Jozo Tomasevich

Born in the Kingdom of Dalmatia in 1908, Jozo Tomasevich's academic journey was marked by a rigorous pursuit of economic understanding. After completing his secondary education and commercial academy training, he earned a doctorate in economics from the University of Basel, Switzerland. This foundational expertise in economic theory and practice was honed during his tenure at the National Bank of Yugoslavia in the mid-1930s.

In this role, he published three significant works that critically examined Yugoslavia's national debt, fiscal policy, and monetary system. These early publications established him as a serious scholar, capable of dissecting complex financial structures and their impact on national development. His insights into the economic underpinnings of the interwar Yugoslav state provided a crucial lens through which to understand its subsequent challenges and transformations.

Tomasevich's intellectual trajectory took a significant turn in 1938 when he received a two-year Rockefeller fellowship, enabling him to conduct research at Harvard University. This experience immersed him in the American academic landscape and broadened his comparative perspectives. Following his time at Harvard, he joined the academic staff at Stanford University.

During the tumultuous years of World War II, his analytical skills were recognized and utilized by governmental bodies. He served with the Board of Economic Warfare and later with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), contributing to the complex logistical and economic planning required during and immediately after the global conflict. Post-war, he continued his engagement with economic institutions, working at the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco, further solidifying his practical and theoretical understanding of financial systems.

The latter part of Jozo Tomasevich's career was dedicated to an monumental scholarly undertaking: a comprehensive historical analysis of Yugoslavia during World War II. This ambitious project, envisioned as a three-volume series titled 'War and Revolution in Yugoslavia 1941–1945,' aimed to provide an unparalleled account of the period. Supported by substantial grants and fellowships, he published the first volume, 'The Chetniks,' in 1975.

This seminal work meticulously detailed the origins, development, and eventual fate of the Chetnik movement, a complex and often controversial force during the war. The book was met with widespread critical acclaim, with scholars like Ivo Goldstein later describing it as the 'most complete and best book about the Chetniks to be published either abroad or in former Yugoslavia,' a testament to its enduring scholarly value and depth of research.

The second volume of Tomasevich's magnum opus, 'War and Revolution in Yugoslavia 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration,' was published posthumously in 2001, skillfully edited by his daughter, Neda Tomasevich. This volume offered a profound examination of the collaborationist regimes and the complex dynamics of occupation in Yugoslavia, with a particular emphasis on the Axis-aligned Independent State of Croatia. It too garnered significant praise from the historical community for its rigorous scholarship and nuanced analysis.

Tragically, the third volume, which was intended to focus on the Yugoslav Partisans and was reportedly 75 percent complete at the time of his death, remains unpublished. The exceptional quality and scholarly standard achieved in the first two volumes of this series mean that his inability to complete the work is considered a profound loss to historical scholarship, a sentiment echoed by scholars like Klaus Schmider. Tomasevich's legacy is that of a master historian, whose erudition and dedication provided invaluable insights into a critical period of 20th-century history.