Communist Yugoslavia Research Articles

Suvremena hrvatska povijest i nevolje s revizionizmom

U Hrvatskoj se pojam povijesni revizionizam javio početkom XX. stoljeća. Pojam revizionizam do tada je bio isključivo u sferi marksizma, što je u slučaju Hrvatske (i Jugoslavije) bila stvarnost od 1945. do 1990. godine. Pojam povijesni revizionizam uveo je Slavko Goldstein, osoba koja nije bila po vokaciji povjesničar, no taj je pojam od tada prisutan na lijevom krilu historiografije i hrvatskoga društva. U radu se objašnjavaju okolnosti kako je pojam ušao u uporabu i dovodi u pitanje smislenost njegova korištenja.

“Running into Madness to Stay Sane”: the Spirituality of Nature in the Autobiographical Texts of Female Prisoners from Goli Otok Prison Camp

The text concerns the camp for political prisoners established in 1949 in Yugoslavia on Goli Otok island. This theme was almost entirely absent from public discourse before the 1980s, and real changes and developments in discussions about this part of the history of postwar Yugoslavia occurred only after Tito’s death. Goli Otok as the largest and most infamous camp in communist Yugoslavia is considered a symbol, its name recognized as a synonym of a physical and psychological system for destroying people. In the text I analyze autobiographical texts written by women prisoners (such as Milka Žicina and Vera Cenic). A large number of female inmates were sentenced just for being related to or keeping close contact with a male “enemy of the state”. Thus women were treated not as independent subjects, but as mothers, sisters and wives subordinate to male family members. The social exclusion of women prisoners and their families exacerbated the feeling of isolation and continued after leaving the camp. I am interested in the detail of the strategies of storytelling which are related to spirituality (focusing on nature) both during the period of isolation, when they searched for a way to survive it, as well as after release when the women tried to start a new life.

Dialogue Document Without a Dialogue: Current Debates on World War II in Croatia

The article deals with the recent controversies over the interpretations of World War II. The dominant narrative of World War II, which was created after 1945 to ensure the basis of legitimacy for the Yugoslav Communist regime, was revised at the beginning of the 1990s. One of the consequences of this revision has been the upsurge of historical revisionism regarding the fascist Ustashe movement. After years of bitter debates that had divided and polarized the Croatian society, the government appointed in 2017 a special council to deal with the World War II past and make the recommendations on the public usage of the symbols and insignia of the 20th century “undemocratic regimes”. The final product of its work was the so-called Dialogue Document whose provisions and impact are dealt with in the second part of the text.

Ethnic Dimension in Kosovo, Security and its Consequences in Transition

Historically, the inter-ethnic conflict in Kosovo has been made for its territory. Both sides, Serbs and Albanians, have voiced allegations of history and ethno-demography to justify their supposedly exclusive right over this ethnically mixed territory. According to the London Conferences (1912-13), Versailles (1919) and Paris (1946) and against the free will of its Albanian population, Kosovo has become part of Yugoslavia. After the Second World War with the establishment of Communist Yugoslavia Kosovo Albanians were given a degree of autonomy within the framework of Serbia. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991, the Kosovo Albanian population organized a referendum in which independence was elected. On the other hand, Serbian authorities insisted on Kosovo's constitutional status as an integral part of Serbia. Kosovo represents important challenges and also the opportunity to fulfill human rights guarantees and promises of international co-operation. Where ethnic tensions and violence share societies, as is the case with Kosovo, respect for minority rights promotes conditions for political, social, and peace stability. In such societies, different national, ethnic, religious and linguistic groups have the opportunity to live together, communicate effectively and understand the value of differences between themselves and cultural diversity in their societies.

La fin de la Yougoslavie dans l’histoire scolaire française

À partir d’un examen des programmes et manuels d’histoire-géographie en vigueur dans les lycées français depuis les années 2000, des contextes d’enseignement et des débats au sein de la communauté scolaire et dans l’espace public, cet article vise à éclairer les usages publics de l’histoire de l’Europe à partir du cas yougoslave. En examinant les récurrences et a contrario les ellipses dans l’évolution des références à la Yougoslavie, en particulier au sein des problématiques de l’Europe, du communisme et des conflits du xx e siècle, il est possible de documenter les liens – interactions, dépendances, influences, passages – entre fabrique de l’histoire scolaire, circulation des références et construction des savoirs, au regard des débats sur le rôle traditionnel en France de l’histoire-géographie dans la formation du citoyen et de la nation. Cet article entend questionner les enjeux mémoriels et historiographiques touchant la Yougoslavie socialiste dans une perspective transnationale en offrant la possibilité de comparer des évolutions concernant les usages publics de l’histoire de l’Europe.

Odnos jugoslavenskoga i albanskoga komunističkog vrha od kraja Drugoga svjetskog rata do prekida odnosa (1945. – 1948.)

Članak se bavi temom odnosa vrha jugoslavenske i albanske komunističke partije od kraja Drugoga svjetskog rata do prekida odnosa sredinom 1948. godine. Do proljeća 1947. odnosi dviju partija poticali su razvoj gospodarske i vojne suradnje dviju zemalja. Ipak, patronat vrha Komunističke partije Jugoslavije nad Komunističkom partijom Albanije i samom Albanijom bio je prevelik za dio albanskoga rukovodstva. Kada je jugoslavenski vrh u proljeće 1947. odbio albanski gospodarski plan, odnosi su se počeli znatnije pogoršavati, što se sve više prenosilo i na odnose između Albanaca i Jugoslavena na radu u toj zemlji. Sovjetski Savez intervenirao je kada je Federativna Narodna Republika Jugoslavija htjela poslati divizije u Albaniju za zaštitu njezinih južnih granica s Grčkom. Do tada su (početkom 1948.) gospodarski odnosi dviju zemalja već pretrpjeli znatnu štetu. No, najveća šteta nastala je u odnosima među dvjema partijama i među ljudima. Međunarodni sukob Federativne Narodne Republike Jugoslavije i Sovjetskoga Saveza potaknut Rezolucijom Informbiroa bio je tako samo katalizator prekida već ozbiljno narušenih odnosa.

Angel of Oblivion. Literature and memory politics in Austria

Why is memory politics such a contested field? Why is it so hard to change narratives, overcome enemy images, and draw “objective” pictures of the past? In what way can works of art break the ice and promote “dangerous memories” (Bekerman/Zembylas 2012, 22)? How can works of art, and especially literature, use their aesthetic potential to help achieve attitude changes?In this paper, I examine these questions through the lens of literary criticism. I focus on Maja Haderlap’s novel Angel of Oblivion in order to illustrate several typical features of (not just) Austria’s memory politics after World War II: on the one hand, Austria’s claim as Hitler’s first victim; the depreciation of the (Slovenian) anti-fascist partisans; the relativization of Nazi crimes by pointing at the (real or fictional) crimes of Yugoslav communists, and as a consequence the denial of the minority rights of Carinthian (and Styrian) Slovenians. And on the other hand, the struggle for a democratic and honest memory culture – not only within Austria’s borders but beyond, in the entire “Alps-Adriatic” region. Haderlap’s book is itself a wonderful example of the success of this ongoing endeavour.

A day of unfinished mourning: Historicizing commemorative practices of Bleiburg among the Croatian diaspora in Argentina

The Croatian post-Second World War diaspora in Argentina developed a specific identity due to the historical context of its exile (the war defeat of the Nazi-aligned Independent State of Croatia, the postwar killings of the defeated troops and the civilians at Bleiburg, Austria, with subsequent death marches in 1945—commonly referred to as “Bleiburg,” and the eventual forced migration) that served as a baseline of its identity across generations. While in Communist Yugoslavia Bleiburg was practically a taboo, the efforts to preserve its memory were carried out by the Croatian political exiles in Argentina as of 1947. This article explores historical memory practices of Bleiburg among the Croatian diaspora in Argentina. Based on an analysis of written, photographic, and audiovisual material, as well as personal testimonies, the study identifies five major periods of memory of the Croatian diaspora in Argentina from 1947 until today. The results of the study show a tendency of double and cumulative victimization: while the first generation was framed as victims of the postwar killings and exile, the post-memory generation also perceives itself as long-term victims of Tito’s Yugoslavia because of being born in Argentina. There is an intergenerational transmission of memory throughout the described five periods, and the real change of generations occurs when the survivors perish and new memory entrepreneurs take over the commemorations. The post-memory generation framed commemorations in such a way that they serve to reinforce their identity and enable them to resignify their community history, while maintaining their sense of uniqueness toward both the country where they were born and the country their grandparents were forced to leave.

Neither Secular State nor Laical Republic? Legal Position of Religious Communities in Communist Yugoslavia – Legal Framework Analysis

The paper is a contribution to a scholarly debate on the controversial secular nature of the communist state. It aims to challenge a presumed affiliation of Yugoslav communist model of church and state separation to French laical approach through examination of legal status of religious communities in Yugoslavia between 1946 and 1991. Methodologically restricted to a normative analysis of basic legal framework, the paper particularly sheds light on religious liberty, religious education and public funding of religious communities. It detects signs of evolution in official legal politics towards religion and emphasizes differences between the eight parallel Yugoslav legal systems that existed since the mid-seventies. Strictly analytical, the achieved results justify plausibility of starting presumption without pretending to give a final answer. As such, the paper presents a groundwork for further enquiries that would combine its normative findings with relevant sociological and historical data.

Communities of the Dead: Secularizing Cemeteries in Communist Yugoslavia

Communities of the Dead: Secularizing Cemeteries in Communist Yugoslavia

Ni sekularna država ni laička republika? Pravni položaj verskih zajednica u Komunističkoj Jugoslaviji - normativna analiza zakonskog okvira

The paper is a contribution to a scholarly debate on the controversial secular nature of the Communist state. It aims to challenge a presumed affiliation of Yugoslav Communist model of church and state separation to French laical approach through examination of legal status of religious communities in Yugoslavia between 1946 and 1991. Methodologically restricted to a normative analysis of basic legal framework, the paper particularly sheds light on religious liberty, religious education and public funding of religious communities. It detects signs of evolution in official legal politics towards religion and emphasizes differences between the eight parallel Yugoslav legal systems that existed since the mid-seventies. Strictly analytical, the achieved results justify plausibility of starting presumption without pretending to give a final answer. As such, the paper presents a groundwork for further enquiries that would combine its normative findings with relevant sociological and historical data.

Milovan Đilas and the British Labour Party, 1950-1960

The article deals with Milovan Đilas’ political transformation presented through an analysis of his connections with the British Labourites, and with the reaction of the Labour Party to the Đilas Affair. After the dispute with the Cominform, Yugoslav leaders tried to initiate alternative international contacts through Western socialist and social democratic parties, considering the most suitable partner the British Labour Party. Official contacts with the latter were established in 1950, the key role in the dialogue with the British Labourites played by the head of the Commission for International Relations, Milovan Đilas. In the aftermath of the Đilas Affair, the once warm relations between the British Labourites and Yugoslav Communists grew rather cool, but the leadership of the Labour Party did not wish to compromise their relations with Yugoslavia, and therefore reacted to it with considerable wariness. Although Yugoslavia remained an authoritarian state under the leadership of the Communist Party, in the eyes of the West it continued to represent a significant factor in the destabilisation of the Eastern Bloc, and the friendly relationship between the Labour Party and the Yugoslav Communists were primarily based on foreign policy interests of the two parties. In the second half of the 1950s, the relationship between the Labour Party and the Yugoslav Communists rested, even more than before, on pragmatic geopolitical consideration and not on ideological affinity; the interest of the British Labourites in the Yugoslav self-management experiment decreased significantly, as did the Yugoslav interest in democratic socialism, the idea that Đilas was so passionate about.

Većeslav Holjevac - Forgotten Dissident

Croatian politician Većeslav Holjevac (1917-1970) has been remembered as one of the most successful mayors of the city of Zagreb. However, his character and political work are scarcely known to the public today. His merits in the cultural sphere are mostly forgotten, as well as the fact that he was one of the most important Croatian dissidents. His case delineates the issue of the Croatian national reform movement known as the Croatian Spring. Due to his solid character he was not afraid to defend his standpoints, even in the fights with communist comrades who were higher in the hierarchy of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, which caused his political decline. The article presents the critical moments of his dissent and political disagreement with his comrades that led him to the role of the party renegade. The article also discusses the claims that Holjevac's was to become the leader of the Croatian Spring.

Religious Practices in Communist Yugoslavia: The Celebration of Christmas in St George’s Church in Titovo Užice in 1956

The Communist Party of Yugoslavia passed in 1947 a guideline prohibiting the celebration of religious holidays outside the church, while the government of the FPRY sent an order, through a confidential circular in 1948, for the Catholic and Orthodox Christmas not to be officially recognized any longer. Church celebration of Christmas in the period after the adoption of these prohibitions is observed on the occasion of marking the "most joyous day of the priesthood and people" in St. George’s Church in Titovo Užice in 1956. Three narratives are compared with comparative analysis: a description of the church celebration of Christmas recorded in the Chronicle of the Užice churches and parishes of 1939, a description of the church celebration of Christmas recorded in the Chronicle of the Užice churches and parishes of 1956, and a description of the church celebration of Christmas in the Church of the Holy Virgin in Jablanica in 1958, recorded in a conversation conducted by the author of the text in 2018 with a respondent who served from 1958 as a priest in the church municipality of Dobroselica. Based on the observed similarities and differences in church celebration of Christmas in two temporal contexts (pre-socialist and socialist) and two spatial (urban and rural), conclusions are drawn about the implications of specific ambient socio-economic relations between the state and the church in socialist organization.

Delovanje taborišča Šentvid

The article deals with the operation of the Yugoslav communist camp for political prisoners and prisoners of war, which was founded by Ozna (Department for the Protection of the People) in the institution Škofovi zavodi (Bishop’s institutions) in Šentvid nad Ljubljano immediately after the end of the Second World War in May 1945. A more detailed overview of the regime in the Šentvid camp shows that internees dealt with severe overcrowding, severe hunger, poor hygienic conditions, frequent health problems, and various forms of physical and psychological violence. As a result, some of the prisoners died already in the camp, and many of them were taken to be executed at killing grounds without any judicial processes, especially to the killing grounds in the area of Kočevski rog. The only releases of a large number of internees took place after the amnesty in August 1945; only a few internees at the Šentvid camp lived long enough to have reached them.

Talking Past Each Other: Language and Post-World War II Killings in Slovenia

ABSTRACTIn the initial weeks after the end of World War II, Josip Broz Tito’s new communist Yugoslav regime summarily executed perhaps 70,000–100,000 (the figures are estimates and disputed) Yugoslav Axis collaborators and opponents of the regime. Public discussion of the killings was taboo in communist Yugoslavia for over three decades. Only in the 1980s, with the loosening of the state’s monopoly on the narrative of World War II, were the killings tentatively and reluctantly acknowledged by the regime in Slovenia. Yugoslavia’s disintegration and the independence of its constituent republics accelerated this process, and gave way to fierce public debate and polemic, which shows little sign of waning, over the narrative and memory of Slovenia’s World War II experience and the postwar killings. Yet missing has been an analysis of the limitations of the language employed in describing and debating the postwar killings, where the use of a single word can betray the assumed ideological convictions of its speaker. “Talking Past Each Other” first offers a historical survey of how the postwar killings have been spoken of (or not) since 1945, navigating the highly divisive contemporary memory politics and memorial landscape in Slovenia. It then examines the ongoing language war over the postwar killings by analysing how suitable some of the more common terms are in describing the killings, including “massacre,” “terror,” “revolutionary violence,” “vengeance/settling of accounts,” “war crimes,” “crimes against humanity,” and “genocide.” It finally offers some tentative suggestions for less controversial terminology that may form the basis for a more historically reflective and less divisive discussion.

‘Peace and happiness await us’: Psychotherapy in Yugoslavia, 1945–85

Previous accounts of psychiatry within Communist Europe have emphasized the dominance of biological approaches to mental health treatment. Psychotherapy was thus framed as a taboo or marginal component of East European psychiatric care. In more recent years, this interpretation has been re-examined as historians are beginning to delve deeper into the diversity of mental healthcare within the Communist world, noting many instances in which psychotherapeutic techniques and theory entered into clinical practice. Despite their excellent work uncovering these hitherto neglected histories, however, historians of the psy-disciplines in Eastern Europe (and indeed other parts of the world) have neglected to fully consider the ways that post-World War II psychotherapeutic developments were not simply continuations of pre-war psychoanalytic traditions, but rather products of emerging transnational networks and knowledge exchanges in the post-war period. This article highlights how psychotherapy became a leading form of treatment within Communist Yugoslavia. Inspired by theorists in France and the United Kingdom, among other places, Yugoslav practitioners became well versed in a number of psychotherapeutic techniques, especially ‘brief psychotherapy’ and group-based treatment. These developments were not accidents of ideology, whereby group psychotherapy might be accepted by authorities as a nod to some idea of ‘the collective’, but were rather products of economic limitations and strong links with international networks of practitioners, especially in the domains of social psychiatry and group analysis. The Yugoslav example underscores the need for more historical attention to transnational connections among psychotherapists and within the psy-disciplines more broadly.

The Entanglements of Europe: History, Geography, Identity

Europe is a continent of extraordinary variety and diversity geographically, ethnically, nationally, culturally, economically and politically. Yet at the same time all its parts are and always have been so deeply linked by their destiny that this continent can accurately be described as a single albeit complex political entity. Anything crucial in any area of human endeavour occurring anywhere in Europe always has had both direct and indirect consequences for our continent as a whole. The history of Europe is, in fact, the history of a constant searching and reshaping of its internal structures and the relationship of its parts. Today, if we talk about a single European civilization or about common European values, history, traditions, and destiny, what we are referring to is more the fruit of this tendency toward integration than its cause.

University Intelligentsia in the Making of Maps: Post-university Networks and Political Change in Slovenia and Poland

The present paper is a result of research done in Slovenia and Poland while the author was a fellow of the Open Society Institute, Budapest between March 2002 and March 2003. The paper looks into the role of a section of university educated intelligentsia in the making of independent Slovenia out of communist Yugoslavia and in the transition of Poland from a one-party communist rule to a multi-party democracy.

Rad osnovnih škola u Dalmaciji na kraju NOB-a (školska 1944/1945. godina)

During the people's revolution in Yugoslavia, an educational and cultural revolution took place as its integral element. Antifascist organizations, under the leadership of the Yugoslav Communist Party which led the struggle for national liberation, sponsored the endeavours in education and culture.The first Partisan schools on the liberated territory in Dalmatia during 1942—1944 worked in difficult conditions. Normal school activity was hampered by frequent enemy attacks carried out both by the occupater and by domestic traitors. Most school buildings were burned down, plundered and destroyed. In some places classes were held in the open air or in private residences. Reading was taught using proclamations and leaflets, but by the end of 1944 first and second grade pupils received an »Abecedarian« and »Primer« which faciliated the process of learning to read and write.Elementary school activity became more organized and systematic with the establishment of the National Liberation Administrative Committee for Dalmatia (January 1943) and its Department of Education, which took upon itself the task òf organizing schools. There was a lack of teaching staff so that young people were instructed in teaching courses for work in elementary schools. These courses gave them the most essential professional, pedagogical and political knowhow which was of aid to them in organized classroom activity and in the education of adults.After the liberation of Dalmatia, the schools for teachers in Šibenik and Dubrovnik were reopened, while a third one was established in Split. Their self-sacrificing work with children in the classroom and amongst adults earned the teachers the respect of the populace so that the interest of the people for schooling was great. Schools and education were a con- szituent part of the national liberation struggle.The system of schooling and of the education of children and adolescents during the renewal of Yugoslavia and its buildup of a socialist society, developed on the foundations from which sprang the elementary schools and adult education.