National Security—Historical Analysis of the Yugoslav Security Services—Directorate of the YPA Counterintelligence Service—Ten-Year Report—Fight against the Enemy 1944–1954

Abstract

The book by Dr. Darko Trifunović is divided into two main parts. The first part of the book offers the author’s views about the context of events and activities in the specified period, as well as a presentation of the activities of some, according to the author, representative persons whose cases are also mentioned in the book.The second part of the book contains the original document created in the XII Department of the Yugoslav People’s Army (YPA, which will further be abbreviated according to the Serbian language: JNA) by the General Staff, that is, the Counterintelligence Service (known as KOS, an abbreviation that remained in colloquial jargon even after several reorganizations) responsible for acting within the armed forces, and members of the armed forces.The aforementioned document was written in May 1954 in the Counterintelligence Directorate of the JNA. It is marked with the highest security mark: Top secret. The document contains 190 pages (one page is missing in the archived original, which the author specifically marked). The document covers the activities of the KOS JNA from 1944 to 1954. On May 13, 1944, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, in his capacity as commander in chief, signed a document on the establishment of the Order on the Establishment of the Department for the Protection of the People (known as OZN-a). The goal of founding the OZN-a was to create a strong organization that worked as a political police abroad and in the occupied territory but also as a counterintelligence service in the military units (Peoples Liberation Army of Yugoslavia—NOVJ, in Serbian). The OZN-a was mostly filled with the best and most loyal cadres of the Communist Party. The OZN-a was created as the “sword and the shield” of the Communist Party. From the beginning of its creation, it was said that when peacetime conditions would be created, the OZN-a would be divided into “civilian” and “military” segments. Members of the OZN-a were remembered, by the public, as extremely cruel and ruthless persons. This is also stated in this document on page 22, where it describes the organization of the arrest and liquidation of persons who were arrested, interrogated by the OZN-a in the liberated area, and finally liquidated:On March 13, 1946, with the transition to peacetime working conditions and organization, the OZN-a was reorganized. The previous Section 3 was separated into a special service and changed its name to the JNA Counter-Intelligence Service (KOS JNA), that is, XII Counterintelligence Directorate within the Ministry of National Defense. It was at this time that this document was written. In the next reorganization, on December 14, 1955 (several months after the drafting of this document), the KOS JNA changed its name and became the Security Directorate of the Ministry of National Defense.This document is interesting and useful for research for several reasons:This document confirms the need to know the history of various intelligence and security services in the context of studying modern security threats because the methods and objectives have not changed to the extent that, due to new technical, technological, and communication systems and development, goals try to achieve imposing one’s own will on others while protecting one’s information and cognitive space from unwanted external influences.