Illustrations
Epigraph and Dedication
(Foreword)
Preface

Introduction: The Past is Coming

Part I: The Main Event

Introduction

Chapter 1. From the Ottomans to the Triple Invasion

• 
  The Making of Serbia


• 
  The War


• 
  The Triple Offensive

Chapter 2. From Golgotha to the Resurrection

• 
  The Retreat


• 
  'Serbian Golgotha' Testimonies


• 
  Salvation and Resurrection

Part II: The Script

Introduction

Chapter 3. There is No Time Like the Past

• 
  Epos Rides Again


• 
  Identity or Else

Chapter 4. The Great War in Music and Museums

• 
  The Warrior Soundtrack


• 
  Exhibiting the First World War

Part III: The Scenography

Introduction

Chapter 5. Past as Work in Progress: Street Names and Monuments

• 
  What's in a (Street) Name


• 
  Monuments to Die for

Chapter 6. Reframing the Present Through Tributes and Headlines

• 
  Centenary Commemorations as a Competitive Sport


• 
  Breaking News on History

Part IV: The Chorus

Introduction

Chapter 7. Sites of Memory: Salonika, Corfu, Vido

• 
  All Roads Lead to Salonika


• 
  From Tourists to Pilgrims in Corfu

Chapter 8. Fictive Kinships of Resurgent Remembrance

• 
  Retracing the Paths of Glory


• 
  Remembrance Takes You Places
  
  
  
  • 
    The Irishman Who Walked to Corfu
  
  
  • 
    Serbian Prisoners of War Remembered in the Netherlands
  
  
  • 
    Rediscovering the Scottish Women's Hospitals
  
  
  
  
  

  Conclusion: Past Imperfect Continuous

  Thanks and Acknowledgments

  Appendix: Chronology of Events

  Bibliography
  Index

  
  

In the winter of 1915, following the invasion of Serbia by the Central Powers, the Serbian Army retreated across the mountains of Albania and Montenegro together with thousands of civilians. Around 240,000 lost their lives. Today, the story of the retreat is little known, except in Serbia where it represents the heroic Serbian sacrifice in the Great War. In this book Alex Tomic examines the centenary events memorializing the First World War with the retreat at its core and provides a persuasive account of the ways in which the remembrance of Serbian history has been manipulated for political purposes. Whether through commemorations, ceremonies or grass-root initiatives, she demonstrates how these have been used as distractions from the more recent unexamined past and in doing so provides an important new perspective on the cultural history of commemoration.

Alex Tomic is a linguist and historian. She worked as a translator and interpreter at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia from 1994 until 2003, and served as chief of language services at the International Criminal Court between 2003 and 2020. Alex was awarded a PhD in history in 2021 at the University of Leiden. She currently lectures at different universities on the topics of translation and interpretation in international jurisdictions.