POWER AND POWERLESSNESS OF MONUMENTS We must keep brotherhood and unity as the apple of our eye. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ceased to exist during WWII. It was carved up between four occupying forces. Its territory became part of the occupying states. Different systems of occupation and quisling formations emerged.
Both civil and international war were fought on its territory. Ethnic cleansings were performed. National Liberation War was organized by the communists under the slogan of brotherhood and unity of all Yugoslav nations. The liberation of Yugoslavia after four years of severe fighting between July of 1941 and May of 1945
And an authentic revolution were therefore the basis on which the post-war generation of Partisan politicians built its legitimacy. In historical memory National Liberation War became mythologized and connected to the cult of Josip Broz Tito, who lead the resistance.
It was sustained by the school system, holidays and celebrations, movies, comic books, music and places of remembrance. Early memorials reflect the style of socialist realism. Later, came the addition of western influences and the unique approach of the Yugoslav artists, who were granted the creative freedom.
Thus the unique combination of remembrance was formed over the years. Monuments, statues, mosaics and other works of art are not based solely on monumentality. Their artistic value is reflected in the power of expression full of symbols of pain, struggle and hope. After Tito’s death in 1980, the antifascist and socialist culture of remembrance
Was gradually replaced by the nationalist, anticommunist and anti-partisan one. This lead to the bloody dissolution of the country. Political elites in individual republics were trying to strengthen their position and their concept of national countries with established ethnic borders
By reevaluating WWII and blaming others for the crimes committed during the national and civil war. Collaboration was trivialized or lauded. Everything connected to the assessment of antifascist and socialist past, artworks especially, became the subject of polemics, political attacks and removal.
This was the basis for the decision of the new states and local authorities to demolish monuments, rename streets and schools and otherwise revise history. In each of the 6 Yugoslav republics and 2 autonomous provinces one town was named after Tito. After the breakup all of the names have been reverted.
In Slovenia, the removal was especially prominent during the 90s. Later, monuments were being removed under pretense of restoration and then never returned to their places. Removal was also hindered by Slovenian conscious civic society that defended the partisan monuments. The largest destruction of the monuments of the National Liberation War
Was performed in Croatia – around 3.700, according to the available information of the National Liberation War Veterans Association. Monuments, connected to Ustaše and Catholicism or Homeland War and independence, were erected in place of the partisan monuments. In Serbia and Montenegro the extensive removal of the National Liberation War monuments was not carried out.
However, due to social changes and new wars they have lost their symbolic value, which lead to their gradual degradation. Meanwhile, new monuments were erected with intent to rehabilitate the Chetnik movement, different forms of collaboration and its representatives. The attitude of Serbia and Croatia was also adopted in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
However, Bosnian people still maintain a positive view of the National Liberation War, which also marks the beginning of their statehood. In Macedonia, which was granted its nationality and its own republic in Tito’s Yugoslavia, they resorted to distorting of the past, which is rooted in the recent history.
The process of rewriting history stretches far into antiquity and has lead to historically unfounded, megalomaniacal, anachronistic and kitschy solutions. Skopje was named the capital of kitsch. Even so, Macedonians continued to treat partisan monuments with respect, most notably in Prilep, which was the heart of the Macedonian national liberation movement.
In Kosovo, which also became an autonomous state, the main partisan monument in Priština remained intact. We are in the village of Dražgoše, high up in Poljane Valley. This village is known for the Battle of Dražgoše. Behind us we can see an impressive monument, where commemorations are held every year.
The monument is very well maintained. It is one of the biggest symbols of Partisan movement in Slovenia. In the winter of 1941 and the beginning of 1942 the Battle of Dražgoše took place here. It formed a part of the wider Poljane uprising and therefore a part of the Partisan-controlled liberated territory.
After 3 days of brutal fighting the Germans managed to enter the village and the Partisans retreated. The Germans killed 41 villagers and burned down the village. The Poljane uprising in itself prevented the annexation of German occupied territories in Slovenia to the German Reich. First it was postponed for 6 months and later abandoned
Due to the Partisan resistance in other parts of Slovenia as well. We are currently in Republic Square, former Revolution Square, which was designed by the architect Edo Ravnikar and his coworkers. The buildings around us symbolize the success of socialist Slovenia in the Republic of Yugoslavia.
The monument behind us was designed by the sculptor Drago Tršar and the architect Vladimir Mušič. It is one of the largest and we could also say the heaviest monuments, not only in Slovenia but also in the region of the former Yugoslavia. It commemorates the oppression and also the resistance of the nation.
It was completed in 1975. After the proclamation of independence in 1991 they have been trying to remove it in various ways. First they privatized the garage, which is underneath us. That didn’t work, so they kept trying. Lately, they have been trying to replaced it by a monument to the independence,
Because Slovenian independence was also proclaimed on this square. Next to the monument there is a plaque with a paragraph from the Constitution, where it was written, among other things, that we began to create a society in which man and his work would be freed from exploitation and arbitrariness
And in which the conditions for the free and comprehensive development of the Slovenian nation would be created. Sadly nowadays those words are too often forgotten. During the era of Yugoslavia various commemorations were held here. Many people and school excursions came. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, however, vandals have completely devastated the monument,
Destroyed the interior and plundered the museum, library and shops. As we can see, the exterior was also destroyed, most of the steel panels by which it was covered have been stripped. The looting and devastation continues to date. Many monuments have been destroyed in Croatia. Well, I will tell you what I think.
This was otherwise a Serbian village and they maintained it. Is this your first time here? First time If you take the path behind, you will reach the site of the Partisan cemetery. There is a memorial ossuary, which they wanted to remove many times,
But it still remains in place, the names are still there. This was preserved only because of the locals, everywhere else it sadly disappeared. But why were the partisan monuments destroyed? Because they were communists, because of the hate for that system from the Croatian Democratic Union and proponents of Greater Croatia.
Nationalism prevailed and those are the consequences. The narrative that Tito is a criminal was predominant during the 90s. Nowadays they have calmed down a bit, but I think the same thing happened in Serbia. In memory of this story, this suffering, this struggle and resistance
A beautiful museum was constructed here in Jablanica during the later years. The biggest movie project of the former Yugoslavia, Battle of Neretva, was filmed. It is interesting, however, that the memory of this story is honored here in Jablanica,
Even though the battle started already in January of 1943 and that one of the main locations of the battle was located higher up at Makljen, where Partisans pushed back the strong Axis powers. The monument there is not so well maintained and does not reflect the situation here.
On this postcard from the 80s we can see how the monument looked before it was demolished. The monument was not demolished during the 90s, that is, during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1991 and 1995, but in time of peace in 2000.
Vandals, who destroyed this monument, have not been found to date. These ruins are a textbook example of attempting to erase the memory of the tragedy and struggle of the Partisans, fighters for freedom and a more just world.
It seems that it was destroyed by the vandals, who prevailed in the 2nd half of the 90s in the region of Yugoslavia and by the nationalism, that sought to erase the memory of these events or reinterpret them as communist, socialist, as something that needs to be forever erased from memory.
How would you describe the attitude towards partisan monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina now in 2023? I think that since the 90s two trends have prevailed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. One is nationalist and the other is nationalism with an addition of European values of the western democracy.
Both of these trends are built upon the destruction of everything that was and is connected to the idea of the national liberation war against occupying forces, imperialism and for the freedom of our nations. Fruška gora was the heart of the resistance in Vojvodina,
Which is mainly flat, so Partisans were able to hide and act from here. This monument has another characteristic. It was erected in 1950 as a kind of a parallel monument or a counterpart to a very similar monument in a town of Batina on the Croatian side of the Danube,
Which is dedicated to the Red Army and the Soviet soldiers. There they and the Yugoslav Partisan units launched an offensive on the Danube and after very heavy fighting breached the German defenses,
Which allowed the Red Army to push further north along the eastern border of the Yugoslav territory as well as Slovenian towards Vienna. Along the former Brotherhood and Unity Highway linking Zagreb and Belgrade and right after the Lipovac border crossing point on Serbian side stands the monument to the Syrmian Front.
The front existed between 21. 10. 1944 and the April of 1945 in this area, where the Nazis and the Ustaše NDH forces built a defense line against the Partisan units and the Partisan units breached it in this place with the help of the Soviet Red Army.
My name is Nemanja Obradović, curator of the National Museum Užice. Welcome to Užice, a town, which was known as Tito’s Užice after WWII. Why was Tito’s statue removed from the main square and placed here behind the museum?
Tito’s statue stood on Partisans’ square from its construction in the 60s until the political changes in 1991. In the wake of those political changes it was relocated to the museum’s courtyard and has been here since. What kind of polemics or dilemmas surrounded the question of the statue’s fate?
There have been many work proposals to even melt it down, but reason prevailed and saved the monument. However, I believe that as a part of the cultural legacy a testament of a certain time should have been left on the square.
Statue of the Partisan fighter Stjepan Filipović who was hanged by the Germans in the main square in Valjevo during the WWII. As they were hanging him, he raised his arms and urged the people to resist the occupying forces and shouted out anti-Nazi slogans.
A widely known black-and-white photograph was taken at that moment that served as the basis on which the sculptor Vojin Bakić made the statue that looms over Valjevo today. According to the locals, the statue has been damaged multiple times, mostly by graffiti. This began after the breakup of Yugoslavia.
A statue of Stjepan Filipović was also erected in his home town of Opuzen in Croatia. That statue was completely demolished during the breakup of Yugoslavia and an industrial hall stands in its place today.
We are in Ulcinj, in the south of Montenegro, in front of the Freedom Monument dedicated to the local freedom fighters. Montenegro generally takes good care of its antifascist monuments, they have also cataloged them. This booklet lists 11 most attractive ones, made by once eminent Yugoslav architects and sculptors.
However, revisions of history have also been occurring in Montenegro. Besides the traditional divide between Chetniks and Partisans, there is also an interference from the Orthodox Church, which is trying to claim the victims of the antifascist struggle as we can see in Dola, for example.
In recent times we can mostly see the attempts to erode the Montenegrin statehood. And because the Montenegrin statehood, its 2nd statehood in Yugoslavia, was built on the antifascist struggle and the Republic of Montenegro grew from resistance and revolution, that endangers the memory of the antifascist struggle.
Today we are recording in Kolašin in the north of Montenegro. We have traveled here because of a different kind of monument. Until then, monuments connected to National Liberation War were predominately depicting heroes, portraits and other similar things.
Here, however, we see a building designed by a Slovenian architect Mušič and the idea was to construct a sort of a functioning monument. So, the building behind us, which is evidently not in its best condition, was intended for cultural and other functions, even an administrative one.
It serves as a town hall today. It, however, forms a part of a larger complex. To my left there is a park with multiple monuments to the national heroes as well as a monument dedicated to all the fighters. Podgorica is one of the few places in the countries of the former Yugoslavia,
Where after its dissolution they erected a statue, that is connected to the Partisans or something in that vein, especially a statue of Marshal Tito as the one behind me. Anyone, who recognizes this statue, will know that it is the famous work of Antun Augustinčić. The statue has been standing here since 2018.
Before that, it stood in front of the military barracks of the 5th Proletarian Brigade in the suburbs of Podgorica between 1982 and 1993. Later, it was moved inside the barracks and then after almost 30 years on the anniversary of the liberation of the town in late December of 2018
Relocated here, next to one of the biggest and most important city streets. There weren’t many partisan monuments. They survived because most people didn’t know what they represent. For example, had they known after the war that this is a monument to the brotherhood and unity, they would have torn it down.
But they thought that this is how it’s meant to be and they left it. So this is a so-called invisible monument. Yes, because there is no inscription marking it as a monument to brotherhood and unity.
During ethnic cleansings on both sides and after Albanians prevailed here Bora Vukmirović was removed and only Ramiz remained. Therefore, the idea of brotherhood and unity was replaced by an idea of nationalism and we can see that in other places as well.
Simmilar thing happened to various schools that were named after both of them, but now only bear the name of Ramiz Sadiku. Not much is left of this monument. This sphere was once surrounded by plaques with names of the fallen and buried. All of that has been looted and destroyed.
We don’t have a problem with people of other religions. We only have a problem with people who are using extreme nationalism for political goals. This isn’t a conflict between Christians and Muslims, but rather a conflict based on poisonous nationalism that is trying to change a structure of a place,
Which is enriched especially because of its diversity. The most important symbol of Prilep is the Park of the Revolution. It symbolizes the participation of Prilep in the National Liberation War. Not only that but also the beginning. As you know, the National Liberation War began here on 11. 10. 1941.
This is the heart of the resistance. Yes, the Regional Committee of the Yugoslav Communist Party in Prilep was one of the best organized ones. There were Kuzman Josifovski Pitu, Mirče Acev, Vera Aceva and many others. Many heroes are from here.
Yes, from the total of 66 Macedonian national heroes, 15 heroes are from Prilep. We are in the south of Macedonia. We have traveled a long way, from Triglav to Vardar, as the popular song says. There are a few places left with partisan monuments that lay south of or parallel with this place.
Among the most important are Gevgelija, Kavadarci, Strumica and Struga, for example. At the end of this journey we can conclude that Macedonia mostly takes good care of its partisan monuments and this tradition is being preserved. Similarly to Slovenia and other places, some have been neglected and others have been re-purposed.
They became places of inter-generational hangouts, walkways, sports parks, etc. However, from the comparison of the six republics and the two autonomous provinces we can conclude that Macedonia is very similar to Slovenia. BROTHERHOOD AND UNITY TODAY Across all the republics of the former Yugoslavia, from Triglav to Vardar, where we are now,
We have traveled in search of brotherhood and unity or what is left of it. What is left are the monuments, some destroyed, some neglected, some re-purposed and here and there some still nostalgically express the former idea. Is this idea of brotherhood and unity, connected to the revolution and National Liberation War, dead?
Is it just a part of the old nostalgic times for us who belong to that generation? Or was it just a slogan, which was derived in those specific circumstances from the slogan of the French Revolution “liberty, equality, fraternity”?
If that is the case, if it has some new meaning today, than it remains alive. Current generations, young generations will have to find its new meaning in this neoliberal, individualistic world that doesn’t promise them a bright future.
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