Communism in the Balkans

Tito

The Rise of Communism

In Yugoslavia, racism was suppressed and avoided but was never crushed. In 1942 when the Nazis entered the Yugoslavia the Croatians and Bosnians were conquered and later joined the Nazis. The Croatians and the Bosnians helped the Nazis round up Serbians and also helped in their Genocide. The only resistance to the Nazis was done by the Serbians and Slovenians. However most Slovenians fled the Nazis and traveled to Serbia. After World War II, Tito emerged as the Prime Minister of the re-united and now Communist Yugoslavia which included Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia, and Macedonia.

During World War II in Albania, Yugoslavia and the allied nations aided Albanian forces in the fight against Germany and Italy. This military victory led Albania to adopt a communist government. Many Albanian writers believed that it was communist forces that liberated Albania without foreign aid. However many ignored the fact that the communist rebels were organized by Yugoslavia and armed by other foreign countries. Part of their victory was also do to the axis powers retreating from other regions outside the country.

Under the communist rule of Tito, a feeling of unity was stressed but never achieved. Propaganda signs for the government were placed throughout Yugoslavia; its slogan was “Unity and Brotherhood” for the “formerly exploited class of workers.” These slogans caused people to suppress their feelings of racism and hate, but it never lead to the acceptance of the Serbs as equals. Also, Serbians were denied many rights but encouraged.

With the decline of communism ethnical differences in Yugoslavia began to become too great to suppress. Soon political figures began to notice the dominance that Serbians held in office, population, and in land ownership. Soon many Serbian political figures were removed from their positions and Serbians were urged to migrate to other parts of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia was also divided into two separate autonomous regions: Vojvodina in the north and Kosovo in the South. When the question was brought up to do the same to the other countries, Tito refused to do so. Albanians were also urged to move into Kosovo so that it may not be a Serbian dominated population. The other regions did this so that if a civil war were to occur Serbia would not be the dominant force.

But soon, ethnic tensions grew and soon broke out in violence. Albanian police and Para militants began tormenting Serbians to the point where some left their homes. Soon armed confrontation began with the Serbian Military. The Albanian dominated Kosovo nationalist wanted to merge Kosovo with Albania. Along with the Crisis in Kosovo; Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia secede from Yugoslavia. These countries believed that they were a separate culture from the Serbians and wanted their own countries.

The many crises’ in Yugoslavia was caused by the suppression of racism and racial differences. Under the communist rule, cultural and ethnical differences were never erased but simply ignored. Tito’s decision to do this led to the breakup and war of the regions in Yugoslavia.

Communism emerges out of poverty. Usually the poor and suppressed will become impatient with the lack of progress of their economic and social situations. For example, during World War II Japan occupied and devastated much of China. However, the allied nations were victorious and Japan was forced to retrieve back to the mother land. A civil war broke out between the nationalist and communist for China’s power. Mao Zedong, head of the communist party, used propaganda such as promising land to peasants to gaining their supports and later use them as their troops. The communist party increased by the hundreds until they were able to defeat the nationalists. The rise of Communism in China was due to the success of the communist campaign of propaganda aimed at the desperate.

Another country which used the same tactic is the Soviet Union. The Russian Revolution of 1917 brought the reign of the Czar to an end and left the country in destruction. The Bolsheviks came to power, thus leads to Stalin, an arrogant and greedy man to be the leader. The method of aiming at the suppressed was the primary weapon communist leaders used to gain power.

Back