Call M.M. When You Want to Smear Croatia” (Part 3)

“Freedom of expression includes the freedom to publicly show yourself to be an idiot.” Such categorical statements about people of different opinions are evidently a part of Mchael Marten’s repertoire, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) correspondent for Southeast Europe. Martens is undoubtedly a talented and competent journalist, and FAZ has been a pioneer of comprehensive and balanced reporting for many years.

The statement quoted above may seem exaggerated, but in the case of Martens and his reporting on Croats, it is surprisingly often valid – as Martens’ assessment of himself. Since Martens took over reporting on Croatia from his colleague Klaus-Peter Schwarz, his transgressions have become so frequent that they can hardly be called accidental mistakes. His sarcastic comments about Croats on social media, in the style of a colonial master, are further proof of this.

On one occasion, it was the Croatian checkerboard coat of arms, a 15th-century Habsburg invention, which Martens portrayed as inherently fascist . On another occasion, it was a planned gas pipeline that would make Bosnia and Herzegovina independent of Russian gas. Martens was bothered by the fact that Croats wanted to build and operate the pipeline because it would pass through territory inhabited mainly by Croats. This creates the impression that Martens is deliberately using sources who seek to denigrate Croatia and therefore spread one false claim after another.

These sources include ethnic Serbs and pro-Yugoslav Croats. The first Croatian president, Franjo Tuđman, once estimated that the two latter groups, when combined into one, constituted up to 30% of the population. According to recent election results, this group, which is loudly represented in the media, represents a maximum of 13% of the population. The renowned Croatian mathematician Josip Pečarić, whose opinion Martens never asked for, succinctly put it: “Anyone who declares themselves a Chetnik (Serbian royalists known for numerous war crimes) is an honest Chetnik. Anyone who declares themselves a Yugoslav is a rotten Chetnik.” The irony is based on the closely similar opinions held by Serbian nationalists and Croatian “internationalists”, both of whom are connected to Belgrade.

These groups regularly try to present Croatia as a problematic case. Invented accusations of fascism are a common tactic. The connection with the Nazis is constructed as if National Socialism was a Croatian invention. In contrast, Croatia has the lowest crime rate in Europe . Croatia is also among the best in the world in the spheres of kindness, peace and social inclusion. In this context, the question arises: where, outside of Michael Martens’ and his informants’ imagination can these numerous right-wing extremists, fascists and Nazis be found?

His informants include the writer Miljenko Jergović, the political scientist Dejan Jović and the historian Ivo Goldstein. Goldstein, a Yugoslav in Yugoslavia and a Jew in Croatia, even though his mother and grandmothers were Croatian, claimed in a completely serious tone of voice on Croatian television a few years ago that Hitler had delivered a huge bone crusher to his Croatian ally Pavelić in order to get rid of the victims in the Jasenovac camp in April 1945 . Since then, colleagues such as Vladimir Geiger have ironically called him “The Crusher” – apparently this was not a problem for Martens.

Martens’ latest article (“Right-wing extremist slogans on the biggest Croatian stage”, is part of this series. In it, he reports on the concert by Marko Perković Thompson, which took place in Zagreb on July 5, 2025, in front of more than half a million visitors. Although Martens himself was not present, he again relies on Serbian sources and constructs numerous links to World War II. He is particularly critical of the greeting “For the Homeland, ready!”, which he exclusively associates with World War II. This greeting originated long before World War II, and was also used during the defence of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina from Serbian aggression from 1991 to 1995, and can be considered part of Croatian tradition.

Evidence of this can be found in numerous recordings, for example, of the Muslim-Croat defenders of the city of Bihać surrounded by Serbs in 1992 . Even Milutin Kekin, a Serb immigrant and husband of Možemo MP Ivana Kekin, used this greeting at a concert in 2004. Former Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Andrija Hebrang, of Jewish origins, has repeatedly confirmed the widespread use of this greeting during the 1991-95 Homeland War in Croatia. Such eyewitness accounts clearly do not interest Martens.

It is well known that Franjo Tuđman initially rejected this salute. Faced with widespread acceptance, the wise pragmatist relented and included the HOS (Croatian Defence Forces) unit and its salute in the Croatian Defenders Act. His younger son Stjepan, a completely apolitical person, went a step further: In a newspaper article, he called on the Croatian government to register this salute as a Croatian trademark.

Martens presents himself as an expert in history, but he seems to systematically ignore important sources. His references to historian Alexander Korb are selective. Martens immediately connects every current event with alleged or real crimes committed by Croats during World War II. In doing so, he completely ignores critical analyses by historians such as Hannah Arendt. Arendt mentions Croatia positively in her book “Eichmann in Jerusalem” in the context of “honorary Aryan rights”, which saved numerous Jews, and in her work “The Origin of Totalitarianism” she does not mention the Jasenovac camp or other alleged Croatian crimes. Does that make her a Holocaust denier?

Furthermore, Martens claims that half a million people were killed in the Independent State of Croatia, although official and allied archives state significantly lower figures. A report by Waffen-SS General Arthur Phleps (DA NS 19/2154) from 1944, for example, mentions only about 1,600 victims within a single year (1943 to 1944).

The results of the 1931 and 1948 censuses in Yugoslavia contradict Martens’ claim of genocide against Serbs, as the Orthodox population (Serbs, Macedonians, Montenegrins) increased by one million, while the Catholic population (Croats, Slovenes, ethnic Germans, Hungarians) decreased by the same number. This clearly shows who committed genocide against whom.

In general, Martens seems not to be interested in facts, but in politically motivated vilification of Croatia. The closeness of his views to the propaganda of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is striking. Martens does not speak to either prominent or ordinary Croats, yet he claims to have the authority to interpret Croatia’s past and present.

The greatest transgression of Martens and FAZ, however, lies in their disregard for logic and equal treatment. When Ukrainian soldiers use the “Glory to Ukraine” salute, which was also used in World War II, it is completely logical and positive for them. However, for Croats, a completely different rule applies – the one prescribed in Belgrade, although the Croatian defenders successfully defended themselves under much more difficult conditions of the United Nations arms embargo.

From today’s perspective, it seems as if the series “Call M.M. when you want to smear Croatia” will continue. Dr. Josip Stjepandic

Dr. Josip Stjepandic, President, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in the Diaspora and Homeland