as separate units known as [[Serbian Militia]].<ref name=Gavrilovic-7>{{Citation |last= Gavrilović |first= Slavko |title= Zbornik Matice Srpske za Istoriju |chapter-url= http://www.maticasrpska.org.rs/casopisi/istorija_74.pdf |access-date= 21 December 2011 |volume= 74 |year= 2006 |publisher= [[Matica Srpska]], Department of Social Sciences, Proceedings i History |location= Novi Sad |language= sr |page= 7 |chapter= Isaija Đaković |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110916135844/http://www.maticasrpska.org.rs/casopisi/istorija_74.pdf |archive-date= 16 September 2011 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> Serbs, as volunteers, massively joined the Austrian side.<ref>{{Citation |last= Janićijević |first= Jovan |title= Kulturna riznica Srbije |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=MQAoAAAAMAAJ |year= 1996 |publisher= IDEA |language= sr |page= 70 |isbn= 9788675470397 |quote= Велики или Бечки рат Аустрије против Турске, у којем су Срби, као добровољци, масовно учествовали на аустријској страни |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160102074805/https://books.google.com/books?id=MQAoAAAAMAAJ |archive-date= 2 January 2016 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

[[File:Serbmigra.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Migration of the Serbs (painting)|Migration of the Serbs]]'' (1896), a painting by [[Paja Jovanović]], depicting the [[Great Serb Migrations]] led by Patriarch [[Arsenije III Crnojević]], 17th century.]]
Many Serbs were recruited during the [[devshirme]] system,  a form of [[slavery in the Ottoman Empire]], in which boys from Balkan Christian families were [[Forced conversion|forcibly converted]] to [[Islam]] and trained for infantry units of the [[Military of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman army]] known as the [[Janissaries]].{{sfn|A ́goston|Masters|2010|p=383}}{{sfn|Riley-Smith|2001|p=251}}{{sfn|Rodriguez|1997|p=6}}{{sfn|Kia|2011|p=62}} A number of Serbs who converted to Islam occupied high-ranking positions within the [[Ottoman Empire]], such as [[List of Ottoman Grand Viziers|Grand Vizier]] [[Sokollu Mehmed Pasha]] and [[Ministry of War (Ottoman Empire)|Minister of War]] [[field marshal]] [[Omar Pasha Latas]].

In 1688, [[Siege of Belgrade (1688)|the Habsburg army took Belgrade]] and entered the territory of present-day [[Central Serbia]]. [[Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden]] called Serbian Patriarch [[Arsenije III Čarnojević]] to raise arms against the Turks; the Patriarch accepted and returned to the liberated Peć. As Serbia fell under Habsburg control, Leopold I granted Arsenije nobility and the title of duke. In early November, Arsenije III met with Habsburg commander-in-chief, [[General Enea Silvio Piccolomini]] in [[Prizren]]; after this talk he sent a note to all Serb bishops to come to him and collaborate only with Habsburg forces.

A [[Great Migration of the Serbs (1690)]] to Habsburg lands was undertaken by Patriarch Arsenije III.{{sfn|Jelavich|1983a|p=145}} The large community of Serbs concentrated in Banat, southern Hungary and the Military Frontier included merchants and craftsmen in the cities, but mainly refugees that were peasants.{{sfn|Jelavich|1983a|p=145}} Smaller groups of Serbs also migrated to the [[Russian Empire]], where they occupied high positions in the military circles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vreme.com/vreme/stopama-isakovica-karadjordja-i-komunista/|title=Stopama Isakoviča, Karađorđa i komunista – Seobe u Rusiju – Nedeljnik Vreme|date=2011-11-23|website=www.vreme.com|language=sr-RS|access-date=2022-07-12|archive-date=14 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714203755/https://www.vreme.com/vreme/stopama-isakovica-karadjordja-i-komunista/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/199226/Seoba-Srba-u-Rusiju-otisli-da-ih-nema|title=Сеоба Срба у Русију – отишли да их нема|website=Politika Online|access-date=2022-07-12|archive-date=14 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714203757/https://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/199226/Seoba-Srba-u-Rusiju-otisli-da-ih-nema|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rastko.rs/antropologija/ljcerovic_srbi_ukr.html#_Toc412640057|title=[Projekat Rastko] Ljubivoje Cerovic: Srbi u Ukrajini|website=www.rastko.rs|access-date=2022-07-12|archive-date=7 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607044555/https://www.rastko.rs/antropologija/ljcerovic_srbi_ukr.html#_Toc412640057|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Serbian Revolution]] for independence from the Ottoman Empire lasted eleven years, from 1804 until 1815.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cz7pbGvCqhwC&q=serbian+revolution+1804-1815 |isbn=978-3643106117 |page=144 |title=Empires and Peninsulas: Southeastern Europe Between Karlowitz and the Peace of Adrianople, 1699-1829 |year=2010 |last1=Mitev |first1=Plamen |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |access-date=3 October 2020 |archive-date=27 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927202249/https://books.google.com/books?id=Cz7pbGvCqhwC&q=serbian+revolution+1804-1815#v=snippet&q=serbian%20revolution%201804-1815&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The revolution comprised two separate uprisings which gained autonomy from the Ottoman Empire that eventually evolved towards full independence (1835–1867).<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 2498513|last1 = MacKenzie|first1 = David|title = Reviewed work: Knezevina Srbija (1830–1839)., Rados Ljusic|journal = Slavic Review|volume = 47|issue = 2|pages = 362–363|year = 1988|doi = 10.2307/2498513| s2cid=164191946 }}</ref><ref name="nytimes">{{cite news|author=Misha Glenny|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/g/glenny-balkans.html|title=The Balkans Nationalism, War and the Great Powers, 1804–1999|work=The New York Times|access-date=6 April 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415232528/http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/g/glenny-balkans.html|archive-date=15 April 2009}}</ref> During the [[First Serbian Uprising]], led by Duke [[Karađorđe Petrović]], Serbia was independent for almost a decade before the Ottoman army was able to reoccupy the country. Shortly after this, the [[Second Serbian Uprising]] began. Led by [[Miloš Obrenović]], it ended in 1815 with a compromise between Serbian revolutionaries and Ottoman authorities.<ref>{{cite web|author=Royal Family |url=http://www.royalfamily.org/ustanak/USTANAK_ENG.htm |title=200 godina ustanka |publisher=Royalfamily.org |access-date=28 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207002754/http://www.royalfamily.org/ustanak/USTANAK_ENG.htm |archive-date=7 February 2010 }}</ref> Likewise, Serbia was one of the first nations in the Balkans to abolish [[feudalism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nb.rs/view_file.php?file_id=57|title=Bibliotekarstvo i menadžment: Moguća paralela|author=Gordana Stokić|date=January 2003|format=PDF|publisher=Narodna biblioteka Srbije|language=sr|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307170146/https://www.nb.rs/view_file.php?file_id=57|archive-date=7 March 2016}}</ref> Serbs are among the first ethnic groups in Europe to form a [[nation]] and a clear sense of national identity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mojović|first=Dragan|date=2007|title=Velike Srbije nikada nije bilo|url=|journal=NIN|volume=|pages=82, 83|via=}}</ref>

===Modern period===
{{Main article|Serbian revolution|Kingdom of Serbia|Serbian campaign|Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia}}
In the early 1830s, Serbia gained autonomy and its borders were recognized, with [[Miloš Obrenović I, Prince of Serbia|Miloš Obrenović]] being recognized as its ruler. Serbia is the fourth modern-day European country, after France, Austria and the Netherlands, to have a codified legal system, as of 1844.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Avramović|first=Sima|year=2014|title=Srpski građanski zakonik (1844) i pravni transplanti – kopija austrijskog uzora ili više od toga?|url=http://www.ius.bg.ac.rs/zbornici/Srpski%20gradjanski%20zakonik%20-%20170%20godina.pdf|journal=Srpski Građanski Zakonik – 170 Godina|access-date=1 August 2019|archive-date=25 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725123254/http://www.ius.bg.ac.rs/zbornici/Srpski%20gradjanski%20zakonik%20-%20170%20godina.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The last Ottoman troops withdrew from Serbia in 1867, although Serbia's and Montenegro's independence was not recognized internationally until the [[Congress of Berlin]] in 1878.{{sfn|Fotić|2008a|p=517–519}}
[[File:Serbian cadre troops leaving for frontier positions, 1914.jpg|thumb|[[Battle of Cer]] marked the first [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] victory over the [[Central Powers]] in the [[World War I]].]]
Serbia fought in the [[Balkan Wars]] of 1912–13, which forced the Ottomans out of the Balkans and doubled the territory and population of the [[Kingdom of Serbia]]. In 1914, a young [[Bosnian Serb]] student named [[Gavrilo Princip]] [[Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|assassinated]] [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]], which directly contributed to the outbreak of [[World War I]].{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=542}} In the fighting that ensued, Serbia was invaded by [[Austria-Hungary]]. Despite being outnumbered, the Serbs defeated the Austro-Hungarians at the [[Battle of Cer]], which marked the first [[Allies of World War I|Allied]] victory over the [[Central Powers]] in the war.{{sfn|Pavlowitch|2002|p=94}} Further victories at the battles of [[Battle of Kolubara|Kolubara]] and the [[Battle of the Drina|Drina]] meant that Serbia remained unconquered as the war entered its second year. However, an invasion by the forces of [[German Empire|Germany]], [[Austria-Hungary]] and [[Kingdom of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] overwhelmed the Serbs in the winter of 1915, and a subsequent withdrawal by the [[Serbian Army]] through Albania took the lives of more than 240,000 Serbs. Serb forces spent the remaining years of the war fighting on the [[Salonika front]] in Greece, before liberating Serbia from [[Austro-Hungarian occupation of Serbia|Austro-Hungarian occupation]] in November 1918.{{sfn|Miller|2005|pp=542–543}} Serbia suffered [[World War I casualties|the biggest casualty rate in World War I]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Radivojević|first1=Biljana|last2=Penev|first2=Goran|title=Demographic losses of Serbia in the first world war and their long-term consequences|journal=Economic Annals|year=2014|volume=59|issue=203|pages=29–54|doi=10.2298/EKA1403029R|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Following the victory in WWI, Serbs subsequently formed the [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]] with other [[South Slavic peoples]]. The country was later renamed the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]], and was led from 1921 to 1934 by King [[Alexander I of Yugoslavia|Alexander I]] of the Serbian [[Karađorđević dynasty]].{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=544}} During [[World War II]], Yugoslavia was invaded by the [[Axis powers]] in April 1941. The country was subsequently divided into many pieces, with Serbia being directly occupied by the Germans.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=545}} Serbs in the [[Independent State of Croatia]] (NDH) were targeted for extermination as part of [[Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia|genocide]] by the Croatian ultra-nationalist, fascist [[Ustaše]].{{sfn|Yeomans|2015|p=18}}{{sfn|Levy|2009}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Ustasa|url=https://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%205904.pdf|publisher=[[Yad Vashem]]|access-date=25 June 2018|archive-date=8 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808002505/https://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%205904.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = Croatia: Serbs| date = 19 June 2015| url = https://minorityrights.org/minorities/serbs-2/| publisher = [[Minority Rights Group International]]| access-date = 28 July 2019| archive-date = 2 October 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151002053537/https://minorityrights.org/minorities/serbs-2/| url-status = live}}</ref> The Ustaše view of national and racial identity, as well as the theory of Serbs as an [[racism|inferior race]], was under the influence of [[Croatian nationalism|Croatian nationalists]] and intellectuals from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.{{sfn|Yeomans|2013|p=7}}{{sfn|Kallis|2008|pp=130–131}}{{sfn|Bartulin|2013|p=124}} [[Jasenovac concentration camp|Jasenovac camp]] was notorious for the barbaric practices which occurred in it.{{sfn|Levy|2009}} [[Sisak children's concentration camp|Sisak]] and [[Jastrebarsko children's camp|Jastrebarsko concentration camp]] were specially [[Children in the Holocaust|formed for children]].<ref name="JMCSisakCamp">{{cite web|title=SISAK CAMP|url=http://www.jusp-jasenovac.hr/Default.aspx?sid=7375|website=Jasenovac Memorial Cite|access-date=30 January 2018|archive-date=31 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131023148/http://www.jusp-jasenovac.hr/Default.aspx?sid=7375|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Marija Vuselica: Regionen Kroatien in Der Ort des Terrors: Arbeitserziehungslager, Ghettos, Jugendschutzlager, Polizeihaftlager, Sonderlager, Zigeunerlager, Zwangsarbeiterlager, Volume 9 of Der Ort des Terrors, Publisher	C.H.Beck, 2009, {{ISBN|9783406572388}} pages 321–323</ref><ref>Anna Maria Grünfelder: Arbeitseinsatz für die Neuordnung Europas: Zivil- und ZwangsarbeiterInnen aus Jugoslawien in der "Ostmark" 1938/41-1945, Publisher Böhlau Verlag Wien, 2010 {{ISBN|9783205784531}} pages 101–106</ref> Serbs in the NDH suffered among the highest casualty rates in Europe during the World War II, while the NDH was one of the most lethal regimes in the 20th century.{{sfn|Charny|1999|pp=18–23}}{{sfn|Payne|2006|pp=18–23}}{{sfn|Dulić|2006}} [[Diana Budisavljević]], a humanitarian of Austrian descent, carried out rescue operations from Ustaše camps and saved more than 15,000 children, mostly Serbs.<ref>{{cite book | editor-last = Kolanović | editor-first = Josip | publisher = [[Croatian State Archives]] and Public Institution [[Jasenovac Memorial Area]] | title = Dnevnik Diane Budisavljević 1941–1945 | location = Zagreb | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-9-536-00562-8 |pages=284–85}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Die Heldin aus Innsbruck – Diana Obexer Budisavljević|year=2014|publisher=Svet knjige|location=Belgrade|url=http://svetknjige.net/book.php?var=531|first=Boško|last=Lomović|isbn=978-86-7396-487-4|page=28|access-date=28 July 2019|archive-date=1 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401180633/http://www.svetknjige.net/book.php?var=531|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Jasenovac HDR D.jpg|thumb|''[[Stone Flower (sculpture)|Stone Flower]]'', a monument dedicated to the victims of [[Jasenovac concentration camp|Jasenovac death camp]], which was part of the [[Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia|Genocide of Serbs]] committed by [[Ustaše]]]]
More than half a million Serbs were killed in the territory of Yugoslavia during World War II. Serbs in occupied Yugoslavia subsequently formed a resistance movement known as the [[Chetniks|Yugoslav Army in the Homeland]], or the Chetniks. The Chetniks had the official support of the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] until 1943, when Allied support shifted to the Communist [[Yugoslav Partisans]], a multi-ethnic force, formed in 1941, which also had a large majority of Serbs in its ranks in the first two years of war. Over the entirety of the war, the ethnic composition of the Partisans was 53 percent Serb.{{sfn|Hoare|2011|p=207}}{{sfn|Calic|2019|p=463}} During the entire course of the WWII in Yugoslavia, 64.1% of all Bosnian Partisans were Serbs.<ref name="anubih.ba-Hoare">{{cite web |author1=Marko Attila Hoare |author1-link=Marko Attila Hoare |title=The Great Serbian threat, ZAVNOBiH and Muslim Bosniak entry into the People's Liberation Movement |url=https://publications.anubih.ba/bitstream/handle/123456789/52/Zbornik%20ZAVNOBiH%20sve%2015-04-2019-4-115-130.pdf?sequence=7&isAllowed=y |website=anubih.ba |publisher=Posebna izdanja ANUBiH |access-date=21 December 2020 |pages=123 |language=en |archive-date=1 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201071114/https://publications.anubih.ba/bitstream/handle/123456789/52/Zbornik%20ZAVNOBiH%20sve%2015-04-2019-4-115-130.pdf?sequence=7&isAllowed=y |url-status=dead }}</ref> Later, after the fall of Italy in September 1943, other ethnic groups joined Partisans in larger numbers.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=545}}

At the end of the war, the Partisans, led by [[Josip Broz Tito]], emerged victorious. Yugoslavia subsequently became a Communist state. Tito died in 1980, and his death saw [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] plunge into economic turmoil.{{sfn|Miller|2005|pp=546–553}} Yugoslavia [[Breakup of Yugoslavia|disintegrated]] in the early 1990s, and a [[Yugoslav Wars|series of wars]] resulted in the creation of five new states. The heaviest fighting occurred in [[Croatia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], whose Serb populations rebelled and declared independence. The [[Croatian War of Independence|war]] in Croatia ended in August 1995, with a Croatian military offensive known as [[Operation Storm]] put a stop to the [[Croatian Serb]] rebellion and causing as many as 200,000 Serbs to flee the country. The [[Bosnian War]] ended that same year, with the [[Dayton Agreement]] dividing the country along ethnic lines. In 1998–99, a [[Kosovo War|conflict]] in Kosovo between the Yugoslav Army and Albanians seeking independence erupted into full-out war, resulting in a 78-day-long [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia|NATO bombing campaign]] which effectively drove Yugoslav security forces from Kosovo.{{sfn|Miller|2005|pp=558–562}} Subsequently, more than 200,000 Serbs and other non-Albanians fled the province.<ref>{{cite news|last= Gall|first= Carlotta|newspaper= The New York Times|date= 7 May 2000|title= New Support to Help Serbs Return to Homes in Kosovo|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/07/world/new-support-to-help-serbs-return-to-homes-in-kosovo.html|access-date= 20 February 2017|archive-date= 3 February 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170203063048/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/07/world/new-support-to-help-serbs-return-to-homes-in-kosovo.html|url-status= live}}</ref> On 5 October 2000, Yugoslav [[President of Serbia and Montenegro|President]] [[Slobodan Milosević]] was overthrown in a bloodless revolt after he refused to admit defeat in the [[Yugoslavian general election, 2000|2000 Yugoslav general election]].{{sfn|Pavlowitch|2002|p=225}}