The annexation of Kosovo by Serbia in 1945: historical, political and legal context

Abstract

"This study comprehensively addresses the process of Kosovo’s annexation by Serbia, which was concretized through the Second Assembly of the Anti-Fascist National Liberation Council of Kosovo and Metohija, known as the Assembly of Prizren (8–10 July 1945). This assembly, organized in a politically tense climate and under the direct control of the Yugoslav military administration, represents one of the most decisive moments in Kosovo’s political history during the 20th century. Delegates selected according to strict political criteria, the presence of armed forces, and the absence of democratic guarantees made the free expression of popular will impossible. Under these circumstances, a resolution prepared in advance in Belgrade was adopted, sanctioning the union of Kosovo with the People’s Republic of Serbia, completely bypassing the "right of the Albanians to self-determination. This act was in open contradiction with the Bujan Conference Resolution, which clearly recognized the right of the Albanian people of Kosovo to unite with Albania after the war. At the Assembly of Prizren, the “People’s Court of the Province” was established, a repressive body aimed at punishing political opponents and activists of the Albanian National Democratic Movement. This court imposed severe political penalties, targeting any form of resistance to the new Yugoslav authority. The laws passed in August and September 1945 institutionalized the annexation, designating Kosovo as the “Autonomous District of Kosovo and Metohija” within Serbia, with limited powers, a marked lack of real autonomy, and further territorial losses in several areas with an Albanian majority. The study is built not only on the developments of 1945 but also by placing the annexation process within a longer historical continuity. In this context, the paper begins with the period of Kosovo’s occupation and annexation by Serbia from October 1912, when Kosovo and the Albanian-inhabited territories in Macedonia and Montenegro were occupied by Serbian - Montenegrin armies. The decisions of the London Conference of Ambassadors sealed the partition of Albanian lands, leaving Kosovo and other Albanian areas outside the borders of the Albanian state. This period was characterized by systematic violence, mass displacement, and repressive policies aimed at altering the ethnic composition of Albanian territories. The study also analyzes the legal and administrative status of Kosovo during the First World War, its division into banovinas during the interwar period, as well as the partition of Kosovo into three occupation zones during the Second World War. The aim is to present the historical context that made the 1945 annexation possible in an objective and impartial manner, viewing it as a continuation of a policy built on the denial of the rights of the Albanians. The novelty of this study lies in its interdisciplinary approach and in the analysis of the historical, political, and legal basis of the annexation, while simultaneously examining Albanian efforts to resist the Yugoslav reoccupation, the Serbian political discourse on Kosovo, and the long-term consequences for the Albanian population. The paper relies on archival sources, local and international literature, as well as contemporary daily press, in accordance with the analytical, comparative, and chronological approaches of contemporary historiography.