COURAGE

gyűjtemények hálózata

This article by Djilas was published in The New York Times on October 30, 1970, after traveling to Great Britain and United States in the second part of 1968. He noted that the most frequent questions directed at him in meetings in those countries was: ‘What will happen [to Yugoslavia] after Tito?’ His major response to the atmosphere of the “Croatian Spring movement” that occurred in Yugoslavia in those years was that the national question among the Yugoslav nations was increasingly coming to the fore of their political interests, and that Marxism-Leninism was gradually losing its strength and influence. He opposed the disintegration of Yugoslavia until the end of his life, and pleaded for “democratic transformation” and to preserve Yugoslav federalism at any cost. Such stances could not be publicly aired in Yugoslavia after Tito's death.

Rise and Fall, a book by the Communist dissident Milovan Đilas, originally published under the title Vlast (Power) in the Serbian language in London in 1983 and in Croatia under the title Vlast i Pobuna (Power and Rebellion) in 2009, is one in the series of Đilas’ memoirs covering the years from the end of World War II until his release from prison in 1966.

In addition to the other books Đilas published in English about the Yugoslav socialist regime and the nature of its rule, the book Rise and Fall contributes to the understanding of the complexity of relations inside the Yugoslav party leadership and its methods of dealing with political enemies, and illustrates the personal transformation of a fierce communist into a democrat and liberal, demonstrating his personal courage, thereby contributing to the culture of dissent under the socialist regime.

The manuscript itself was written in 1956, while this most famous book by Djilas was published in 1957 in the United States, and later it had dozens of editions in many languages. Djilas presented his theoretical explanation of the concept of the “new class,” which was born just after the revolution in the newly established communist societies. He considered the emergence of the “new class” as a social reality that is deeply rooted in ideological theories about the establishment of social egalitarianism. This was a new communist elite created by the Yugoslav revolution  at the top of society in order to collectively manage all social resources. The main conclusion of Djilas is that this “new class” had, paradoxically, been transformed into the exploitative class against which it had itself fought during the social revolution. Thus, Djilas's reflections on “the revolution betrayed” by the communist avant-garde was similar what Trotsky had already observed. By doing so, he seriously shook the legitimacy of the ideological foundations of Tito's Yugoslavia and the countries of the Eastern communist bloc, as the first dissident who was labelled the main enemy of communism. However, although Djilas condemned totalitarian communism and single-party dictatorship, he had maintained his socialist beliefs until the end of his life, believing that socialism could be achieved through reform in a democratic order.

The New Class, a book by the Yugoslav Communist dissident Milovan Đilas, is one of the most important political documents of its time, and according to the London Times Literary Supplement poll, one of the 100 most influential books of the latter half of the 20^th century. Historian Mira Bogdanović believes that one of the reasons for its great influence is the assistance Djilas received from the CIA in writing, translating and distributing the book, all in the context of Cold War politics (Bogdanović, 2013).

The book was first printed in English in the United States in 1957, and it was translated into dozens of languages. It is a study in which Đilas analysed the socialist order and ideology, and systematically demystified the socialist system in Yugoslavia. The greatest significance of the book, the demystification of socialism, is due precisely to the fact that it was written by the former fourth man of socialist Yugoslavia and one of its key ideologues. The book was legally printed in Yugoslavia for the first time in the Serbian language in Belgrade in 1990.

In the context of the culture of dissent, the book provided insight into the nature and practices of the socialist society in Yugoslavia, thus influencing Croatian intellectuals in Chicago, their attitude toward Yugoslavia and their advocacy for an independent Croatia. 

The most important among the books of Đinđić’s collection is his analysis of the political and constitutional system of Yugoslavia and its key shortcomings in “Yugoslavia as an Incomplete State”. The book was published in 1988 out of a series of essays Đinđić had published in “Literary News” [Književne novine] between 1986 and 1988. Using theoretical analysis, Đinđić criticized the ruling ideological paradigm of the time and “affirmed for the first time, on a theoretically relevant basis, liberal thought on the level of the individual, society and politics.” (N. Dmitrijević, Kontinuitet nedovršene državnosti (Foreword) in: Đinđić, 1998, IX).

Đinđić wrote on Yugoslavia: “Not even the more sober-minded observers will be able to escape the impression that the most fundamental matters are, indeed, contested here. The impression that Yugoslavia is, as a matter of fact, an unfinished state. So to say, it is an open option, which withstands any final definition... In the vacuum spreading with the communist term (or, more precisely, non-term) of statehood, a variety of herbs grew, which turned the lack of premises for life in its own premise for life.“ Đinđić also analysed key problems in Yugoslavia, anticipating its dissolution, the victory of nationalism, and warned about the far-reaching consequences. This book is considered among the most important works in political theory during the 1980s in Serbia.

Jaromír Šavrda, a writer, poet, journalist and dissident from Ostrava, was, because of his samizdat activities, twice held in the custodial prison in Ostrava and later imprisoned in Ostrov nad Ohří, first from September 1978 until March 1981 and then from September 1982 until October 1984. During his second stay in prison, Šavrda wrote two books reflecting his experiences as a political prisoner; they depict his personal experiences from police persecution and describe the lives of people that Šavrda met in prison. The first of the books was “Vězeň č. 1260” (The Prisoner No. 1260), written between September and November 1982 and published as samizdat, followed by “Ostrov v souostroví” (The Island in the Archipelago), written by Šavrda between November 1982 and January 1983. After his return from prison, this two texts were published in 1987 as an omnibus called “Přechodné adresy” (The Temporary Addresses), at first in samizdat edition Popelnice and then in edition Expedice. “Přechodné adresy” was first officially published in the 1990s (Ostrava: WMCG 1991, 1993). Both texts were also published separately with original titles in 2009 (Prague: Pulchra, 2009). “Přechodné adresy” (2009) is also a name of a documentary film about Jaromír Šavrda directed by Petra Všelichová.

Oldřich Škácha (1941–2014) was a Czech documentary photographer, dissident and signatory of Charter 77. He was famous as one of Václav Havel’s main photographers. He took his first photos of Václav Havel in the early 1970s. This collection of his photographs, which has been part of the archive of the Václav Havel Library since 2015, not only depicts Václav Havel himself, but also the dissident and cultural milieu of pre-1989 Czechoslovakia. These photographs have been exhibited several times. An outdoor exhibition of Oldřich Škácha’s large-format photographs was organised in 2016 in Prague to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Václav Havel’s birth. From August to September 2018, an exhibition entitled “Occupation 1968”, held at the Czech Photo Centre in Prague, presented a collection of photographs by Oldřich Škácha, depicting the first days of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops. In 2012, more than 60 black-and-white photographs by Oldřich Škácha of Václav Havel between 1975 and 2011 were published in a book entitled “Havel Forever”.

The ‘Inmate Work Log’ is a booklet containing brief notes about the jobs that Grgo Šore, or any other detainee, had to perform on a daily basis during his stay in the prison camp on Goli otok. The entries in the log are dated from February 27 through October 20, 1951. Šore wrote with a pencil and pen, and the log consisted of heading: date, type of work, norm or rating, comment and supervisor’s signature. Queue rules or ratings and supervisor’s signature were completed in Cyrillic by the supervisor, while the comments were left empty. It is evident from the booklet that on Goli otok Šore, apart from heavy physical labour, also worked as a construction technician on the design of industrial facilities and accommodations for inmates (Interview with Dubravka Peić Čaldarović). The document testifies to the torture of inmates in this ideologically motivated camp.

“Goli Goli Goli – The Truth about Goli otok” is a typewritten text about the days of captivity on Goli otok, but it is partially different from the original, and begins with a short biography of the author before his arrest, including specific events that preceded the arrest. Šore spoke about his arrest in Travnik in June 1949 and his transfer to the prison in Sarajevo. On September 1949, about 400 detainees were transported by train from Sarajevo to Herceg Novi, and then by truck to the former Austro-Hungarian fortress on Cape Oštro at the entrance to Boka Kotorska Bay. There, Šore's group joined detainees from Montenegro, and then all boarded a ship that took them to Goli otok. This was the first group of "Cominformists" who came to Goli otok. Before them, there was a smaller group of people on the island who welcomed them with clubs, curses and verbal abuse. Šore spent three years in this environment, in which he experienced the most brutal methods of political “re-education.” Immediately upon their arrival at the prison camp, all inmates had to publicly present facts about their "hostile work" against the communist regime and plead guilty. Also, all inmates had to go to the State Security Administration office to report all the “enemies” among inmates or among those who were still outside the prison camp. Political meetings were held regularly in the prison camp, where the criminal conduct of a particular inmate was discussed based on evidence obtained by mutual spying. Furthermore, ‘cultural-educational’ work was carried out every night, which consisted of reading Party literature, making posters, writing pamphlets, and even short comedy shows. In all forms of cultural and educational work, Josip Broz Tito and his policy in conflict with the Cominform Resolution was praised by the detainees (Interview with Peić Čaldarović, Dubravka).

The prison camp's administration punished inmates with brutal methods that consisted of heavy physical labour, inciting violence among inmates, psychological abuse, and deprivation of food and water. According to Šore's memories, the main penal measures in the camp were: boycotts (severing of any communication with an inmate, overtime labour and reduction of food and water rations), carrying "Anita" (exhaustion by carrying a heavy load), tracer (exhaustion caused by carrying heavy loads with another inmate), the swan (exhaustion by carrying a heavy load together with six other detainees) and the chamber-pot ‘honour’  (guarding the wooden lavatory in the barracks many times per day or for many days). The physical exhaustion of inmates was done to psychologically transform them, or erase their personalities, to create persons loyal to the Party led by Tito. Inmates who underwent been internal punishment or refused to submit to political "re-education" ended up in Building 101. Its purpose was to break disobedient detainees with more difficult conditions of daily labour and more extreme torture methods (Interview with Peić Čaldarović, Dubravka).

Šore described each of these situations and methods of political "re-education" precisely from his own experience or based on the example of one of his fellow inmates. He illustrated some of the most difficult aspects of everyday life with his own drawings under the heading: Tracer/Carrying Heavy Rocks, Water and Food/Boycott by the Wall, Chamber-pot Honour /Swan (Interview with Dubravka Peić Čaldarović).

The work ‘Days of Pain and Pride’ comprises 38 photographs that make up a whole. No single item should therefore be extracted, rather the whole series must be perceived in its entirety.

The album’s title, ‘Days of Pain and Pride’, is ironic, referring to the press media at the time that relentlessly ran the story of the death and funeral of the SFRY’s lifelong president. At the very moment when Tito’s funeral was the leading and only story in the media, assuming the dimensions of a spectacle, the artist decided to participate in this event from an outsider perspective, from the margins, recording the adoration of the Marshal’s image in all its ideological conflict and the absurdity of the kitsch aesthetic. The photo portrait is displayed like an icon, decorated with a black ribbon that in the orthodox, folk tradition represents an expression of mourning for the deceased. The absurd character of these gestures of devotion is in the carnival atmosphere of the street displays, as the image of the leader pops up among fruit and vegetables, loaves of bread, cuts of fresh meat, shirts and skirts...