“Though fictional, Wagner’s vivid portrayal of refugees forced into coexistence feels so real that readers ponder ‘what if...’”
—Simona Kruhar Gabršček, Marketing Magazine

“The power of faith, hope, and love in critical moments, masterfully written with sci-fi flair—proven a decade later as a real record of our transformative era.”
—Urška Krišelj Grubar, Samopomoč (supplement of Zarja)

“A monumental work born of decades studying WWII archives, placing Yugoslavia’s battlefield within a broader European framework.”
—Neva Zajc, Radio Koper

“Rooted in archival digs from Washington to Berlin and Moscow. ‘I come from no Partisan family’—Jože Pirjevec’s opening line.”
—Špela Kožar, TV Slovenija

“The author stated at the launch: he aimed not to glorify Partisans but to expose all truths—light and dark. Only thus can future generations know the full story.”
—STA News Agency

“Seeks to present the Partisan movement’s complexity and military significance.”
—www.rtvslo.si

“He vowed not to defend the Partisans. Did he succeed? Ultimately no—his readership’s divide proves it. Pirjevec openly declares his stance in the preface.”
—Ivan Puc, Reporter

“History-driven narrative sketches the Partisans’ origins—deemed Europe’s most intellectually grounded resistance. Notes how Communists gradually controlled the movement.”
—Uroš Škerl Kramberger, Dnevnik

“Partizani continues Pirjevec’s earlier work Tito and Comrades (2011). Research led to Tito’s unknown wartime memoirs in Belgrade—even archivists were unaware. This ‘thick stack’ became the new book’s foundation.”
—Reka Šav, Primorske novice

“Pirjevec underscores the Partisans’ role as a military link between Eastern and Western fronts—a forgotten strategic pivot.”
—Primorski dnevnik

“Pirjevec’s 944-page epic frames the movement within world history. Reads like a tense, tragic, and heroic drama teeming with characters.”
—Irena Štaudohar, Delo

“A quick scan reveals the book’s intent: to legitimize revolution via Partisan legacy. Yet Communists backed the Stalin-Hitler pact before endorsing a Yugoslav Soviet Republic to suppress Slovenes; Slovenia’s 1941 VOS Act confirms this.”
—Dr. Janez Juhant, Reporter

“Pirjevec connects this book to Tito and Comrades, citing Tito’s rediscovered manuscripts and firsthand accounts from Yugoslavia’s liberation struggle.”
—Novi glas

“Born June 1, 1940, in Trieste, the author survived the war as a child. For his 80th birthday, he gifts us this timely monument to Slovenian-Yugoslav Partisans.”
—Miha Naglič, Gorenjski glas

“Had this book emerged in 1985, it would have caused an uproar.”
—Bernard Nežmah, Mladina

“This scholarly work received the 'Excellence in Science’ award from Slovenia’s research agency.”
—Denis Sabadin, Primorske novice

“Nothing moved me this year like last year’s Partizani by historian Jože Pirjevec.”
—Zoran Predin, Nedelja

★Rights sold: Croatia and Russia.
★ Awarded the “Excellence in Science” Prize by Slovenia’s Public Research Agency (Javna agencija za raziskovalno dejavnost)!
★ Decades of research across 6 countries uncovered newly declassified archives in London, Washington, Moscow, etc. The discovery of Josip Broz Tito’s unpublished wartime notes redefined academic understanding.
★ Academy scholar’s lifelong work: Jože Pirjevec, member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, dedicated 40 years to Yugoslav history. Praised by cultural leaders like Zoran Predin as “the most shocking historical work in recent years.”
★ Multiperspective wartime truth: Dissects complex struggles between Partisans and rival forces (Chetniks, Ustashe, Ballists), confronts war crimes, and reveals how conviction reshaped WWII’s outcome.
Rights sold: Croatia and Russia.

World War II was the bloodiest ordeal in Yugoslav history. Did you know Balkan warfare involved forces beyond Partisans? That local casualties exceeded one million?

Discover these truths in Dr. Pirjevec’s Partizani—a product of decades of rigorous research.

The first panoramic account of the Partisan movement in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia!

How did Partisans and rival groups (Chetniks, Ustashe, Ballists, etc.) operate?

Who pulled strings behind the scenes?

How did Partisans navigate Axis powers, the USSR, and their own goals?

Unthinkable war crimes on all sides...

This long-awaited work unveils the movement’s origins, internal dynamics, and relations with the Allied coalition.

Jože Pirjevec

(b. 1940, Trieste), He is a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, has dedicated his research since the 1980s to Yugoslav history and wars.