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Mother Serbia (Serbian: Мајка Србија/Majka Srbija, Србија мати/Srbija mati; German: Mutter Serbien), Serb Mother (Serbian: Српска мајка/Srpska majka) or Mother of All Serbs (Serbian: Мајка свих Срба/Majka svih Srba) is a national personification of Serbia, which is the nation-state of Serbs. It was used as the metaphoric mother of all Serbs. Serbian national myths and poems constantly invoke Mother Serbia.
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The territories inhabited by ethnic Serbs outside Serbia can be represented as the children of Mother Serbia. Serbia may also be described as a daughter of Mother Serbia, alongside other Serb territories, as in Dragoslav Knežević's poem Mother Serbia: "One sister younger than the older Montenegro and Serbia, In peacetime and in war Krajina joins the Serbian flock".
19th century
Dositej Obradović (1739–1811) extensively used Mother Serbia in his works. The concept and term was used in many patriotic songs, such as Vostani Serbije, Oj Srbijo, mila mati, Oj Srbijo mati, etc.
On February 24, 1874, the "Serbian Liberation Committee for the Sanjak of Niš", known simply as the Niš Committee, was founded by local notables. Orthodox priest Petar Ikonomović swore Oath on the Christian cross and Gospel, reminiscent of the Orašac Assembly (1804). Ikonomović said:
Inter-war period
In 1940, Pavle Tatić wrote the drama Srpska majka.
World War II
The propaganda of the Serbian puppet Government of National Salvation included promoting Milan Nedić as "Mother of the Serbs", claiming that he cared and shielded the Serbs.
Yugoslav Wars
The expression was used during the Yugoslav Wars, referring to Mother Serbia's children in the west (outside Serbia and Montenegro) as the Republic of Serbian Krajina and Republika Srpska.
Milan Martić, President of the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK), argued, after the fall of RSK (Operation Storm), that "the people felt they had been deceived and abandoned by mother Serbia" for not protecting RSK.