How the West Was Won – Jugoslavenska izbjeglička vlada i legenda o Draži Mihailoviću
How the West Was Won: the Yugoslav Government-in-Exile and the Myth of Draza Mihailovich

Summary/Abstract: The author attempted to analyze propaganda on Draza Mihailovich produced by Serbian elements in the Yugoslav Government-in-Exile. The main purpose of propaganda was to present Draza Mihailovich as heroic military leader and his Chetniks as powerful military force engaged in combat against Axis forces on Axis dominated and occupied European continent. Lack of information and a fact that one Allied government stood behind such claims encouraged media in the US and in the UK to accept and disseminate them. So, Mihailovic was observed as the one among leading military leaders of the United Nations, just like MacArthur, Timoshenko and Chinese leader Chiang Kai Shek. There is no doubt that this was fake image. The main characteristic of Mihailovich’s position was his conflict with Tito’s Partisans and collaboration of the vast majority of Chetnik forces with Axis forces (Germans and Italians). So, with the exception of initial attempts to fight German occupiers in Serbia in summer and fall 1941, Chetnik position during the entire war can be characterized as collaboration with Axis forces. Gap between reality and public image based on propaganda is showing the importance of propaganda and media for the research of various issues related to the WWII.

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