Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 2nd President of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia | |
| In office January 14, 1953 – May 4, 1980 | |
| Preceded by | Ivan Ribar |
| Succeeded by | Lazar Koliševski |
| 1st Prime Minister of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | |
| In office November 29, 1945 – January 14, 1953 | |
| Succeeded by | Petar Stambolić |
| 1st Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement | |
| In office September 1, 1961 – October 10, 1964 | |
| Succeeded by | Gamal Abdel Nasser |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 25, 1892 Kumrovec, Croatia, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | May 4, 1980 (aged 87) Ljubljana, Slovenia, Yugoslavia |
| Political party | League of Communists of Yugoslavia |
| Spouse(s) | Pelagija Broz (married and divorced) Jovanka Broz (married) |
Josip Broz Tito (Serbian Cyrillic: Јосип Броз Тито, Audio file "Sr-Josip Broz Tito.ogg" not found May 7, 1892 (May 25 according to Yugoslavian officials) – May 4, 1980) was the leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1945 until his death in 1980. During World War II, Tito organized the anti-fascist resistance movement known as the Yugoslav Partisans. Later he was a founding member of Cominform, [1] but resisted Soviet influence (see Titoism), and became one of the founders and promoters of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Early years
Josip Broz was born in Kumrovec, Croatia, then part of Austria-Hungary, in an area called Zagorje. He was the seventh child of Franjo and Marija Broz. His father, Franjo Broz, was a Croat, while his mother Marija (born Javeršek) was a Slovene. After spending part of his childhood years with his paternal grandfather in village of Podsreda, he entered the primary school in Kumrovec and failed the second grade. He left school in 1905.
In 1907, moving out of the rural environment, Broz started working as a machinist's apprentice in Sisak. There, he became aware of the labor movement and celebrated May 1 - Labour Day for the first time. In 1910, he joined the union of metallurgy workers and at the same time the Social-Democratic Party of Croatia and Slavonia. Between 1911 and 1913, Broz worked for shorter periods in Kamnik (Slovenia), Cenkovo (Bohemia), Munich and Mannheim (Germany), where he worked for Benz automobile factory; he then went to Wiener Neustadt, Austria, where he worked at Daimler as a test driver.
In the army
In May 1912, Broz won a silver medal at an army fencing competition in Budapest. In the autumn of 1913, Broz was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army and at the outbreak of World War I in 1914, he was sent to Ruma. He was arrested for anti-war propaganda and imprisoned in the Petrovaradin fortress. In January 1915, he was sent to the Eastern Front in Galicia to fight against Russia. He distinguished himself as a capable soldier and was recommended for military decoration. On Easter March 25, 1915, while in Bukovina, he was seriously wounded and captured by Russians.
Prisoner and revolutionary in Russia
After thirteen months at the hospital, Broz was sent to a work camp in the Ural Mountains where prisoners selected him for their camp leader. In February 1917 revolting workers broke into the prison and freed the prisoners. Broz joined a Bolshevik group. In April 1917, he was arrested again but managed to escape and join the demonstrations in Saint Petersburg on July 16-17, 1917. On his way to Finland, Broz was caught and imprisoned in the Petropavlovsk fortress for three weeks. He was again sent to Kungur, but he escaped from the train. He hid out with a Russian family where he met and married Pelagija Belousova. Broz then enlisted with the Red Guards in Omsk. In the spring of 1918, he applied for membership in the Russian Communist Party. In June 1918 Broz left Omsk to find work and support his family. He was employed as a mechanic near Omsk for a year. In January 1920 he and his wife made a long and difficult journey home where he arrived in September.
Return to Yugoslavia
Broz immediately joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. The CPY's influence on the political life of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was growing rapidly. In the 1920 elections the Communists won 59 seats and became the third strongest party. The king's regime would not tolerate the CPY and declared it illegal. In 1921 all Communist-won mandates were nullified. Broz continued his work underground despite pressure on Communists from the government. As 1921 began he moved to Veliko Trojstvo near Bjelovar and found work as machinist.
In 1925, Broz moved to Kraljevica where he started working at a shipyard. He was elected as a union leader and a year later he led a shipyard strike. He was fired and moved to Belgrade, where he worked in a train coach factory in Smederevska Palanka. He was elected as Workers Commissary but was fired as soon as his CPY membership was revealed. Broz then moved to Zagreb, where he was appointed secretary of Metal Workers Union of Croatia.
In 1934, he became a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, then based in Vienna, Austria, and adopted the code name "Tito".
In 1935, Tito travelled to the Soviet Union, working for a year in the Balkan section of Comintern. He was a member of the Soviet Communist Party and the Soviet secret police (NKVD). In 1936, the Comintern sent Comrade Walter (i.e. Tito) back to Yugoslavia to purge the Communist Party there. In 1937, Stalin had the Secretary-General of the CPY, Milan Gorkic, murdered in Moscow. The same year, Tito returned from the Soviet Union to Yugoslavia after being named there by Stalin as Secretary-General of the still-outlawed CPY. During this period, he faithfully followed Comintern policy, criticizing Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany until the pact of 1939, and then switching to a criticism of western democracies until 1941.
World War II
On 6 April 1941, German, Italian, and Hungarian forces launched an invasion of Yugoslavia. The German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) initiated a three-pronged drive on the Yugoslavian capital, Belgrade. Meanwhile, the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) bombed Belgrade (Operation Punishment) and other major Yugoslavian cities. Attacked from all sides, the armed forces of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia quickly crumbled.
On 17 April, after King Peter II and other members of the government fled the country, the remaining representatives of Yugoslavia's legitimate government and military met with the Germans at Belgrade. The Yugoslavians signed an armistice with Germany. This armistice ended eleven days of futile resistance against the invading German armed forces (Wehrmacht).
Yugoslavia was then dismembered by the Germans. Some Yugoslavian territories, like Slovenia, were annexed outright by Germany and several "puppet states" were created. The "Independent State of Croatia" (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, or NDH) was established as a pro-Nazi puppet state with an Italian king, Tomislav II. Tomislav never visited Croatia and the NDH was really ruled by "Leader" (Poglavnik) Ante Pavelić and his Fascist Ustaša party. Puppet states were also set up in Serbia, Montenegro, and southern Yugoslavia. German troops occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as part of Serbia. Other parts of the country were annexed or occupied by Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Italy.
The formation of the first post-invasion communist partisan resistance group in Yugoslavia is recorded to have occurred on 28 April 1941 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Other groups followed and, ultimately, Tito was acknowledged as the communist commander.
From 13 May 1941, Tito and the communist partisans faced competition in Yugoslavia from the largely Serbian "Yugoslav Army of the Fatherland" (Jugoslovenska vojska u otadžbini, or JVUO). This anti-German and anti-communist resistance movement was Royalist and commanded by General Draža Mihailović. The forces under Mihailović were also known as Chetniks. For a long time, the Chetniks were supported by the British, the United States, and the Yugoslavian government in exile of King Peter II.
Tito did not initially respond to the German invasion of Yugoslavia because of Stalin's non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany [citation needed]. On 4 July 1941, after Germany launched the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa), Tito called a Central committee meeting which named him Military Commander and issued a call to arms.
However, on 22 June 1941 (the day of the German invasion of the Soviet Union) in the Brezovica forest near the city of Sisak, Croatia, the communist partisans formed the famous First Sisak Partisan Brigade (mostly consisting of Croats from the nearby city). This shows that Tito, in fact, took advantage of the Pact to prepare as best he could for the inevitable, so that his men could rise up on the very first day of Operation Barbarossa.[citation needed] Despite the delays caused by the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, this unit was one of the earliest anti-fascist military formations in Europe.
The communist partisans soon began a widespread and successful guerrilla campaign and started liberating chunks of territory. The activities of the partisans provoked the Germans into "retaliation" against civilians. These retaliations resulted in mass murders (for each killed German soldier, 100 civilians were to be killed and for each wounded, 50). Tito's acceptance of this harsh retaliation, suffered primarily by innocent civilians, was a major point of contention between himself and Mihailović.
In the liberated territories, the partisans organized people's committees to act as civilian government. Tito was the most prominent leader of the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia - AVNOJ, which convened in Bihac on 26 November 1942, and in Jajce on 29 November 1943. In these two sessions, they established the basis for post-war organisation of the country, making it a federation. In Jajce, Tito was named President of the National Committee of Liberation.[2] On December 4 1943, while most of the country was still occupied by the Axis, Tito proclaimed a provisional democratic Yugoslav government.
After Tito's communist partisans stood up to intense Axis attacks between January and June 1943, Allied leaders switched their support to the partisans. King Peter II of Yugoslavia, American President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill joined Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in officially recognizing Tito and his partisans at the Tehran Conference. This resulted in Allied aid being parachuted behind Axis lines to assist the partisans. As the leader of the communist resistance, Tito was a target for the Axis forces in occupied Yugoslavia. The Germans came close to capturing or killing Tito on at least three occasions: in the 1943 "Case White" (Fall Weiss) offensive; in the subsequent "Case Black" (Fall Schwarz) offensive, in which he was wounded on 9 June, being saved only because his loyal dog sacrificed himself; and on 25 May 1944, when he barely managed to evade the Germans after their "Operation Knight's Leap" (Unternehmen Rösselsprung) airdrop outside his Drvar headquarters.
The partisans were supported directly by Allied airdrops to their headquarters, with Brigadier Fitzroy Maclean playing a significant role in the liaison missions. The Balkan Air Force was formed in June 1944 to control operations that were mainly aimed at helping his forces. Due to his close ties to Stalin, Tito often quarreled with the British and American staff officers attached to his headquarters.
On 5 April 1945, Tito signed an agreement with the USSR allowing "temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory". Aided by the Red Army, the partisans won the war for liberation in 1945. At the end of the war, all external forces were ordered off Yugoslav soil after the end of hostilities in Europe.
SFR Yugoslavia
Josip Broz Tito | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia |
| Service | SFR Yugoslavia |
| Years of service | 1941-1980 |
| Rank | Marshal of Yugoslavia |
| Commands | Partisan Units of Yugoslavia People's Liberation Army Yugoslav People's Army |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Awards and decorations |
| Other work | Prime Minister of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement President of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia |
Aftermath of World War 2
In late 1944, the Treaty of Vis (Viški sporazum) was signed in an attempt to merge Tito's communist government with the government in exile of King Peter II. This treaty was also known as the Tito-Šubašić Agreement.
On 7 March 1945, the provisional government of the Democratic Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Demokratska federativna republika Jugoslavija, or DFRY) was assembled in Belgrade by Marshal Tito and the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. This government was headed by Tito and had no input from the Yugoslavian government in exile, or from King Peter II. After the elections in November 1945, Tito was named as the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DFRY. The country was later to be renamed the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (FPRY), and then finally Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).
It was at this time that Yugoslav forces, in loose conjunction with the Red Army, were involved in deportations of ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche) from Yugoslavia. The Danube Swabians minority was labeled by Yugoslavs as Nazi collaborators since many had fought in the notorious 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division 'Prinz Eugen'. This SS division was comprised of volunteers from the ranks of the Volksdeutsche minority.
Many innocent people and non-combatants were killed in the days immediately after the war due to the fact that they were inextricably mixed in with the retreating Germans and Nazi collaborators, including the remnants of the Chetnik movement, the Ustaše (the NDH version of the SS), the Croatian Home Guard, and the Slovene Home Guard (Slovensko domobranstvo, or SD). Most of the military formations were captured while fleeing amongst crowds of refugees and, despite Tito's promise of harmless surrender to the collaborators, a large number of both collaborators and non-collaborators ended up killed. These events are generally known as the Bleiburg massacre.
The Yugoslav Partisans were also allegedly involved with other mass killings such as the foibe massacres,[3] the killings in Bačka of so-called Hungarian fascists, and Operation Keelhaul, the killing of a number of croatian fascists (Ustaše) handed over to Yugoslavia by the British.
However, there is no evidence that such massacres were ordered by Tito or the Partisan command, and they are though mostly to be related to local residents and Partisan leaders serving vigilante justice on Nazi collaborators and foreigners related to the war. In order to put these events in context, it must be pointed out that they are dwarfed by the crimes of the Axis powers and their collaborators between 1941 and 1945 which resulted in an estimated 1,700,000 Yugoslav dead.
In November 1945, a new constitution was drawn up and Yugoslavia organized an army from the Partisan movement, the Yugoslav People's Army (Jugoslavenska narodna armija, or JNA) which was, for a period, considered the fifth strongest in Europe. Tito also organized a secret police force, the State Security Administration (Uprava državne bezbednosti/sigurnosti/varnosti, UDBA). Both the UDBA and the security agency, the "Department of People's Security" (Organ Zaštite Naroda (Armije), or OZNA), were charged (among other things) with seeking out, imprisoning and bringing to trial large numbers of Nazi collaborators; sometimes this included Catholic priests due to the widespread involvement of Croatian Catholic clergy with the Ustaša regime.
On November 29 1945, King Peter II of Yugoslavia was deposed by the Yugoslav Constituent Assembly, and on March 13 1946, Draža Mihailović was captured by OZNA. He was executed on July 18.
Tito's position in Yugoslavia had several characteristics of a dictatorship, though it fell short on that common in other communist states after the Second World War. The Communist Party of Yugoslavia won the first post-war elections, in which simplified ballots allowed only for the alternatives of yes and no. Despite the controversial nature of these ballots, it must be noted that Tito evidently enjoyed massive popular support at the time. The Party immediately used its power to seek out remaining collaborators, nationalists and anti-Communists, partially using methods characteristic of Stalinist People's Republics.[4]Tito's administration did, however, unite a country that had been severely affected by the war and successfully suppressed the nationalist sentiments of the peoples of Yugoslavia in favor of the common Yugoslav goal.
In October 1946, in its first special session for 75 years, the Vatican excommunicated Tito and the Yugoslav government for sentencing Catholic archbishop Stepinac to 16 years in prison on charges of helping terrorists and of forcing conversion of Serbs to Catholicism.[5] The sentence was later commuted. Later, Yugoslavia became by far the most religiously liberal among the socialist states[citation needed], since Tito believed that oppression only makes religion spread. Tito always considered religious agitation a great threat.
Yugoslav President
In 1948, motivated by the desire to create a strong independent economy, Tito became the first (and the only successful) socialist leader to defy Stalin's leadership in the COMINFORM; he was one of the few people to stand up to Stalin's demands for absolute loyalty. Stalin took it personally – for once, to no avail. "Stop sending people to kill me", Tito wrote. "If you don't stop sending killers, I'll send one to Moscow, and I won't have to send a second."[6] The Yugoslav Communist Party was expelled from the association on June 28, 1948. This rift with the Soviet Union brought Tito much international recognition, but also triggered a period of instability often referred to as the Informbiro period. Tito's form of communism was labeled Titoism by Moscow, which encouraged purges against suspected "Titoites'" throughout the Communist bloc. The crisis nearly escalated into an armed conflict.[7]
On June 26, 1950, the National Assembly supported a crucial bill written by Milovan Đilas and Tito about "self-management" (samoupravljanje): a type of independent socialism that experimented with profit sharing with workers in state-run enterprises. On January 13, 1953, they established that the law on self-management was the basis of the entire social order in Yugoslavia. Tito also succeeded Ivan Ribar as the President of Yugoslavia on January 14, 1953.
After Stalin's death Tito rejected the USSR's invitation for a visit to discuss normalization of relations between two nations. Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolai Bulganin visited Tito in Belgrade in 1955 and apologized for wrongdoings by Stalin's administration.[8] Tito visited USSR in 1956, which signaled to the world that animosity between Yugoslavia and USSR was easing.[9] However, the relationship between the USSR and Yugoslavia would reach another low in the late 1960s.
Under Tito's leadership, Yugoslavia became a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement. In 1961, Tito co-founded the movement with Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser, India's Jawaharlal Nehru, Indonesia's Sukarno and Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah, in an action called The Initiative of Five (Tito, Nehru, Nasser, Sukarno, Nkrumah), thus establishing strong ties with third world countries. This move did much to improve Yugoslavia's diplomatic position.
On April 7, 1963, the country changed its official name to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Reforms encouraged private enterprise and greatly relaxed restrictions on freedom of speech and religious expression.[10] In 1966 an agreement with the Vatican was signed according new freedom to the Yugoslav Roman Catholic Church, particularly to teach the catechism and open seminaries. Tito's new socialism met opposition from traditional communists culminating in conspiracy headed by Aleksandar Rankovic.[11] In the same year Tito declared that Communists must henceforth chart Yugoslavia's course by the force of their arguments (implying a granting of freedom of discussion and an abandonment of dictatorship). The state security agency (UDBA) saw its power scaled back and its staff reduced to 5000.
On January 1, 1967, Yugoslavia was the first communist country to open its borders to all foreign visitors and abolish visa requirements.[12] In the same year Tito became active in promoting a peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. His plan called for Arabs to recognize State of Israel in exchange for territories Israel gained.[13] Arabs rejected his land for peace concept.
In 1967, Tito offered Czechoslovak leader Alexander Dubček to fly to Prague on three hours notice if Dubček needed help in facing down the Soviets.[14]
In 1971, Tito was re-elected as President of Yugoslavia for sixth time. In his speech in front of Federal Assembly he introduced 20 sweeping constitutional amendments that would provide an updated framework on which the country would be based. The amendments provided for a collective presidency, a 22 member body consisting of elected representatives from six republics and two autonomous provinces. The body would have a single chairman of the presidency and chairmanship would rotate among six republics. When the Federal Assembly fails to agree on legislation, the collective presidency would have the power to rule by decree. Amendments also provided for stronger cabinet with considerable power to initiate and pursue legislature independently from the Communist Party. Djemal Bijedic was chosen as the Premier. The new amendments aimed to decentralize the country by granting greater autonomy to republics and provinces. The federal government would retain authority only over foreign affairs, defense, internal security, monetary affairs, free trade within Yugoslavia, and development loans to poorer regions. Control of education, healthcare, and housing would be exercised entirely by the governments of the republics and the autonomous provinces.[15]
Tito's greatest strength, in the eyes of the western communists, had been in suppressing nationalist insurrections and maintaining unity throughout the country. It was Tito's call for unity, and related methods, that held together the people of Yugoslavia. This ability was put to a test several times during his reign, notably during the so-called Croatian Spring (also referred to as masovni pokret, maspok, meaning "mass movement") when the government had to suppress both public demonstrations and dissenting opinions within the Communist Party. Despite this suppression, much of maspok's demands were later realised with the new constitution.
On May 16, 1974, the new Constitution was passed, and Josip Broz Tito was named President for life.
Foreign policy
Tito was notable for pursuing a foreign policy of neutrality during the Cold War and for establishing close ties with developing countries. Tito's strong belief in self-determination caused early rift with Stalin and consequently, the Eastern Bloc. His public speeches often reiterated that policy of neutrality and cooperation with all countries is natural as long as these countries are not using their influence to pressure Yugoslavia to take sides. Relations with the United States and Western European nations were generally cordial.
Yugoslavia had a liberal travel policy permitting foreigners to freely travel through the country and its citizens to travel worldwide.[16] This was limited by most Communist countries. A number of Yugoslav citizens worked throughout Western Europe.
Tito also developed warm relations with Burma under U Nu, travelling to the country in 1955 and again in 1959, though he didn't receive the same treatment in 1959 from the new leader, Ne Win.
Because of its neutrality, Yugoslavia would often be one of the only Communist countries to have diplomatic relations with right-wing, anti-Communist governments. For example, Yugoslavia was the only communist country allowed to have an embassy in Alfredo Stroessner's Paraguay.[17] However, one notable exception to Yugoslavia's neutral stance toward anti-communist countries was Chile under Augusto Pinochet; Yugoslavia was one of many communist countries which severed diplomatic relations with Chile after Allende was overthrown.[18]
Final years
After the constitutional changes of 1974, Tito increasingly took the role of senior statesman. His direct involvement in domestic policy and governing was diminishing.
In January 1980, Tito was admitted to Klinični center Ljubljana (the clinical centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia) with circulation problems in his legs. His left leg was amputated soon afterwards. He died there on May 4, 1980, three days before his 88th birthday. His funeral drew many world statesmen.[19] Based on the number of attending politicians and state delegations, it was the largest statesman funeral in history.[20] They included four kings, thirty-one presidents, six princes, twenty-two prime ministers and forty-seven ministers of foreign affairs. They came from both sides of the Cold War, from 128 different countries [21]. This was only matched by John Paul II's funeral, in 2005.
Quotes
Tito was most admired for his speeches about brotherhood and unity, some of which are listed below.
"We have spilt an ocean of blood for brotherhood and unity of our peoples and we shall not allow anyone to touch or destroy it from within."[22]
"No one questioned ' who is a Serb, who is a Croat, who is a Muslim (Bosniak) ', we were all one people, that's how it was back then, and I still think it is that way today."[23]
"None of our republics would be anything if we weren't all together; but we have to create our own history - history of United Yugoslavia, also in the future."
"We study and take as an example the Soviet system, but we are developing socialism in our country in somewhat different forms."[24]
"I will give everything from myself to make sure that Yugoslavia is great, not just geographically but great in spirit, and that it hold firmly to its neutrality and sovereignty that has been established through great sacrifice in the last battle (referring to the second World War)."
"A decade ago young people en masse began declaring themselves as Yugoslavs. It was a form of rising Yugoslav nationalism, which was a reaction to brotherhood and unity and a feeling of belonging to a single socialist self-managing society. This pleased me a lot."
Commenting on Stalin
"To say the least - this is a disloyal, non-objective attitude towards our Party and our country. It's a consequence of a terrible delusion that has been blown up to monstrous dimensions in order to destroy the reputation of our Party and its leadership, to take away the glory of the Yugoslavian people and their struggle. To trample everything great that our nation achieved with great sacrifices and blood loss - in order to break the unity of our Party, which represents a guarantee for successful development of socialism in our country and for the establishment of happiness of our people."
Quotes about Bosnia and Herzegovina
"Let that man be a Bosnian, Herzegovinian. Outside they don't call you by another name, except simply a Bosnian. Whether that be a Muslim (Bosniak), Serb or Croat. Everyone can be what they feel that they are, and no one has a right to force a nationality upon them."
"Bosnia and Herzegovina was once a seed of division between the Croat and Serb people. Officials in Zagreb and Belgrade brought forth decisions on Bosnia-Herzegovina - decisions involving its wealth and decisions to exploit the country even more; but they didn't care about what their decisions would do to the people living in Bosnia-Herzegovina. They, for the sake of achieving their goals, pitted one people against the other."
"During the war, a battle was fought here, not only for the creation of a new Yugoslavia, but also a battle for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a sovereign republic. To some generals and leaders their position on this was not quite clear. I never once doubted my stance on Bosnia. I always said that Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot belong to this or that, only to the people that lived there since the beginning of time."
Aftermath
At the time of his death, speculation began about whether his successors could continue to hold Yugoslavia together. Ethnic divisions and conflict grew and eventually erupted in a series of Yugoslav wars a decade after his death. Tito was buried in a mausoleum in Belgrade, called Kuća Cveća (The House of Flowers) and numerous people visit the place as a shrine to "better times," although it no longer holds a guard of honour.
The gifts he received during his presidency are kept in the Museum of the History of Yugoslavia (whose old names were "Museum 25. May," and "Museum of the Revolution") in Belgrade. The value of the collection is priceless: it includes works of many world-famous artists, including original prints of Los Caprichos by Francisco Goya, and many others. The Government of Serbia has planned to merge the museum into the Museum of the History of Serbia.[25]
During his life and especially in the first year after his death, several places were named after Tito. Several of these places have since returned to their original names, such as Podgorica, formerly Titograd (though Podgorica's international airport is still identified by the code TGD), which reverted to its original name in 1992. Streets in Belgrade, the capital, have all reverted back to their original pre-World War II and pre-communist names as well. In 2004, Antun Augustinčić's statue of Broz in his birthplace of Kumrovec was decapitated in an explosion.[26] It was subsequently repaired. In 2008, 2000 protestors marched on Zagreb's Josip Broz Square to demand its original name of Theatre Square be restored.[27] In the Croatian coastal city of Opatija the main street (also its longest street) still bears the name of Marshall Tito.
Family and personal life
Tito's first wife was Pelagija Broz (née Belousova), a Russian who bore him three children: daughter Zlatica and sons Hinko and Žarko (born 1924). They were married in Omsk before moving to Yugoslavia. She was transported to Moscow by the communists when Tito was imprisoned in 1928.
His next notable relationship was with Hertha Haas, whom he married. In May 1941, she bore him a son, Mišo. They parted company in 1943 in Jajce during the second meeting of AVNOJ. All throughout his relationship with Haas, Tito maintained a promiscuous life and had a parallel relationship with Davorjanka Paunovic, codename Zdenka, a courier and his personal secretary, who, by all accounts, was the love of his life. She died of tuberculosis in 1946 and Tito insisted that she be buried in the backyard of the Beli Dvor, his Belgrade residence.[28]
His best known wife was Jovanka Broz (born Budisavljevic). Tito was just shy of his 59th birthday, while she was 27, when they finally married in April 1952, with state security chief Aleksandar Rankovic as the best man. Their eventual marriage came about somewhat unexpectedly since Tito actually rejected her some years earlier when his confidante Ivan Krajacic brought her in originally. At that time, she was in her early 20s and Tito, objecting to her energetic personality, opted for the more mature opera singer Zinka Kunc instead. Not the one to be discouraged easily, Jovanka continued working at Beli Dvor, where she managed the staff of servants and eventually got another chance after Tito's strange relationship with Zinka failed. Since Jovanka was the only female companion he married while in power, she also went down in history as Yugoslavia's first lady. Their relationship was not a happy one, however. It had gone through many, often public, ups and downs with episodes of infidelities and even allegations of preparation for a coup d'etat by the latter pair. Certain unofficial reports suggest Tito and Jovanka even formally divorced in the late 1970s, shortly before his death. However, during Tito's funeral she was officially present as Tito's wife, and later claimed rights for inheritance. The couple did not have any children.
Tito's notable grandchildren include Aleksandra Broz, a prominent theatre director in Croatia, Svetlana Broz, a cardiologist and writer in Bosnia and Josip (Joška) Broz and Edvrard Broz.
Though Tito was most likely born on May 7, he celebrated his birthday on May 25, after he became president of Yugoslavia, to mark the occasion of an unsuccessful attempt at his life by the Nazis in 1944. Nazis found forged documents of Tito's, where May 25 was stated as his birthday. They attacked Tito on the day they believed was his birthday.[29]
Tito spoke four languages in addition to his native Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: Czech, German, Russian, and English.
May 25 was institutionalized as the Day of Youth in former Yugoslavia. The Relay of Youth started about two months earlier, each time from a different town of Yugoslavia. The baton passed through hundreds of hands of relay runners and typically visited all major cities of the country. On May 25 of each year, the baton finally passed into the hands of Marshal Tito at the end of festivities at Yugoslav People's Army Stadium (hosting FK Partizan) in Belgrade.(May 25, 1977: Marica Lojen of Kumrovec passing the baton into Tito's hands: http://www.titoville.com/images/tito-in-stafeta.jpg)
Origin of the name "Tito"
A popular explanation of the sobriquet claims that it is a conjunction of two Serbo-Croatian words, ti (meaning "you") and to (meaning "that"). As the story goes, during the frantic times of his command, he would issue commands with those two words, by pointing to the person, and then task.[30] However, when Tito adopted the name, he was in no position to give orders because he was not the leader of the communist party, just a member.
Tito is also an old, though uncommon, Croatian name, corresponding to Titus. Tito's biographer, Vladimir Dedijer, claimed that it came from the Croatian romantic writer, Tituš Brezovački, but the name is very well known in Zagorje. Josip Broz in one interview confirmed that this name was very common in his region, and it was main reason for adopting it.
The newest theory is from the Croatian journalist Denis Kuljiš. He got information from a descendant of the Comintern spy Baturin, operating in Istanbul in the thirties, about a code system that was used by the latter. Josip Broz was one of his agents, and his secret nicks were always names of pistols (including “Valter”, confirmed by Tito himself). One of the last nicknames was “TT” (TT-30, a Soviet pistol), and Broz after coming back to Yugoslavia even signed some communist party documents with that name. Kuljiš thinks that within a few years “TT” (pronounced as “te te”) became “Tito”.
Awards and decorations
Tito received many awards and decorations both from his own country and from other countries. Most notable of these (with defunct awards in italics) are:
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia decorations
(Does not include all foreign awards)
International awards
| Award or decoration | Country | Date received | Remarks | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Order of Léopold | Belgium | 6 October 1970 | highest military order of Belgium. | [31] |
| Order of the Elephant | Denmark | 29 October 1974 | highest order of Denmark. | [32] |
| Médaille militaire | France | 5 May 1956 | Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower also received it. | [33] |
| Medal Zwycięstwa i Wolności 1945 | Poland | 16 March 1946 | 670,000 of the medals were awarded from 1958 to 1992 | [31] |
| Krzyż Partyzancki | Poland | 16 March 1946 | 55,000 of the medals were awarded | [31] |
| Order of Victory | USSR | 9 September 1945 | highest military decoration of the Soviet Union one of 5 foreigners to receive it. Last person to receive the Order (without having it revoked). |
[34] |
| Order of Suvorov | USSR | September 1944 | [31] | |
| Order of Lenin | USSR | 5 June 1972 | Highest National Order of the Soviet Union | [31] |
| Order of the October Revolution | USSR | 16 August 1977 | [31] |
See also
- Titoism
- Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
- Yugoslav People's Army
- Marshal of Yugoslavia
- List of Yugoslav politicians
- List of places named after Tito
Further reading
- Barnett, Neil. Tito. London: Haus Publishing, 2006 (paperback, ISBN 1-904950-31-0).
- Reviewed by Adam LeBor in the New Statesman, September 11, 2006.
- Carter, April. Marshal Tito: A Bibliography (Bibliographies of World Leaders). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1989 (hardcover, ISBN 0-313-28087-8).
- Dedijer, Vladimir. Tito. New York: Arno Press, 1980 (hardcover, ISBN 0-405-04565-4).
- Djilas, Milovan, Tito: The Story from Inside. London: Phoenix Press, 2001 (new paperback ed., ISBN 1-84212-047-6).
- MacLean, Fitzroy. Tito: A Pictorial Biography. McGraw-Hill 1980 (Hardcover, ISBN 0-07-044671-7).
- Pavlowitch, Stevan K. Tito: Yugoslavia's Great Dictator, A Reassessment. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 1992 (hardcover, ISBN 0-8142-0600-X; paperback, ISBN 0-8142-0601-8); London: C. Hurst & Co. (Publishers), 1993 (hardcover, ISBN 1-85065-150-7; paperback, ISBN 1-85065-155-8).
- Vukcevich, Boško S. Tito: Architect of Yugoslav Disintegration. Orlando, FL: Rivercross Publishing, 1995 (hardcover, ISBN 0-944957-46-3).
- West, Richard. Tito and the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia. London: Sinclair-Stevenson, 1994 (hardcover, ISBN 1-85619-437-X); New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1996 (paperback, ISBN 0-7867-0332-6).
- New Power
References
- ^ Ian Bremmer, The J Curve: A New Way To Understand Why Nations Rise and Fall, Page 175
- ^ Rebirth in Bosnia, Time Magazine Dec 13, 1943
- ^ Democide in totalitarian States
- ^ Democide and mass murders
- ^ Excommunicate's Interview - Time Magazine, October 21, 1946.
- ^ "Untold tales of the Great Conquerors", U.S. News & World Report, January 3, 2006.
- ^ No Words Left? August 22, 1949.
- ^ Come Back, Little Tito June 06, 1955.
- ^ Discrimination in a Tomb June 18, 1956.
- ^ Socialism of Sorts June 10, 1966.
- ^ Unmeritorious Pardon December 16, 1966.
- ^ Beyond Dictatorship January 20, 1967.
- ^ Still a Fever August 25, 1967.
- ^ Back to the Business of Reform August 16, 1968.
- ^ Yugoslavia: Tito's Daring Experiment August 09, 1971.
- ^ Socialism of Sorts June 10, 1966.
- ^ Paraguay: A Country Study, "Foreign Relations": "Foreign policy under Stroessner was based on two major principles: nonintervention in the affairs of other countries and no relations with countries under Marxist governments. The only exception to the second principle was Yugoslavia."
- ^ J. Samuel Valenzuela and Arturo Valenzuela (eds.), Military Rule in Chile: Dictatorship and Oppositions, p. 316
- ^ Josip Broz Tito Statement on the Death of the President of Yugoslavia May 4, 1980.
- ^ Several authors; "Josip Broz Tito - Ilustrirani življenjepis", page 166
- ^ Jasper Ridley, Tito: A Biography, page 19
- ^ Tito's Speeches
- ^ Tito Videos
- ^ Letter to Comrades J. V. Stalin and V. M. Molotov, Apr 13 1948; Quoted in TIME, Aug 23, 1948
- ^ Status of the Museum of the History of Yugoslavia, B92
- ^ http://www.nacional.hr/articles/view/9114/
- ^ Thousands of Croatians rally against 'Tito' square
- ^ Interview with Lordan Zafranovic
- ^ Stvaranje Titove Jugoslavije. page 436, ISBN 86-385-0091-2
- ^ This explanation for the name's origin is provided in Fitzroy Maclean's 1949 book, Eastern Approaches.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y List of Tito's decorations, orders and medals on titoville.com
- ^ Recipients of Order of the Elephant
- ^ Recipients of Médaille militaire
- ^ List of order of Victory recipients
External links
- Josip Broz Tito Reference Archive at the Marxists Internet Archive
- Tito and His People
- Titoville
- CNN Cold War - Profile: Josip Broz Tito
- Interview on book King of the Mountain: The Nature of Political Leadership
- Tito in anecdotes
- Red Star and Clenched Fist, Time magazine, 1943
- Area of Decision, Time magazine 1944
- Proletarian Proconsul, Time magazine 1946
- Remarks of Welcome by President Richard Nixon, The American Presidency Project 1971
- Remarks at the Welcoming Ceremony by President Jimmy Carter, The American Presidency Project 1978
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- Yugoslav politicians
- Communist rulers
- World War II political leaders
- Croatian people of World War II
- Cold War leaders
- Yugoslav communists
- Order of Léopold recipients
- World War I prisoners of war
- Recipients of Virtuti Militari
- Recipients of the Order of Victory
- Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
- Marshals
- 1892 births
- 1980 deaths