The Armistice Day doesn't mean much to Albanians; for Serbs, it's the end of intense violence

Armistice Day in WWI holds little significance for Albanians in Kosovo as both occupying forces, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria, regarded the Albanian population as allies. For Serbia, however, this date marks the end of a harsh regime characterized by the loss of political rights, various forms of property and food confiscation, and frequent, intense violence, points out Milos Vojinovic, a publicist and researcher at the Balkan Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU).

Vojinovic recalls that, prior to the start of World War I, the territory of Kosovo was divided between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Montenegro. During the war, it was split into three occupation zones: the part occupied by the Bulgarians, the former territory of Montenegro occupied by Austria-Hungary, and the part of Serbia’s previous territory also occupied by Austria-Hungary.

"The first thing I need to emphasize is that we now know the borders of Kosovo and Metohija. However, these borders did not exist as a political entity at the time we’re discussing. At the beginning of World War I, Kosovo and Metohija were divided between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Montenegro, and by the end of the war, until liberation, they were under control of the Bulgarian-occupied zones of Serbia and Montenegro occupied by Austria-Hungary," Vojinovic told Kosovo Online.

The memory of World War I, like many other things in Kosovo, is divided depending on who you talk to, the historian notes.

For the Albanian population, he says, it doesn't hold much significance - they mostly see it in the context of what they interpret as a type of violent Serbian rule.

On the other hand, he emphasizes, for the Serbian population, the end of World War I marked a major shift and the end of a rather brutal regime characterized by the loss of political rights, various forms of property and food confiscation, and frequent, intense violence.

"Serbs see the end of World War I as the end of a major conflict in which a tremendous human cost was paid. Estimates of the death toll go up to a million. Some would argue that it shouldn’t be called Armistice Day, but rather Victory Day. I don’t support that view; I believe people back then saw success in the mere cessation of war. The Serbian population views it as the conclusion of a policy that began with Karadjordje, encompassing a long era with aspirations to achieve freedom both externally – to be free from a foreign occupier – and internally – to be free from any domestic tyrant who would deprive them of their rights,” Vojinovic explains.

Regarding the Albanians, he notes, the perspective is different.

During World War I, both occupying sides in today’s Kosovo – Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria – viewed the Albanian population as allies for different reasons, Vojinovic explains.

The Bulgarians, he stresses, saw the Albanian population as a temporary ally, wanting to have some form of local support from Albanians on the ground.

“That’s why there are Bulgarian documents that clearly show they shouldn’t be too harsh with the Albanian population, even though they planned, at some point in the future, to dismantle the large estates on the post-Ottoman territory,” says the publicist.

On the other hand, Austria-Hungary, just as it viewed Albania as an ally, also saw the Albanians in Kosovo as allies.

In other words, Austria-Hungary viewed the Albanian population as one whose loyalty could be secured through promises.

For Austria-Hungary, he observes, an independent Albania represented a dual success.

“On one hand, it was a barrier to Italy’s advance into the Balkans, and on the other, it blocked Serbia’s access to further territories or a sea outlet,” Vojinovic says.

He notes that the armistice in World War I brought both relief and uncertainty. Things, he says, happened very quickly, and there were many plans for Kosovo’s future.

“When we talk about Armistice Day in World War I, no one knew on November 12 what would happen next. No one knew what the future held. No one could have predicted the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It’s important for us to understand now that things were happening very quickly at that time. On September 15, the breakthrough on the Salonika front began; soon after, things moved quickly: the French entered Pristina on October 10, swiftly handed control over to Stepa Stepanovic, Belgrade was liberated on November 1, and Yugoslavia was declared on December 1,” Vojinovic said.

He points out that there were plans to create a "Greater Albania," which would involve uniting all territories where Albanians lived, and even some where they did not.

He mentions that there was even talk of a kind of union between Serbs and Albanians on certain issues.

"Two agreements with Esad Pasha were certainly important for Serb-Albanian relations. One was signed in Nis in September 1914, and the other in Tirana in July 1915. The second agreement was more ambitious and envisioned a possible type of union on certain issues between the Serbian and Albanian states,” Vojinovic said.

However, he adds that there were differing views about the future, even among Albanians.

"There was division in the civil war happening in Albania at that time. There were also differences between those Albanians who primarily saw their identity through Islam and those who saw it through ‘Albanianism,’ belonging to the Albanian nation. World War I was a time of varying conceptions and loyalties. There were Albanians who served in the Serbian army. Some of them fought bravely in the defense of Belgrade in 1915, while others were convinced that Serbia posed the greatest threat to Albanian plans for the future," he stated.

Regarding the ordinary person living in Kosovo during World War I, Vojinovic said that the key aspects of their daily life, unfortunately, included, as is often the case even today, a lack of personal security and a harsh economic situation, given that there was a severe food shortage in areas controlled by the Central Powers.

Thus, the population, which was relatively poor even before the war, found itself in especially poor conditions during the war.

He believes the Bulgarian part of the occupation may have been the worst.

He reflected on the situation when the Serbian General Stepa Stepanovic took command in Pristina, pointing out that loyalties were divided even in that context.

"I would say there was a tendency, dating back to the Balkan Wars, to see some form of violence in the behavior of the Serbian army toward Albanians, as if it was intentional. I believe there was a lot of propaganda involved as well. A quote from Dimitrije Tucovic is very important here; he is remembered for his writings in Albania, and he once said, 'Serbia is a typical peasant country with all the problems that come with such a state, but the fact that it is seen as blacker than the entire world is a result of writings by Vienna's scribes.' It’s a very interesting quote,” Vojinovic emphasized.

There were Albanians who did not want to live in a Serbian state, but there were also those who didn’t see it as the worst possible outcome.

According to him, Kosovo, during all conflicts and even later during the armistice, experienced a continuity of insecurity.

"The problem with Kosovo was that there was a continuous state of chaos, a lack of security, a continuity in which only the local community or village could be organized to protect itself. In other words, even before the Serbian army and later the Yugoslav army, there was a problem with guaranteeing security, whether for Serbs or Albanians. In this sense, the area was quite insecure, and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia faced a huge task, which it did not manage to successfully accomplish, to create a safe environment in Kosovo,” Vojinovic concluded.