,l

PEACE INSTITUTE
METELKOVA 6
TITOSTALGIA
SI-IOOO LJUBLJANA
A Sn d.J of N osnlgia far J osip BroT
E: INFO@MIROVNI.INSTITUT.SI
< nrrr://www. Mr RovNr-r Nsrrrur.sr >

Publishedbl: PEACE INSTITUTE

edition, MBDTAwATcH <nrrn://lrrotawATcH.MtRovNr.rNsrrrur.sr>
edin: BRANRIcA psrxovrd

TITOSTALCIA -
A Study o/Nostclgia fu Josip Brcz
aut\m: MITJA VELIKONJA
rrarohabn: OLGA VUKOVIö
&sigri, RoBERT ZvoKEL, ftr DAK
couu We: sxot;e, zooS
ttrysphr: GOUDY & GOUDY SANS, l:rc
Yint: TISKARNA HREN
Drintfln: 3,oo copies, sEcoND EDITIoN

@ 2oo9 MrRovNr rNlrrru'r

B
@, krvrtrtrul t, "A;*"

'fhe fublishingof üßbookwu made posille b theOpenSociery lßtitute snd

tlre Minütry o/Culare of the Republic of Sbvenia.

MITJA VELTKoNJ^, FacuhJ of Social Sciences, Ljubljana

e: mitl a. u elikonj a@fdu. uni-lj si
.
4

CONTENTS

AC KNOW LED G E ME NTS

A CUP OF COFFEE g
I, INTRODUCTION _
Josip BroT dnbm slcol 13

II. THE MAPPING OF NOSTALGIA AND

THE RESEARCH APPROACH _
FollnwingTito's Path of Revolution z5

rrr. THE cuLTURE oF TrrosrArJro -

Tin-Ahvingbgend 4o
IV. TITOSTALGIC CULTURE _
Once there was a cotmtry! ! 65

v. (cour.rrrn)exrreNarroNs -
While tlv "lacl<smith" was president,
all daars were open m w! 94
VI. CONCLUSION _
Ve are Titn's, Tim is Ows (Mi smo Tinui, Tin je naf) r ß

VII. BIBLIOGRAPHY _
I' m warching you, majl<u uan boiiju r3 s
FrLMS AND MUSrC ALBUMS r44
PHOTO CREDTTS r45
 ACKNO\TLEDGEMENTS

The publication of this book was possible thanks to

the unselfish effort and supporr from the Media \fatch se-
ries editor, Brankica Petkoviö. I'm gratefirl to the transla-
tor, Olga Vukoviö, the Slovene language editor, Jaka Zuraj,
and the designer Robert Zvokelj, for their professional ap-
proach, accuracy and a good grasp of the topic. Nevena
SLrble Al"mpijevii, Tänja Petrovii, Tänja K-vaöiö, Mirt
Komel, Petar Stankovii and Mitja Dumik provided inval-
uable observations, supplements and critical comments.
Josefina Bajeq Nena Moönik, Tänja Radeä, Paul Mojzes,
Dejan Djokiö, Sezgin Boynik, Damir Arsenijeviö, Tätjana
Greif, AleS Ömiö, Nik Jeffs, Marjan Smrke, Rok Kovaö,
BoStjan Saveq Ines Kuburovii, Franc Tiöek, Daniel Nova-
koviö, Martin Pogaöar, Renata Jambre5id Kirin, Mare Le-
maiö, Tänja TäStanoska and Ilija Tomaniö TiivundZal con-
tributed a multitude of useful examples and hints, conracrs,
credible information and references. My thanks go to all
of the above mentioned, this time in writing. I'm thankful
to my supporters from Gorica - Silva, Marjan, Janez and
Alen - and to AleS Debeljak and Marjan MaleSiö for their
help when I needed it. And I'm indebted to countless orher
known and anonymous interviewees, informants and part-
ners in conversation, for their sincere cooperation, infop
mation and materials.
Finally, I'm most indebted to Elena Fajt, my ally, for
her unconditional support, inspiration and encouragement
whenever and wherever I needed it, and in the manner I
wished for.
I
Titotalgia - A Study of Notalgia for Josip Broz

A CUP OF COFFEE

I'm having a cup of coffee in the cafd nearest to my place

of work, aptly named Amenka. The coffee comes wirh a sug-
ar pack featurlng a well-known face. I glance through the
other sugar packs crammed into the bowl on my table, and
the same face stares out at me from every single pack. Now,
if the name of the caß was meanr ro have any significance,
then the face should be that of, say, George \7. Bush, or the
likes of John !üayne, Michael Jordan, or at least Beyonc6.
A face befitting an EU counrry would be a portrait of, say,
one of the /atlre rs of Ewopeon integration' , Robert Schu:rnan ar
J eon Monnet. In tlw finally indepenüent Slovenia, one would
expect to see one of the widely (se'lf-)acclaimed fighters for
inde,perrderce, for example, Lojze Peterle, Janez JanSa or Joäe
Puönik. As a member of anationof cultare, I should now be
looking at the face of PrimoZ Tiubar, JoZe Pleönik, France
PreSeren or some other artist or writer. As a resident of
Central Europe, I should see there the image of the honor-
able Franz Joseph I of Austria or his Sissi. If Slovenia were
truly Catholic, the face staring at me should be that of the
Counter-Reformation bishop Tomaä Hren or of the recent-
ly exonerated bishop Gregorij Roäman. If it is not Catho-
lic, then it should at leasr be true to its Alpine character,
but there is no trace of the intrepid folk band Avseniki, or
the pioneer mountaineer Jakob Aljaä, or the Alpine skier
Bojan Kriäaj, or any of the recently proliferating television
stars in Alpine, folk-sryle outfits. Slovenia's independence
was presumably a tlwuswrl"-yeor-old. drearn,blut sugar pacls
do not bear the image of any prorninent Partisan fighter or
of General Rudolf Maister. After many darkdecoiles of com-
nvinrßm, Slovenia is allegedly experiencing the post.social-
ist transition, but I'm denied the pleasure of looking at the
image of some now highly praised dissidents from Socialist
times. That is fine with me, but if preGrences lay more on
the side of the left political block, the face should be that
of Boris Kidriö, Edvard Kardelj or Milan Kuöan, or some
other prominent figure in socialist times. No! Our new
natural milieu should be the \)Zesr, but there is no picture
of some renowned public figure or contemporary pop icon
from that part of the world. Why not Elvis, Marylin, Ma-
radona, Kennedy, anna, Bruce Lee, Sid&Nancy, the Dalai

In this b@k, ideological discoume is italicized. Quoratioro ftom profsional litem-

rure or profsional opinion ile given in quoation Imlc.

9
 ntostalgia - A Study of Nostalgia for Josip Broz
Larna, MichaelJackson, Princess Diana, or David Beckharnl
Or son're local ooo stari
,.. '-!
I The image on the sugar pack was the 1943 portrait oF
Llprip Broz Tito by BoZidar Jakac.
My reaction was probably the same as that of many
other coffee drinkers who were stirred by old memories, or
of anyone who nowadays comes across a similar picture in
the abundant production of nostalgic content - why Titot
Every one among us has his/her own reason for asking this
question:curiosity, wonder, shock, unease, elation, accusa-
tion, or joy. Sorne would say that the answer is self-evident:
'I)to, of course, tuho else? New moralists would ask what crenr
wrong so that things are as they are. Some find this phenorn-
enon entertaining, others worrying; sorne ignore it, others
think that it is epherneral, and still others that it is endur-
ing. Sorne perhaps do not even recognize him. Some would
like to erase him from their own and coliective memory. For
some he is a distant benefactor, for others a dangerous reap-
pearance. Some see him as just another important histori-
cal figure who marked tire previous century in one way or
another. For foreigners, he is a superb tourist attraction. As
a cultural studies scholar, a citizen of Yugoslavia for more
than half of rny life, a mernber of the generation which, as
the cult band from Belgrade, Ekatarina Velika, once poign-
antly said, did not know that fire was sin', and as someone
who has had personal experience of the good and bad sides
of both countries and political systems, their achievements
and delusions, I'm interested in all the perceptions men-
tioned above and many rnore. Why, how, where and with
what purpose? To whorn or what should be attributed the
unusual reappearance of his image, name, values, syrnbolic
meaning and, last but not least, his vision, in our everyday
culture, the media, public life, and even in advertising irr
various parts of former Yugoslavia? \7here does this enig-
matic neo-Titoism come from? From where do young Titoists
spring, those that take it seriously and those for whorn it
is just an end-of-the-week pastime? The least one can say
about this delicate topic is that it is intriguing. The scope
and complexity of the phenomenon rnake it difficult to de-
fine, and even more difficult to explain. Therefore, I will
contextualize and examine it as part of mffiider study of
post-socialist nortalfr{ an unexpected phekffienon that
has surprised pracdeatfy everyone who has experienced the
transition period in former socialist countries, and even
ldemo (Let's Go), Dum Dum album, Belgrade, r99r.
IO
A Cup ofCoffee
more so foreign obr"ru"rr.[*.._ill call it "titogrglgia, " mean-
ing nostalgia for Josip Broz Tito ( r 892- r 98o).'
I'd like to point out that this is not another book about
'lito, but a bookgtg1lr". I was not interested in his biog-
raphy, in proven, attribured or irnagined episodes of his life.
I did not roam the archives of secret services, national in-
sritutions, or private collections, nor did I rely on exclßic.)e
opinions of his one-time aides and attendants who, all of a
sudden, know the whole truth about him. I do not aspire
to be a forensic expert historian uncovering unimportant
details, such as the origins of his pseudonyms, or the actual
date of his birth. Nor arn I a "book.keeper," recording ob-
scure anecdotes from his life, or a "tabloid-style" research-
er, feeding like a parasite on the thrilling details frorn his
love life or culinary preferences. Myriads of such peculiari-
ties are already documented in_ his many biographies, some
more and others less favorable, and in a number of historical
books, which altogether add up to the true "titology" that
had begun to develop during his lifetime. Unfortunately,
even more such trivia can be found in cheap print media,
within denunciations that make part of daily politics, and
sensationalist pseudo-scudies. These come complete with
meticulous descriptions by and wonder on the part of their
authors, but lack practically any reflection on the subject,
not to mention serious scientific evaluation.r
In brief@4ot asking who 'llto was inreality,what his
, oL in hirn ffirhow helas p r aise d l hated rnni. t iÄÄ att
these answers can be found in the large-circulation eulo-
gies and nearhagiographies written and painted for decades
Yet there are exceptions. I'd like to drarv your attention to nlo rccent collections
containing excellent analysis of the past and present perceptions of Broz using a
fresh, inter-disciplinary and theoretically critical approach: one is edired bylKrisri
Mathiesen Hlemdahl and Nevena Skrbii Alempijevii (zoo6), and the othe?6äRa-
Jonjn Leposavii (zoo+).kuljiö! srcio.hisroricrl srudy (zoo5) is ancrLher valuablb* -
contriburion. lt describes'BiofEilanner offunctioning and goveming, meaning his
political profile given in rhe conrexr of rhe hisrorical circumstances.
II
 A Cup ofCoffee
Titotalgia - A Study ofNostalgia for Josip Broz

by Tyrtaean artists and political lackeysa, or by his staunch

I. INTRODUCTION - Josrp Brozdnbm sl<rozs
ppgonents. My subject of interest is diametrically opposire:
Nllhat does he mean here and now to some? Why does his I really feel sad today when I see young people wdaring T-
image live on in a quite positive sense despite everythingl
shirts with Tito's or Che Cuevara's image, that is to say, peo-
How come that he is held in high esteem by groups so diverse ple who by many criteria do not belong among the giants of
that a whole new phenomenon of mass-cultural production
our or of global history. And we, Slovenes, have many peo-
could have developed around his image? \ühy does his narne ple in whom our youths could take pride. Ceneral Maister,
a product even to@ In otherwords, I do not
can still "sell"
for example.
write about Tito from the perioä before rg8o, rhat is, about
The Slovenian Minister of Education, Milan Zver.
a boy from an out-of-the-way village by the Sotla River, or
Odmevi, w Slovenija, July zooT
a man who frequented taverrrs and worked in mechanical
workshops before the slaughter ofthe First \ü7orld \7ar, or
"The very curious period of post-socialism", as former
about his service in the military his dramatic Russian ex-
dissidents Adam Michnik antfffilä7Fläi6l (rggz) de-
perience, his semi-legal acdviries during the inter-war pe-
scribed it in an interview, has spawned a series of interest.
riod, his leadership of the Yugoslav communist party and
ing social phenomena and cultural curiosities across former
Partisan resistance movement, deft steering between the
Yugoslavia. The professional public and ordinary people
extremes of the cold war blocks, his lifelong presidency of
both refer to these as "yugonostalgia," or nostalgia for the
the second Yugoslavia or his lively foreign activities. Nor
late country. Its manifEffidnTmtremely diverse, vary-
do I write about his death and funeral, which brought to-
ing with the region, time, group of people or intentions. It
gether the world leaders of the time. I do not burden myself
involves pleasant memories of various "things Yugoslav,"
wit[linarisms arising from gossip or newspaper columns, rather than things specific to individual nations of former
aryltbeet interested in whether he wx abad guy or a good Yugoslavia.f$ese include Yugoslav pop.cukure (ranging
sutr The phenomenon of nostalgia ir part of my iield oire. ftomstmogradske songs and Dalmatian bebanüo to rock'n'roll,
seaich, so myFest,lgn is why foq some Tito is still or (even
punk and new wave), Yugoslav film, television seri€s, com-
more intriguihgly) once more a positive figure. Why does
edy programs, the entertainment scene, victories of national
he continue to be an inspiration to people even today? In
sport teams, informal (friendly, love) relationships and for-
this study, I do not look back, but around me, I'm not in.
mal ones (forged while participating in work brigades, serv-
terested in the old Titoism, but in the new onei nor in Tito
ing in the military visiting twin rowns or schools, taking
befare md after, but only afreA I'm interested in his "life af-
part in country-wide contests), travel and vacationing from
ter death" or "life after life.'@lggesrions do not relate to
the Vardar River in Macedonia to Mounr Tiiglav in Slov-
the late Broz, but to the Tito that still "lives," and not to
enia, employment opportunities across the former country
an "unknown" Broz, but the well-known one - Tito whose
various phenomena of everyday life, cult industrial and food
signifiers can still be seen in the streets, on facades, in sou.
venirs shops, in newspapers, at events commemorating his
birthday or dearh, and in the fond memories and beliefs
ä:$;Hil;ffi:;,3:T:
ment for DrugTin (Comrade Tito). Moreoverftlostalgia
hetd by people across Tito's former Yugoslaffil
is an even more concrete, direct and eryntial part of the
I
broad and loose notion of yugonosggffig[ neverrheless, it

5 Juip Broldobu sbo1would roughly tmrolate m, 'Joip Broz gmd from top to bor-
tom. The chapter subtitls in this b@k ile taken ftom texts reproduced on T-shirts
4 Rather thm dwelling on them my further, I'd like to mention rcme of the anists
tlut are sold acrm fomer Yugclavia. Thoe that involve word play and laal con-
who have dmribed or porrayed him. Thee mnge from unknom folk anists to the
cept$, md whw gist would be lqt in tmdation, are left in the original md ex-
grqt nms within the world of art, for example, Vladimü Nmr, Mirqlav lGlela,
plained in puenthois or a fomote. The short quotatiom introducing individual
BoIiduJakac, Boris Kalin, Fmce Bevk, Vojin BakiC, Safet Zec md, of coune, An-
chaptes are shtemens by Broz's critic md opponents of today.
tu Augustinöid (his famou rculpture of war-time Bro, deeply in thoughts, snid-
6 This is excellently synth*ized in Oleg Mmdid's "Mitologije svakidalnieg iivom"
ing pemively in a long amy cmt with his hmds clmped behind his back, was repro-
(Mythologies of Everyday Life) (rgZ6) md the
duced outls tims in vuious sim md materials). For example, ree Z. Mutavdli6 "posthumous" "kksikon Yu mitolog.
ije" (A Lexion of Yu-Mythology) edited by Iris Andrid, Madimir Aßeftijevid md
"Tito in umetniki" (Tito And Artiss), ozs, Ljubljma, 196r. Dorde MatiC (zo4). See alm Jmen, zo5 ,2rg.2s9.

I2
r3
 nrostalgia - A Study of Nostalgia for Josip Broz
requires examination in a broader context. Over the turbu-
lent decades following his death on May 4, r98o, the atti-
tude towards Tito on the part of Yugoslav cirizens, later the
citizens of newly formed counrries, as well as of the wider
international community, varied greatly.
Only one aspect of this attirude never changed: no mat.
ter whether times were good or bad, in the eyes of his op-
the r99os ponents, supporters or neutral observers, Tito has invariably
been an important historical figure, who marked the mod-
ern history of Yugoslav nations and the wider region in one
way or anorher. In polirics in particular, anotable figure is a
synonym for controversy. Accordingly, over the past dec.
ades, fhe great statesman, the uictoriousleader of the Partisan
resistance mouement, a citizen of the world,, a rebel who dmed
s4) No! to Hitler and Snlin (and sura,)ived) , the most webome
guest, the father of self-muwgement socialism, a cosmopolitnll,
a peacemaker and a co-creator of the "third way" in the then
diuided wcnlÄ (the architect of the Non-AlignedMovement) , a
chmminghost and abon viuant, gradually became everything
that is diarnetrically opposite: awar ciminal, atypicaltyant,
ut anti-democrat, a charhtan, a. mass murderer, a saunch Bol.
sheqtik , a traitor of the Croatianhood , a Serb hater and tle hater I
murdererlbutcher of everJ Yugoslau nation in ntm , a smug tonli-
arianleader, a godless person, acheap demagogue, aComintem
agent, theBalkanPol.Pot, the Snlin'sbest studentetc. A similar
fate befell hisYugoskwia since its break.up in late July of
- waiting room, army barracksi and other public place, that
r gg r , syntagms such as the country of brotherly nntions , free
countTy, sociolism with a human face, were counterbalanced
by new ones, for example, the prison of nations, the Bolshevik
rub of tenor, the dicntorial regime , the conspiracl of the Com-
munistslthe Karaäordeviö family, and. the VersaillesYalta crea-
rare. Foreign politicians and commentarors used to describe
him as rhe only trueYugoskto4 historians called him thelast of
theHabsbrngs, because he atrempred to bring together under
one roof nations so diverse. During wwtr, he was the heroic
guerilla lead.er; when he split with Stalin, wesrem observ.
ers proclaimed him rhe communistLuther;hewas likened to
Heruy vtn, called the Balkan Caesot, while the British For.
eign Secretary, Ernest Bevin stated, at the time when the
Informbiro crisis (the break with Sralin) came to a head,
that Tito was a scoundrel, but our scoundrel (Pirjevec, rg95,
r93). At the same time, Soviet propaganda called him the
Americanhireling and the seruant of two mosters. The critical
British historian S. Pavlowitch described his last years with
the phrase "helmsman and pharaoh" (zoo6,67).Yugoslavia
t4
lntroduction
was ironically nicknamed Titoland and Titoslaqtia. while
Titoism became a synonym for the type of socialist regime
independent from the Soviet Union. There is practically
no positive or negarive qualiry that has not been (and will
not be) attributed to him and h/s Yugoslavia.
Therefore, in this study I will be interested in titostalgia
as part of a wider phenornenon rhar I've been studying for
more than a decade, that is, yugonostalgia and nostalgia for
socialism in general. The images of Broz, like the images of
Yugoslavia, its political symbols, arrifacrs of mass culture,
popular beliefs, fond memories of rhose times, the retro-style
in design and advertising - all appear on various levels and
in various locales of social life, including where no one ex-
pects them, on a daily basis, as part of everyday discourses
and practices, and even more emphatically on the anniver-
saries of his death or birth. During his dmes, ir was normal,
and even required, that his portraits hung everywhere, thar
his image was reproduced on all kinds of oblects ranging
from stamps and badges to banknotes, that his historical
staternents were extensively quoted in the mass media, text-
books, historical and other studies, that his collected works
in quality leather binding or books about him graced the
bookshelves of those politically more conscious, that his name
was painted on hills in huge letters seen from tens of miles
away, that promises to him adomed many a classroom, office,
his name wasproudlybotne by one town in each republic and
autonomous province, and that many streets, squares, public
facilities and institutions were named after him. There ex-
isted numerous Tito scholarships, awards etc.; 88 trees were
plantedinmemory of Tito, and many public events (includ-
ing bizarre ones, for example, the contest for ploughmen
called l-itot Funow) were dedicated to hirn. Political ritu-
als in his honor were plentiful, but the most illusrrious were
the annual YouthDay, celebrated on his birthday,May 25,
with a huge sporrs event concluding the country-wide relay
race and the ceremonial delivering of the baton symboliz-
ing the best wishes from all Yugoslavs, and his magnificent
funeral attended by a vast number of renowned political
and public figures from around the world.8 Indeed, he was
highly acclaimed by many of his norable conremporaries,
Totch our Tito, arul.SoiII be blotun up by a rnine (Ko nam dirne fira, razbiöe ga mina),
rvas an admonition I heard rvhen I served in the military.
There s'ere zo6 foreign clelegations from rz3 countries. For a full list, see L)edijer
( r
98 r , I 3 ). Practically all rvorld statesmen rvere rhere, save for President Carter Over
thc 64 hours while he lay in state, 465 <m people filed past to pay their last respect.
t5
 Titostalgia -A Study of Nostalgia for Josip Broz
for example, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, l7inston Church-
ill, Martin Luther King and Jean-Paul Sartre, and even his
enemies (".g.H. Himmlere and H. Hitler'"). His photo ap-
peared on the front pages of many magazines, such as Time,
Life and Picture Posr. Broz's biography by Vladimir Dedi-
jer was translated into practically all world languages, and
even printed in braille (Kul1ie, zoo5, 4o5); more rhan one
thousand books about him were published."
an antique shop,
Sara.jevo, zooS
It is not difficult to explain rhis omnipresence and
sweeping popularity of Broz: he was one of the main sym.
bolic centers of the political myrhology and narrative imagi-
nary of socialist Yugoslavia, and a celebrated and protected
one at that. A typical personality culr endorsed by repres-
sive bodies and sustained by organized official propaganda
was built around him, summarizing all Georges Dumdzil's
"cosmic and social functions" (rulers/priests, warriors and
producers). The adularion ofTito began as early as during
the liberation war" and only escalated after his break with
Stalin (in 1948) in an atrempr to diminish the personal-
ity cult surrounding the latter: on home ground, he is said
to have been "more of a Stalinist than Stalin," (Bamett,
zoo6,8z) or, he put up "Stalinist resistance to Stalin" (Pav-
lowitch, zoo6, 57.59).'r After r948, socialism-building at
9 He stated: I uish u'e had a dozenTiros in Gerun1, leaÄers with srch derennimtion cnd
srrch good nerues, that even though they were fueuer encircled. rhey would neuer giue in.
ro Kuljiö,2oo5,398.
rr For the list ofmore important ones, see Pavlorvitch, zo6, r r r-rj.
rz See also Milan Terziö's study "ntova vje5rina vladanja - Mar3al i Marlalar 1943-
r953" (1ito's Goveming Skill - Marshal And The Marshalate) (Pobjeda, Podgorica,
zoo5). See also S. Eiletz: "lltova skrivnostna leta v Moskvi r935-r94o" (Tito's Se-
cret Years in Moscorv) (Mohorjeva, Celje, zooS).
13 Kuljii (2oo5,366-4zo) also rvrites about the personality cult surrounding Broz and
his charismatic leadership. Fister's empirical analysis (zooz, zz6-zz9) ofBroz'sim.
age in songs dedicated to him from the time of his break rvith Stalin to his death
shorved that the dorninant semanric unirswerebeloued (dear), lghr (su) aodleqder.
r6
lntrodrrction
home overshadowed communist internationalism, Yugoslav
models prevailed over Soviet ones, and the October Revo-
lution was less emphasized compared to the Yugoslav Par-
tisan resistance movement or the national liberation war
(mytholgized a s a continual, mequal and bitter snugg;le agairst
an enemJ a hundred times stronger, to quote Broz himself).
He became the "trinity" ruler - head of state, of the mili-
tary and of the party. Real "titocracy" indeed. However, it
is much more difficult to understand why much of this cult
has survived to this day, or returned, or perhaps emerged
anew. Naturally, the methods, exponents, purposes and
means are nowadays different, but nevertheless. He retreat-
ed from the leading pages of the newspapers dedicated to
foreign and domestic affairs, but only to move a few pages
toward the back, where he now appears in other sections,
such as tourism reports, serialized stories and advertisements,
or under arresting titles such as Cr.rioslries, or conspicuously
highlighted This can't be wue/FFor, who with the debacle
of Yugoslavia stepped down frorn the political stage with a
roar, returned silently as Tito through the door opened by
various cultural, media and consumer discourGsll may as
well speculate further: are we witness to a flläiil-'$eturn to
Tito," involving more or less faithful reconstructions of the
past, or is this something altogether new even if drawing
on history? Is this a new construction of the past? Or of the
I
present? Or even the future?
: Let me clarify something early on to avoid misunder-
i
I standing: the Titoist discourse of today is a mere shadow of
i the discourse omnipresent during socialist times.'a'!7e now
have new protagonists, new political myths, symbols and
I
rituals, and new "jargons of authenticity", all infinitely re-
produced much like those in the past. Within these, Tito
and yugonostalgia generally figure as insults or convenient
I
i
disparagements. The personality cult of the former Mar-
shal all but disappeared from dominant discursive construc-
I
tions. Or, lnore accurately, it moved elsewhere. When in
,]
Ljubljana or Sarajevo you comes across a teenager in a T!
j
shirt with Broz's image; when in Mostar, next to the new
t, Catholic church, a key tag with Broz's image is sold along-
,i
i side those with the Croatian national emblem, the images
I of the Medjugorje Virgin Mary, various saints or the rebuilt
':
I
Mostar bridge; when in Serbia you see a street vendor selling
a badge with his image alongside those with the images of
I
Equally interesting rvould be an analysis of the anti.'Ilto discourse that developed si-
multaneously inside and oumide Yugoslavia.
I
{
I
I 17
 ntostalgia - A Study ofNosralgia for Josip Brou
le[t:
a stre€t stall.
Liubljana,2oo4
right:
a showcase.
Beograd. zooT
DraZa Mihajloviö, Ratko Mladii, Radovan KaradZiö, Zoran
Dindii, Che Guevara and ones wirh the text God p,r otects the
Serbs; For King and Homeland; r o t o/o Serb, and D on, t stare at
m) tits; when in Skopje you see a beggar wolnan wearing a
large Broz portrait on her chest; when in Istrian towns you
walk along Tiro Srreers; when in Bosnia you are called llro
by someone who wants to say that you're special, that you
areThe King; when you realize that a notorious Slovenian
nationalist has erected a monument to Broz in the garden
of his villa; when in rhe center of Belgrade you see the shop
window of an elite rourisr srore exclusively filled with Tito.
souvenirs (lighters, magners, badges etc) and books about
him (ranging from two Broz cookbooks to a reprint of the
book of anecdotes about hirn); when you learn that in
Macedonia there exists a political party bearing his narne;
right:
Makedonija, zoo8
below:
a lawyer's oflice,
Tuzla, zooS
when his picrure crops up in the most unexpected places,
ranging from alternative youth clubs to old confectioner,s
shops, and from auto repair shops to private aparrments;
when you learn rhat in zoo4 the President of Montene-
gro presented Libyan President Gadafi with one of Broz,s
Marshal uniforms (to the latrer's immen se delight according
to media reports); when enthusiasts still maintain huge
texts dedicated to hirn painted on hilltops; when on rhe
r8
Introduction
a workshop.
Skopje. zoo8
anniversary of his birthday or death, as well as in berween,
both the wider public and the professional public still cross
swords on the issue of Tito - one cannot but ask: Why he
in particular? \7hy again? For what purposeJ For whom is
it all meant?
The new protagonists of rhis discourse doggedly in-
sist on something that I have named th" deAshlgtgg-
symptom: they try hard to depoliticize Broz's reappearance.
*Tt
atLg.?ly has no connection with politics, and he is pre-
sumably not interesting as a political figure. They contend
that the motives nowadays are quite different: commercial
and sentimental, involving provocation, entertainment
and the like. The organizer of the Days of Tito's Cuisine,
for example, expressly stated that the event had no connec-
tion whatsoeqter with politics, but he only wanted to remind us
of the times when we ate nuly good f ood, artd" of N ouember 29 ,
when slaughtering of a pig was a must. Therefore, no politics,
just good dishes ad high spincs. The guests, roo, s{rore rhat
they were not there for politics but for delicious food, and
the caption under the photo in a newspaper read "Polirics/
lYhat politics!" 's The organizers of the zooT Tito party in
Doboj (Bosnia-Herzegovina) similarly asserted that their
tourist evenr had no political undertones, adding that they
hoped it would evolve into a rourist attraction that would
pull tourists frorn the (former) homeland and wider.'6 The
manager of a company that bottles water called Titov izuor
(7ito Sp,ring) explained that his decision had nothing to
do with politics, bur was a pwe marketing move expected
to help the company gain a foothold in the market. The
t 5 M. Ncdeljkov: Al je marial dobro jeo... (!/hat A Good Diet the Marshal had...)
Press, Belgrade, December
3, zoo7, p. r6, r7.
r6 htrp://rvrvrv.livno-online.com/content/vie*,/47o8/:6r/, accessecl on Augusr rz,
BLIO

Titmtalgia - A Study of Notalgla for Jcip Btoz
self-proclaimed Consul Gercral of srnr,'z Marko Perkoviö
from Tivat (Montenegro), maintains that the aim of the
relay mces he organizes is tlwpreservatim of tfu cultwalatd
hßtoricalhenmge a'd.tlv promotion of fvmw brotlwrlwod atd
unitl inMontercgro, And all tl'nt without idnlization, ideol.
ogl vr politics.'s Ivo Godniö, the impersonator of Broz, insists
rhat t)wre are no ideolngical motiues behind the invitations
he receives to appear at various evenß (ranging from the
anniversary ofa waterworks construction and the presenta-
tion of books on the local wine to birthday parties), but the
reason is a charßmatic persmdiq and a safety uohte far rcv
taJgio.'o The same argument could be heard from Gordana
Vnuk, the director of the Eurokaz theatre festival (renamed
Titokaz for the occasion), who explained that the thematiz-
ing of Tito was apoetic ardanarchisticphanta nwgoriawtlwut
rdeola glcal answ er s.'"
t it exnemell seno*sly. But youlffiau,I dnn't tnl<B it uerl sen-
\" ,\
li_
t Alempijevid, zoo6, rgz)'
Slovenia, the r99os Eoanon
To proceed with the attempts at depoliticizing Broz's
personality, the frontman of the Slovenian yugonostalgic
band called ZakloniSöe prepeva (Shelter Singing), Vanja
Aliö, says If we a:re nostolgic, dwn we reutrn to certan things
that seemed beautiful vr inrcresting at that time. In rc way is
this a recalling of tlv then regime." Otlwrs euen caugcrically
reject the idea thatnwmories öf Brol ffid tlw euents flvntiotwd
r7 srnv wu a widely ued abbreyiation for the Scialist Fedeml Republic of Yugclavia.
18 D. Novaöic: Kako so mm Slovenci pokvuili vqelie (How The Slovenes Spoiled
OuJoy). Mladina, Ljubljma, May r9, zo7, p. 5o'
19 R. Repnik: Jugo v nali glavi (Yugo ln Ou Hea<ls). Nedeljski dnemik, Ljubljma, De'
cember 19, 1999, p. 16.
zo Shealsoaddedthatwhen theater is inquetion tfu ms shnldrctbedeologalbut
perial (8. Mmjin, Fenl Tiibme, Split' July 6, zo7, p' 38, 39; md I. Slmjski: Titoku
ili gledmje uatmg (Titoka Or Lmking fucl.).Zam'Zaeteb,luly p,za7,p, qi'
2r He also adds, Ilt simpb üout tlv srcialiing, jowtlels mÄrmr w e$aimed tla.
(Repnik, rggq, rz).
20
Introduction
above inololqre (yugo) rcstalgia : tlv baler of tfu y outh section of
tfu Slavenim SocialDemouats sals that we arc not Jugotws'
mlgic,butwe dnn't want n fargettlw uahßs odarocatedb! Titn,
md impmtmtt far nday's wuld" as well; tlrre
which are positiue
chairman of the Croatian Union ofJosip BtozTto Societies
maintains that visitors to these events lsirrcnt the times wllen
t)neyliuedmtchbetter,andtherewerercemplnymentproblems;
ulwnfuahhcare andeducanonwere occessible ao all (...) No-
body fure speal<s of tlv creatron of anewYrgoshuia; it would
be nonsewe in an era of European and glabal integraaorc." A
former high ofücial within the Slovenian socialist youth
organization light-heartedly dismissed the phenomenon,
calling it a sutt of entemimlent and did not see in it any
rcsntgia far tlwt s)stem, perlwps just for louth.'t And, last
but not least, during the recent celebration ofYouth Day in
Broz's birthplace Kumtovec, a father in his early thirties,
who dressed his two.year old son in a uniform wom by Titot
piotleers"4, thus explained the reverence for Broz: Some nl<e
ous$, we're lwre n lwue akttlz fim, ard tlwt's it. Thß is ow
day'fs, f*r, adding that Tito was a reolly cool' guy. (Sl<rbi6
Dedinje, 2oo7
of Broz and his presence in contem-
porary mass culture do nothave apolitical prefix and are ftee
from ideological burdens or "skeletons in cupboards",
or at least that is what everyone my
zz M. Podkilnik: Dan, ko je olivela Day Fomer Yugolavia
Came Back To Life). Delo, Ljubljma, May 24' 2@1 p. t2.
z3 N . Gole: Kdo bo v prihodnie noil Stafetol (Vho Vill Now Carry The Baton?) An
interuiew withJ. Skoljö. Klin, Liubtima, May zm8, p. 5.
z4 The Union of Pionees of Yugolavia, atablished in 1942, wff m orgmiation
whqe memebs were children ftom the age of 7. The pioneer unifom coroisted of a
red marf md a blue ep elled a Titovka. For more, see, e.g. http.//en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Pioniri
2I
 Titostalgia - A Study of Notalgia for Joip Broz
personal conviction is that the situatipn is just the oppo-
site: if it is non-political and ideologically unburdened, why
have they been choosing Broz in particular? There is a wide
choice of other less controversial personalities who marked
that time but remained outside the domain of politics: for
example, those involved in mass culture or everyday life,
sportsmen and entertainers, Yet people nevertheless make a
"politically incorrect" choice and in pursuing their nostalgic
discourse exploit precisely the political personality par ex-
celletlce - the late head of state, the political parry and the
military. Negation- affirmation, taught Freud (r98r, rz3):
"iri our interpretation, we take the liberry of disregarding
the negation and of picking out the subject-matter alone
of the association".'5 Barthes, too, says that a mythologi-
cal discourse always pretends to be depoliticized, natural.
In brieff@,tr;lear that the exponents of nostalgic discourse
- the ofganizers of and participants in nostalgia events, as
well as the makers and consumers of nostalgia products -
actually have neither ä concrete "actionplan," nor the firm
intention to restore the past with which they like to flirt in
nosalgic constructions.'6 Yet this "jouissawe of imaginary
excess" (Jameson, zoo5, g4), the evocation of something
which clearly cannot come back, does not.mean that their
new narratives and practices are not ideologically or politi-
cally charged, but rather that the political is present on an-
oth"r l.Eil as I will show later in the text.
A'ccordingly, the basic questions posed by this study arg
as follows. \ühat is the fountainhead of the attention de:
voted to Broz, or even the affection for him? Why this new-
old imagery and production, these narratives and practices?
In brief, where does all this "tittooage" come from?"? Has
Broz been "rebom", or has he acrually never left for good
but only temporarily withdrawn from mass culture, adver-
tising, folk imagination and minds? Are we perhaps witness
to something completely new that has simply taken on the
well.known facel How should we ei<plain the present pro-
liferation of the signs of an obviously undergroun{ socio-
cultural phenomenon? :
Bosnia - Hezegovina.
2OO7
z5 And also: 'Negation is a way of taking ognimie of what is reprsed" (Ibid., rz+).
z6 I cm agree with the Califomim art historim Kmzle ( 1992, zr), who sid that, "of
coune, wearing Che on your chot dm not nrcewily mem beuing hin in your
. hean", md would add that the sme applic to Broz md mmy othen.
z7 The te m, combining the name Tito md the pmctice of anooirg is the sense of
pütting a lim imge on mmeone's body, wm oined by Nena Moönik, and I ue it
with her pemision
22
Inroduction
Is it nostalgia, merely a retro-style, just another pastism,
or a commercial niche? Is it a subversive response, even if
fixed onto the past, to the uniust present and an uncertain
future? How should we explain the fact that after a quarter
century of passive and then active de-Titoization, meaning
"silencing" processes affecting everything related to him,
and countless negative and exclusionary myths, Broz's long
and recognizable shadow has not faded away but, on the con-
trary, has even acquired new nuances.'8 In other words, why
has this iconic status been accorded to Broz rather than to
someone else? \ühat is the nature of the silent, overlooked
and evenloudly denied politicaliry ofthat specific discourse,
of which even its protagonis$ may not be aware? The study
of this phenomenon should be approached through the
most basic questions' like those asked by Andersen's child
in "The Empetor's New Clothes.'\7hy is it not someone
else? If it is true that Slovenes have apredtlectionfar the'fa'
tlwr of t)rc no.tion,"o how is it tlrat stalls in Ljubljana do not
sell T:shirts with the image o( say, Anton Koro5ec, the emi-
nent Slovenian politician between the rwo world wars, or
that of Boris Kidriö, while T:'shirts with the image of Broz
come in several designs?
\ilhy in Croatia is it possible to buy Brolol.'o 1)ino (Broz
Wine) or Titocl borcvniöeuec (Tito Bilberry Brandy), but not Serbia. 2oo8
a wine or brandy named after Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac,
late President Franjo Tüdman or the intePwar politician
Stjepan Radiö? \ühy in Serbia can you find graffiti about
Tito but not about, say, St. Sava or the prominent pre'war
politician Nikola Pa5ic? \?hy do many street vendors in
the towns of former Yugoslavia sell postcards showing Broz
in various settings (with pioneers, aboard a ship, along with
the sickle and the hammer, surrounded by hunting trophies,
reading, patting a cheetah etc'):o and even in the company
of his esttanged wife Jovanka? How is it that many "Post-
Yugoslavs," if I may call them so, feel that everythingis üle
some, only He is notllere, as runs the title of the winning
song from the zoo5 song contest in Budva performed by
z8 The Croatim historim Tvnko Jakovina, writing about the iconclmm that followed
Titob death, evo mentiom the tem brozmoan (Brorcbwed in the sere 'haunt'
ed by Broz') (Nepomati Tito iz ameriökih uhiva Unknom Tito From Americm Ar-
chiva). Globus, Zageb, May z, zm8, p. 5r)' The post'wialist new speak also in'
cluds the tem yugokeptic md yugohater f ugmavi)'
z9 As claimed by the historian Boio Repe duing his lectue in Nova Gorica in May .
uo8. vu: Nal Tito ie nal (Our Tito Is Oun). Primomke novice, Koper, Nova Gori-
ca, May zz, zoo8, p. 7.
3o He is also praent on postads without his photo, for exmple the one with the Yu-
golav flag md the textTm Fuew.
23
 lntroduction Titostalgia -A Study ofNostalgia for Josip Broz

the Macedonian singer Tijana Dapöeviö?:' Therefore, why II. THE MAPPING OF NOSTALGIA AND
exactly Josip BroT Sup er star 7 THE RESEARCH APPROACH _
F ollowing Tito's P ath of Reu olurion

Gorizia libera!
later added: Dai mone titini!3'
graffiti in Gorizia, zooS

To be able to research and analyze this vibrant and

complex phenomenon, it is first necessary to define the ba-

lF
tFrr sic notions and expressions, while acknowledging that no
definition can exhaust all of its diverse forms. In providing
definitions, my ultimate ambition i's to establish their "fam-
f."4
; J'!l.
ily resemblances," to use \Tittgenstein's words, meaning a
I minimal set of essential characteristics. I will now list and
briefly compare several definitions of collective memory
Serbia. zooT nostalgia, neostalgia, retro, post-socialist nostalgia and, in-
evitably, titostalgia.
The author of a classical studv on c o L LE cr r v E M E M -/
'ffi
^oRy,
Maurice Halbwach (roor, zs,?6J16frhffi
hrg. *.asure a reconstruction of the past achieved with
data borrowed from the present, a reconstruction prepared,
furthermore, by reconstructions of earlier periods wherein
past images had already been altered"; for him, memory is
"an image entangled among other images, a generic image
taken back into the past". For the cultural critic Svetlana
Boym (zoo r , 53 ), collective memory is "common landmarks
of everyday life" which "constitute shared social frameworks
of individual recollections." Memory too, is ideologically
connoted and, the same as any other mental form, subject
to the mechanisms used by the centers of social power in
their struggle for hegemöny - selection, hierarchization,
construction and amnesia. J[s,"politics of memory" ls-
comes materialized through the "industry of memory" (erec-
tion of monuments, u..i"*o.ryffi!1ffi1 hohday
cycles, memorabilia production, "official" historiography
production etc.), and as such it is an indispensable part of
political, commercial, educational and concrete projects,
Accordingly, it seems useful to draw attention to two pe-
3r The imagery md choreography of the perfommce, m well as a text combining all
the languages offomer Yugoslavia, clearly point to Tito's Yugoslavia. The video spot culiarities relating to memory, particularly in view of the
is available at hnp:/w.youtube.com/watchlv=erh3hQ5sz8c, accesed on Febru- conceptualization of nostalgia below. One is a distinction
ary 25, zo8. The opening verees speak for themwlves: I remmbq when we a]I wqe
between testimony and renelihpfiqclTestimony rests on a
Valtsl anlmixedmvar r)le Brtka-Barcvitruilwal andnw, whenewnmy palun
fr
. wear a bra,l I ne rct so good. at d.nooacl,l what fools we'le oll nvdc of out.
see thot we "grain oTtrffi%iä"r ru.h ir factual and
selves... (8, sjeCam se kad, smo svi bliYakul i mjefali rvlw TaBrtko . Barcvit. W. "iäfifiätive,
yerifiable view of how it was, meaning a view based on the
gu,l a, vdkadi juanrcle nosithuahu,l vid)m darum ogadmokratijabal ine ide od
ruku,l a, jesmo fu ispoli pagci svi od reda...) 3z Free Grizi.a!, added, Stop ir, Tiro-üdiors!

24 25
Tirrstrrlgia A Stutlv ol Nostalcia tor Josip l3ro:
of the past. Rernetnbering, on the other hancl,
fragrl-rents
may tencl to acljrrst these fragrnents, builcl further on them
or acld sourething, :rnd is more susceptible to presentist im-
peratives./The other distinction is that betrveer-r3ersonal
ancl colleitive mernory. The latte r is "in the possession" of
ii certain gioul'r tliroLrgh the operirtion of vat'ious medi'.r; it is
subject to canonizatiorl Lurd institutionalization, but still left
to indivicluaL interpretations as u'ell. Persor-ral rnernory, on
tl.re other hand, wl-rile referring to collective mernory, also
jealously maintains individual excltrsivity and eccentric-
ity, cherishing its orvn, singular small stories frorn the past
that are in the sole possession of an individual, althor-rgl'r
part of larger history.
Collective remernbering in post-socialist societies rs
\/ery specific, because ofVarious disrutrttive transition proc-
esses: :r change frorn the socialist political system to the
parlianentary systeln, frorn the state-plannecl econorny
to the neo-libcral-turbo-capitalist one, frorn cornrnunist
(inter)nationalism to, in rnost cases, new ethnocentrisrns,
Eurocentrisrns and C)ccidentalisms, ancl, in tl-re case of Yr-r-
goslavia (anc'l irlso the Soviet Union ancl Czechoslovakia),
from a rnulti-national fecleration to small nation-states ancl
various pse uclo-state fortnations. Reckless revisions of mocl-
ern history, nerv exclusivist itleologies, delibelate arnnesia
- all these plecipitate not only' an icler-rtity crisis but also
serious ruprtures in people's lnelnol'y lrarrati\res, both per-
sonal and collective.
NOsTALGTA is one of the rnost fi'equellt cliscursive con-
strubtions in'clevelopecl countries. lt is a kinrl of inverse but
ir-rdispensable cornLranion of conterrporat'y 1'rrogressist icle-
ologies, i.e . obsession rvith tl-re future. The faster the clevel-
opment, the rnore change becomes the orrly constant trait;
the rnore unpleriictable irnd uncertain the futtrre, the greater
the nrrrnber of cligressions and escapa.les, iur.1 recourses tcr
the past. No socierl process is ever linear; each an.l every
one is contraclictory in itself. Moclcn-rization invented tl're
"corrcct", self-legitirnizir-rg traditioll; progressivism stimu-
latetl pastisrn; the proliferating prescntist end.s o/ hisrory, re-
alizatior-r of rlrolsand-1e ar-old dleants etc. create r-rew utopias;
arnnesia ancl pogrorns against the past bring about r-rostalgia,
and it is practicirlly all arour-rcl us, pervading various seg-
rnents of sociirl life. \7l-rile tluling the r97os Toffler (r97o)
u,rote Llbout "future sl-rock," toclay r.r'e car-r confidently talk
:rbotrt "nostalgia shock."
z6
The \{apping of NLrst:rlqia iurcl thc llcscrrch Apprrrach
Nostalgia has become somervhat of a jturkyarcl concept
that is usecl r-rtterlf indiscriminately and superficially, so it
deserves lnore accurate definition in this context. For Frecl
Davis, the author of the first sociological book on nostal-
gia, it is "a nice sort of saclness - bitter-sweet" (rg7g, r4) or
"a joy clouded with sadness" (lbid., z9). For Roger Cardi-
nal (r9g4, 93) it is "ernblerl-rs of that bitter-sweet ycartring
clirected acloss space and tirne", while Christopher Lascl-r
( rqqr, 8l) says that "nostalgic representations of the past
evoke a tirne irretrievably lost and for tirat reason timeless
and unchangir-rg". In contrast to l-ristorical lnelnory or her-
itage, which comprises both positive and negative episodes,
nostalgia is pr,rrified frorn the latter: it is "menory *'ith the
pain removed.",, Boyrn says that "nostalgic longing was de-
fined by loss of the original object of desire, ancl by its spa-
tial and ternporal clisplacernent" (zoo I , 38); it is "an ache of
ternporal distance aud displacement" (lbicl., 44). For Mal-
cohn Chase ( rq8q, r::), its essential feature is "nostalgia
for tl-re past that hatl not itself been nostalgic: a past freed
of exploitatiou, conflict, and instability". Susar-r Steu'art,
the author of anothe r brilliant study on these phenctmena,
is resolute in her assertion that "nostalgia, like any forur c,f
nalrative, is alrvays ideological: the past it seeks never ex-
istecl except as narrative" (tgsl,,l).ln tny ou'u definition,
nostalgia is a cotlplex, differer-rtiated, changing, crrotiol)-
laclen, 1-rersonal or collective, (non)instrumentalized story
rvl-rich dichotolnously laments and glorifies romanticizecl
lost times, people, objects, feelings, scents, events, spac-
es, relationships, values, political and other systems, all of
u4rich stand in shartrr contrast to the ir-rferior present. It is a
mourning for the irreversible loss of the past, a longing for
it, and it freqtrently invoh'es a utopian rvish irr-rd even ?ln
effort to bring it back. Nostirlgia, a "rotnance u'ith an un-
happy endir-rg," "a sad love," "a bitter er-rlogy of the siveet
past," or put concisely, "a rettospective utopia," is charac-
terizecl by trvo antithetic elemeuts: pleasant tnetnories of
an idealizecl yesterday that is cotnparecl lvith a clorvngracled
toclay, and pain at t1're thought that these pirstoral tempi Je'
lici are irrevocably gone.
: The dystopian present is therefore put to the test by the
rutopiirn past. A nostalgic cliscourse is straightforrvard, uot at
irll Aesopian, easily recognizal.le hy its.,bsessivJuie of radi-
cirl binaries such as, it ct,as better before, it's wort, nuiffh"
31 As uittill put b1' the c,rlrrnrnisr llerb Caen in The ir'lorning Linc Srn Frirtrcisc,r
Cihroniclc, San Francisco, April r;, r97;, p. I7.
2'7
 ntostalgia - A Stucly of Nostalgia fbr Josip Bro:
ic'lealized good old titnes are characrerized by srabiliry, peace,
purity,r{ security, tranquility, solidariry, naivery, love, and
even exoticism, while the bleak present is afflicted by diarnet-
rica[y opposed qualities. Nostalgic discourses hover berween
rnelancholy an.1 melodrama, and are signalized by unmisrak.
able er-os and pathos; they are moving, embellished, often
kitschy, but above al1 crystal clear: the pasr is embellished
at the expense of the aborninably portrayed present.
Coi.rsequently, nostalgia is not (only) something inri-
rnate, a rornantic memory, an innocenr self-fulfilling fairy
tale, but it can also be a strong sociai, cultural and political
force, producing practical effects in its environment. It can
becorne part of nationalist projects (tl're imagrnedcommunities
in Benedict Anderson's sense, or the inuention of tradition in
Eric Hobsbawm's sense), neo-conservative revolutions (e.g.
Reagan's cluring the early r98os),r5 imperial appeals (occa-
sional and improbable black-red alliances, e.g., between the
present day Russian Fascists and certain comrnunist groups),
or religious ftrndamentalisms (a rerllrn to the true faith). Less
fatefully, it can figure in advertising (e.g. grandma's cakes,
flour from the okl mill etc. ) and popular cukure (e.g. good old
rock, r,arious old schools etc.). By glorifying the past, ir criti-
cizes the present, telling us more about what is wrong now
than what was berrer in the past. To urderstand it, we firsr
need to understand the current situation, or to be more
precise, people's c'lissatisfaction with the presenr situation.
But make no rnistake, nostalgic constructions are not about
hard facts but about feelir-rgs and interprerations. In princi-
ple, the present is not all that bad, nor was the past all that
good, as tl-rese nostalgic construcriolls suggesr. It is irnpor-
tant to be continually arvare of the main traits of nostalgic
narratives: their ahistoricity, ex-ternporality, ex-territorial-
ity, sensr.rality, complementarity, conflicted story lines, un-
predictability, polysernism ancl episodic narure. Nostalgic,
shall I sa1', litanies are often internafly inconsisrenr, even
contradictory in rhemselves, which indicares that what is
involvecl is not a uniform, gr-ridec1, centralized and system-
atic manner of presentation, but a set of generally uncon-
nectec'l semiological strategies, operations and exchanges in
34 Ler me corroborare this s ith an example of a titosralgic statemrrrt. C)ne of his older
atlmirers thus described her affectitn for Broz: \Ve uere all e,1ml. \Ve uere ail rogeräer,
all for one, .-or rndcrsmdl I'n prowl of it. And noririlg can sÄnke nt /airh. Nor/ringJ
\Y/e sr4]ertd a lor drring rhe rtrr, cnd uünr rnmined ry' ru n/rcr rhar, rÄar'.s tÄar ir is. ft'-s a
pwe hean, prre sorrl rmd nobodl con trrfte it arttrl /rcm rs.... (Belaj, zoo6, zog).
35 It called for a return o Amcrican rrrors, parriarclr:rl values, the |og'erfil state and
the arny, individual iniriarive, pirtri()tic pride, religiius trndition ancl a detennined
foreign pol ic1'. See, anrong others, Lasch, r gg r , 99.
z8
The Nlapping of No-.talgia rn.l rhc llcsearch Approach
various environ[rents ancl arnong different groups of people
engaging ir-r thern with a speciai prupose, or even without
any purpose. Nostalgia is an epherneral and changeable kincl
of social notion; it varies over time and space, and across
generations and social groups. It takes on various forms, is
of vat'ying intensities (ranging frorn simple entertainrnent
to fanatical commitment) and may appear in practically
every segment of social life (rnass and consumer culture,
art, advertisingr popular irnagination, r-nec'lia reports, party
politics, religrous rhetoric, r'arious subcultures and sub-po1i-
tics, and everyday life).
I will now briefly describe the four distinctions within
nostalgia that I find essential. Naturally, the nost basic is
that betu'een,lenonal ancl collective nostalgiä.lPersonal
and collective nostalgias never fully oveilap, and titostal-
gia is no different in this respect - every titostalgic person
is nostalgic for sorneone or something ir-r his/her oln, strb-
jective way, but this certainly should not prevent us from
trying to establish col.nrnon determinants underlying this
affection or devotion in larger groups. The second distinc-
tion is that between frl-tut.riulir"d" irostalgia (ernbodiecl ir-r
various old or nerv objeöfrpyoducts or souvenirs) and nos-
talgia as a feeling or arl r-dea- Evcn urore interesting is the
distinction between linstrurnental and non-instrurnental
nostalgia,l meanir-rg rr6talgia that serves certain purposes
or is-riiäd'to achieve certain goals (cornn-rercial, political,
cultural), and one that is self-referential and free from such
goals. Finally, taking the artitude towar+ the past as a start-
ing point, ] make a clistinction between mirnetic ancl satiri-
cal nostalgiäjThe former alludes to authänticit1,, is swathed
in the aura df the "actually experienced," obsessed with re-
alistic representation (irnitation, reconstnrction), and it is
dogrnatic (non-analytical), meaning non-exceptionable.
Satiricgl nostalgia is just the opposite: it is youthfully play-
ful, ironic, delib?rately eclectic or hybricl, boisterous, blas-
phernous, and indifferent to old canons; it swears by the
borrowed and mediated past rather than being concerned
rvith what truly happened.
The main episternic shift that needs to be made in study-
ing such notions is their de-essentialization and de-ontolo-
gization. To be more concrete, nostalgia is not necessarily
linked to "actually experienced events," or something that
its protagonists "actually went through." It may adopt or
appropriate narratives originating in various colltemporary
discourses, or post-modemist c'liscourses, if I may call them so
29
 litostrlgir A Stud1, ol Nostalgia firr Josip Bror
(discourses of the rnedia, mass cLrlture, claily politics, popular
history etc.). Pur diffe renrly, ir is nor necessary ro insisr rhat
solneone "actually had to live" through a celtain period to
be nostalgic for it or to perceive it as trul1' "his/her" mernory.
Illustrative of this are various (sub)cultural, (sub)political
and other narratives, plactices and groups rvhich, rvitl-rir-r
their safe nostalgic enclaves, create and cultivate the im-
ages, r,alues and general culture ofa time they never acttr-
ally experienced;rrr .,r the rhetoric of present-day religior.rs
conservatives swearing by ethical models, cultural vallles,
gencler relations etc. dating from (at least) the rgrh cenru-
ry. Accordingly, it would be preposterous to talk about the
"abuse of memory," "rvrong Llses of the past," "clistortion of
history," or "fake nostalgia," since such a view would presup-
pose the existence ofa grositivist truth (although, ofcourse,
there is no such thing), meaning the Trzrh about the yester-
day world which neecis to be discovered in one way or an-
other by probing beyoncl its eLroneous interpretations.
For this reason, I believe thar in studying nostalgia one
has to move a step foru,ard: nostalgia is uot just a longing
for something that no longeiixists and an awareness that
it cannot be regainecl. The past for u'hich nostalgics long
never existed as such - theils is a yearning for something
that never was, a sentimental return to the never-existing
rvorld, dreams about past dreams and not about past reality.
Nostalgia is therefore r"rot (only) a stor1, 2ls111firrw we were
irr tlre past, but one ab,rut irr-,w wc neq)cr. u,er-e. CherisheJ
memories or nostalgic vignettes are not credible pictures o/
what octunlly happened, to borrow frorn von Ranke, bur rer-
roactive constructs or sirnulations. Metaphorically speaking,
tl-rey are not "documentaries" or "reality shows," but "fea-
ture rnovies" about personal or collective pasts. They are
not "histories" but "stories," open texts ancl active fictions.
And Äomo nosralgrcus is neither a neutral chronicler nor a
faithful recorder ofthe past, but its mannerisr (post)creator.
People, societies and periods never were as perfect as they
appear in their nostalgic clisguises.
To surn up, the cl:rssical notion of nostalgia in itself
cannot exhaust all forrns of its present manifestation, par-
ticularly not if it is clefir-red in positivist terms as a pleasant
memory of something that one acrually experienced. Just
36 Among the multitude of phenorncna, lct me mention r,irrious firrms of neo,pagirn,
isrn, rvhich, frorn rhc cra of romanricism ons'art1s, tangeri liom rzrci:rl rhrough so-
cio-political to religious pagiurisrr. Bilrtlrillarcl sums rrp rhis Lrgic in rhe sentence,
"There is l prolif-cratiur o[ m1'ths of origin and sigrrs of realiry; of second-hand trurh,
obj cct iviry and aurhenticity." ( r 999, r 5 ).
3o
Thc I\4apping ol Nosralgir irnrl thc Rescrrch Approach
to remincl you, the very tenn nostalgia is a neologisrn clat-
ing from the late rTth centLrry, ancl cor-nbining two Creek
q,ords: nostos, returning home, and algos, pain. Since its first
appearance, it has ur-rclergone consider?rLrle transformation:
the initially medical usage (it tlescribetl the homesickness of
searren, mercenaries anc-l travelers) acquirecl psychological
clirnensions in tl-re rgth century (in psychosornzrtic analy-
sis of alier-rtrtion, regressiou etc.), and only in the mid-zoth
century clid it enter social stLrdies and the humanities, i.e.
the analysis of societies and cultures. That is to say that
the terrn nostalgia i'ras denoted t'arious things rvithin vari-
ous areas orrer titne.
The contetnporary, prost-rnodern sitttation, rvhich is rich
in cultural, historical ancl icleologic:rl narratives, r'r'ith vir-
tually everything beir.rg accessible ancl exchangeable, poses
new challenges to this notion. The situatior-rist Guy Debord
(ry99, 2c1,3 r ) estzrblished tl-rtrt in present-clay culture, "all
that once rvas directly lived has become mere relrresenta-
tion"; "reality erupts within the spectacle, and the spectacle
is real". The Arnerican nelnory researcher George Lipsitz
goes along, saying that tod:ry we face "transformation of reaI
historical traditions ancl cultures into superficiai icor-rs and
images" (tggl, ty); the same can be saicl about politicized
spraces, u,hich are being transformed into political rnonr,r-
ments ancl destinations of historical and political tolrrism'
For Jean Baucirillard (tg99, 57,58), after the present-day
"decline of strong referentials, these death pangs of the real
and of the rational that open onto an age of sirnulation," it
seerns that "history has retreatecl, leaving behind it an iu'
different nebr-rla, traversecl by currents, but ernptied of refer-
ences." And it is precisely "into this void that the phantasrns
c'rf a past history rececle, the panoply of events, ic'leologies,
retro fashior-rs". ln his vierv, "when the real is no longel wl-rat
it was, nostalgia assutnes its full rneaning" (lbid., r5).r;1,
is rny opinion that in such circumstances, the redefining of
practically all fundamental social categories shotrlcl be re-
consiclered ancl r-rostalgia re-evaluated.
In the light of the argurnents presented above, nostalgi:r
slrould be liberated from the imperative of actua\Ll experi'
enced: it can be "genuine," "clirect," "first-hand experience,"
btrt eclually so "mediated" or "indirect experience" without
losing any of its ernotional surplus or the credibilit1' of the
"authentic" nostalgia narrative. Critics woulcl describe the
l7 Put differentlv, "a contr()lling icleir no longcr selects, only llosritlgiir cl).ilcss11' acctt-
trulates, only nosralgil enrllessll' accutnularei' (lbi.l., s8).
3r
 nnrsralgia - A SruLly of Nostalgia for
Jrrsip Brcz The lvlapping of Nostalgia and the Research Approach

latter as "false," "pretended,",,stolen," or,,pseudo,,

nostalgia. what came before" (lbid., 28, r6o).r" Whi.le retro "demy-
My answer to them has been anricipated iir the few passages
thologizes the past" and "dernythologizes its subject" (lbid.,
above. Jn my opinion, nosraigia is not only a ,,destiny,,;or
27, z8), nostalgia intensely re-mythologizes it, "enchants"
a pleasanr memory of good experience, but it
"choice," or "taking over" of someone else's pleasant
is eclually a itaqlQ
mern- 'The post-socialist period with its unprecedented dilern-
ories.rs What is invoh,ecl here is a new nost"algia,
of ,,NE_ mas and solutions, fragilities and severities, is a seedbed for
. o.sTALC tA," u,hiclr irr rny categorization belongs ro rhe various nostalgias. These are more frequent in rapidly chang-
group of satirical r-rostalgias. Ll cont.art to an ,,authentic,,
ing societies and during periods of dramatic transition. The
nosralgia, ir enhances old founclations in a playful
ancl un- bigger the promises and the more unrealistically stimulated
conventional [ranner, adding new content from
the store- the hopes, the greater and the more bitter the disappoint-
house of contemporary mass culture, popular history,
daily ment if these are not fuifilled. This often leads not only to
polirics and rhe media. Such .,"ortolgi. Äybrids _
ideas ancl political radicalism, on the one hand, and complete apathy
products - ar-e elastic, ironic, often intenrionally
dissonant and bitterness, on the other, but also to nostalgic dreams
and boisterous. Their birth is auto-poetic ancl auto-referen-
about a better past. NosrALGlA FoR socIALrsM, or red
tial, to-borrow-irorn Niklas Luhrnann; they set themselves
nostalgla, is preseniin v"rioui ,o.i"il.s'in t.Är-riition frorn
apart by appropriati.rg ar-rd re-fashioni.g elernents
frorn their the Baltic Sea to the Balkans, and from Eastern Germany
orvn and others'environrnents. The difference
betrveen nos- to Russia. It varies depending on the area, manner, group
talgia and neostalgia is cornparable ro rhe difference
rhar and inter-rsity of expression,In former Yugoslavia it is called
sets apart the collectors oforiginal iterns from
the past, an- Jugonosßlgtai in east Gerrnan territories it is called Osml-
tiquarians, frorn those who focus on new products
rvith old gie, in Russia, Souiet nosralgia. Sometimes it provides artis-
content (e.g. badges, calendars or r-shirts rvith
tic inspiration; at other times it manifests itself as a long-
persons); or the differ-ence benveen original 'ostalgicizecl
folk music and ing for former military strength and internationai political
its reinterpretation and hybridization, such as folk_pop
ancl reputation. In everyday life it is articulated as nostalgia for
turbo-folk. It is precisely this neostalgic aspecr rhat prevenrs
minute things and products frorn the socialist period; on
us from conceptualizing rhe pherromenorl of
nosialgia as the social level, it is nostalgia for forrner friendship and co-
somerhing fixed, unchangeable and dogn.ratic.
operation, for the welfare state and health protection, or
On with rerrninological ciarification. Nostalgia is
of_ even for, let's see, carnal things, for instance, the Soq.,ier saa-
ten misraken for.ntrRo, although there is a marked
differ- sages that are missed in present-day Lithuania.4" But under-
ence between ih" t*o concepts, as was effectively
shown neath its amorphous, ameba-like appearance, it is possible
by the Arnerican arr critic Elizabeth Guffey. While
the to detect its basic structure and characteristics, which are
former is "always characterized by a certain seriousness,,,
summed up in everyday statements heard in practically all
"retro tenpers these associatior.rs with heavy close of
cyni- corners of post-socialist Europe: after aLI, it was not so bad,
cism or detachrnent" (zoo6, zo)..Rerro is invariably
saiiri- or, we wete poor but we didn't lack anything, or, we had noth-
cal, frivolous and replete with subversive impulse,
contin- ingbut we were happy.
ues Guffey; it reinterprets modern history, plays
rvith recent In rny definition, rrrosreLcra is a nostalgic dis-
progressivist goaL{ (it is ,,the lure of yesterclay's
tomorrows,, course on the late YugdJ;u'pr"rident, as it has been pur-
in her inspired definition; ibi<1., r33). It, *rir-, artributes,
sued across once colnlnon Yugoslav space ever since the
says Guffey, are self-reflexiveness, ironic reinterpretation
of clisintegration of the country. This surprising affection for
the past ar-rd disregard for the sort of traditional
boundaries Broz is complete[y different from the type that existed in
that separated 'high' and ,low, arr (lbid., zr). In
conrrasr the past: tÄile the regime-irnposed Titoisrn of the past was
to nostalgic continuities, retro ,,implicitly ruptures
us from obligatory, directed and sponsorecl, the titostalgia of today
38 This is nruch likc group aftiliarion in posr-inclusrrial
socierics, rüich is no longer rle_ l9 Another kinclrecl concept that shorrld be rnentioned in this conncction is revivalism,
ternrinc'ti by one\ origins and is not only inrrerent
lrur also ch..".. i,, ,tr"..","*, \\'lrich, in conrirsr k) rerro d)at reinterprets moclern historl', cleals rvith older, pre-in-
this *ucly, a rele'ant example srrulil [-e memlrership "r
,r.,",*"J1,r..,",,ons, rvhose clustrirl periorls and styles, fcrr cxanplc the rgth century ones, or Gothic or Byzan,
me mbers are nor only forner partisan
figLr"r., [r,t nlr. ,ar"".,rf .r,.n". .f f ,l"- tinc sq'le. (Guffey, zoo6, t3).
nrinded 1'ounger people bom afier vs,rr. ^n
4o Neringa Klurnl'yte in the arricle The Sovict Sausage Renaissance, not yct published.

32
33
Titostalgir - A Sntly of Nosraigir lirr Josip Bro:
is vohrntary. The or-rce-clecreecl collectivity has today be-
come individual choice.lA forrner mono-culture has been
replacecl by a modern hetero-culture, and ideological "ortho-
doxy" u'ith a "heresy" r,vhere virtuall)/ e\rerythillg is zrllorvecl,
including the most clareclevil combinations and synthesis.
Furthermore, while in the past the system of representirtion
was closed, stanclardized and canonized, the present one is
wicle open to anything, inclucling piquallt details about his
life and completely new images; the former exclusivism has
b-qen replaced by eclecticism and dissonance. Finally, the
.diseourse of titostalgia is not continuous, but consists of a
series of disconnectecl discourses that adcl new elernents tcr
the already existing ones, including turnabouts, ironic de-
contextualizations, neostalgia, getro-creativity, and even
(cleliberate) iristorical ignorance'. But the essential compo-
nents that rnake this discourse nostalgic are constant: Broz
is a brilliant historical figure, his govelnl'rlent successful, his
tirnes good, his state just, and the attitude of titostalgics is
invariably positive and emotional.
I set about stu('lying titostalgic practices ancl narratives
employing complementaly methods and approaches. In
studying texts, u4lich rangecl frorn mass rneclia, u'eb zincl ad-
vertising texts to memories and references to Tito in poerns
and films, I used the discourse analysis methocl, In analyzing
visual culture, I used the method of obsen'ation and direct
"live" experience. ]ter-r-rs of visual culture included souvenirs,
T-shirts, graffiti, photos, interior decoration in private apart-
ments and public premises, as well as the scenography ancl
iconography at rallies anrl in public places. I myself bought
"cornrnoclifiecl rnernories," that is, souvenirs and vtrrious
other titostalgic proclucts, all of rvhich represent "rnaterial-
ized" ancl "clramirtizecl" nostalgia, its objectification or Le-
aliztrtion. I then set this garnut of docurnented, obtainec'I,
collectecl, photographeci antl recorcled cases (only a srnall
part of u'hich are lnentionecl in this book, rvhile many nore
are stored in n.ry archive) against the results of prublic opirr-
ion surveys publishetl in various studies and rneclia and of a
sn.rall-scale opinion sr-rrvey I rnyself conducted (Velikonja,
zoo6).I conpared nostalgia for Broz with the datzr and ex-
amples of nostalgia for other ex-socialist ancl no less chirr-
ismatic leaclers. I obtained certain pieces of information
tl-rrough planning, ancl car-ne across others incidentally. I
had countless conversations or contacts by phone or e-rnail
with people rvho participated in titostalgic practices; some
+r
were formal (interviervs based on pre-fornulated questior-rs),
34
Thc \'lrppirrv ,ri Nosrirlgia rltl thc Rescrrch Applill6ll
but n-rost rvere infortnal; sotne resp(ll1deuts agreed to have
their narnes published, r'vhile others u'antecl to ret'naitt itttott-
ylnous. I establisl'red colltacts rvitl-r these pcople in vllriolls
u,ays. I rnacle inquiries, got in tcluch rvith them througl'r
!.ersonal :rcquaintar-rces, ca[le across them by chauce, ot,
it-t
many cases, I employed vzrriotts social tletrvorks (so-calle.l
line-trzrcing). There rvere occasions u'hen tny cttriosity rvirs
arouserl by p,rr"t-tt silence, that is, "the souucl tlf silence"
sun'ounding the isstte of Broz; in sttch cascs I hacl to tnake
a special effort to cotnbiue several a1-rproaches in obtaining
ir-rfbrr-nation. Finally, rr-rany petlple u4-ro leirrnt by chnuce
tl-rat I interestecl in the topic tregan to talk abotrt Broz
r.vas
sp-rontäneously, as in catharsis, clescribing their pletrsant (and
less often unpleasant) rnetnories of him and his tirne, ancl
comp:rring tl-reir past antl tr-,resent feelings. I tnust point ottt
that the positive attitucle rvas grredominant, indicating that
affection for l'rirn tvas tnttch greatel'than ctluld be tliscernecl
frorn public cliscottrses.
Wh:rt I fincl important ill terms o{methocloltlg)'is that I
tacklecl the tu,o iutercottuectecl rnauifestatit'rns of the phe-
llolnenon: oue is cultural production ancl prractices, and the
other people's belief.s. Pr-rt clifferently, iitostalgia, mlrch like
any other nostalgia, cotnprrises both tlie (rnaterialized) clis-
collrses of ccrtaiu groups, instittttitlt-ls aud inciividuals, aucl:r
rnentality pattel'n. In tny notnencl:rtr.rre, the fonner is "ru E
cuLTURE oF NosrALCtte,":rnd the latter a "Nos'ral'
crc cuLTURb.']This also intlicates horv I utltlerstautl ancl
research this-pheiiomenon: l1ot solely' ttl ptrt it ror-rghly ancl
schcmatically, by trpplying t1're "to1-r c'lorvt't" ot' "bottotn-trp"
ap1.,roach, btrt primarily by stu.lying it in its dialectic relatecl-
ness, interactior-r, conclitionality ancl intertieprenclence. Such
an approach enablecl tnc to avoicl frecltreut reductiouist er-
rors. Thc first is tlrat,ing oue-sicled conch-rsions abottt social
phcnotnena by relying exclusively on cliscttrsivc prarctices'
For tnost researchers, the tnost fascinating aspects of ntls-
talgia irre "fabricatictr-r," "clressiug up," "cotntnercializatitln,"
"instnrmentaliztrtion" and "presetttation,"+' rvith tl're ques-
tion that usually follows being whether any of these can be
called nostalgia at all. h-r so cloing, they ttufortuuately ignore
its othcr sicle, narnely the nostalgic cttltttre , tlr "bottotn-up"
nostalgia. Similarly, biased conclusions are sometilnes tlrawn
baserl solely c'rt-t opit-rion stlrveys. My intention was to clraw
attcntion not only to the reciprocal conclitioning of the twtl
This coul.l l.c cxprcssctl rvith thc clitrlectic equation: Bro: (an.i Yugoslav socialislr) as a
tltcsis c,rnsunrer culture as ,ru atrti-thesis antl conrurercirl rirosrrlgia rs a svntlltsisl
35
 Tirrsralgiir A Study of Nosralgia frrr Josip Bnr: The )vlapping ol Nostalgir rirrl rhe Rcsearch Approirch

separate groups, that is, the "creators" ofthat cliscourse and

its "acldressees" or "receprients," meaning "active" and "pas-
sive" participants in this producrion, but primar-ily ro rheir
interconnectedness and participation; as a rule, the fonner
ale also the latter: creation ancl reception coexist side-by-
sicle; the creators of the culture of titostalgia are often them-
selves susceptible to titostalgic cr-rlture.
The :g!t_1ue qf nostalgia is, therefore, one parr of rhe
phenornenon. It rests on pre-formulated ancl then publicly left:
offerecl tiracles, practices and productions of certain influ- Mac€donia,2oo8

ential groups in society ancl their nledia, produced with a right:

Macedonia,2oo8 specific purpose or goal in rnind. slovenia.2oo8

discourses, or even worse, is systelnatically defarnecl and

clenounced, people in post-Yugoslav coulltries have always
244
Iitova rtstr
helcl hin-r in relatively high esteern. To sum up, lny distin'
guishing betrveen the ctrlture of nostalgia and a ntlstalgic
culture is ar-r analytical tool. These are ideal types rhat fa-
cilitate an understanding of the phenomenon. The two act
joir-rtly, refer one to attother, cannot live one u'ithout the
otl-rer. Yet precisely because tl-rey ale not always correlatecl,
above:
a mousepad. it is irnportant to distinguish beni'een tl-rern. I analyze the
Slovenia. zoo6
difference betweeu the culture oftitostalgia and titostalgic
right: culture and their inherent connectedness iu the tu'o sttb-
5kopje. 2oo8
seLluent chapters.
Its promoters are, for instar-rce, inventive trendsetters
in consumer culture, political parties, cornpanies, adver-
tisers, artists, spin doctors, subcultural groups, and last but
not least, certain nostalgia enthusiasts.+'What is involved
is a kind of nostalgia engineering, ulanagelnenr or rnarket-
ing - a ready-rnade nostalgia, pröt-ä-porter, polished ar-rcl
designecl for the "local rnarket" ancl for "exporr". On rhe
other har-rd,.nostalgia culture is a rnental state , or a social
ancl cultural notion, a poptrlar coriviction, a rnental map
and an attitucle torvards certain periocls in the past that are
the object of this nostalgia (that are nostalgicized). L-r sim- a lront yatd.
ple rvords, it is a heartfelt nosralgia. easlean Bosnia.2ooS

Nostalgia products in narratives, rnass culture, advertis-
ing ancl politics can reflect, albeit not necessarily, ',genuine,'
nostalgia for the past. And vice versa, people may be nos-
talgic, but that sentiment is not necessarily adequately re-
flected in dominant c'liscourses. Titostalgia is a goocl example
of this: altl-rough Broz is virtually excluded frorn dorninant
42 See, for example, Bo1'er's provocatir,e consiJcrarion (zoo6) of horv Osralge, mern-
ing nosralgia amonq the east Gernrirns of today firr rhe forner East Gcrnrany, rs ur,rre
a lrrojccrion (ancl prodLrction!) of the west Germirns al_.out t,hat their clst Cerman
compatriors miss nrdal'; accorclingly, he replaccs Ostalgie wirh Wesrolge.
I collected exatnples ofthe culture oftitostalgia and ti-
tostalgic culture actoss former Ytrgoslavia, in nervly estab-
lished countries, protectorates, entities, districts, federa-
tions, enclaves, ancl liberatecl and occupied terlitories, on
this side anrl that side of the Schengen rvall, that is to say
(ironically), in all neu' burek republics, to use the antrlogy
u,ith banana republics,4r in rvhich l have recently resided
+l This lnbel is more bcnigu than the oue use.l lry an ltalian analysr s'ho uscs the tcrm
\1,r/u-,rnri' 1ft rri,r, :oo:, r86).

36 37
 Tiostalgio A StuLIy ofNosralgin firrJosip Br,r:
for lor-rger or shorter periocls of time, tl-uougl-r ivhicl-r I l-rave
traveled or which ] hirve visited on study trips. I obtainecl
thern froln elnigrants, pundits and infonnants living abroacl
or four-rd them on the web. ] r.r,as surprised at l-rorv rl-ruch
smaller than expecteci \\,ere the regional, cultur.al and gen-
erational differences; there rvere lnany more sirnilarities,
ranging frorn pledor-ninantly favorable opinions in opinion
sllr\/eys to the persistence of streets be aring the narne Tfo
or Mar:hal Tiro. Organizations preserving his rnenory ancl
fosterir-rg l-ris legacy are present everyu,here; iterns from his
time occupy conspicrlous places ir-r anticlue shops, flea mar-
ktts, ptrl,lic prerrtises arrtl p11y21c' ap;lrtrlepts.
Nou', clifferences do exist. Instar-rces of graffiti referring ro
Broz are nulnerous in the three western republics of former
Yugoslavia (Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Slovenia),
u'hile elselhere they are more rare. In Skx,er-ria, the number
of street stalls selling products lvith his irnage, various items
of Tito-kitsch, is quite large (ir-r Ljubljana one is locarecl ir-r
the unclergrotrncl pzrssage of the rnair-r railu,ay station!), but
they are not as wiclespread ir-r otl-rer-forrner republics.
lvlostar.2oo7
Titostalgia is arnpiy displayed in public in the littoral
region of Slovenia anc'l Istria, wher-e l-ris credit frrr the libcra-
tion of this region
from the Fcscisr agUressol andits ant.texation
toYugoslavia is ernpirasizecl.uo The Serbian sociologist Todor
iI
Kuljiö asserts that Broz is "still very popular in Maceclonia,
parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina ancl Montenegro, but not so
much among nationally aware Serbs and Croats', (zoo5,
lr 465). There are also differences in hou' nostalgia manifesrs
44 Evcn nout one can fintl terts sixry or sixty-five ycars rtltl, ladetl bur lot overp:rintetl,
reatling Tiris is lirgoslar ia, lVc arc ?it;'.s, Long lile xry. (xr; is rhe irbbreliirtitn for rhc
+ /J Cirnrmrrnist Pirrry of Ytrgoslavia). Their aurhors ttnk rlrcn ,'bltlx\. serirtrs\,," and lir-
tl FI
{ eralll so, giverr that they s,crc x,rittcn using rhe, r,cr1, g1x{uring meJium ofcos,\ bLrtl.
38
Thc iv{apping of Nostirlgia thc Reseirrch Appr,rach
^n\l
itself. Tänja Perovii, a reseatcher ofp,ost-socialist nostalgias,
holds that "the Slovenes feel freer than others to clisplay
their nostalgia" (zoo8a, 6,7), thanks to Slovenia's ecouotnic
and political sllccess. It is less conspicttolrs in the countries
that have only recently gained independence or where po-
litical tensions are stiil rtrnning high (Macedonia, Montene-
gro and Kosovo), but this.loes not mean that nostalgia is
not present there on the individual level, as I rvas able to
establish through interviervs and conversations. Given the
ur-rfolcling of events elsewhere in forrner Yugoslavia, it is pos-
sible to expect that in these regions nostalgia for Bloz and
Yugoslavia in public discourse will appear someivhat later'
Kosovo is an exarnple of a place whele the pantheon of he-
roes is quite clifferent at the l-noment: there is practically no
public display of titostalgia among the Albanians in Kosovo,
l.,ut it can be found on the individual level, rvhere it lives in
the forrn of pleasant 1-nelnories,{5 as argues the Albar-rologist
Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers, based on her research find-
ings. (zoo8)06. The Kosovo sociologist Sezgin Boynik agrees
rvith her on that point, affirming that, although it is not
voiced (because of the risk of a "dangerous" constellation
that rnay fo1low from ir, i.e. Broz'Yugoslauia'Serbia'Serbian
hegemonl), Broz is perceived as a positive figure by the rna-
jority of rnicldle-aged and seniot citizens,{? ar-rtl p''articularly
so by the n-rinorities in Kosovo. aH
t.
45 Thetimcsoflloo')1'cmployucnrrirtc,socialsccutit)',irl'seuceofcrine'ethnictol-
erance, higlr livilg stirtrtlirr.ls, rvcakcning of parriarchalistn crc- antl, afrcr rll, thc
timcs I lrcn Brtl: etrjol'ctl a rcpuution both at htlnre anrl irltroatl
46 liar'sJertÄtusr/rebeginnirrgry'l/reend/crrrc,Allrrutions,rvastheconcise'rnsseroi
,,ne resfon.lenr in hcr survel', summitrg up thc tllrinion o[ many others'
47 lntcrvict hclcl on August z, zoo8.
48 l le i-. even more highly estirnatetl by Kosc,qr Turks, for q'hom he securetl rhe right
l. sclf-.leclarati,m, e.lücation, rheir literilture antl culture, irlld prl)tecteri them {ron
the Pressure of latgcr neighl.oring uatiolrs (Alhanians and Serl's; an intervierv u'ith
S. Bolnik, Augusi z, zoo8). Au unname.l mcnber of the Ciorrrni ethnic grtrr4' (Slal
\lusiius iu Kosoro), said sturething simil:rr, sarcasricalll calling post-Yugtrslavs ex-
ptoplc, an.l saling thrt Yugoslatia rvas real Eur.rpe, ry'leringfeedon, socicl securitl
nnd pbs /ru all (a convcr-iatitrn on August z, :oo8)
39
 ntosralgia - A Srrdl,ofNostalgia frrrJosip Bro:
The Cuhurc of Tirostalgiir

III. THE CULTURE OF TITOSTALGIA _ Statues sell particularly u'ell. A rnetal casring workshop
Tito - ALiuingLegend in Kumrovec, Broz's birthplace, holding a license for the
procluction of replicas of Augtrstinöiö's farnous sculpture of
While others wept, we rejoiced...
Broz, is still ir-r business; rnost of its outpr,rt is exported to
A high representative of the Macedonran East- Germany, China, Russia, t1-re Scandinavian countries and
ern Orthodox Church, in a private conversation,
Slovenia (Rajkoviö, zoo6, r38, r39; Jurkovii, zoo6, zgz).In
March 4, zoo5
a l'nid-size Bosnian tou'n rvith a history of rnetal processiltg,
I spoke to a maker of srnall sculptr-rres of Broz who wanted to
In this chapter I will be concerned with th{ iulture remain anonynous ancl asked me not to mention tl're n:rme
of ti-tostalgia, a deliberate (and materialized) cliscour.se on
of the place, either. He explained that he himself had cast
Broz, hnd.will then move on, in the next chapterjlro riro_
and sold figures in bronze ancl plaster, untii one of Broz's de-
stalgic culture, i.e. mental representarions of Broz, HiS i,o-
scendants leamt about it and requested that he cease pro-
ages, stateütents, iconography, syrnbols and reihtefpretations
ductior-r. Holever, a short time ago a rvork tearn from his
appear in various parts of the former common country and
factory used a rnould surviving from that tnne to rnake (out-
various social environments, and in an improbable variety
side regular working time) tu'o really large and heavy casrs
of forms. This "nostalgia industry', .o-p.ir", a wide spec-
of Brozi bust (each weighing almost a ton!), whicl-r rvere
trum of producrs featuring his image, signature, quotations,
giveir to the loca1"/osip BrozTito associarior.rs. The dernand
imporrant places in his life and the like, a truly impressive
for such casts has allegedly increased since then. Tl're man
array of memorabilia, resembling those frorn contemporary
also told me that another sculpture rnaker hacl sold around
pop stars. These items are sold from street stalls, at rnelno-
r5,ooo sculptllres of Broz during the previous year' l-nost
rial sites, in shops, as well as on-line. The most usual, and
of tl-rern at various events cledicated to Broz. In his rvords,
the most expected, are souvenirs and similar paraphernalia:
there is n great demand fcrl these products arnong Bosnian
key_tags, badges, lighters, fridge magnet stickers, personal
refirgees on a visit to their homelancl, rvho take sculptures
card boxes, pens and pen holders. Broz also inspires other
to their nerv hornes abroad.o',
types of"souvenir art" such as desktop statuettes, clecorative
plates and bottles, ashrrays, vases, wood reliefs and pictures.
There are various cloth iterns and accessories wiih Trto,s
image, such as printed r-shirts, caps, badges, clress stickers,
socks, and needlepoint rapestry .",.,uurr"r.
n-J

1'r-

IIi\ii'.r'r ,r,. i ',:'

a plaste. sculpture,
eastern Bosnia,2ooS

It is possible
to clrink a toasr rvirh a brandy called Mnr-
shnl produced in Skrvenia, rvitl-r Tirouo trino (Tito rvine)
matle frorn grapes grown in Broz's personal vineyarc-I, Bro-
above: zouo uino (Broz wine) procluced by the Broz farnily (both
Macedonia, zooS
Cloatian wines),p a mead called Tiroua rakija medouaöa, a
right: bilberry brandy and an ordinary brancly also narned after
Slovenia 2OOl
49 lnter!ieN hc[] on Scftember I r, 2oo8.
5o The image of Broz is :llso fcaturccl on rhe rvine bottle of an inverrtive Iraliarr compa-
nl ln this Llistorical Series, he appcars in the conrplny of other charismatic leaders
such as Garibaldi, Chc, Sralin, Mussolini, I litler and others.

4o
4r
 Titostalgia -A Study ofNostalgia for Josip Broz
Tito. There are rwo brands of bottled water with Tito in
their names: Tinu izvar (Tito Spring) in Croatia, and Broz
Voda(BrozWater) in Macedonia, and ground coffee sold by
Brozlufe in Skopje. Needless to say, the labels feature the
image of Broz, his birth house or some socialist symbol. To
round off the pleasure, you can have a cigar lavedby Btoz,
or ro11 a cigarette using flto tobacco sold in a pack with his
image from Partisan times (it is Belgian-made and sold in
Croatia). The Ljubljana retro sandwich bar called Snedeid
Progres (now closed) sold Marial andJovanl<a sandwiches.
No one in former Yugoslavia is upset over these products,
and they can be obtained practically everywhere, from street
vendors or specialized souvenir shops.s'
Kumrovec,2oo8
Brozb image is found on calendars published by various
associations bearing his name, wwrr veterans associations,
even anonymous people, and what is especially interest-
ing, sometimes the publishing is sponsored by enterpris-
ing individuals who do not aim for direct benefits. A one-
page zooS calendar (published in Bosnia-Herzegovina and
commissioned by.an anonymous person) features his large
portrait and a series of smaller pictures showing him in the
company of other politicians, pioneers, soldiers and in a ma-
chine workshop. On the five-page zoo8 calendar published
by the Sojnx na Titouilec)i sili (The Association of Tito's Left
Forces) from Macedonia, Tito's picture appears on the sec-
ond and last page (on the last page there is also the slogan
ComradeTto we swe&r to !ou), while on the two remaining
5t This is quite the opposite ofwhat happened recently in the us, when the Tärger
stores offered a co carrying case featuring Che's image. The critio labelled him a
mwdnu and, o symbol of tomlituianin (xking what wm next in line: Hitler back-
prclat Pol Pot cookware? Pinochet pantyhose?). The scmdal that broke out srvept the
product ftom retail store. (M. Lacey: 4o yean after Che's death, his image is a bat-
tleground. Intemational Herald Tiibune, October 9, zo?, p. 6).
su
42
The Culrure of litostalgia
pages he is shown with Presidents Carter and Brezhnev. The
thirteen-page zoo8 calendar commissioned by the Sarajevo
based Drzitq.ro JosipBroTTfto (Josip Broz Tito Society), enti-
tledTito ondWorld Statesmen, contains photos showing Tito
with his important contemporaries - Tito and Kennedy, then
Tito and Indira Gandhi, Tito and Nasser, and so on, with
the last one depicting him'with Che. On a Serbian calendar
for zoo8, there is an advertising slogan by the sponsor, obvi-
ously an entrepreneur: Na miru, bez frk kupujte lad"Brke"
(Buy at ease and without upset at the Brka outlet). Almost
all these calendars also feature other symbols of the former
country such as its flag and emblem.
Bosnia - Herzegovina,
2007
It is intriguing horv hir_qals9_hö-bgso-e abtand .uor",
ura Drano ln ltsownrr@-
day products (which is in harmony with his dual image of
a distinguished person and an ordinary man).
For example, in the mid-rggos, a small epidemic of his
images hit Slovenian advertising. He appeared in adver-
tisements for various kinds of products such as Jägermeister
digestive liqueuer, Mercedes cars,s, the Dnevnik daily and
htp:/7aih.$7, snter Tito in the seuch field.
43
 Tirrstrlgia -A StuJy of Nostrrkia for JosiI Bro: Thc Culturc of Tirosralgia

for his visit in 1978. A Slovenian rourist agency invires

tlre visitor to o unique and unforgettable experience of pleas-
ure, strength and perfectiot't: to the world of prestige, power and

Qq
pleasw'e of Marshal J ostp Bro7. Under rhe siogan, Experience
the lures of the life of one of the g'eatest potentates! , his refined
sense of beauty, glamour and hedonism, they first take you to
his hill residence, Vila Bled in Slovenia (golfing, a rour of
Bled's renowned places, a visit ro the casino) and then tcr
Brijuni in Croatia, where Broz hosted world leaders and
guests from the world of enrertainmenr (incltrdecl is a visit
ZUodilo,,S'
-v' Pisalo je v [nettltiktt,
to the zoo, golf, and a ride in his Cadillac).;r While various
Tito-items sold or-r the street do not elicit rnuch response,
the appropriation of Tito's image for advertising provokes
tri0ftmeilleu
l)nonik !r le1 mixed reactiorls: solne advertisements are receivecl posi-
tively; otl-rers are rejectecl and problernatizecl, rvhile sorne
go by unnoticed.
Apart from the products mentioned above, authen-
Josip Broz Tito
tic souvenirs and antiques also sell well. Old objects with
lftl jc v$. Tito's image, for example, books, badges, medals, souve-
nirs, pictures, reliefs, statuettes, replicas, picture postcards,
O bar-rknotes, coins, starnps, parts of uniforms won'r by Parti-
Slov€nra. the r99os san figl-rters, the Yugoslav army or pioneers, flags ancl other
tlre Canon photocopying machine (see Jovar-rovska, zooz, rare objects, are clisplayed in conspicuous places at various
6l-lr). He was also featlrrecl in advertising spots for thc culr flea rnarkets and stalls, in anticlue shops and seconclhar-rcl
ex-Yugoslau nrouies /irsr auailable on DvD clistributed by the bookshops. UsLrally, they are mixed incliscrirninately with
Ljubljana-basecl Karantanija Cinemas. Broz u'as obvior-rsly religiotrs antiques and syrnbols, items featuring controver-
"the fashion" in Serbia, too, at least juclgir-rg by the adver- sial conternporary ancl historical political leaders, folklore
tisement in the sumrner of zoo6 for the textile cornpany rurernorabilia, national symbols, pop-icons, rnilitary insignia,
Ateks, an importer of Itnlian clothes, which picked hirn as even Fascist ar-rcl Nazi sigr-rs. As a result, it is r-rot unusuerl
the exarnl-tle of an elegant man. to find next to each other stamps rvith the irnages of Broz
nnd Hitler, Partisan and Ustasl'ra rnedals, uniforms rvorn by
or-rce clasl-ring arrnies, a reprint of the solemn oath to Broz
next to an advertisement for Legendarl Harley Dauidson,
or sculptures of Lenin, Broz and Dante sticking together.
"Historical jur-rk" has become an:rppreciated comrnodity in
r lüllJEllE$i
higl'r dernand, sold at prices ranging from several coins ro
sla the several thousand euros being asked for rnole atrractive
ar-rd better preserved images and sculptures of Broz.i+

53 http://rvls.crealxrr.com/ream_building/r44/, accessecl on Augusr rz, zooS

Serbia. 2oo6
54
Today, several renou,ned 1'rotels in various l-rarts of former
Yugoslavia boast in their advertiser.nents that Tito was their
guest. For exarnple, Sumarice Hotel ir.r Kragujevac offers
the hrxnrious Tito apcn'tmenr built and especially decoratecl
Thc c,rsc of rsr) monumerrs ro Bro: th.rr en.leJ up in U:icc. Scrl'ia, is mentioncd in
thc htk Vla-.nto iskusrvcr (O*r Experience) (rooa, r73). Porenrirl bu),ers tiom
\l,nrenegr,t, Austria and Cernranl,arc interested in the rrne sorecl in rht'nruscunr,
[,ut that instirnce ofnr,r i-, n,l rr, saie. Thc pricc of rlre orher one, r4rich is ownecl
by r nan vho runs a rccl.cling busincss, is onstrntly incressing;
rhe os.ncr took trn
oath tltat runs: Conrarle Tio u'e st,ear ar
1or t/vrt (,e r ont crr r;)! inlo pieies.

44 45
 Titostalgia -A Study ofNostalgia for Josip Broz The Culture of Titostalgia

Titobezmasl,c5e (Tito \Tithout A Mask, Miro Simöiö), and

l lene uTitovoj sjeni6' (The \Uomen In Tito's Shadow, again
l

i
Miro Simöiö). There are many other books that sell well,
/ for example, Tinvals.tharica (Tito's Cookbook), available in
ü I Croatian and English,6' andJ elavnici ponwtihli&wsti: Ka}o se
ü ,lr I Inanio Josip BrozTtto (The Menus of Famous Personalities:
|.t, \ What Tito Ate).6'The advertising slogans for these books
-
I t9 7 are of the his secrets type.
a \\i In the press, on the web and in electronic media, par-
: l, ticutarly on the anniversaries of his birth and death in May,

tv n
l
t?
I
1
r$ or on the occasion of some other event related to him, one
I can find a myriad ofreports on various events, sensationalist
l
new contributioru to his biograplry,photo reports,63 articles or
serialized stories packed with pictures from his life, describ-
ing, for example, his cuisine6a, his wife Jovanka's beautiful
smile6t or regular physical exercise. Various documentaries
deal with similar topics, for example, the fate of his car col-
lection (armored Mercedeses, Rolls-Royces etc.). The media
articles have eye-catching titles, such as Mit o Tiu moua
in silnvito uzhaja (Tbe Myth About Tito Arising Anew and
above: Strong)66, Al je marial doh o jeo. . .6', (\Vhat A Good Diet the
an antique shop.
Skopje, 2oo8
Marshal Had...), Brozway uZagrebu6s (Brozway in Zagreb),

below:
an antique shop.
Sarajevo.2ooS
Many popular books about him have been published
over the last few years, The style of writing balances on
the thin line between eiclusivism and sensationalism, and
the authors are people who were closetoTito's court or who
presumably knew him well' His co'workers and aides, by
now quite old, write about theirlife andworkwithTto;iottr'
nalists and essayists write about curiosities related to him'
The titles of these books are telling in themselves: "Titova
soulldanc&" (Tito's Co-ruler' referring to Jovanka, the em'
the entenaines were the comic Ökalja, the singer Tereza Kesovija, Miki Jevre-
*ouic, Zdmuko Öoliö, Komelije Kovaö, Gabi Novak, the film director Lordan Za-
ftmovid, the actor Bata Zivojinovic and othem.
59 The book rvm also published by rhe Slovenian publisher Mladinska knjiga, which
spotted a profitable market niche for bobks about Tito, lt abounds in adventures
from Broz's political and personal [ife, his relationships with women, descriptions
ofhis trips, speculation about his origins, his attitude towards the Slovenes and the
like, All is put into the wider context ofhistorical events.
6o The publisher is vibiz, Belgmde, Zagreb, Smjevo, zo8; the book reveals a shmling
mrl that, despire his cham, Broz re minly an uilwppy and breI'1 mt, eithu becawe of
t)v su{Aen deatlu of me of hk oarms, u beutue of hß longest mniage, wrA Jouankn.
6r A. Drulovid, Fraktura, Zapre5iC, zm5.
6z B. Tibovic, Prosveta, Belgade, r997.
63 See, e.g. M. Pov3e, Bilo je nekoö (Once There Was). Dnevnik, L.iubljana, April 3o,
2@5' p. 39'

press of Dedinje; the author, Aleksandar Matunoviö' was his

64
'rctors,lings,dicmmrsondsoon),anddisheshewuoffuedblhishosrs,forexanple,
personal doctor betweer. rg75 and rg79);s5 Titott yeuajalec
(Tito's tanslator, Ivan Ivanji)s6, Titoua poslednio ispouiest
(Tito's Last Confession, Vjenceslav Cenöiö):2, Kako smo
zabauljaliTin (How We Entertained Tito, Minja Subota),58
Mladiroka knjiga, Ljubljana, zooS; the book had been previouslv published in Ser-
55
bia. The book is a popular presentation ofJovanka in the first place, then ofother
rvomen in Tito\ life, and ofthe relationship between Tito and Jovanka.
56 Karantanija, Ljubljana, zoo7.
Orfelin rwu, Belgrade, zmr.
65
For example, descriptions of the sumptuous feasts Broz lwld fq his eresrs (poliritiaro,
"dfuveö," offeredbl Saddam Hresein (a meat and vegetable dish), nrohrooru stfed
ruith gooseliuer aclrckie Kennedl\ etc. (S. Banjanac Lubej: Skrivnosti Titove kuhinje/
Secrets of Tito's Cuisine. Zumal, Llubllana, November 3o, zo:, p. +l). J. Oseli, his
personal attendmt who worked for him in the r97os and is today a renowned cook,
recollecs Broz's love fot black pudding and brckuhect mrch (a traditional Slovenian
dish), explaining this by the fact that he wubm and gev up close m r]re Slovenian
b,rder, so the lood inhis b.rth1lace mwthave been similar (D. H.: Tito in ajdovi iganci/
'lito and Buckwheat Mush. Zumalu4, Ljubljana, March 8, zoo8, p. 8). Broz suppos-
edly liked dishes from all parre ofsrnv - obviously, brotherhood and unity exrended
to his kitchen as well!
Supposedly rlre m ostbeautilulYugoslav smile, or ylgosnile for short.

5ö Öigoja $tampa, Belgrade, zo6. The book is a collection ofmemories ofentertainers 96

6?
B. Jokie, Delo, Ljubljana,
June ro, 2oo4, p. r 2.
Nedellkov, ibid., p. r6, r 7.
and anists rvho performed for Tito fiom wwn onwards. lt includes their memories,
0E Munjin, ibid., p. r8, rq.
anecdotes and jokes, m well as accounts of other people that were present Among

46 4?
 lirrstalgia - A Study of Nosralgia for J,rsip Bro: Thc Culture of Titostalgia

V zapalß sprauili Tirouega q.nuka6s (Tito's Grar-rdson

SrbrTi za deep in the lvarts of all nations and nationalities,?4 wh le an-
Ja led
i in Se rb i a), N euobiö aj en gr af itp ( Unusual G raffiti ), llro other says rhat indeed the state no longer exists, but what has
jaöi odTudmand?' (Tito Stronger Tl-ran Tüdrnan) or Tito gre suruiued is a touch of fractured o,esriges of history, the spirit of
u Hollywoodt' (Tito Goes to Hollyrvood). ephemer ali t1, a snrell of timelessness . . . Ah, no stalgi a. 5 Spec ial ?

attention is dedicated to his descendants, who are cloggedly

od
iilintl
Piquancies frorn his love life are especially l"righlighted,
and it is ro him, the g'eatestCroatianlouer of all times, that
the web page at http://www.iznadr8.corn/najveci/ is dedicat-
ecl.zr His personality is still a sor.rrce of inspiration for sorne
journalists: the unsignecl author of an editorial for Delo's
weekly Veö asserts that Tito's splrir litres on, although primarily
pursued by the rnedia: his son Mi5o, the Croatian ambas-
sador to Indonesia, granddaughter Svetlana, a physician
and a hurnanitarian worker, granddaughter Sa5a, a theatre
director', grandson Edvard, who is sporadically rnentioned
in Serbian and Croatian rnedia in relation to some car ac-
cident, and grandson Jo5ko, rvho appears at \/arious events
organized by Broz's fans.
On the anniversaries of his birth and death, it is not
or-rly politicians ancl intellectuals who are asked to confide
ro the media theh' opinion onTito, bur also other public fig-
ures. Reporters are dispatched to Kurnrovec (where one can
find the cradle into which lrc was placedbl his mother Marija
laueriek, a Slouene)t6 and to Dedinje. Bits of spectacle are
inevitable, for exarnple, a convelsation rvith the bLryer of
one of Jovanka's limousines, then with Broz's economic ad-
viser and the like. The journalists observe the politicai bal-
ance among their respondents, so the articles resemble pro
and contra debates. In Slovenia, the opinion of the chair-
man of the Partisan veterans association is presented next
to that of the chairman of tl-re Anti-Partisan (neo-Home-
guards) association Noua slotenskn zaueza; favorable opin-
ior-rs of people frorn the world of entertainment, sportsmen
and artists trre counterbalanced by those unfavorable of
conservatives circles; opinion is also sought fron chance
passers-by, or he is the subject of talk sl-rorvs, Interestingly,
in one such shor.v broadcast by Radio Pri5tina (Kosovo) or.r
the z5th anniversary of his death in May zoo5, older peo-
ple in particular talkecl about l'ris tirne with pleasure, say-
ing that life wos good then, and the program editor, Azern
Zogaj, also rvent along rvith thern, stating that Broz played
a predominant ancl decisive role ir-r tl-re establishrnent and
strengthening of Kosovo's autonorny.T?

69 bl, Docvnik, Ljuhljana, Jrnuary 25, zoo8, p. :7. ?4 Tio ptr Titu (Tirc Aficr Tirr). Vct, l-jubljanr, April 29, 2ooi, p. I.
7o TIris unusrr:rlgraffiti rea.ls l-ong Lile lb. S. Hu., Osloltotlenje, Sarajevo, April I6, ?5 l. Cmelen: ivluiejska energija nrrstalgijc (The N,luseun Energy..fNosralgin). Neclclo,
zoo8, p. :6. Ljubljana, Januar1,6, :oo8, p. 23.
7r On the front page ofSlobodna l)almacija; Split, July:9, zoo8. ?6 Tito po lltu (nto Afrer Tinr). Vei, Ljul.ljanr, April 29, zoo5, p. J. In cerr,rir s()urc-
72 B. lVlehle, Dncvnik, Ljubljana, April 3o, uoo5, p. 38. es,his mother's surnante is rentlercd ls.lnvoriek.
73 Similarll', in nes'spirpers one comes across tirles such as \reta s Tinnr je iriia poninu 7? In his wor,ls: Tiis can be /eh not os uell, since Jjtr gare to Kosolo its nomc and bordcrs
(Relarionship \Virh Tirrr Was Superficial), rvhich is a staternenr b)'his lirst ['r'cr, thich ore tÄe nuil e/enetlJ rfel crl 5t üe (sra/u.n.: Öctrr srolctja orl litor,e smrri/A
rvho rvas rrot actullly his lover at all. L)i. Husii, an intervie*'rvith G. lv{unitiö, Olo- Qulrter Century Since Tito's Dcarlr. rop rv 24ur.conl, NIly 4, zoo5, zrccessecl Au-
bus, Zirgreb, Fel.ruary 7, r992, p. I9. gust ru,:oo5).

48 49

Titostrlria - A StuJt' of Nosralcia lirr Jtrsip llro:
"Broz sites" are allother interesting aspect' each pre-
senting a (lifferent irnage of hirn and a clifferent story about
hin.r. In his birthplace, Kumrovec (Croatia), he is a boy /r'orn
rhe Sorla region. In this best krtown uillage irr rhe tuorld, as it
is frecluently called, tl-rere is a metnorial park clesigned as
an open aiL tnuseutn, which in its apgrearauce provides al-
nlost r1o clue about its tnost {atnor.rs resident. The cornplex,
comprrising 4o br"rildings, is callecl Smro selo (Old Village).
It is a tasteful reconstl'uction of an old Zagorje viliage r'vith
all tl-re characteristic features of rtrral life and rvork as they
u,ere around a century ago: fanning, tracles, houses, work-
shops, architectural peculiarities (strarv roofs, iuteriors
etc.), irnportant holidays, folk creativity and t1-re 1ike. The
well-maintained rnemorial house, o[ lltuseutn, contains trvo
comprehensive collections: one illustratiug Broz's life and
the other that of his farnily. The sculpture of Broz, :r r'vork
by Arrtun Augustinöii, dating frorn 1947, is in front. The
monLllrrent was tu,ice blou'n up by anonytnous perpetrators:
first unsuccessfully, in July zoor, ancl then again on Decetn-
ber 27, zoo4, u'heu the explosior-r bler.r'arvay his head, scl
t1-re sculptr.rre rvas ur-rder repair for fotrr tnouths.
Tl'rere are no other traces in the area hintir-rg at Joie'
as l're is affectionately callecl, save for the spacious parking
lot in front of the metnoritri park, tl-re decaying cornplex of
the former Higher Political School ar-rcl tl-re eclually clerelict
lrotel built in t974,88 r'ed maple trees planted it'r his rnetn-
ory, his abandoned Vila Kutnrovec and a srnall but rvell-
stockecl souvettir shop.rs 11t" memorll of him pelsists only
in the natne of a local c]isco club called Marshal ar-rd thzrt
of the bar called Kod Srarog (Ar tlrc OId Mnn's; Stari is one
of Broz's nicknat'nes).t' Tl-re t-ratne of the street once callecl
L)LicaJosiltaBrozaTitct (Josip Broz Tito Street) has shruuk
tt'tIJIicaJosipaBroza (Josip Broz Street), r'vhile the eletnen-
tary school once callerl M arialTito has been renamecl Josipa
Bro1a. During the rule of the nationalist HI:rz 1-rnrty in the
r 99os, Kumrot ec, ntuch like the melnory of Broz, wzrs liter-
al11, 111'r.1"r threat of elasu1e: it clisappearetl frour tnaps autl
textbooks; e\rell the roacl sigus arottucl the village \\'ere re-
Nl,rrc than r3o articles arc -,rid lr hc ort srlc, mosr of thcrr lvith Br,,:'s inlrge. (Jurk-
78
ovii,:oo(r,295).
79 A gcneral lccling is thtrt pe()ftc *rrrking in tourism in Kunrrovec still arteurpt ro 'lc-
litoi:e thc pl:rcc rrhile em|hasizing the ittrncti(nl-s ()t llle (-rhno-r illage Accor'lins-
11,thcrc is urr nrentirn ol llro: oIr tlte etttranct ricker irn.l tlrt' nranagcr of the conr-
plex assurcel the Slovertialr journrlist rhirt it \'lls ll(rt onlf Bro:'s house that rrrs in'
teresring bur the crrtirc villirgc', irrcluditrg othcr t'vet)ts, e.g. Z.l.ni Jlo t (Cclec, :oo5,
I. t5).An<rtlrert'xntrplcof the relrtivi:irtitnof lrisrncnorl islhe mrnitestatitrl
crllerl Tire lioce, *hich cottttects the birrh h,ruscs ofJosip Bro: arr'l
Zo.qorje Oirrnrs
Franjtr TtrtimirD, l.oth in thc rcgitrn of Zagorje. Ir is rrrsaoi:rrl br rhe tourirt l.o.rr,lr
Kumr,ryec nrl \/eliko Trgoviitc (lr.lm,rn's hirrhfhce).
5o
Thc Culture of Tiostalgia
movecl. Visitors, nevertheless, kept coming, and they still do.
During the r97os, the visitor figures ranged from a qlrarter
millior-r to half a million a year; at the tirne of the break-up
of Yugoslavia, they dwindled to only r25,ooo, and further
dorvn to ro,ooo during the war in Croatia, but rose agaiu
ro 35,ooo over the past few years (accorcling to official es-
rimates, half of those visitors are Slovenes8'). Many hold
that the turning point leading to the increase in visitots
was the victory of the social-delnocratic opposition party
ir-r Croatia in zooo.
Kumtovec. ?ooB
By contrast, the Broz encottntered at another such local-
ity, lris rnausoleul.n in Belgrade, is an oldntan who liued a fulL
and successfuL life. Yet the mausoleum called HlSa cue tja (The
House rf Flou,ers),8' located in the elite Belgrade quarter of
Declinje, app.rs2i5 forgotten: although it is decently rnain-
tained, there are altnost uo signs indicating the clirecticln,
no guarcl of honor since r 992, no former spleudor, nor fresh
fluu,ers nor neat flower beds.t' A sirnilar fate has befallen
the nearby museun fortnerly callecl Spomirrski rnr.rlej 25 . maj
(May z5 Mernorial Mr-rser-rrn) bttt norv renzrmcd Zgodouitt'
ski nuTej Jugoslauije (The Museum of Yugoslav History). It
houses sorne of the prresents he received fror-n peogrle arouncl
the rvorlcl ancl a collection of tnore than trveuty thousand
relay batons given to him for his bilthdays. However, many
3o B. Cclcc: ZlesLoha trd:il-elkc Jt, groba (Loyalty from Crr.llc Tir Grnve). \/ct,
Llul'ljana, April 29.
"oo5, f.
r 5.
8l Notc thc rn1'thc'logicol crnnotirrions ofJltru,ers in the local culttrrill ellvir(,nrrrunL
-/ltters rre rehtrtl to roraÄ, irnd conse.luently, the llrrtsc o/Fiou'trs t,r VrtrÄ l)or.
Thcir slrarerl tririts arc rlrc -.|irit of spring, ticslrness, n.tvelt1, tlrr' creative potcrrtirl,
mciDing d)e esse ntiirl .'lcmenrs of evcry pliticll m1'thol,,gy .rf trtrnsitirtn. Autl lasr
hut nor lerst, according ro some sources, the place itseli, l)etlinjc, is locatcd tn the
site of rn O[] Slar.ic, prc-Chrisriirn slrrine.
8z lu the elrll r99os, rhe R,rdical parry of\(rjislav Sclelj launchc.l an inirduvc t\, rc-
lrovc'his rem rirrr from Serbil. Thef evcn threirtencJ ro (lcstro) thc Hotrse tlf Flol'-
ers aud l.um his remains. On rhc ,rthcr hlnrl, L ica Rnöan, thc lirtc leader oi the
Cr(rrtizln sr)p firrt,,', \rhich is a successor to the fornrer Lcague of Communi5t. ot
Croltil, p11111659.{ thar his renrairrs shoul.l be mrl'c.l to Kttrnr,x cc ancl l ne\\' nlenl()-
,
'i rial ceotrr huilt rhere.
5r
 nrostalgia - A Sturly of Nostalgia ftir Josip Broz The Culturc of litostalgiir

objects previously stored there "got lost" at the tirne of the woulcl go to a special fund set up by the farnily fcrr talentetl
disintegration of snny. Most were allegedly appropriated by youths ancl to a Zagreb orphar.rage.
former party officials who found themselves without work The islancl of Vis (Croatia) also offers Tito-related tour-
or privileges. Today, rnany tour operators organizing trips ist attractions includir-rg Tito caue.ln Drvar (Bosnia-Herze-
to Belgrade somehow take it for granted that a visit to Bel- govina), a renovated Tito cdue \\/as oprened on May 25, zoo6,
grade should include a visit to the rnernorial cornplex. Ac- ancl it is expected to attract both local antl foreign visitors,
cording ro media reports, as well as official estimates, the as it did during the tirne of Yugoslavia. In conclusion to tl'ris
greatest number of visitors, around 25,ooo a year in recent overview of tor-rrist clestinations selling Broz's aura, let me
years, come from Slovenia; for exarnple, in zoo5 more than rnentionfivo Bre5an's come.ly Marsnl [r999)iu,hich inevi-
two-fifths of visitors, Br or according to another source, much tably comes to mind. h'r it, a pragrnatic local entrepreneur,
more than or-re half,s+ were Slovenes. an anti-Titoist, smells profit in the apparition of Trto's ghosr
The Brijuni archipelago off the northern Croatian coast (which is a clear allusion to apparitions of the Virgin Mary ir-r
is the third destination for "Tito-tourism." There, Broz is a Mecljugorje) and organizes t'arious events, entertainrnents,
bon utuant, the goodhost to world personalines ancl a simple man meetings r.vith ivitnesses, visits, relay baton races, ureaning
on uacation. The permanent exhibition entitled Josip Broz all that befits political tourism.s5
Tito mBrijuni has been on display since r984, with its orig- Broz ler-rt his narne to lnany caf6s and bars acrcrss the
inal layout preserved to this day. The two hundred photos forrner country. In,Sarajevo, CaffeTito is a cult meetiug point
depict his life, rvork and leisure time activities on the islands for young people, recently relocatec'l nearer the city center.
where he spent half of his time as a president, perfcrrming
his statesman's duties and l-rosting guests, from politicians
to people from the r.vorld of entertainment. Other exhibits
there inclucle his Cac'lillac, a still living cockatoo (a present
to his granddaughter SaSa), and taxidennic anirnals from his
zoo. The souvenir shop offers the usual assortrnent: T-shirts
with irnages of Broz in Brijuni, plates with his irnage, caps
rvith his signature, badges and a multi-lingual brochure en-
titled Tiro lnBfijuni. The postcard features the slogan, Feel
the Historl of Brijuni, and three pictures: of tire archipelago,
of a dinosaur footprint, and of Broz in the company of Eliza-
beth Taylor and Richard Burton during tl'reir visit in r97r.
A large billboard on the nearby FaZana coast draws atten-
tir>n to the attractions of Brijuni and especially to Broz's life
there. In May zoo7, the managernent of the national park
signed a contract witl-r the Broz farnily obtaining the right
to cornmercial use of Broz's narne, seal and irnage. They plan
to sell various souvenirs, ranging frorn cerarnic mandarin or-
anges witl-r his signatr.rre ancl cerarnic cups rvith his irnage
to golden needles with his signatr,rre. The representative of
the farnily, SaSa Broz, announced that the rnoney frorn sales Sarajevo,2oog

The facade ancl the interior of the new premises are

83 J. Ktntlcr - Salamon: N{ecl ohiskrlvalci litovega groba najvct Slovcncev in r}rrjrn.rnj
Örnogorcer' (Among The Visitors h ntoi Orave, Sloverres The lvlost Numerclrs,
lvlontenegrins The Leasr) L)cLr, Ljubljana, Ma1'25, uoo6, p. r7.
: 84 This intbrmatitrrr s'irs given lry the mausoleumi protocol rnanager. (Celec, zoo5, p.
-J
r 6). During the 1'ears inrmecliatell' frrllo* ing his cJcrth in r 98o, the crorvds literally
srvampeJ the gr:rve; 8.8 million people h:rd visited it b1' r 986, plus : 8oo foreign Jel-
egarions. (Jovanovska, zooz, 3:).
painted red, and there is a wwrl jeep at the front, in t'hich
visitors can take a seat. The caf6's logo is composed of Broz's
35 The entrclreneur justifies his venture,rs frrllorvs, i)ersonuill, I'd mther it t,ere Sr.
Ante, brt ir'.s Tim. It's not nrrch of an opparitiin, brr r'/ru con u,e doi Yor hare lr make
rhe rmsr o/it.

52
(.J
1:
 Titostalgia -A Stucly of Nostalgir for Josip Broz
signature ancl a communist star, first spotted on the sign-
board of the bar and reprocluced on the T-shirts worn by
the bar staff, as well as the glasses and cups. The interior is
clecolated with frarned, enlarged photos depicting his life
dLrring and after the war; there is also a collection of books
by or about hirn. The larnp shades are old hehnets wom by
the arrnies he defeated; the walls are decorated with arrest
warrants and other historic documents, front pages of for-
eign nervspapers with his image, and a number of engrav-
ings; next to these are guns and subrnachine guns from rvrvrt,
large and comprehensive rnaps of the trool-r positions and
breaktl'rroughs at the time of the farned battle on the Ner-
en'a River. The shelves are filled with sctrlpttrres of him,
interspersed with bottles of wine and beer with labels bear-
ing his rlarne or irnage. There are also several iror-rica1 re-
interpretations (for example, Josip Brol written in the Coca
Cok style). Visitors can buy T-shirts with his image, and
popular cocktails have been renamed to match the overall
feeling (e.g. Long iskndlcedTea is Marial, Tequila Sunrise is
Parrisan Escadril\e, BIue Lagoon isValter, Pina colatla is lgman
Mnlch, Komikaze is Drvat"Landing, Blac/< Russian is Srnlin,
Monkey Brain is, of course, Mussolini etc.). On receiving the
bill, you discover that your waiter was one of the liberation
war heroes (e.g. Ivo Lola Ribar), and the last itern on
bill is the inevitable Death to Fascism,ls6
The rnotel RestaurantTto is located by the highrvay near
Paraöin in Serbia. It is similarly decorated with cor-urtless
portraits of Broz, books, sculptures, p1ac1ues, neecllepoint
tapestries, wooclcuts, flasks, ashtrays, school charts and Yu-
goslav syrnbols and maps.
Most clate from tlnse times, and only a smaller nurnber
are conternporary reinterpretations, either felicitous or quite
cornical. A decorative cushion occupying a conspicttous
place on the sl-relf features, next to his portrait, an inscription
reading: Conre back -e+)erJthing is forgluen. Items on sale in-
clude badges and caps rvith his image and signature. On May
u 5, Broz's birthday, the staffwear red pioneer scarfs, guests
dance Lozaraöko kolo (a folk dance popularized by Partisan
fighters during wwu), and there are other celebrations in his
memory, including various activities, for exarnple, the eat-
ing of Partisan öeuapi (a meat ball made from minced meat,
bacon and corn). The Skopje (Macedonia) restaurant Kcj
Marialot (At Marshal's) is sirnilarly deckecl out with iconic
86 Nor to nrention other articles, such as plastic bags s irh his name, paper rissues,
plcks, rnarch boxes, advertising leirflets ctc.
54
The Culttrre of llrostalgia
above:
southern Serbia.2oo8
Podgorica, 2oo8
pictures of former YLrgoslavia, pictures of Broz sl'rorvn in all
ir-naginzrble situatior-rs (e.g. at receptiolls or in informal en-
vironments drinking a toast), plus prictures of the flags of
trll the successor countries to fcrrmer Yugoslavia. The de-
cor of the luxurious restalrrant callecl Marial in Poclgorica
(Monter-regro) is r.rot typically nostaigic, but Broz still has
tl.re his corner- u'ith portraits of him and books abor-rt l-rirn plus
ar-r elegant editior-r of his Selected Wor/<s, ancl the cornmu-
nist star in the prornotional brochures. A bal in the center
of Urr-rag in Croatia, closecl at the moment, also bears the
name Tito, and is decoratec'l rvith pictLrres, postcards, sharvls
etc. relating to Broz.
("Rt
!:.,8fl3l'.'r
'tso)-nrv
g
.,3
Slopje 2oo8
In contrast to the bars and restaurants mentioned so far,
rd-rich all adhere to the aesthetics of those rirnes and are full
ttf irntiques, old depictions of Broz and various Yugoslav rel-
ics, Brol kafe in Skopje, openecl in zoo5, is decolated in a
r-reonostalgic fashion - here, Broz's irnage and Yugoslav syrr-r-
bols have rnainly servecl as the starting point for new crea-
tions. The elaborate logo contains both Latin and Cyrillic
letters, rvhile the rvalls are covered with prints shorving the
sLrg rr
red star, the roo dinar banknote, large retouched pictures
55
 7
litostalgirr A Study of Nostalgia firr Josip Bro:
of Broz surrounded by pioneers, scenes from the life of work
brigades, and everyday products typical ofYugoslavia. Olcl
posters also embellish the u'alls, and cupboards contain old
Yugoslav banknotes and books about Broz and Yugoslavia.
Items on sale include cups, T-shirts, several L-rrands of cof-
fee, coffee pots and teapots, all equipped with tl're bar's logo
g'hich also aclorns sttgar packs, water bottles, place mats
and carrying bags. Regular guests receive amembership card
resernbling the former pioneer and political party cards' in
which the number of coffees bought is recorded - every
tentl'r coffee is free.
A sirnilar interior design could be found in the now
closed Trro cafeteria and the Nostalgia bar ir-r Ljubljana,
where the or-rly bar of this kind still survivit-tg is the Che bar.
Although its main icon is the Argentinean revolutionary,
Broz, too, has his own cornet (filled rvith books, pictttres,
photos and sculptures of hirn). Several irnages of him ern-
bellish the walls of another Ljubljana bar ca11ed Druga po'
moö (Second Aid), frequented rnainly by yotrng people, and
one in Velenje. In Maribor (Slovenia), Tito and Yugoslav
syrnbols decorate the bars zg. nouember, xcn ancl GaIaGu'I
which includes Tito room; years ago there existed one such
bar in Nova Gorica as weli. Judging by rnedia reports, similar
nostalgic places are located in UZice, Kragujevac and Novi
Sad (all in Serbia). Tito kafiö (Tito caf6) in Belgrade is also
brirnrning u'ith objects and syrnbols of that tirne (Hjem-
dahl, Skrbie Alernpijeviö, zoo6,259). The hairdressing sa-
lon in Belgrade called srnT offers the Jouanl<a hairstyle. In
Ljubijar-ra, the establishrnent of the museum of nostalgia is
currently underrvay; the journalist reporting on it picked
out /iöko (a Yugoslav-rnade car manufactured under liceuse
frorn Fiat), cockta (apopular non-alcoholic drink) and Tito
as the exhibits rnost typifying nostalgia.sT
The Serbian Raihvay offers tourist trips in Serbia and
abroad in Broz's renovatecl Blue Tloin. This hotel on wheels
enables absolu tely authentic re-experiencing of socialist luxu-
ries; organization of various events on boarcl the train is also
on offer. Price: srbject to tlain composinon and dBstinarioli. The
Greek owner of Broz's former sl'rip, the Galeb (SeagLrll), con-
sidered turning it into a luxttrious ctttiser, expecting that its
lristory would attract tourists (Radovani, zoo6' 44r, 442).88
The town once called Titouo\Jüce (today UZice, in Serbia),
67 Oruden, zoo8, ihid.
38 With rhis goal in mind, hc rook rhc ship for rcpair ter the Riieka shipyard, but even'
runlly did not pay the bill. The nxn o[ Rijeka then appropriared the ship and pro-
clairnecl ir an item of cultural herita.qc, plallning k) tum ir iuk) a museum. UnforLl'
56
The Culture of Titostalgia
is considering the establishment of a rnlrseun dedicated to
that time, rvhich would be rnodeled on similar rnuseums of
post-socialist nostalgia elsewhere in Europe. An entrepre-
neur from Novi Sad entertained a sirnilar idea.8" A restau-
rant in Zrenjanin (Serbia) organized the Days of Tito's Cui-
sine in the week of November 29, zoo7, with severai hun-
dred gourmands frorn across Serbia attending. Guests could
taste Broz's favorite dishes (for example, roasted pheasant ä
la Jackie Kennedy, fish ä la Ernest Hemingway etc.), dance
and sing songs from Tiro's times. Encouraged by the turnout,
the organizer plans a similar event on May z5.e'
Such use, or abuse as some argue, of Broz's name has
provoked plenty of criticism. His grandson from Belgrade,
Jo5ko, strives to protect Tito and his work against organiTa-
tions and indiuidunls who want to profit in one way or anothel
fromhis t1alne.s' He also considered filing a suit against those
who, in his opinion, abuse the memory of Tito. Referring to
the lau,on aLrthor's rights, MiSo and SaSa Broz from Croatia
decided to protect the name and dignity of their grandfa-
ther, which rs unacceptabty subject to massiue proititution.
The entrepreneurial users of his name never asked them
for permission or notified them about their intentions, and
the family decided to put an end to such practices. Their
request was approved, and in zoo6 they secured a ten-year
exclusi'n'e right to that profitable name. e'
I will now switch to another area, but remain within the
domain of the culture of titostalgia, meaning the discourse
created and disserninated by various groups and individuals.
]n the next few passages, I rvill focus on mass culture and
arts. Exarnples of such arsnostalgica are abi,urdant. InzooT,
the Zagreb international festival of new theater called Eu-
rokal aclopted the working tirle Tirokaz and the slogan Tito
- the fourth rime, while the poster featured his irnage taken
from one of the last Yugoslav banknotes. Needless to say,
the concept of the program agitated many among the po-
litical and cultural right-wing, while critics assessed it as
being of low arristic a,)alue and doubdul ploducrior"t. According
natel1,,monel'{or rhe resorzrrion coulcl not be securecl, so the ship has been decay-
time nos,.
ing for some
8q Ci. Tarlaö: "Vrni se, r'se ri je oclpuSöenol" - Lik'1ira v Srbiji ("Come Back -Every-
thing is forgiven" 'liro's Image in Serbia). Iv{ladinn, Ljubljana, No. zr, April 24,
9o
:oo4, p. u6.
Nedeljkor', zoo7, p. 16.
9r Jokii, zoo7, ibicl.
9: N. Ser,er Scni: Obitelj Broz zakonon öe ?astititi ntovo ine (The Broz Family To Seek
Legal Prorecriorr For lito\ Name). Veöemji list, Zg., Junc z:,. zoo5, on-line edition;
Irrtp://rrrvw,.finimce.si/r68r63,/Tirovega_imena ne lrcdo_sneli_r'e9t,E8_:lorabljati;
hrtp://s'rvr,.nacional.hr/arricles/vie*y'zgz35/; accesed on August r2, 2@5.
57
 7-

Thc Cultrrrc of Tilrsr:rlgiir

ntostllgia A Study trf Nostrrlgia firr Josip ßror

farce," as it r.vas clescribed by the Slover-rian proc{ucers of tl're

to the media, the performan ces thematiTed the enuiromnents
play, was first staged in Slovenia at the SeZana Theater in
whose liues the MarshaL made either bitter or better, as weLl as
those for whichTito was an enti:rel) abstractnotion
(the forrner Novernber uoo5, and then in the Nova Gorica Thearer in
grotrp comprised, for exarnple, perfortnances from Macedo- February zoo6.qs The stage settillg included the usual signi-
nia, and the latter those from Gerrnany ancl Russia)'er Put fiers of the previous regime and its leader; practicalLy every
one of its performances r.vas solc{ or-rt.
differently, wl'üLe some just pbyed tuith history, others tookit
seriousll,ea and this was the first {estival to put to the test the
meaning and significance of the icon rhathad painred the ptcture
of Yugoslaviafot' 35 yeat's!)t His irnage \Ä/as part of dance and
theater performances by the Gerrnan choreographer, Felix
Ruckert, Branko Brezovec,o" Ahrned Al Attara and the Rtrs-
sian grotrp, Akhe. Furthermore, his pictr"rre was also on the
poster of the rzth Internatior-ral Theater Festival in Pula,
in zoo6, and in advertiselnents for the award rvinning one'
woman shotu entitled I Miss Commr,rnism of the American-
Croat artist, Ines Wurth.

5lovenia,2oo5

Tito was also the subject of several documentaries and

feature films.'e There were rnedia reports that Sylvester Stal-
lone was planning a film with documentary talue about Broz.
Broz also had a cameo appearance in De Niro's spy drarna
set in the cold war era.'* The shooting of two docutnenta-
P ry series abor,rt Broz has been announced.'"' Hou'ever, not
everything runs slnoothly all the time for film directors. In
02.- 06.0
Croatia, SaSa Broz and the Associarion of Anti-FascistFight-
2006. ers and Arrti-Fascisrs (formerly the Veterans Association)
V IEAI have recently publicly expressed doubts that Antun Vrdol-
jak, the notorious fihn director and the director of Croatiar-r
Croatia. 2006

The sketch, or, as its subtitle explains, our bittet, nostalglc
comedJ, entitlecl Kako smo uoleLi drugaTita (How We Lovecl
Comrade Tito), by the director and playwright Radoslav
Zlatan Dorii from Vojvodina (Serbia) deals with conteü)-
porary perceptions of Broz.e? This "nostalgically grotesque
93 J. Boko: J. B. Tiro plcslö i hercj (l.B Tinr, Danccr:rn'l Hero) Sltrl'oclnt l)rlnacija'
Split, July a, 2oo7, p. Jo.
94 \,lunjin, zoo7, p.38
95 Slunjski, ibi.l., t. 4?.
(Tito - Selectetl
96 His *"ging of rire flay entitled lilr - illrratri diagrtrni hrepetrenja
tli"grni . irf Y"o.ti.gi, rvritren [.y thc Croatian plays'right Sl"bo'lan Snaj'ler' pro-
.,..kecl,r true scrndal in lvlaceclonia in zoo7. Just befrrre rhe premiere night, the it4ac-
eclnian Minisrry of Culture threltene.l sancrirns against perfomrcrs, *4lo drcn tle-
national television at the tine when the Hoz party rvas in
power, could make an objectrtre documentary about Broz (he
allegedly stated that he pow'edhimself a champagne when he
heard the news that Tito was dead).'"'
Varioirs actors impersonate him in sketches and at pub-
lic events. His double in Croatia, Zeljko Vukrnirica, dressed
in a white Marshal uniform, appeared in the news program
on Croatian national television channel on RepublicDay in
2oo7, that is to say, the Republic Dcy celebrated in forrner
Yugoslavia, and congratulatecl all nations and ndtionalities.
q8 Sec http,//rvs'rv.kosovelor'.lom.si/subsire/inclex.hrm
.

99 Sec thc lisr at rhe cn.l of the I'ook.

ci.lecl to spen.l the night irr the theirter ancl thus "clefetltl" rhe shorv- Uncler pressure too B. \lchle, 'l iro gre v Llollyutnd (1irc Goes To H.rllysrrxl). Dnevnik, Ljubljana,
from the clonestic itncl ftrreign public, rhe iv{inistrl'rccalleel the rlccision' and the April 3o,:oo5, p.38.
shos hcrrtrte rr hit, rr'cltr.ling itt l,'rciFn tr'urrtrit' tol Jakovina,:oo8, p.5(r.
arl
9'7 To rcturn to the context of I tes'passagcs altovc: One character in the comcdl is l02 ill. Jajöinovit: Kalendarski rr zr. st., a u sr,iiesti su u
his bar Ar lugoslaviji (Citizens of rhe zrst
enterprisit)g (^rner of a bar rvho, tirct.l s'ith hitrer ctrurPetition, rcnanecl Centurl', bq1 lvlgnl2lly Still in Yugoslnvia). Vedernji list, C)bzor srpplencnr, Zagrcb,
Cornmde T'uo\, jusr /orltin, ancl the bttsiness began ttr flourish (scenario try Dorii' I!'lay 26, :oo7, p. r 4, r 5.
uoo5, p.8).

59
58
 'a

The Culture of litosralgia

Tilrstalgia -A Study of Nostalgia for Josip Broz

(a carni- etc.''6 He faithfully reproduces Broz's pt-rsrure, outfir (a white

He also regularly takes part in Bolskri karneualada or blue Marshal's unifonn, occasionally an adrniralt uniform
val Bol,"Croatia), and Tito is a farniiiar carnivai mask at
ir-r
decorated with several square inches of various medals and
other similar evel1ts, fretluently accompanied by Jovanka rvhite gloves), gestures and expressions, while srnoking the
and pioneers' unavoiclable cigar.'"?
ihe Slo,rer-tinn impersonator of Broz, lvo Godniö' has During the r9gos, there rvas a punk bancl in Slovenia
been taking part in events across former Yugoslavia ever callecl Tito in ekin (i.e. "Tito in Action" wrirren as pro-
,ir-r.. ,99olri9r, rvhen he first set about stttdying articles nounced). Tiro's Bojs (Tito's Boys) frorn Istria present rhem-
and documents about Broz (he is said to be the most popu-
selves in a song that runs tifors bojs, tito's bojs! ! ! ! | Tito is dead
in Bosnia, and he has also appeared in Kumrovec)' He
lar-
but they are aliue I fight, fight don't let contmunism die f sonte
explains that he chose to impersonate Broz hecatrse of his poliricians gonnadie tonight ltito'sbojs gonna jointhe fight! .Broz
chärisma,but adds that there were other events' too'
lead'
figr-rresin the songs of the Slovenian Yugo-rock band called
ing to this decision.''3 ln an interview he said that, even
Zaklonäöe prepreua (Shelter Singing), whose members are
now I speak and think as if I +uere Tito , not as an actof imper' nowadays in their early thirties, in the AusLinder video spot
gen'
sondring Tito.''q Godniö's goal is to bringTito to Jounger
of tire pop-eclectic Magnifico, the video spot A Nice Day
erationi through humour (...) to bringhim in through another
(N ' To Die by the Slovenian pop-rock band Dan D (Day D),
door , using poktical satire , humor , m1 talen* , his charisma
rvhich includes docurnentaLy material shot at Broz's funer-
Moönik, zoo8, ro).'" lnterestingly, he relegates nostalgia al (zoo8),''s in the song and video spor entirled DraglTito
to the background, asserting that whnr is in the foregroundis (Dear Tito) by the Croatian rappers HzA,Ioe in the songs of
political satile and the raising of awalenessamong people ( Ibid''
the Di-fense rappers frorn NiS (Serbia), and on rhe cover
tSi. Uii performance consists of the act of solemn arrival page and in the song of Korado and Brendi enritled Pa je iel
in a cabri,olet or in an authentic jeep, cornplete with a reti- touarü Tito (And So Comrade Tito Went Au'ay, zooo). He
ntre, which sometimes includes Jouanka and pioneers'
fol'
is an inspiration for rnan1,\.iloung visual arristsl for exarnple,
lorved by the playing of the Yugoslav anthem, a speech' a
people Barbara Jak5e Jer5iö (photo Tirou ag/Tito's Square, zoo4),""
p."r, .or-rf.r".t.e, mingling and shaking hands rvith
Mirjanr Mamssig (Which colour do you prefer!, zooz)"',lo-
virn Balor' (Portret TitalA Portrait of Tito, Transkript Tito,
zooT),"'Arjan Pregl (the cycle OIje naBiblijo in Na5ega
Tital Oil on Bible and Or.n Tiro, z.oo 5-zoo6 ), " r 1itt, *^0"-
(a specimen r-shirt with Broz! irnage, zoo8),"+ pltto "Ivanöii

Io6 See, e.g., htrp://rvs'\'.1,og1slrc.con/s'atch?r,=RUizErvggVJE. For Iris crammecl schccl-

uLe on )brit/r Da1 in zooz, s,hen he appearcil scven times across Slovenia, see Jo-
v,rnur"ka,:oo:,44.
ro7 In the interlierv rncotioned:rl.ove (zoo3), Codnii also spoke irbout scvcral unpleas-
anr crpericnces, tlrrears and prohibiriors.
Slovenia. the tggos I o8 http://rv*'rv.yourubc.com/rvarch jr,=k-ggH4ZEFkM&feature=relltcd
r og httpr//s,s'l'.youtu[re.com/rvarch h'=sB r ke-LdGFl
I to Oroup exhibiri<rn "Likovno delo kor koncepC' (The Work of Art As Concepr),
that he h:rcl pretlicteJ
roj Atnong other things, he snicl rhat Broz 'lied on his birthdal"
"',i,o,"ä"Jt"trheirou.ofhisd"ath,a.dthatrsachildhehadseeuBroratleastjo Gaterija Kresija, LjuL.ljänr, Scptember u oo6.
ItI An cxhibition in the Nletropol club, Ljubljana, Ma1'-Jrnc zooz.
titnes on his rviry ro his rcsidence at lirdo pri Kranju' tr: Groupcxhibition"Pirpir-Pilfcrwork",CalerijaMesrregarnuzejaViigalica,Ljuhlja-
nn' (l Sperk Like nn'' I
r"o
--- ar t,,,"r"i"" li V lt4il"k, G,,""ti't kot Tio, urislirn kot na, Deccmber zoo7. The arrist "changcs" his artisric rvork intrt "a cririque of politicirl
fn,ntLike'llt,) Dclo,se,Ljubljana,August2'2oo3'p zo Broz'srticeouGod' injustice, nirtionalisrn and racism" (t'rom the clraLrgue texr).
niel n.r.t=ring *n.hi.",nyt, Yt"t ho''" rhe Holre ofFlotL'ers in Derlinle' Uiiika It3 Theexhibitiorrentirlerl"Abstrakcijc"(Absrractions),Equrna,Ljubljana,Julyzoo(r.
'eat'hed
t5. Piense leate n trrcssnqc In rhis cycle, the artist placed oil painr on the covcr pages of the Bible and books
,..
'"' lj.elsoa.ldsthatthesituari,rnch:rngeclafterthevictoryo[theright-r'ingparties cl.',licate.1 to Bro:, explaining this as a synrbolic "adding offucl to rhe flames" oiold
; ,ooa
.;;i:.t",",']; t'"I'^'sk" ia clert'gati''e term f"r so callecl !?hite Guarcls' dilisitns betrveen rhc communisrs ancl clericals.
"in." do not ddre ifl- t4
Ami-Portiron Slot'"nian quislings) fook oler the gorenulen!' cotlpÜli€s I The I\,lladi ler.i fesrival, Augusr zoo8.
(l['id r9)'
uite ne Brr lorng people are nott' itruiring n1g nats '

(tr
6o
 r-
Stu.ly ofNosralgia forJosip Broz Thc Culture' of Titosr:rlgia
litostrlgia A

(zoo4),"5 Tänja Lazetiö (HorcIKumrouec' 2oo7l"" G' R'

(Peace Acrion of Humanists) , which describes irself as a non-
(zorB pisoJ' to governmental, non-political and non-profit peace or.gani-
Ä. V..iW."" derTito stilbt, zoo6),"2 Natan
t" ,"^i frorn light to left, zooT),"' Aleksandar Garbin (J' zation. In their words, with the pt'oclamation of the republic of
b. frr, zoo4),;"; Stane Spegel (Spomen/i/iki, 2oo?)"'" the Titoslauija and its constinrtion, a new and complere\ different
Austrian altist Walter Steil-racher (Soavenirs' zooS)"'' the state erLtel's the globa| stage of politics determined to re-estab-
Kosovo artist Alketa Xhafa (Cha[cngncTto' a performance' lisÄ Trroi lifelong The state has no borclers,
ideas and visions.
(Per- pariiament, laws or presider-rt, but it has a flag (red with a
zoo8), and tl-re Slovenian performance trrtist Eclipse
erf otmance, rygg) :'- Pop-art yellow circle and Brozi portrait frorn his Partisan days), an
f ormans pr eseneöenjal Surprise P

of Ti,o can be found on postcards and so

,"1'rr.rpr"rurior-t, anthem (needless to say, it is Cornrade Tito,lX/e Pledge To
on and so on.''l You), a ro-article constitution, and it issues passports (the
price is 20 convertible marks for Bosnia-Herzegovina citi-
zens, ro euros for citizens offcrrmer Yugoslav republics, and
r 5 euros for foreigners). In the words of Jezdimir Milo3evii,
the guardian of the seal of Titoslavia, its capital lies ir-r rhe
lrcart of each of its cttizens. The founders claim that they are
not interested in rnystifying Broz's personality but in re-es-
wblishing his ideas and uisions.''a

o-

|,' .: .,1,
a postcard.
5erbia, zooT

The veneratiou of our Trto also extends to the virtual

world - there are tnany web pages declicated to him
(and-

Yugoslavia). The r-nost interesting is the new virtual state tll

I I .r !rr ,lrlritr,
proclaimed on May z5' r

Titoslavia at www.titoslavija com' ,t tl\ ii! tir i l:. I Lr, l. .

z oo 5 by the Saraj evc'r assoc ialion Mir

ouna akcija humatti s tov
hrveincluJetl
rr5 HisschedulcdperformancctluringT!'l)d\rlnIritn'l'Ilriclr'lr"ul'l
'-',i*,rrigi."fnril"t.trrtit'ntBroz'''rc"itlenccinBrijunr'srsn{'tcnthrrsiasticirllyrc' rvorld wide web. zoo5
ilnd vetemns irs.vrciation The
."n"Ji.r'r",,r","",ntiles of the tourisl oreani:rrtiorl The olclest such page rvas created in r9g4 by the young
r"ls caucclleJ (lla'ltrvani' zoo6'
,*,n t-or*."ur" Attappclretl, and the p"tltt'rmr'tcc
Slovenizrn fihn director M:rrtin Slebotnjak ancl Matija
++t, +4r)
r r(r Vi.lco Wtrrk, Galerija P74, Ljubljrrra' lr'1:r1' zooT Marolt (r'r'rvrv.titoville.con-r). The options on the menLr bar
iit" otd'th" tnt"it'ou" Pa'Lr.r hila/Pavel's llouse' Porrna' Austria' au-
ttt are Speeches, Songs and Mouies; Photo Album; The Facts;
"-fttf'ni"t
tuntlt zoo(1.
ug A,t-.'-"t,if-irnrrheluclepen'lentlllustratorsofslovcniarstBiennial'Ljubljana'zoo7 Boolrs, Women andJokes, andFeedback (all in English). Since
;,;;..,'ü;;" Ji.i,.'^t"'l i. c.lore'l Plasticine ; exhibititn at tlrt: lv{ultimedirl-
';; ni ccnter in Rovirlj, autunrn zoo8' November 29, 2oo4 (the former RepubLic Day), another
,r" Iui"fr,-,,*.tt t.rtnlluri,t,inNhichtheRitt.lcJrneiroChristembracestlrcN.cvYork sinrilar page has been declicated ro Broz: Bratstuo (Broth-
(The Itnage ol
Itodttl'a prostortr
Stan," ,.f Libcrtl' alrd Atlgrrsriniiö's sculpture o1 Bro:; erhoocl ), available at httpr://cle. geociries.com/opiumzanar-
,r Sl,r., ). rrrr crlril'itr"rr lrrl'l in eulje 'urllllrt
r 2ooB
,rr Ut,'".-f,if.i,nt, irr the Ljubljana grLlery Alk"rra= t"' 'tcc'xnllinitd
l'y a text cxplain- od/. The best page in terms of irs sysrernaric approacl-r and
i,,g ,l n, lhe attisl was uor a ciriilen of Yugoslavia
durilg Brrl:\ times' so he tvas tlot
range of informarion is certainly I'rttp://rvwu'.leksikon-yu-
:fir,',*iir'".t",*ionirlly rleterminecl" Ity his persorraliq"r'rcl coulcl rhcrefirre oll
fi. i"*' f.t. n .listance " Iu str doing, he s'N llot so luuch guided
b1' l3ror! rolc nitologije.net/; a sirnilar page (currenrly inaccessible) '"vas
"'t aburt thc urcthotls of crlital-
n,.,t *'nrt , insrearl, his cxhibitinn tft"" tt 'il"litt"tntion available at http://w',vrv.orpisani.com/. Anorher inreresting
i.,..n.i",y, t"t,i.t. a'msfilms erct irs (rLrP(rnents tnto cottsuttttr lrttclcs " Sct'lrtq''//
"toJlt I24 (;Lrt:
Jtuoslavijir jc mrrvl, iivela Titoslar.ijrl (Yugoslaviir Is L)catl, Long Live Tito-
**'*'"r**ft-'"...g/zro:o8-htm l" tt-tittttt Qso t"ttion' lre states thirt
so-

.iotir, i.".ogopttf is I marketiug ttrol of cturning adverrisiug

stntegies " 'lrrrr). \/ei.r. Nlrrrhor, Nlry r4,2oo5, f. r,1; B.R.: MiloSeviö ustrnavlfalitoslavijo
(i\lil,'ier ia Estahlirhing lit.,slryiir). porlr,24.ur.com, Nlay r9, zoo5, accessecl Arr-
rzu Kutrigun.la festival, \/clenje' ArgltslScpreml'er I 999' gusl r 2, 2005,
;;; i;;lili;,N".'"lino.n"l''l"'i*n"cl\D Tarraskoviian'lsol'linBelcra'le'

6z 6r,
 The Culture of Titostalgia
page is that of the Belgrade YuCentmTin at http://yu-cen-
ia.ltito.5o*"bs.com/, where one can find an accurate list of
activitiÄ, published books, cooperation, various links and
texß about Broz. The head of the center is the former JNa
General Stevan Mirkovii, the author of a book about Broz,
who frequently speaks publicly at events related to Broz' A
blog about Tito at marsal.blog.hr contains, apart from in'
formation and links to other pages, many fierce arguments
between his suppopters and opponents. The blog at titoyu'
goslavia.wordpress.com is more dedicated to thervmüJ of
Tito'sYugoslauia. Titoists from Nova Gorica maintained for
some time a web page at www.nastito.org; the page main'
tained by Titoists from Velenje, at www.titovo'velenje'org,
also lists important events in this mining town since its
foundation in 1953 to the present. On September 1999,
still another virtual Yugoslavia was establishe d: Cyber Yu'
goslauia at www.juga.com, with nearly r7 ooo "citizens""'r
Än usDruXeTito on Facebook has a large number
".ro.yrrro
of virtual friends. In short, Broz does live on, including as
a virtual category.
rz6 lakavcisugoriodlaiova(Flatterers\TorseThmLiars).Fokus,Zagreb,July6,
I z7 lncluding those
on p.3o3'
rz5 See also Perica, zoz, op.96
64
Titostalgia - A Study ofNostalgia for Josip Broz
IV. TITOSTALGIC CULTURE -
Once there was a counny!!
Recently, some of Tito's countless bastards began to argue
publicly through castrated media that Tito was the one who
left behind for us the best precepts.
Mirko Vidovii, a Croatian academician, zoo7"6
Now let's revelqe the perspectiv"' [" ."t"logue of the
culture of titostalgfr listed above shouldte compared with,
read and interpr&ä alongsid{itosnlgic culture, meaning
images, opinions and assessmeiTFexpressed by people from
former Yugoslavia in opinion polls and surveys, through eve-
ryday activities and perception, street culture and creativiry
Only then does it become clear that "revaluated"
"rli!qd.
Broz is not solely a commercial trademark, a market nicheil
a pop star, a fad or a media trick, but a point on the mery!_l
map of post-Yugoslav societies.
left:
a burber shop,
MostaL ?oo7
right:
a workshop.
eastern Eosnia. 2oo8
Let us first look at how the OIÄManis still part of eve.
ryday culture and communication. In the spirit of the post-
modemist maxim anythinggoes and consumer-driven all-in-
clusive practices, his image in various forms is found in many
private apartments,'"? public premises and offices. Petroviö
describes how Broz's portraits were left behind in a decay-
ing cable factory in Jagodina, Serbia, although not out of
apathy but signaling a conscious and active political stance
calling to mind the years when the company, its employees
and the entire region were in better shape (zoo8a). In a
2s7, P. r2-r3.
of left-wingers md Broz sympathizere living abroad.
65
 r
Tit,rstalgic cultrrrc
Titoslrlgia -A SLudl trf Nostalgia ti)r Josif llror

Contemporary society endeavors to separate the po-

balber shop in Mostar, there is a large czrlendar $'ith Broz's
litical frorn the intimate, so it is not by chance that a privi-
irnage and, ttrcked behincl the tnirror, postcarcls clepicting
ort leged place reservecl for personal nostalgia is home, one's
8..,, ir't l-ris Partisan days issuecl by veterans associatiolls
own "personal paraclise," a refuge to which nostalgics retreat,
irnp, lrtltrt alttli versill'ies.
next to artifacts belonging fleeing the l-rarsh world of today. The private apartrnents
His irntrges freqtrently sta11d
and their interiors (plus, of course, various othel n-raterial
to entirely different culttrres (e'g' conternporary collstll-ner
stirnulants) evoke mernories of the past ilr a very sirnple
culture, religious cuLture, p''op culture, national culture' or
and effective u'ay, while provicling "a cornforting irnage of
everyday .uf,,,tr" of the past) ' One sucl'r unlikeiy melange
ir-r

cotlpany includes its crwn continuity" (Halbwachs, zoot, t45). The English
tl-r" ."."ptior-, rooln of a Ljubljana basecl
scholars Malcohn Chase and Chlistopher Sharv (r989, 3)
a pict,rre of Broz, a scl-rool map of sFRY' a Crucifixion'
al-r

holcling his hezrrt in his open hand explain horv conternporary generations "l-rave lost faith in
,',,i.1 i.ut-, showing Jesus
the possibility of changir-rg our public life and have retreatecl
and a calendar beatlty. ln a rvolksho;'r in Bosuia' Broz ancl
a
into the private enclaves of farnily, ancl tl-re consumption
bare-breasted yoLrng woman exist side-by-sicle'
of certain 'retro' styles". A horne functions as an ahistori-
cal "enclosed garden", a hortus conclasrs - ancl "the major
function ofthe enclosed space is alu'ays to create a tensiorr
ol dialectic betu'een insicle ancl or,rtside, betrveen private
and public property, betrveen the space of tl're strbject ancl
the sp:rce of the social" (Steu'art, r993, 68). I myself saw an
interesting cornposition in the hotne of a refugee farnily of
nüxed erhnicitl that fled to Philadelphia cluring the last war
in the Balkans: a frarnecl picture of Broz itr his best tin'res
l-rung in the baseneut above the work bench; it rvas one of
the rare things they had rnanaged to rescue and bring along
,uvith ther-n.''s In t1-reir nerv horne, tl'rey recreatecl a fraction
an office. of the life that they l-rad lost overseas.
Ljubljana, zooS

A Siovenian craftsmau tlecorated his office u'ith Broz's

{lags'
irnages ancl placlues, ancl old Yugoslav ancl Sloveuian
rvl-rich stretch across the skylights like curtains'

left:
a rvorkshop.
Philadelphia 2oo8

right:
a workshop,
Skopje,2ooS

Another sirnilar anecdotal event took place in Ljublja-

na: u'hile removing junk before refurbishing an olcl attic,
lajce.2oo8 u'orkers calne across Broz's portrait and hung it on the wall
The most bizarre locations for his image tl-rat I catne across
in all' of the empty room. I rernember one scene in particular that
rvas tlre inner side of a satellite clish, '"vith the text AII tr8 I *as inviteci ro see ir as rheir specill grresr.
All toloul and a kitchen cutting boald
1,ou'u thrbesr - hono.'

67
66
 Titostalgia -A Study ofNostalgia for Josip Broz Titostalgic culrure

kept recurring when I was taking shots of the pictures, cal'

endars and similar objects in workshops, bars, or antique
shops: the owners hurried to fetch from their offices or store
rooms the images of Broz that they cherished most and kept
separately, handing them to me with trembling hands and
with much pride (after they had carefully removed the ac-
I
cumulated dust).
,
Many things related to Broz became important land-
marks or "zero points" in relation to which are judged be-
fore and after, better ut[ worse, correct and u'trong. A
t"
former
I

I
senior policernan in Slovenia assessed the security meas'
I ures during the second visit of President Bush in Slovenia
x tougher thaninBroT's fime."e Approximately one-fifth of
a media article dealing with Queen Elizabeth's visit to Slov-
enia in October zoo8 was dedicated to her meetings with Macedonia,2oo8
l Broz, who could be seen in one ofthe three photos äccorl' In September zoo8, at the outbreak of the scandal in
I
panying the article.'3" At the end of the construction of the Slovenia suggesting that u',rJanezJan5a recieved a bribe from
Zagreb-Rijeka highway, the mayor of Rijeka recollected the the producer of the Patria armoured vehicles to facilitate a
opening of its first section in rg7o, when she drove along deal, there began to circulate a joke that ran: 1ito, Paraja,
it with the honorable guest Broz"3r Ratko Mladiö' wanted JJ , Paniat'rt In various parts of former Yugoslavia, ironic ar-
I
by the Tiibunal in the Hague, is said to be hiding in Titot rest warrants in the form of simple posters or leaflets accuse
bwrkers on the Serbia-Macedonia border.'3" Finally, here is
l

Broz of serious crimes, by listing his good deeds and success-

ll
another anecdote. A friend of mine explained how to po- es. In such an unsigned poster printed in Ljubljana in zoo5,
litely discover someone's age, without asking directly about on A4-size paper, Josip Broz - Tito is wanted on suspicion of
i

the year of birth: ask him/her something relating to the year
i
I
of Broz's death (obviously an important point in time, as
Li, is the year of Kennedy's assassination for Americans or the
date of the terrorist attack on the twin towers)''3r
I
I not apfrove tlw sale of ow factaries andl.an^, and ow wark
Broz also appezlrs as a protagonist in new sarcastic jokes
I about the current state of affairs. One among the earliest was
the slogan, Dok je biln Tiabiln ie i Sitr".'}4 In Bosnia'Herze'
govina and Macedonia, a slogan printed on pocket calendars
with his image reads: Happy isBosniaif I'mi* only yoblcml
Happy is theMacedaniannationif I'm their only problcm.
r u s L Potokar: Na cesti huje kot pri litu (Road Conmol Stricte-r Than For'llto's Visit)
- m intewiew with P Öelik, a fomer police commander . Zumalz4, Ljubljma, June
7, zo8, p.6.
,3o Ä. Salarcn, Kako zmimivo, Nieno Veliömswo prihaja (How lnteresting, Her Royal
Highnes ls Coming). Nedeliski dnevnik, Ljubljana, October r9, zo8, p' z, 3
,3r Hii*ordsthe.weÄJutlceponlike tlwr;btotlwsqune|louktepcffiwting'l i
DeöeviC, L. Bendid/EPEHAT Nedostaje jos samo r4 kilometam ceste (Only Another
r4kn To Be Constructed) . Jutamji list, Zagreb, June 28, zo8, p. 8.
r32 , dostop zo. 8. zo8'
\33 For more on the date as a ftamework of memory see 2@r, ro8.r to.
r34 This slogu is one of those that loes its appeal when tnrolated, if only becuse the
effect ofthe rhyme is lost. "Sit" is the local wotd for hahish, and the text bmically
says Whib tlrae uo 'fito , thqe wa huh.
anumber of senous offetues.'t6 A similar leaflet appeared in
May zoo5 in Subotica, where the Suboticabrwlchof theYu-
goslnu CornmunistPmty wanted Broz on xnpicion thothe did
ers serving farei{n masters,'tz Macedonian neo-Titoists dis-
seminated a similar arrest warrant, where his crimes were
summed up under seven points, and the offered reward was
one million (no currency was stated).
Broz is a motif found in new street culture, graffi-
ti and street art. Graffiti and stencils relating to him are
painted all across former Yugoslavia. It is interesting that
their number increases as one moves towards the west of
the former country. The following are some examples: 'lifo,
I lnve yout; Tin BiH;'tt We are all Tito; The lncl<smith was
: ri5 Tiro, Parry is a part of the once well-knom mantra, 1ito, Pan1, Youth, Action!
136 Thoe serious crimes are as follows: he prohibiud war , fmine , pwaty and chauvinism
fu 5o yurs; he udaed the cowtrwtion of frcwres and aputmenr foy wukns , md yo-
tision of reguht wages cnd somd peroioro; he prwided tÄe nght to free education, heahh
ureand.prciwfu all!
t3? sra/a.n., zm5, ibid.
r:8 The graffiti is lmated in the Bosniak part of Motar, and Tito is witten in the Latin
alphabet, while aru (abbreviation for Bosnia-Henegovina) is in the Cyrillic alpha-
bet (used by Serbs). This lends ir a special significance, given the fact that the tom

68 6s
 Tirosralgic culrure
Titostnlgia - A Study of Nostalgir for Josip Bro;

thanks to Broz's fans. They are fcrund above the village of

- Death to Fdscism (in the center of Zagreb,
better;'l') Tito
written in Cyrillic and accompanied with a stylized image Renöe on the Italy-Sloveuia borcler, above Branik, above
of a nan tlrrowing a swastika into a dtrstbin);RetwnTito's Nova Gorica, or-r the Koko5ka hill betr.veen Bazovica and
picture toschools; Tiro PARTIJA sFRJ I(PJ on (plrs the commu- Lokev in Kras, and above Dekani (near the port ofKoper).
.,irt ,t"r) ; LongLiue Comrade Tiro ! (plus the black, anarchist Although the first three listecl above are within just r5 km
stnr); Br:ing Tio backl (plus the red star and the red heart); of each other, their fates differ considerably. The text made
Tito, comiback, euerlthing is forgluen; a stencil graffiti with of stones above Branik on the Golovec hill, reads Tiro. It
Augustinöiö's irnage of Broz against the red star etc' In much was made in r953, when Broz attended the rally at nearby
th""r^rr.r" r,ein, Tito featr.rres in new folk art, for example, in Okroglica at the time of disputes sr-rrrouncling the issue of
neecllepoint tapestries, ivood reliefs, embroideries, and on the Yugoslavia-ltaly border. Over the followir-rg decades, it
tl-r" *.t in works by unkrrown authors''ao The people with rvas refreshed regulally and rvas first damaged by unknown
whom I spoke shorved rne neticulously executed needle- persons in zooo, but the local residents promptly restored
point tapestries, woodcuts, embroideries, pictures and the it. Then, in October zoo4, it was cornpletely clestroyed on
ilk" mrde by thernselves or their relatives, always pointing the day the right-wing coalition won tl-re parliarnentary
out that it was their handiwork. elections in Slovenia. Allegedly, the perpetrators were an
organized group of right-rving supporters from Nova Gorica
and the iocal region rvho came by night in a bus; the grotrp
included Italian neo-Fascists and a local priest.'1' Accord-
ing to the man who was the [oca1 comrnunity leader at the
tirne, the locals quickly responded by collecting rrroney
and the necessary rnaterials, so a few clays later the volun-
teers recovered the iettering, fastened it down rvith rnor-
tar and plrt up a night watch.'e' A heated debate followec1
betrveen the local supporters and opponents of the ietter-
ing. The latter claimed that the restoration r'vas unlawful
lelt:
Prizren 2oo8
L-recause it had been done rvithotrt the reqr.rired permissions
and paperwork, and the forner responded by pointing otrt
above Iight:
Ljubljana. the 199os
that no paperwork was ever recluired to build nulnerous
srnall chapels in the Branik region. The letteling i'ras since
below (ight:
remained undisturbed. Every year on May 25, a torchlight
Brako.2ooS

Täxts referring to Tito or Tito's natne written in large procession is organized, and Tito's name is spelled out in
letters on hilltops in the littoral region of slovenia, visible torch lights. Those in favor of the lettering (including lo-
from quite a distance (some even from Italy), still survive' cal residents, among them young people, rnembers of the
the Serbs' $'ho hunters' association, members of the Slovenian rninority
is diviJcd altng cthnic lines berrveen the Bosrriirks and croats, while
before rhe $,ar in Bosnia accounred for r991, of thc town's
populatitrn, are n()N lrilc- in ltaly, and Broz's fans frorn other parts of Slovenia) have
tically gt ne.
'rll slogans' recently launched an initiative to protect it and include in
,3,q f1,., *'n. in.tsmith by tracle; hencc this t'ietluent reference in folulirr
,]ä lideos irrc avirilablc on thc rve[' Thcse c'mbine sccnes the country's cultural heritage.'0,
- Ä,tul,iruA" nfhone-ntacle
.lating fi.m the Partisan fighters'times ancl socialist Yttgoslaviir' docrrrntlrarres The Nai Trro (Our Tito) text or1 the Sabotin hill above
foregrourcl'
o.,l .Tip, f*'nt t"".,re filmi; in all of theur the inrirge of Bro: is in the
The accon plnying,trusic is eidrer sonre Partisirn or proletariAn song
or some popu' Nova Gorica, dating frorn r978, n'reasuring z5 by roo rre-
in, pop *t,g nbnu, Yugoslavia and Tito (by Dortle BalrrSevii'
Z'lrrwk" Öoliö or the
ters and facing the neighboring Itall', provoked an especially
ittJl.
'S"",
f.. *"*ple, l.ttp,//trt"*'1'outube'com/rvatch ?r'=eWeVBzeBJ j+ ' hnr://
**ln,.y.u.,t &feature=relatcd ' http//rvsrv younrl'e' bitter controversy. Since the day Slovenia joined the ru in
"..onr/tatchisrgjSNUg4gzlvf gl&ic
con/s'atch?r'=l-lsez.UKNvsA, hrtr"ür*'*' youtrtl'e c'rm/* atcilv=Sy4bEvKqj l4l
zNorr3j4CQ&feature= relare.l, Vhen on one .rccasion rhis locirl pricsr *'rs caught b1' surprisc rvlrile scarrering rhe
atttre = relatcd, http:71'',"o,'y..,n,b"...,n./rvatclr ?r'= r H
htrp'//ws t' l.nes, he Jefende.l himselfb1'safing drat he rvas raking ph)sical cxcrcisc rrn rhc hill.
ir,,o,il*"".r'.""tü..c,rm/..:arcltl,'=LrNt"XiowXUc&feature=relatcrl' I42 An intervie$ \'ith Eclr'arcl Bizjlk, August r3, zoo8. Sec:rlso S. Gaöii: KLrrnniri grali-
corr/
y,l,,.,tt"...,.A"n,att ?r'=JCALTz l vr:8&fenture =rclirled' llrtP://rvws' youtubc ti (Stuc Grafliti). lvlladina, Ljubljana, July 5, zoo4, p. 32,33.
iro,.hlt,=7LuR.3-.g1.9 (the chiklren of Ntrrth Korea singing to Tito)'
http'//srrs'
I4J An inrcrvierv rrirh E. Bizjak, August r3,:oo8.
(funeral)
1'.u,tub".,rn /t"nr.lt?r'=lSps5BjQijt&feature=relirtccl

7o
?\
 Josip Broz
Titotalgia - A Study ofNostalgia for
Slovenia,2ooS
2oo4 - notabene, not since it became independent in r99r
th; leftering has been the target of opponents several
- The story about the writing on Fajt Hill (Fajtov hrib)
times. For decades before that it had been regularly main'
tained and cleaned, but in June 2oo4, ott the thirteenth
birthday of independent Slovenia and one month after it
entered the ru, an unknown group (allegedly the notori'
ous right-wing supporters from Nova Gorica) erased the
writing Ow Tito and wrote sro (for srovenia) in its place,
using stones to shape the letters' The act provoked a sharp
resp;nse from the locals and the Association of Veterans of
thä National Liberation Struggle, with the head of its Nova
Gorica branch statin gthat, the resrdBnts of theLittoraltegion
took p^ride inTito, silrce it wa thanls to him that they first feh
lit.e atizens of their own cowTtr) .t 44 ln March 2oo5 the youth
section of the Social Democrats, with the assistance of their
older party colleagues, set things right, and Our Tito was in
its place again, but not for long. A few days later it was re-
placed by the enigmatic Oru Fida, perhaps a dog's name, or
u t"*. d".irr"d from Fidel (Castro), but only to be promptly
rearranged back into OutTto. The ltalian right'wing par'
lri
tles and their junior sections from Gorizia (Lega Nazion-
I Forza Italia, the right'wing youth organization Azione
ll Giovani'a6) rushed to give public statements. However, the
"1s'+s,
il
story does not end there' In zoo6, Our Tto was transformed
il
into Oar rrcn, which was an abbreviation for the inter-war
organization of Slovenian and Croatian anti'Fascists, liv'
,l
l ceeds past certain other symbols of the Liberation !7ar to
ri
ing in the territories annexed by ltaly. The original Our Tito
I
was once again restored, but soon after it was destroyed by a
i
local right-wing supporter who bought the plot of land on
lr
: which i was lo.ut d, mortgaging his property to obtain the
site. Today it is practically indiscemible (Komel, zooSa)'
l
l
Nevertheless, every year since zoo5, on the eve ofI'obow
t44 GaEiC,zoo4,P.3z.
rii a""otdi.gto-thisorgnization,ttremmeTitostonÄsfumuonly;seehttp://ww'
leganaionale.it/gorizia/comunica/o35'o9o3o5htn' --
wr c slmbolo/ficned: see
' ltir"p.ese.tativJ argues that the lettering
146
onegiovmi,orglscompare-la-rcritta'nu-tito'dal-monte-sabotino'
72
Titostalgic culare
Day, Tito fans from both sides of the border have made ex-
peditions ro rhe sire, spelling our Tiro wirh lighted rorches.
Some carry recognizable socialist emblems (flags, caps). In
2oo?, a plane trailing an Ow flro banner flew over Nova
Gorica, inviting its citizens to join the torchlight proces-
sion. The initiative was put forward by the Muy +5 section
of the Nova Gorica Veterans Association. However, on
the way up, participants in the procession were surprised
by their opponents, who fenced off the plot in an attempt
to prevent the event. A harsh exchange ofwords followed,
and the police had to intervene.
above the traditionally anti-Fascist village of Renöe is quite
different. There, the name liro was written immediately af-
ter the end of wwIr, later to be joined by the inscriptions
Kardelj and ruR7 on nearby hills. \fhile Kardelj and runy soon
faded away because no one took care of them, Tro survived I
and is still regularly restored: it underwent a complete over-
I
haul in zoo6, when it was re-painted using an especially du-
rable lime and salt solution. It was the (clandestine) work of
his local fans, again including many young people. In con-
trast to the lettering mentioned above, this one has never
'
been vandalized, nor there have been any initiatives or pres-
sures to remove it.'ar To sum up: these texts have rwo things
in common. One is akind of conspiratorial atmosphere sur-
rounding their restoration/vandalization. It is perpetuated
by both sides, either because of a lack of understanding on
the part ofcertain locals, or because ofthe opposition ofthe
ruling parry or various inspectors. There are many rumors lr
in circulation, many objections and ambiguities of which I
I leamt while collecting data, but they were always com- I
municated in confidence. The other thread that connects I
all three stories is an expedition organized for the past four ri
or five years on May 25. It starts by Tito above Branik, pro- I
I
the next stop above Renöe, and ends at the destroyed Ozr
Tto on Sabotin. There is a short commemorative ceremo-
ny staged at each stop; in zoo6, Tito's impersonator Godniö
also delivered a speech on Sabotin.'a8
There are similar examples in other parts of the former
federation. The former stone text, Tito onlimo te (We lnue
you, Tito ,) above Mostar, was changed to We la.',)e Jolt, Brlr.
14? An interuiew with the representative ofthe locals rvho maintain the lettering; the
interuiewee requested anonymity; August r3, zoo8.
r48 See the photo report at hftp://rw.kultumidom.ir/dom/gallery/thumbnails.php?albu
http://ww'ui-
m=6&page=r&sort=nd , accesed on June 6, zm8,
j
{
73
 Titostalgic culture

I
\ in Skopje has been called Metalski zauod lito since rg45,
L_g$ the new foreign owners have kept the name.

left:
faiana, 2ooB

right:
Podgorica,2oo8

In Rabac (lstria) there is a plantation of88 olive trees

dedicated to him. There are also 88 trees planted in his
memory along Ljubljana's walking trail, called The Path of
Memorie s atd C omr adeship.
In Labin (lstria) there still stands a largeTito mounted
on a high metal framework above the entrance to the now
closed mine.'5'The still surviving monuments to Tito'sr
- for example, in Velenje, Sarajevo, Skopje (in two loca-
tions, in front of a grammar school and within the above-
mentioned factory), in Kumrovec and Dedinle, are deco-
rated with flowers, mainly red, around the dates of various
anniversaries.

Skopje, 2oo8

In Labin, a new monument to Broz, a work by the local

sculptor, Mate Övrljak, was unveiled in April 2oo5 on the
6oth anniversary of the town's liberation. On behalf of the
local veterans association and the Josip BrozTito Associa-
fion, the initiative was given in ryg7 by the Istrian coordi-
nator ofthese organizations, Rudjero Faragund. He gradu-
ally gamered support from the town authorities, so in zoo3

r5z ThislittletownisfullofsymbolsreferringtoBroz.Forexample,gmffitireading'lito,
tlranllou, signed by Pemr, aged 8, Ve'vehad enough of ev shit, we pant Tito, and It
would fu an honq n live withTito again.
t53 After the chmge of regime and the break-up of Yugoslavia, several thousmd monu-
ments and symbols of the national libention struggle, socialism, Yugoslavia, its lead-
em, hercies and Broz were removed, destroyed, desecrated, stolen or damaged.

75
 'fit,r.r,rlgie
Tit,,.rrrlli,r .\ SrLrJi ,,1 \Lr'rllgi.r t,rr ],''if l\": errltLrr e

lhc lll:Icell first irl a lttcaL tllttsctttn iulrl t\\'c)
ttttlt'tt-ttt-tt-t-tt \\'2ls
t(l its ltrescnt l()ciIti()ll '-'r
)'dirls liller lll()\'cd
l.l!bllani 3oo8
Sk,rpjc l'ras rccellll)' seell llllilllilttLl clcvcltlpnlents rclat-
ing to tl'rc lncllt()li): ,rf Bro:. tr4ar'-(trl Tro .Srt'cef in clou'utou'll
Skopje u'rrs unoltlticialll' tenatuc.l N{akcrlt.'nilrr -Strce r lrl the
to\\'ir :rtlth()t'ittcs, stl placltrcs $'ith lloth llilllres ilre i|r Ilacc-'
Ir-r zoo7, thc atlmircrs tti Brtt: crcctctl a lllolll.llllcllt t() hillt
1'rr-?rrlr)', l,ut thel h:itl t,,.lisnlar-rtlc it tlllcc.lal's latel u'hilc
passets-b1' lotrdLy protestc.l against thc rcnloval. Thcf i'rlstr
e ncle ;rvot'c,l to oltt:ritt lhe tti'tl le lll()\'c(l urtltttttttct ttr' "t
u,ith l'ris nrlneJ clirtc of birth antl tle:,lth, ar-rcl thc rlressirgc,
Flonr (llriie ns lr,ho lesl)ect his r.sonalirt .:.l1d u,)orl<.
pe
"Pilgrintrges" to his birth pl:rce anrl grirve, an.l \rarious
cclcblatior-rs .lc.lictrtecl to hinr .lcsclve speciirl ilttcltri()n.
There iu'c rcpolts of neu' \'ourh Rclat Raccs in r':rrious palts
of thc forrner c()untr),. One such le la1' r:rce has be e rr ,,rgan-
ize'd firr scr.crtrl ),ears no\\' in ivlonter-regro. The nrnners stiu't
fiom scr,er:rl places (l-nzir-re, Virpazar and Nikiiö), u'ith their
one-huntlrcd kikmeter loute passiltg through seveLal tou,ns
(Potlgorica, Cetinjc) iur.l encling in the. coasral rou'n of Ti-
vilt. Accoldillg to the mctlia, the arrivitl of tl-re birton in Tt-
virt \\'2ls gfceterl by a cron,.l of scvcral tens ttf thotrstrn.ls. The
sccnario was the silme ils in the p:rst: pcoplc Linecl the stree t
greetirlg the nmnels, :rn.l thc concluclinu cel-enlLltll at C)lrala
rrar:'clc Tirn (lvlalshirl Tito Promcnarle) inclLrclecl specche.s
an.l sot-rgs in honor of Brou, plus folk .lances. Shil.s sotu-r.lecl
homs, scl-rrrol ariplane-\ flen' abor,c tlle pa1ticlp21rts' hcarls,
anrl thc batorr n':rs han.lccl to ir4irko Pcrkovid, tl-re fbrmclcr'
of the Nc;o (,'onsrrlcre Gencrnl of srRl'in Tivat'.i (nt' to tl-re
im;.cr'5s1't,,,,,r of Bro:). The sirure institutior-r pLrblishc.l a
ne\\:spirpcr obitu:rry' rl'ith Blo:'s picture in his lv{itrsl'rzrl u|ri-

shich txre l'ratl st,ro.l ir-r -srrlrrarrTc (tl-re N4acc.lorliiln Pirrlia- fium on the z5th ru.rniversarl, trf his tleirtl'r. The1. also rrrr-
n()rurceLl at the tinie rr firotball match lc-cnacting the one
rlrelrt) :r1lrl the other-in the Nlrrr.iril Tiro l,arrrrcks, hrLt theil
th:rt tt'as pLa)'erl ott tl'rc tliry ri'h,:n Tito tlietl ar-r.l s'as inter-
rcLltlest lvas rclcctetl at both l'l:rccs' Ncvelthclcss, itl zooo
tl-rc1'placerl a ttiirtrgtrlar stouc rvith il relief ,rf Bur: rrrrJ his
nlptc(l nt thc neu's of his tlcatl-r.';(' Perkor,iö enrleavrtrs to
pr'ornote Tir.at a-s the capitrtl ry')'ugos/alin.'i;
namc itt firnt of tht'./o.sip l3roi Ttto Grninittrrr Schr;ol, arl.l ,rtt
l\4a1' 25, 2oo j,, thc)' trnvcilc.l still rulotl-rel trlcurot ial ltlir.lLre

unVe lrng thr

monrrnent.
Lrbin zoo5
ieft:
5aralelo.2oo7

riShtl ,;; 1li. l.:rrt,r..1.rrk.r r.'ttrreJ r,, ßr,r:.r.,rrrr Ir..l,,rrJ c,,nrrrJc lir,,. rrn.l rhrnkr'.1 hinr
Velefje.2oo8 t,r ,r r,ir,1rc ijriiJl,utl. a h111r.r unJ 1,,1irl r,,rrrÄ,rnJ,r lli r,n/tr ry'rnal s.liqrrirr in r/rr
rroit /.r.irrty'rr1 c,rrntrr rn r/tr u,r/,1. (ll..l,rkir': \lir o Tirrr :nor',r ur siLrr irr, v:lt,rjrrTThe
\lrrh,.\l.,ruLTin,l\isc.An.,rr.\n.lStrorrr).1)tl,,.l-jrrl.ljrnr,lrrrrero.:oc.1,p.r:).
r;.1 Thtrutlr,rroltlrtitritiatirc.l.lirerc.lr'peechtlurinvtlrcunvtilins'crrrn'rrr'lht [:,,r tnrrc,,n Lhc c,'n'u]rnc.'cr lltl:/1\r'r rr.k,rdtuLrt.tri.c,rnr/
!Llcil\ \\'crt tlie l,,c,tl rn,rr,,r. thc 1-rctlJctlr 'rtrllt lslriin 'li'tri(:r' 'rrrl l\r':'r grrn'l_
.

Iif) \rr/il.R., :cc;. rl'r.1.

.hLrghrer. Sai,r. Tlttrr r''r.,rl',, r.t'rnJrnl crrltrrr.ll pl,'Lrrnr' '\ ptrri'nrl intcrl rct' r i, \,r rt it. ihi,l.
rith Ii. FrrrllLnr,r, Jtrh i, :ooS

76 77

. i;. ,. -,.-.J..,-:.rLr-- 6.11l'

 Titostalgic culture
Titostalgia -A Study ofNostalgia forJosip Broz

some years ago. The holidays commemorating Broz and Yu-

In zoo3 atd, zoo4 in Dol pri Ljubljani, several local as'
organ'
sociations and the junior sections of leftwing parties
ized a municip alYouthRelny Racewith the participation of
pioneers u.td ih" Marshal band' Young people and students
from Planina pri Sevnici and Sentjur in Slovenia similarly
organized themselves, bringing the baton from Kumrovec
to Velenle (followed by an exhibition, a solemn reception
for the baton, inevitable pioneer uniforms etc')' A Youth
Race (Tek Mladosti) also took place in Litija
(Slovenia)' In
zoo8, a similar event took place in the village of Lokavec:
the guests of honor were Tito's and Jovanka's impersonators;
the ärganizers and some participants were dressed in
pioneer
unifoäs, the items on the menu were Balkan dishes (from
traditional öeuapöiöito the bread and salt offered as a wel-
come gesture); irumpet bands entertained the guests' and
the baion was delivered.'58YouthDa1 and RepublicDal are
regularly celebrated in Liubllana's altemative culture center'
M""t.kä.,u, where the distinctive mise'en'scdne is adjusted
only enough to match the subcultural and subpolitical at'
*orph"." p."vailing there: punk music, do'it'yourself aes'
thetics noiiceable on posters and invitations, and so on'
9o
posters, Alternativni petek 3' decprnber'
center Metelkova. ilenza Pd
LjubÜana. the t99os
goslavia are also marked in many bars and cafes (e.g. Tiu-
bar in Ljubljana).
The local tourist organization in Fa7ana (Croatia), tra-
ditionally organizes Tito Days in the week around May 25.
There are a number of cultural, sport and folklore events,
as well as parties called Titouafein, with the inevitable ba-
ton and its solemn reception. There are also many other
profit-oriented "memorial parties." ln zoo7, aTito pmty
was organized in Doboj (Bosnia-Herzegovina) on his birth.
day; the participants danced, sang popular Partisan songs'5e
and sipped Cockta, the drink of ow at[ Jow Jouth (so this
popular sofr drink was advertised in Yugoslavia). The Bel-
grade based A ssociation F or the Preservation of the Tradition of
YouthWarkBrigade.s commemorates Broz's birthday in a club
dubbed liberated territory, followed by a visit to Broz's mau-
soleum. A "mini" Youth Relny Race is organized in Skopje,
with the main celebration being held next to the monument
to Broz in front of theJosrp BrozTito Grammar School in the
city center. According to organizers, one to two thousand
people attend the celebration. Similar events take place in
Zrenjanin, Subotica and Novi Sad (Vojvodina). His death
is also commemorated at his monument in Sarajevo.
The atmosphere is particularly solemn in Kumrovec,
where the commemorations are organized by various Tito
associations and veterans associations. The jubilee celebra-
tions atffact the largest crowds: in 2oo4, on the r r2th an-
niversary of his birth, around 5ooo people attended; the
next year, on the 25th anniversary of his death, there were
8ooo to ro,ooo people (most coming from Slovenia). For
several years, the title of the event was The Day of Youth
and J oJ, and /o1 in Youth, Youth in J oy. An especially solemn
commemoration was that of the r r5th anniversary of his
binhday ro zooT.It was attended by representatives from all
former republics (his olAer convadzs of both genders as well
as Joung pioneers), who brought to Kumrovec six batons,

There, the celebration of Youth Day includes Trto fest several thousand members of various veterans associations
(concerts), with its manifesto being Tito's statement: We and many other admirers.'to In zoo8, there were around
not ro,ooo participants, although it was just an "ordinary," not
ipik a s"a of btood for brotherhood and wüty ' So, we wiIL
a jubilee year. The number of young people attending has
ilo* *tyon- to touch it or undermutp it from irsidt, to desuoy
as a been increasing steadily, and they actively participate in
thatbroiherhood and rnüty. The events are described
nosmLgic evocanon of memoies of corwaÄeship andyouth (al' the program - for example, in zoo4, media wrote about a
thougi none of the bands plays yugonostalgic music)' An' "real delirium" among the crowd caused by a moving speech

otheisuch concert was organized by the youth of Kumrovec

r59 A. Kupanovac: 6 ltafeta za pokojnog maßala Broza! (Six Batons For Late Manhal
'l J.

r 58 er: Obudili prunovanje ob dnevu mladosti

(Youth Day Celebration Revived)' Prim' _ J. Broz!). Veöemji list, Zagreb, May >6, zoo7, p. 56.
Ioo Kupanovac, zo7, ibid.
novice, Kopeq Nova Gorica, May 27, zoo8, p 5'

79
78
 ntostalgia -A Study ofNostalgia tbr Josip Broz
delivered by a 25'year old woman' speaking on behalf of the
union of Broz Associations (Radovani, 2c,cr6, 437,438)''6'
A similar setting can be seen at regular annual commemo-
rations in Dedinje: the last one, in zoo8, drew several thou-
sand people, and six batons arrived from each of the former
Yugoslav republics, with every baton carrier giving a short
elaied speech. The batons were handed to Broz's grandson
Jo5ko, who in his speech ironically listed
Tito's "sins:" for
'some,
is all that was wrong: for the bridges
Tito responsible for
that were constructed druinghis time, while today we are not
capable of consnucnng euen a single new one; fot health care
that used to be free anÄ cannot be afforded todal; for factories
that were buih . . . He is responsible for euerything that they can
no longer offer to the PeoPIe.'6'
In conclusion let me say that the scenarios at these
mass events are standatdized:'6r the participants connote
Tito's nmes, including through their appearance' gestures
and salutations (e.g. a "Partisan fighter!" clenched fist, or
the "military" salute accompanied with the cry Death to
Fascism, Freedom to the P eople!).Some participants ( includ-
ing children) wear uniforms or parlial uniforms once worn
byPartisan fighters, the armed forces or Tito's pioneers,'6a
then medals, red stars, red scarfs or badges with Broz's im-
age; others come in civilian but solemn clothes' They fly
Yugoslav and Party flags and banners, while the panegyrics
by äomestic and foreign speakers receive loud applause and
cheers such as Tr uel or Long liue C omr adc Tito. Participants
address each other as comraAe,the applause is accompanied
by the chanting of Tito's name, people take photographs
by Broz's sculptures and in front of memorial spaces, and
loudspeakers broadcast his speeches (particularly those in
which he wamed against intra-country antagonism!) and
Partisan/Yugoslav songs.'65 Sometirnes his impersonators
r6r Thcfollorvingpartsofherspeechspeakforthemseh'es:YouwerenotmerelJan
qrith his loue. And: We nnct keep
anny leader, irri ou, fath", u uell, ruho nourished rc
oliw rhe .e,nory onj signt/icance o/orr comrade liro and not be afraid of the hatrel
o/orr opponenr. Their hatred onl's reittfotces our hve for tnrh ( http://rvrvrv danas'
co.yu/zoo4o5z5/dijalogr.htrnl, dostop rz. S :oo8 ) -
r6z A. belii, Zivel Dan Mladosti! (Long Live Youth Day!) Mag, Ljubljana' Mav 18'
zoo8, p.58.
re3 A.d.o li"* rtundardized are rhe attacks on such events ln u oo8, the president of
166 With a membership of4:oo (Podkriinik, zoo5, ibid.),
the Croatian association of the Diseased Veterans of Homeland War filed a suit
t67 lnformationprovidedbyR.Faraguna,theircoordinatorinlstria(inapersonalinter-
against the participants at the Yorth Dc1 in Kumrovec for thei üolation of the Con'
(S Galjot'
sin,don, lotus, resolrtions ond otherposirire regriations o/the Croclinn state
168
Uvredljivasimbolikairetorika/OffensiveSymbolsandRhetoric Fokus'Zagreb'July
I r, zoo8, p. 36, 37).
,64 So-"utno.gthemarel'omeninrheirsel'enties,rvhocouldnotpossiblyhavervorn
the pioneer uniform in their childhood.
(Count On
r65 Am<lng these, the most usual are classic hits such as RcCrluite tra n6
rö9 Cclcc,2oo5, p. r4.
pteko
Us), Diuie liro lj ubitice biela (Comrade nto, the White Violet), lde Tito
8o
Titostalgic culture
(for example Ivo Godniö) or folklore groups take parr in
the program. Wreaths and flowers are laid, candles are lit,
the traditional kolo is danced etc. New eulogies are added
to old ones. Most people actively take part in the event,
meaning that rhey not only "listen, watch and applaud" but
dance, sing, chant, deliver speeches and so on. In addition
to the insignia of Titoism, Yugoslavia and socialism, insig-
nia of other kindred ideologies are also presenr: for example,
images of Che, rainbow flags (symbolizing pacifisim, toler-
ance, acceprance of the different), alter-globalist symbols
and displays. Interestingly, the boisterous behavior in the
open stops ät the entrance to his house in Kumrovec or his
mausoleum in Dedinje; inside, only whispers can be heard.
Most of the speakers stick to the same parrern: while Broz's
personaliry socialism and Yugoslavia are glorified, rhe cur-
rent governments are accused of nationalism, incitement
of hatred, exploitation of people, wild privatizarion, cor-
ruption, apathy among people etc. Needless to say, these
events are never missed by the hordes of salesmen offer-
ing souvenirs, antiques and tourist items at stalls or by the
road. In Kumrovec, the sellers of badges, labels and ribbons
in the colors of the Yugoslav flag besiege visitors as soon as
they park their cars.
Organizations bearing his name and dedicated to the
preseruation of his nune and. work flourish in various parts of
the former federal state. They are most numerous and best
organized in Croatia, where they are joined into an associa-
tion chaired by Tomislav Badovinac. They began ro appear
in the mid-rggos, with their number reaching rz in zoo5,
according ro Badovinac.'66 Three years later this figure rose
to around zo; ofthese, ro are based in traditionally anri-Fas-
cist Istria.'62 Ivo Godniö, Tiro's impersonator frorn Slovenia,
has recently established Dom oljubno druitoto marialmiruTito
(Patriotic Societl Monhal Of Peace Tito), in Postojna, com-
mitted to the cultiuation of all rhe positiue things Tito taught
The esrablishment of similar societies is believed to be
us.'68
underway in Kranj and Velenje.'6e In Bosnia-Herzegovina, a
Rorronije (nto Crosses Romania), and Padaj silo inepraudo (Dos,n Wirh Brutal Force
and Injustice).
viervJuly 3, zooS); each has a membership betrveen z5o and
_ 3oo.
M.Hrastar,VPirc:Ljubidiktator-Llubiri,prezirati,lasritialisovraiirilikincleloJ.
B. 'lita (Bcloved Dictator To Love, Despise, Honor Or Hate The Personaliq, Anj
\?ork ofJ.B. "Iito). Mladina, Lj., Np. z r, May 24, zoo4, p. 23. In Godniö's rvords:
Atil he did. a lot of gootl for eL,erbodl , ail, also tÄose chmchgoers , anl Mrsliru , and u,e
,
uho u'erc none .... (N. Mocnik.:oo8, r8).
_
8r

Titostalgia - A Srudy of Nostalgia for Josip Broz
similar association is chaired by the former president of the
sFRy Presidency, Raif Dizdareviö, and member organizations
can be found in all larger towns in Bosnia-Herzegovina
(in
Kladu5a, Bugoj no, Tlavnik, Banj a
Saraj evo, Zenica,Velika
etc.; there are around of them
Luka, Doboi, OraSje, Jajce 3o
altogether, with a membership of Tooo and a home page
at http://www.tito.ba/start.ht- ). A[ these organizations
a.ross forrn". Yrrgoslavia are now linked through theZueza
druiteu Josip Broz Tito (Union of Josip Broz Tito Associa-
tions), which organizes annual events in Kumrovec' Their
activities include commemoration of important anniversa-
ries, maintenance of monuments, organization of lectures,
exhibitions, visits to Kumrovec and Dedinje, publication of
books and other texts, contact with such societies in other
parts etc. Young people within these organizations receive
particular Praiseworthy individuals are awarded
"rr".r1iorr'
(Acknowledgment), a kind of official recognition
Zahvala
for their contribuaon to the culauaaon of the memory *'dl"g
BrozTito'
acy of JosiP
Croatia.2oo8
Macedonia is especially interesting in this respect' Much
like elsewhere, theie are several Citizens associaaons fot the
presemtanon of the memory mdwark of Josip BrozTito, with
, r,ooo members. The symbols of the Union of these asso'
ciations are the image of Broz and the Macedonian flag' In
addition, there is a political parry called SoiuanaTttoviletti
sili (The Alliance oiTito's Left Forces) which has regularly
run in parliamentary and local elections since zoo6' It has
35oo r;gistered members and z3 municipal-organizations'
ä," l"uJer of both is Slobodan Ugrinovski. The parry's elec'
tion result has been improving: from the 3ooo votes it took
8z
Titostalgic culrure
at the first elections in zoo6, the number rose to 65oo two
years later, and they are cunently amidst intense prepara-
tions for the next election.'?'lts membership structure is di-
verse both in terms of ethnicity (Macedonians, Albanians
and Serbs) and age (slighdy more rhan half the members
are middle-aged, one fifth are younger tha^30-35, and one
fifth older than 6o, meaning that this is by no means a parry
of "retired people").'z'
A briefdescription of its political program would be as Macedonia,2oo8
follows: working towards the re-establishment and develop-
ment of all the positive things that existed in socialist Yugo-
slavia before it disintegrated in r99r.t?'The symbol of the
party is Broz's profile set against the red star. Its head office
in the center of Skopje is decorated with the current and
former Macedonian flags, the Parry and Yugoslav flags, and
a large photo and sculpture of Broz. The stall in front sells
books about him, caps, badges, calendars, parry brochures
etc. An amusing detail is a light sign readingCabare (Caba-
ret) placed above the entrance to the building housing the
Parry's head office. The office itself is crammed with pictures
of Broz, Marx, Engels, Lenin, Goce Delöev (an early zoth
century Macedonian revolutionary), various Tito souvenirs,
posters, flags, books and the like. Applicants for member-
r7o lnfomation provided by S. Ugrinovski (in a pemonal inteniew August 5, zo8).
t7r lnformation provided by Tiajan Nakovski, an official of both orgmizations (in a per-
sonal interuiew August 5, zm8).
I 7z Their view is that the govemment should be in the hmds of üre people , tlv wk-
ingclas, fws, youngpeopb, stulqts and. yogresive ittellecmak They acknowledge
1
the division of Yugoslavia along the republia' bordes, but prope a lme fedention
(with a common cmency md amy, and ftee movement of people and gmds)- The
interol affain pladom includs re-innoduction of ftee health qe, education, active
wial policy, worker self-mmagenent (whereby the workere and retired people would
again become the ownes of compmies), pmishment for tycmro, compt individu-
als, criminals, the introduction of a non-party police force and a small, modem amy.
:ä Their progmm highlights the rejection of membenhip in rro, which is bmded 4n
aggrxu and tlv Ebb6l policmn; they demand the rerum of Macedonim mliden ftom
Afghmistm md lraq. They require a referendum on any rheduled political integn-
tion; religion should be confined to religious irotirutions. (The progm of the party,
Skopje, December zo5, md m intewiew with the parry officials.)
83
 Titostalgia - A Study ofNostalgia for Josip Broz
ship are appraised by a special board' The leading people
wiihin the parry told me that the current blue membership
cards would soon be replaced with new ones rendered in a
more suitable color: red' They address each other as convade,
which was a rule that I myself had to observe. The party and
various societies cultivate the memory of Broz, undertake
initiatives for the erection of monuments' organize' in co-
operation with the Union of Broz's Associations' ceremo'
nies in Macedonia and excursions to Kumrovec, Dedinje
and other places''?r
Notes in the visitor's books in Kumrovec, Dedinje and at
the head office ofthe neo'Titoist parry in Skopje are equal'
ly indicative. Some are one-liners, in the style of cheers,
others are narrative in characteq with some being as long
as ten lines. Some visitors give their full names and place
of residence, some add a note about the group with which
they are visiting (e.g. a school' a veterans organization, a
tourist group, a family), while some put down just their sig-
nature; the most direct messages are frequently anonymous'
Some extol him, othörs develop a kind of friendly relation
and "talk" to him through their messages as if with an old
friend. Certain messages are elaborate and precise; others
are improvisations, some with spelling errors. Among the
fauorabl. messages (not all are such; there are also critical,
anti-messages, and even offensive ones, dating particulaP
ly from the period of war in Croatia, but their number is
not large),'?4 one can find both "virtual monologues" and
live "virtual dialogues". The former group comprises mes'
sages describing or praising Broz in the third person singu'
lar, and listing pleasant memories of his times. The latter
comprises messages in which writers address him directly
n a tindly tone, express "personal" thanks, pledge to him,
invite him to come back as if he were alive and so on' For
some, Tito is obviously snll aliue, as he apparently was for
the Slovenian media in r98o at the time of his death''zt
r 73 The Union of Broz's Associatioro also isues leallets with the asnou (Macedonian
Anti.fascist council) resolutions dating ftom the wrt, which represent the founda-
tioro of Macedonia's contemporary soverignty. The leafles feature Broz's signature
md his photo.
"Omhj' bet*"en his fm md opponenb on sme pags memble-sreet "gmftiti wm'"
r74
r75
'- O"t",l;.-fi, jebil,Tin je,Tinlm (TitoWas,Titols,Tito\UiltBe) (Mav5, r98o'
p.zl,itovZareLbovsm{ednlgora6vedjevalpt-(Tito'sBeamWillLightOur]ü(/ay.
Foii,,t".y Y""o to Cone) (May q, r98o, p. 9), Ziuino s 7im (We Live With Tito)
(May ro, r98o, ftont page); Komunist, L.iubljma-Belgrade - 'limvo delo je oehro
iTtä's Oew.e ls Et"*"i) (M"y s, r98o, p. 5), Tito Iiui v ro
(Tito Lives ln Us) (Mav
ä, r98o, ftont page) ,Tia frvi itbo ui6a tivel r romi (Tito Livs And Will Live With
Us For Ever) (May z, tq8o, p. q), VednobomoTimvi doliniki (We Are Indebted To
TitoForEver) (May8, r98o, p. rz),ÖIuek'kg4ieineloradoaliloljudi'rebonikoli
rm"l (The Mu Loued By So Many P""ple Can Never Die) (May 9, r98o, p' r r);
a sila osmjo z njim, iw duhbo luet mprej (Atl That
7D, tut".lbor - Vsa
84
Titosmlgic culture
In addition to a signature and a place of residence, people
often add a note referring ro rhe image to which they are
nostalgically attached: your pioneer , fighter, worl<er, brigade-
worker and the like.
Below are several examples of the first, "indirect" type
of note. The following are taken from the visitor's book at
his birth house in Kumrovec. If only wehadTito now (sig-
nature); Tito was thebestmanin the worlÄ; ConwadeTito still
lives in our hemr ( signature ); Help ! ( signature ). Notes in his
mausoleum in Belgrade; Far a giont, in etzmity fm lito (sig-
nature); Thankß to convadeTito for allhe didfor an ordirwry
man (signature) ; I stillhave great respect for PresidentTin (sig-
nature); I'mhere for the first time- to sal thot times withTito
were good times! Despite all that sonw do today to disclnse his
afart thathe was one of the greatest statesmenin
bad sides, itis
hismry, We shoull"be proud of that,l (signature). Comments
in Skopje: Longlio,te Tito! (signature); N othingbut good words
for Tin (signature) He lioes md will liue in the hemts of those
without nghts, those who have been hwniliated, ml. those who
are most hflr d- working (signatu re) ; Eu ery one lool<s far Tito, but
he is all around the worll. (signature). There are also more
"immediate" messages that address him directly: Longliue
our Joia (signature); Comrale Tito, you're a legend - thanl<s
for all (signature); Tito, Jou were excellant, an[ s:lr'y lile. that
(signature) Comrade Tito, thank you for mJ happy childhood
(signature); Dem Tito! Wehal a goodtime, mt excellent time,
in sharedYugoslao,ia! (from the visitor's book in Kumrovec);
All these Jeaß on and I still imagine ad dream that you're
aliue. Respectfully (signature) ; Conwade Tito , thank you for
all you gaue r.r.s (signature) ; I wish your nmes could come back
(signature); Oll Man, we'd sall need you (signatures); (in
Belgrade); We willfm euer carry youin owhems.Ilaue you.
(signature) (in Skopje).
I would like to draw attention to the literally religious or
mystic dimensions of pilgrimage to his "shrines" and events
at the ceremonies dedicated to him. It is as if some kind of
new folk piety were at work. The divinization of Broz is most
obvious at commemorations, where some participants touch
his statue in the same way believers would touch a statue of
a saint, reliquaries or an icon. This has to do with rhe law
Behind, The Spirit of 'I'ito Vill Live On) (May 8, r98o, p. Z); and Tiibuna, Ljublia.
m -'Iirki smo bili s Titom, uki bomo tuli poslej (\7e Were Like That With Tito, And
!üe'rX/il[ Stay Like That After Him) (May 8, r98o, p. z). The newspaper ftont pages
relating to Broz bemeen r98r and the end of rhe r99os were collected by Jovmovs-
ka, zoz, 3r-34. For conparison, on May 5, r98o, the New York Pct (New York, p.
Energy Left r8) infomed is readers about the death of T\to,Iut of the geat wanius.
85
 l
Tiror.rlsirr A Stu.ll oiN,rstalgir trrrJ,,'ip Ilr,':
()f cont:rct ol t()uch,'r(' in the sense cli effect ()11 allLl trzllls-
lDissi()n arnong things cveu when direct colltllct llo longcr
exists (soci()l()gists ()f reliilioll ctlll this "contagiot'ts lnagic,"
u,hich is particLllarly charactertstic of so-callecl lrägio-rcli-
gion). Tl'rc touch of the sacrccl trittlscetl.ls clistance irl titnc
an.l space, sir-rce tr be lieve r is at that ln(llncllt iu totrch rvitl-r
rhose tinrc-s ü1d l)eol)les. While sttr.lying the ccleLrratiou of
iu Ktrtnrttvcc, thc ethnologist lvlzrrijantr Bel:rj
YoLrth l)iry
(zoo(t, zo7-zr4) note.l th?'tt pcolle atldressetl, gleetetl,
strokccl ancl even kisse.l the stittue of Tito (his c()at, lcgsr
petlesttrl etc.).';; Stture l-,os' i'Lu,-l crtlss thetnsclves, otl-rers
confirle in hirn sa),it.rs things like Hc1, Oki Man, r/onl1 lorr
coriltlloxnu u'hatlnppenecl ro rts; still others t:rke photos \\'ith
him; sorne evet-r bcgit-t to cry, u'hile one "fnithfirl" \\rolrlalr
lnutterecl the names of her fi'icncls u'hile caressing the stat-
tue: This is fbr Rarlorolic', this fr.rr Mr4cla ctc.'t'The i'isitols
also toucl] his lifc-size photcl sti'rntling :rt tl're etltr'.lllcc to
tl're exl-ribition rootn itt Brijtrni, or, ttl tc tntlre precisc, thel'
plircc tl-reil hirnd ag:rinst his ligl-rt l'rar-rcl laisc.l in tl're ges-
ture of greetit-tg lntl have thctnseh'es p[rotogrzrpl're.1 in that
pose. As ir result, this 1-rortion of tl-re photo h:rs thinnecl, antl
thc cLrlor has coue ttff, leaving bel'rintl thc sh:rpc of visitors'
tr alms trr-r.l fingels.
i hcs rr rrcnre
I last ri'olcls one sees ri,l-ren lcaving the exl-ribition slrurcc in
I Br:i.jur-ri arc Miloslav Krleia's s'oltls, Titu., is pcssing into lc,qe nd
Brjuni.2oo8 t I
In a srnnll tou,n in Bostria ri'ith a predominirntly Croat
prpul.rtiot-r, onc Broz firn (rl'ho \\'itllted to retttrritt itll(rll)-
rnous), tnaclc a real shrinc to Brclz in his gzrrderl fi'rcing:r lo-
cal street. Ten 1'gi11. :rgo he placecl tl-rerc a lalge cliscartlecl
l.ust of Broz, s,hicl-r he carcfirlly restol'ccl antl repaintecl (ir-r
r 7(r Sct, c.g., Krrurel, :ooSl-.
r 77 KLrrt:le ( r997, 76-S7) r'r itcs ab,trt sinlilar cclccticisnt nn(l rcli!liorls c()rrrrlt rtrt'n. irr
the rcl.rcscntation. tri Clhc. rrh,r h,rs hccn tumttl itlnr (lJtcsltcrirr''
r7E Thccxplrrrari,nsircrrl'rrnt',,ithcparticiprrltrtt'thelrrth'rrolrhrn'rtwesrsti'l-
l,^rs, i istrn. rhis is o rlrrr. Hc is rt tlcirr' Anil t.' uill lrrrc/r lrrrn' (llclrrj zoo(r. : t 1)
86
I ittr'talgic cLrlrurc
the ei,u'ly r ggos the bust u'as thros'n out b1, 1l1g nrurricipirl
gtrllcly in a uerrrbl' tori'u). Next to it strrntls auotl-rer, stnall-
cr sttrtue of a Paltisan fighter', irnd the t\\'(l arL. perche cl on
a rne tal l.nsc surrotu-rclctl by pots .rf fresh ancl plastic flori'-
crs. The otvner es|eci:rll1' .lccoratcs the sl'rrint' on the day
of Broz's bilth ancl rlcnth. lr4irnv pirssers-hy heacling tou'arcls
tl-rc r.illage gr:rvef i-u.l plst his garrlcn stop by thc monurnent
:rttd :tsk ft)r pcrlni5stl)l) t6 plirce solne flo\\'ers ()r sirll a lra)'cl-r
crossiug thetnseh,es l-,ef,rrc thcy gu on.';u
I l-rave itlcr-rti{:ieLl in these scenes t\\ro of the tl-rrec urain
icrlms of ritualistic rclationship u,ith thc sircrecl (see Caze-
ller.rrre, r!t96, zz7-245): prayer (sri'earing tl'rirt u,c rt.,ill nor
dtvert flont lris parli, thirt clcn after Tito tlrcle u,ill be Tra.,, that
hc srill lit'e.s irr orr Aealr.s etc. ) an.l ofhrings (cancllcs, s'r'cirths,
flos'els).'o' The lcl:rtionsl-rip l.etu,een tl-re sacrerl ar-rcl the
plofane c:rn irlso be recogniu cc1 in thc prircticc oi )'r-rrrrh Re-
la1'Rncc.s, past trncl present. Tl-re relay f irce, t()(), is a frrmr
of off-crir-rg, ir lvl:trsseirn rcciplocal exchi,rnge oi goo.ls irntl
cir.ilitics (a gii'c-ttrke lel:rtionsl'rip, "u'c to 1'611, )'ou to irll of
trs") ri'l-rich c()nnccts vcrticall), antl holizontzrlll' (relay rrrcers
among thelnseh'es as n'ell irs therr-rsch'cs u,itl-r thc lcccivcr'
of tl-re baton). At thcsc lallir:s, speecl-res, s()ngs, recitirtions
clc. Ltrc ft'eqLrentll, :lccotnpittticcl .,l'ith chccrs such trs, He i.s
rifir,c. Manl' n()tcs in visitor's btroks incltr.le s1'ntagrns such
:rs cfcrnal glolr , for erer,ln crcrnitr,, frn' et'er g'eat, Trro i.s alile ,
fcn'et'er l'or1r'.s ctc. BillboaLds :rt e\,erlts tle.licatetl to l'rim antl
lisitor''s books fi'e.}re ntLl'contain calls {irr l-ris Lcit-tc;tLtt;rtior-r,
()r thesc alc cvcn voicctl publicl)', Titc., - IJe br.,rrr agtitt cntl
lrrirrg back Yr.r,qoslzrrial He rt'n.s, is nnd u.'i/l be u,irh r.s fcn' et.er;
)'esterr.lcl, foclal,, fomorr.our Tito; If rhere i.s crcrnirl antL if it
, the narnc rf ercrnirl is Trro; Trto lilcd, Trrr., lilcs,
tnttlTint,,t,ill li,-e; or, simply Crma bcrck, r,orr rhc legcnd! Thc
front where he -sce rnlngh arriuecl. Schu,arrtlner-Sier,ers (zoo8)
tkrcurncnterl thc follou'ing response in l-rer stucll'of tittrstal-
gia alnong Koscrvo Allrirnians: r\41 gnrinddad had a u,trtcl't that
tlt \1r intornrrrlt a'kcJ ruc nrrr tL' rot,rl rhc nrnrc ol rhr placr, lrccarrst the.cLrlprurc it
ersiI iLeccssihlc, s,r hu ttrrrcrl tlirt varr.hl: coul.l.trirl ir irlJ scll ir es scra| irirt. Al-
th,,uththrruajoritroflillrrgersirnJpr..cr.-hrrr("uIl()rti\e,rfthi.snrrrllshrinc.hc
wir\ thr rargct Lrlshirrp criticrrrn ilr tlcrrl occrrsions, rl,rng rhe lincs,rl, \\'Är tft, r'rl
ar['hrrk' thrr .ririliD,rl.' Evrrr r,om in his hoLrst cLlrtrins at lc,r-.t ,,ne rrnrgc ,rf Bnr::
liclurtr, cnl.nJirr, l ti,l.cstrv nr,r.lc l.r his r i[', clrflings ctc. Tht' intt rvics rlr: hel.l
rrt Stpttnrhcr l:, :ooS.
Isc l\rt nLrr rhc thir.l tlerncnt. i.c.:ircrificc. I l,\yclcr, n1(rn! jrclilice-\ \.cf!'niatle Juring
hi' tinrcs, rrrrrring lronr srcriliccr Lluring tltc ilrtit,n,il lil.clltkrrl strugLlr, to rh,tse l-t'
ltrluntecr rlorkcrs rcl,uil.ling thc corrntl rirt'r rht' sar ll.l brrillurr soci ilisrn.
87

Titostalgia -A Study of Nostalgia for Josip Broz
rll/os glaen to him by Tito , becatne he wa a high commtnist of
ficer. \YhenTto diedhis warch sn1qed.
A similarly intimate attitude towards late Broz' actually
towards his impersonator, was expressed by the people of
Belgrade in Zelimir Zilnikb film Tito p o drugi put mediu Srbi'
mc (Tito AmongThe Serbs ForThe SecondTime)' The di'
rector sent his impersonator, the Serbian actor Miöko Ljubi'
öi6, into the streets ofBelgrade where people addressed him
as if they were speaking to Tito himself' praised him, criti-
cized him, and shook hands with him; he gave autographs
and received flowers, etc.'8' The Slovenian impersonator
Godniö, relates similar episodes. In his words, in theaters he
never experienced th€m ilznafying with the role marc th*n I
(...) I hau e it at m1 f ingeraps, but when y ou s ee that they b ehav e
a if I were the real one (...) for exanple, when a womon comes
to J ou, shal<ing, when she sp eal<s to y ou as if y ou w er e him, that
happened couTfiless nmesl (N. Moönik, 2oo8' 4).
Slovenia, uooz
The ironic rocker, Rambo Amadeus, also talks with
Broz in his song BalkanBoy (of course, in his version it.is
Broz who approaches him with, Hi, Rwnbo, respect to !ou,
how arc 1lou?).'8' For yeats now, a man from Montenegro has
placed an obituary for comrade Tito in the Montenegrin
,r.*rprp.., on May 4, the day of his death.'8'Some people
r8r He talked to them about the things that mqt wonied them at the time: the war, the
economic crisis, intemational smctions, the resporoibility for all these evils, ways to
solve the problems, md they also compared life drn and nru' A curious incident c-
po-
cuned during the shoting: the director md the {ilm crew were detained at the
lice station.
iTito" then came in, demanding, in his authoritarim voice, that they be
let go, md the police indeed let them go. (Biro, zo6, ro5, ro6)' Godnid alrc regu-
hr{ ,iag., ,i^it", provcation, a les *rious one but still a provcation' Each of
"
his aniv-als on scene in the role of Tito is accompanied by the playing of the fomer
Yugoslav anthem, and the viewen invariably stmd up (N' Moönik,2o8,5)'
r8z Rairbo mswen, Frck, Tito, whl didn't yu kve lu two hunlted yws'
(h at leut
two hunfued and fdtl' . . Live album "Koncert v xuo France Preieren," VinilMmija
Records, Ljubljma, 1997.
i. the Podgorica newspaper Vijesti in zo4 contained the
- Th. o." th"t
,83
"ppearJ
fi:o x kng u wue w we aßo gqtlm' (Tarlac,
rext, Cmrade , we comrades ,
88
Titotalgic culture
' carry his phoro in their wallers or keep it in a family album
as p4Pecial treasure.
LTiostalgia is obviously individualized and privatizdd-lFor
15 years now, one fan of Broz from a place near t6e town
of Gomji Milanovac in Serbia, has been celebrating slava
(the honoring of family! parron sainr among Serbian Or-
thodox Christians) on November zg,RepubkcDay, calling
it Tnudnr ( originally Mkoljdan, in honor of St. N ikola, cel-
ebrated on December r 9 ) . His goal is to preserue tlw memul
of J osip BrozTito andYugoslactia, when all enjoyed freedam mÄ
economic deuelnpmenf.'84 His compatriot from Vojvodina es-
tablished the fotnthYugoslauia, amini.Yugoslantia, on his es-
tate, He also organizes a relay race to the House of Flowers,'ls
As mentioned earlier, many Bosnians say he is Tito when
they want to denote an important, successful man. The
phrase Tita mi (l swear by Tito) is meanr to have rhe same
effect as, on mry wcrd of honor. Ia an article about the most
favorite months, a Slovenian joumalist found it important
to mention that the most favorite month among Slovenes,
May, was the month of love (and of labar mdTto) .'86
It is interesting to compare (in)direct addresses found in
visitor's guest books and elsewhere with the slogans on T!
shirts featuring his image, meaning the situations in which
"he" addresses the readers. Just in passing, according to some
estimates ?o,ooo of these .r-shirts are sold a year, and they
are also available abroad.,st There is one inreresring detail;
the analysis of 45 r.shirts featuring Broz's image or name
(in various colors and font sizes) coming ftom various parts
of former Yugoslavia showed that in these situations Broz is
zo+, ibid.).
r84 Beta: Knna slava - Titovdan (Slava Called Titovdan). Dmro, Belgrade, November
3o,2o7p.36.
r85 re: "Mini Titove Stafete" (Mini Relay Races For Tito). z4ur.com, Ljubljua, May
25, za5. A mini Yugoslavia, or Yugoland, was otablished by Blalko Gabri6 in zo3,
on his estare ntr Subotica in the northem Serbim province ofVojvodina. This en-
trepreneur in his late sixtis stated that lr had.aheadybsthßhamelandcre, andhe
didrctwntmlnseit4gain. He plm to shape it into a relief md make a profit from
it, and he also plam to build a sports md enteftainment complex. Guests are wel.
comed by a Broz double and an orchestra playing the Yugoslav mthem; they can
visit a museum, listen to Yugoslav music or watch Yugolav films. The items on sale
are products from thoe times, md it is alrc posible to buy Yugolav citizemhip (see
e.g.. Volöiö, 2@7, 29, http://w.independent.co.uk/news/world,/europe/bringing-
backtitoTgmz.html , accesed on September r, zo8). The progmm also inctudt a
YouthDay celebation complete with the the anival ofthe relay baton,
t86 N. PaL Le öakaj na maj (Jut Wait For May). Veö, Liubljma, April zg, zo5, p. r3.
i,,
t87 So mertslo$ko Broz, who thought that they were wlgar (n...|oiiC, fao hhko n*;.
t Titovo Fodobo in deloffho Can Protect Tito's Memory And Vork). Delo, Ljqbllx-
na, May 29, zm7, p. 16). A mmufacturer of T-shirts md badges with imga of Broz,
n
Che md the sickle md hammer aseses that their buyem come fton al! gwat)arc,
:ä tlre oäq ores tlvthued undu tlv social*t regime, and iv
lwnga ore, who do it out of
f s|ite, ,ouknru, pwlß and so m. (Jurkovid, zoo6, zgt, zgz).
::l
89

Tirr:trlsirr - .\ StuJr of ^\t,strrlgie it'r Josip lirt':
lessfi'etltrently .leprctetl as :r protagonist \vho speaks or coll)-
lnunicatcs solnething - herc hc is urorc it-upcrsontrl irutl se-
rious, ;rncl sperrks like il sovercign. For exatnplc, I're says I'rn
ldlll boitr{l'fs; or,
rudtchi?1g )oltJ ()r I'm tt'crchirlg \-oLL, majku
ot-rviousll' a.ldressing tl-re ueu'rulil-lg elite , Yolr titnc i.r t rttttting
orlrl Mc)re frccltrentll', the slogan is jr,rst clescriptive, antl thc
majoritl' of T-shirts be:rr only l-ris imagc ancl/or sigtl:rtr-rre' T-
shirts the reftrre tencl mttcl'r l-llc)re to express the o',vt-rer's (antl
rnanufactuler's) opinior-r tttt Broz (irr-rcl Yr-rgoslavia), tl-r:ul to
irlloq' Broz to "aclclress" t'eaclers "hinsel{."
..ACTIVE'' ..PAS5IVE''
BROZ,S OR ROtE ON T-5HIRTs
Broz addresses ("active role") 4 9
Broz 17 38
(or Yugoslavia) are described ("passive role )
No text 24 53
(only Broz's image, signature or other related text)
TOTAT 45 loo
All that has been saicl so fal shotrlcl be strpplementetl
rvith u,hat are plsf n[11' the most i:tcctltate it-iciic:rttlrs of :r
nostalgic culttlre: t1-re restrlts of variolls tlpinion sLliveys'
I rvill stirrt \\,ith the sur\/ey coi-ILltlctetl in the stttntnct t'f
r998 in the Ytrgoslavia of the seconclTito' i e. Miloieviö's
Yugosl:'rvia. Broz u,:ts selectecl as the greate-\r Yl ryosbu') politi'
cian of tl"te 2otl"L centui'J by the greatest ntttlber of lesponci-
ents (32.4%), lrlost Lrf whom $/ere from the northcrll
Serl',iar-r provittce of Vojvodina ancl from Montenegro.
politician Nikola PaSii (z r . r % ),
FIe ri,irs follou,ecl by the
ancl the then presiclent Slobtlclan Miloieviö (9.2%)''"u h'r
another survey zoo4, ctlntlttctecl in the szrurc cottntry b)'
ill
tl'rer-r ah'eac1y renirtnctl Serbia irncl Montenegro, the tlttesti'rtr
was, \X/ho ?r1ost confiil)uted r. thel'epLLtotion rf Scrbin irr rire pnst
tuto hntdred )edt'.s? Broz $'as citerl by r8'1, o{ resptlnclents,
the scientist Nikola Tesl:r by r4.270, and the trssassir-ratetl
pr\.{ Zorrrn Dindiö by 8.4% '* In a Croatiau poll concltrctetl
by the claily ne\\/spalrct Jutarnji list in 1998, Broz'tvirs se'
lcctecl as the "tnost itnportirnt Croat of the millennitrn,"
follorvetl by tl-re t1-ren Presiclcnt Fr:rnjo Ttrdlntrn antl Nikolrr
rhr \l,rll.rr r',r'n b :lrrr i'.r llrll.l \,rt \, \ll\" rll! lllir'rll' lr'
ri,9 Ili: Tito "nrrjleöi Lhialrrik zo stoljcirr" (Tilr - The'Clrcrtest Sratesnrrn "l rht
:orh(lrnturl). \/1c'nik, Zalrch,lulr r5 r99S, p :9.
I90 r)Pi\ ägeu.l rrcs's' Tit" "l'lik"r'rl poLlohr -srl-i;q (Tito Shape'l Thc lnrtge Ot Scrhir)
DcL,, l-iul.ljana, \{rrch I I,.oo4, l. ,r' Irltctestingll, Ihen aske'l sh" nt'st ltrtmtJ
tlic g1,,l.,rl r.Ttrtrti,n irf Serbir, 5 1 6')i' ansl erer) th rt ir s s S[rl'o'hrr \'lilrit'vii
9o
l-
Tit,,stilsic cLrltrrrc
Tösl:r.''' One 1'enr carlier, irr r997, i1 ir poll c6urltrcte.l by
thc Croatian n2rtional television station, 1o"/o of responcl-
ents agreetl that Broz $'as a "greart statesrnirn" (Pcrica, zooz,
zo8). In zooo, Broz and thc charisrn:rtic Stjcpzrn R:rclid n,ere
chose tt b)' altn,,st one-thirrl of resp,tncler-rts, q'l-rile Presidertt
Tudrn'.rn receivecl r(r7o of the votes.'','ln the poll concftrct-
ecl in zoo3, Broz again topprecl the list u'rth z6.4(/o of votes,
follou'ecl by Nikola Tcsla (2o.7%), [he nstronorncr trnc]
physicist Rutljer BoSkoviö (8%), the n'riter Miroslav Krleia
(6.6%) and Presirlent Tucilniur (4.4o/n1.'rt A poll conclLrctetl
[.ry onc vctcrans association in Croati:r sl-rorverl that 85% of
resl-ronrlents kncq' thc year of Bloz's tlcath, rvhile only r r %,
kneq' Presiclent Tirdrn:rn's yeirr of birth.',. h-r Bosnirr-Herze-
o/o govina, he u'irs assessecl as ir "p115i111'e historical persontrlity"
o/o by 59"/o of resl-ronclents."'5 As to Mircetlonia, I arn not arvare
.,f such polls so far."r"
o/o
o/o
an apartment.
Ljubljana.2oo6
Ho'nvever, therc u'ere many such polls held in Slovenia.
In tl-re Skl'enian Pr.rblic Ol-tinion sun,cy, Broz rankecl (rt1-r in
r9g5 ar-rcl 4t1'r in rggS ancl zoo3 on the list of the nrost im-
r9r r\aj:nadrjniji I Irrat tisutljcia;e Josrp llro: Trr,r ( fhc hlol Inrp,utirnr (iroar olTht'
\lilhnnirrm ls J,rsip Bnr: Tio). Jurrn)ji lisr, Zagrcb, Julr r8, r9rg8, p. zli-15.
r9: 11.lrriun:TitoisL)ea.l...LoncLivcTiarl.(]cntralELrr,rl.canlltvic\\',]ear.:,No. rc.1,
I i_ 5. 2ooo.
r91 Titrr 1c nrjltii I lrvar rr povilcsti (Tir' The Orcarcsr (Jrorr In HisoLy). Nrcionirl,
Zrgrc'l', Janrrrrl 6, :oo4, p. 4(r-,19.
rg4 The corrrnirsioner,rfrhc survcr \ris h()rriiie(l I' lcrrn thar the (lr,uts krrr's nrctt'
rl',trr thc s s tt hcrr lloiko Buha than irhrut thc firsr Croatian victim in thc war
rrith Strl'ir, .rr al.out the bcgirrnin( of o|erar i,n ( )hrjo (St,rm) tluring lhe slrrre l rr.
()ne antrng them drew attentior to thc sÄanrr/rrllr prrr knorlcdgr,y'Cr,,nrirur Jrisnrr,
rn.l the allcgrJ nrarsirrrli:arion ol reccnr historr'. [). Krnii: ]lrrrti viie :nnjtr tr Boiktr
Iluhi nego o Josipu Joviiu (Crorrr Bettcr lnfirrmc.l r\h,rur Il'!ko llulrr Thrn Al.oLrr
Juip Ju id). Sl,htrlna l)rlmrrcijir, Splir, Jtrly 29, 2ooö, f. a).
t95 lLriLrn, :ooo. ibiil.
r96 T. Nrkovski alsLr corrfirned that strch surrers tlitl nor erist. lr his esrinrarr, Brr: is a
|rr\itilc hisr()ricil l.crson tirr aroun.l 7o'li, of i\laceJonians (r pcrsrrtal interricr', Au-
Ctl\t;, rooS).
9r

Titotalgia - A Study of Nostalgia for Josip Broz
portant personalities in Slovenian history (To5 et al', tggg,
is+, 866; ToS e t al, zoo4,+68). In ryg 5, 83'6Vo of respond'
ents assessed his historical role as "very positive" or "posi'
tive." In 1998, this figure was 843o/o, and in zoo3 it rose to
an awesome 9oolo (To5 et al. , 1999, 563,87o; Tob idt', zoo4,
commissioned by
473 ). Similar results emerged from surveys
media. In polls for the Mladina weekly,
various Slovenian
personality" by 67 .zo/o of te'
Broz was considered a "positive
spondents in 1995, 63.90/o in rgg8, 7g.3o/o in zoor, 7g'5o/o in
zoo4, and 8r.4olo in zooT (he was a "negative" personality
for only roo/o, ro.zo/o,7.zo/o, tz.to/o and ro.67o in respective
years).'oz In a poll conducted by the Delo daily in September
r9g9, he ranked 3d on the list of the most important person'
alities who marked the last hundred years of Slovenian his'
tory (the first was Leon Stukelj, the Olympic medal winner,
and the second Milan Kuöan, Slovenia's former President),
and 4s on the list of people who marked the last one thou-
sand years (after the poet France Pre5eren, the Protestant
priest and writer PrimoZ Tiubar and the priest and writer
Anton Martin SlomSek).'oa In zooo, his govemment was
described as "excellent" or "good" by 45.ro/o ofrespondents
(and as "bad" by only roolo)''ee On the z5th anniversary of
his death, the Ljubljana daily Delo presented survey results
showing that he was considered a "positive personality" by
690lo of respondents (and a "negative" one by z4olo), while
in a poll conducted by roe rv,7Jo/o ofrespondents thought
Lr_
that he was a "positive" personaliry and z5o/o that he was a
negative personality.'- In the tele-voting during the panel
discussion program Vroöi scol (Hot Chair) on Channel One
of the Slovenian national broadcaster, in responie to the
question, "Was Josip Broz Tito a criminal or a hero?" the
"hero" defeated the "criminal" by 650/o to 35o/o.
In r995, he was a positive personality for 86.67o of re'
spondents in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 42.7o/o of tespondents in
Öroatia, and 3go/o of the citizens of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia.'o' In my suwey among the Yugoslav diaspora
in New York and Philadelphia in zoo5, where the question
was "Who were the three most positive figures from pub'
lic life and popular culture in former Yugoslavia?" Broz was
r97 Hruta,Pirc, zo4, ibid., md B. Repe: Lik in delo tovarila Tita (The Penonality
And Work Of Comrade Tito). Mladina, Ljubljma, May 19 ' za7,p' 46'
r98
- D.Ko3ir:Prelerenatisoöletie,Srukeljnadnjihstolet(PrelerenForTheMillemi-
m, Snrkeli For The Lmt Hundred Yean). Delo, Ljubljam' September zz, 1999' P' r t
r99 Potm,2@, ibid.
2@ pop ry 24ur.com Polls, March zm5, accesed August rz' zo5'
zor Hmtar, Pirc, zm4, ibid.
92
Titostalgic culture
selected by 45o/o ofrespondents, rhe acror Rade Serbedäija
by ryo/o of respondents, the last Yugoslav pru Ante Marko.
viöby n.5o/o, and the Nobel prize winner for lirerature, Ivo
Andrii, by rco/o (Velikonja, zoo6, ro6). The surveys there-
fore show that generally Broz ranks among the more positive
historical persons, and the same holds true - to the surprise
and even horror of many - for some other former socialist
leaders as well. As if they, too, promised in the "Terminator"
styIe,I'llbebark, so they victoriously retum to mass culture
and high positions on the various top-lisrs.'o'
zoz Those who had been uitten of seem to be retuming. I stut with Stalin. Fifty yean
after his death, in 2rc3, 36% of Rusians still thought of him in positive tem, com-
pued to z9% for whon he was a negative ffgure (T. Kuzio: Anitudo to Soviet Past
Reflect Nosalgia, Pngmatism. Radio Free Euope/Radio Liberty Newsline, Pmga,
Vol. 7, No. r53, r3. 8. zo3). Today, the Rusiaro feel notalgia for the "great pow.
er" and "welfare" of the Brezhnev em, md for the litenry md political heroa (mng-
ing ftom Peter the Great, Genemls Suvorov md Kutuzov, Marehal Zhukov to Push-
kin, Mendelejev, Gagarin and Korolev) (8. Dubin, The West, the Border, and the
Unique Path - Symbolism of the "Other" in the Politiel Mythology of Contempo-
nry Rusia. Rusim Politia and Law, Amonk, NY,year 4o, No. z, zoz, p. zo, zr ).
Therefore, it is not surprising that a zo4 poll showed that for the Ruim, Peter
the Great, Lenin and Stalin were among the greatsr men in their history (R. Pipes:
Flight ftom Freedom. T.he Moscow Times, Augut 9, zo4). In the zo6 Yearbook
of Rusian Public Opinion, 4296 of respondenÄ aswed Stalin's role in the history
oftleir country s "fully positive," or "partly positive." On rhe other hmd, 37% of
ropondents Ne$ed his role m "partly negative" or "very negative" (Rusim Pub.
lic Opinion. Levada, Moskva, zo6, p. r88). In the latst poll, Stalin is mked sec-
fl
ond on the list of the most importut figura in Rusim history closely following the
most popular saint Sergej Radoneaki, who leads by only a slight margin. Lenin is
mked 3rd, md Zukov 4th (http://w.nameoftusia.ru/dc.htmllid=2582 , accessed
on Aug. zo, zo8). The Hungarian ocialist leader, Jano Kädär, wo mked rst
{t. among the most important Hungarians of the lmt century md 3rd among rhe nost
important figures of the millennium (8. N6v€: Memorie dei tempi dell'autcruia
o autocruia della memoria. In: E Modrzejevski, M. Sznajdeman /ed./: Nostalgia
ffSagi sul rimpimto del comunismo. Mondadori Fiitore, zo3, p. zz3; L. Andor:
Hungary on the Road to ru. Praeger Publishen, Westport, London, zrm, p. 7). A
surprising 46% ofPoles thought that their scialist leader during the r97os, Edward
Gierek, wm the man who had done mot for their country, ahead oflech Walesa,
who was chosen by only 39% of repondents (V. Gomez: Notalgia for the Commu-
nist pat. The Agonisr, w.sc@p.agonisr.orglstory/:o4/r r lryl74glß85, t7. rr.
ro4, accesed on November zg, zo4). The Rommims ue more ambivalent when
it coms to Ceauffescu, given that roughly the same proportion ofrespondents re-
garded him m the best and the wont leader in their history (L. Boia: Rommia, Bor-
derlmd of Europe. Reaktion Books, London, 2@r, p. 234; see also htqr://w.ceaus.
o.u.org/ ). Mu"h lk, let's see, mmbies in Hollywood movio, the wialist leade$
cannot be dismised iut like that; they appear to be very much liqe ctrpss.
93
 ofNostalgia forJosip Broz
Titostalgia - A Study
V. (COUNTER)EXPLANATIONS - While this is tme, it does not explain rhe strong presence
Whilp the "locl<smith" uas presiüent, oll daors were open to tls!
And smart he was, one-legged cool mate.
Lied much, mother fucker, but we all loved him"'
A quote from Srdan Dragojeviö's film Lepa sela lepo
gore" (Pretty Villages, Pretty Flames)'or
How should we interpret the facts presented above? As
has been established in the introductory chapter, nostalgia
is not only a complex phenomenon, but also a contradic'
tory one, which combines various narratives and practices'
The only thing clear is that this strong, enduring affection
for Corwade f-ito cannot be explained in simple terms' as a
consequence of one or a few factors. Below I present and
reject ieveral such generalized explanations of both ma'
terialized and nön-materialized titostalgia. In each case, I
first present an argument and then my counter'argument'
because each argument is true to a certain extent' but none
provides a comprehensive explanation.
ARG u M E N T o N e\The "retum of Tito" is a consequence
l-
of the catastrophic et eii[f-tsover the past two decades or sot
war, slaughter, destruction, destitution' economic and social
u.i"rd.i"lopment, political crises 6idlE v ery thing hos coL
lapsed, ,nus r.signed comment by ffiävo man who actu-
" in Croatia: sixty-four."os Judging from the interviews and
ally summed up the opinion of many others. Since Broz is
idealized as a symbol of friendship, solidarity, prosperity and
security, it is seemingly self-evident why people long for that
era. Consequently, one would expect to find the strongest
expressions oftitostalgia and yugonostalgia in those parts of
former Yugoslavia (ironically named Ttonicby the former
member of the Praxis group of Yugoslav marxists, the Ser-
bian scholar, Svetozar Stojanovii)"r where people suffered
most and which today radically lag behind their neighbors'
In principle, the worse the present seems compared to the
pasl, th" stronger nostalgia is. Dissatisfaction and despair
inspire and provoke nostalgia, and t.he past appears a safe
harren when confronted with present-day problems'
zo3 A mm who "talked" to Broz in Zilnik's documentary said rcmething similar: He ur
' good, dvt ore. Srull but eood. N w, thue ue
rhief , w1 o/ tfu m' The motif is obvi-
ä*ii popul"r, giu". that it alrc appem in Doric's comedy: Cmrade Tho, Tou smlel
bur oko gar" o"btt. I Those nw stul, lbut g:oe nothing!
(zos, +: ) md in Dapöeviö's
song, AI ü?d to re tlwy could,buthe w6 tleb$rliü d all"'
o mwhu
(Filip
,o+ iu"',tt" Soot Na srpskÄ delu Titonika (The Serbian Part ofTitonic)
"ntitled
Vilnjid - Cenar za scialna istmiivanja, Belgmde' zm)'
94
(Counter)Explanatioro
of titostalgic elements, narratives and practices in Slovenia,
which to a large extenr escaped the tragic fate of rnGiöfier
former Yugoslav republics and has achieved significant eco-
nomic and political progress during the past two decades, de-
spite many serious problems. Obviously, there are other fac-
tors influencing nostalgia, as well. In addition to diachronic
causality, it is necessary to also take into account synchronic
interrelationship, suggests Jameson (zoo5, 88).
ARGUMENT two.EEe enigmatic veneration of the
late leader is actually the nostalgia of older generations for
past times, their youth, enthusiasm and ideals, meaning the
nostalgia of former Tito youth who lived the best years of
their life when Yugoslavia was at its peak and Titoism was
a mature phenomenon . h will rcuer be better ttran it was t):Fnl
is a statement I frequently heard in various parts of fdrmer
Yugoslavia. It is believed that his fans mainly come from
the ranks of "ordinary people," who either met him at one
of the many events or receptions organized for children and
young people, or were award winners, relay runners, his co-
fighters, co-workers and so on. Broz was undoubtedly a pop-
ulist. He had a feeling for people, loved to mix with them,
and in contrast to some of his contemporaries, was not a
cabinet.leader. An illustrative piece of information is the
average age of the membership of various Tito associations
conversations, but also various other sources, I can estab-
lish four "common denominators" underlying Broz's present
popularity with these people: anti-Fascism and the libera-
tion struggle; industrial and social modemization; peace;
and global reputation and recognition.
Yet, age is not the exclusive factor in nostalgia. Natu-
rally, in one of its forms nostalgia is a "positive memory" of
the past, but titostalgia can also be found among the younger
generation that was bom when Tito was already (long) dead,
or the generation that only vaguely remembers him. They,
too "find in the past what they miss in the present" (Peö-
i jak, zoo6, +z). How, rhen, can the tradirional definition of
nostalgia as something personaüy expuienced explain teenag-
ers'wearing of T:shirts with Tito's image, or self-organized
I 2o5 Their chaimm Badovinac would like to see the avenge age reduced to
54 smn
(Podkriinik, zm5, ibid.). Fanguna explains (in a pesonal inrewiew held onJuly
3,
zm8) that older people, fomer Partisan fighten and supporters ofYugoslavia, were
indeed the foundes of these organizations, but proudly adds rhat mmy younger peo-
ple have joined them recently.
95
 --
Study ofNostalgia for Josip Broz (Clunter)Explanations
Titostalgia -A

student excursions to Kumrovec or Belgrade, where all the with young Croarians who amended theYouthDay celebra-
participants were bom after r98o?'d tion in Kumrovec. One among them gave a typical answer
stating that it was wrdoubtedly better in
the past, life wos more
relaxed , more hwrwn and less stressful. Men were co-watkers ,

DAN MLADOSTI notcompetitors (Kovaöii, zoo6,3z8). The author of a Slov-

v enian web page dedicated to Broz, who was three years old
when Broz died, says that for him yugonosralgiais amemory
of the time before Slnveniabeca:rne a souereign country, the time
l| soboto, 20, 0b 8,00 whenTito ww still aliue, the world" was different curd dffirent
uolu.es were in place.'q Some preserve at home the memo-
gdrodlnredPqrldditoHM

lb{lhüd h tnhmodle: ild'lo (011

3::gg*
52113251 ln lorls pa0a?24521-
ries of the ceremonial admittance to the pioneer organiza-
tion."o Still others are fully aware of "firsthand" nostalgia
R{wne$rohkotudo**mffr* as compared to "mediated" neostalgia: I canhardly imagine
._,,6nt\ uty one seeing himself as yugonostalgic unless he has experienced.
ffi'-FJ-Y rlob\ it ..., itis one thingto sal something, a.rd.quite another to stfild,
Ljubljana.2oo6
'ßH"ll;
How should we r.rnderstand the statement by the founder behinl. what lou sal (Peöjak, zoo6, 47).
of rheZauodnostalgia (Nostalgia Institute), a passionate col- It is from here that a R c u rrl r N T T H RE E-arises, namely
lector of yugonostalgic objects and author of the initiative tha{hstalgia (and conversly yugonostalgia j u-org yourg
to establish the museum of nostalgia in Ljubljana, who says, people is the consequence of a mechanrlal passing down of
Tito is an icon with which I grew up, anÄ I cavrot simply dismiss positive memories through generatidfl Titostalgic parents
him. Some lil<z him, other s dnn' t, but f or me he is simply par t of presumably educate their childr6-inthis spirit, th.i,
children presumably simply accept it.," ".rd
me(,)'"t knowing that he is today in his early thirties? Or a
T-shirt made for the youth festival Kunigunda in Velenje Once again, I find this explanation too simplified, be-
in zoo8, featuring the communist star and the name Titouo cause it ignores the gap between the values and production
Vebnje,which is the former name of the town, which was of parents' culture and those of the younger generation's
renounced by these young people's parents in the r98os? culture, a situation which lacks virtually any linearity in
Nostalgia in young people should be understood dif- modem, fast-changing societies. Unlike their parents, many
+ ferently than that in older people, that is,ts neostalgia' young people of rcday think of Tito outside any conrexr, see-
While someyoungpeople are obviously a*affido ing him as a completely new figure. Some of them are criti.
not know him at all and that they could not possibly know cal and skeptical ofany form ofyugonostalgia or titostalgia.
him,'d others perceive him as if they really remembered him
(ln line with this, one editorial in a youth joumal rejects
and preserved him in their memory. A survey on yugonos- the revival of Youth Day because, given that tlrc presid.ent is
talgia arnorrg Slovenian youth showed that they imagined dead, there is no pointin srrch on euent, and the real meaning

"a secure, stable, just and united Yugoslavia, simple, satis' of such celebrations died_wil'}. losip Broz):,,
A RG u M E N T r o u n J In patricentric (hmm, titocentric?)
fied and non-ambitious people who cultivate the values of
collectivism, solidariry and equality" (Peöjak, zoo6, 46)' Yuqoslav ideology, Broz embodied practically every charac.
"I Similar viewpoints could be gleaned from the conversations ggf an unleamed peasant boy, a precarious prolerarian, an
-f. tiilrrmh, comrades' the infinir)z detby fuweet ordinary soldier, a captive, a political prisoner, a victorious
---
zo6 The invitations begin with Do lou s

nira" ti it*zoi, tln onnuol-Wing of weatls in r)v Howe of Flouets onMal 4' the
thefuciutingsmellof pleskaviu uo9 Repnik, ibid.
Aty'ofTto'saesL,Slobodan\"1can'lheu1ouwell," rro
of Balkon crisire? The excunions alrc include a visit to the gnve
One respondenr says, I haw tlv Yugoslou flog m rhe wall, md. o relief withTin ... I keep
oäihn d"lit*us
irulxt i*Vw*lav of all arcs, losip Broz Tito' Another erusion is entitled this lm mlself , in a way; tlvt's one part of me (Peöjak, zo6,
47).
"t zt r'Cos yu had, o good time, I lvar about it st iome, was how a youg man in his twen.
Youtir Dc1, includin-g Gqrus Mtlout Limix, a cmcenanl Alongllmt
Padu'
tie explained his nostalgia for smialism to Broz,s impenonator Godniö. (N. Moönik,
zo? Gruden, zo8, ibid.
(Wounds) by the Serbian director Srdm Dmgojevi€' dedicated 2rc8, r I ). Another young titoist fiom Cro atia said, If I we bom in 19 65, I' d be t]le
,og I. ,h" Ä^ no* happiest mn in üle wmld. (Kovaöii, zo6,
io th. g"."*tion bom after ito's death, a teenager fiom Belgmde describes the 33 r ).
;chmgl of i lols" i. his father: Dad wo firs t natl about sorc Ctut calledTia latq 2I2 N. Dosenovic, V. Brkiir Mladost iz naftalina (youth
Out Of Mothballs). Klin,
L.lubljana, May zoo8, p. 3.
on he got hooled on Sloba, IiIe evulbody else oround hqe'

ll'
s6 97
 Y-
(Counter)Explmatioro
Titostalgia -A Study of Nostalgia for Josip Broz

exclusivization of contemporary politicians is not a new

commandePin'chief' a globally renowned statesman and'
propaganda trick. Virtually all of them aie "painred" in
inevitably;r bon vivant' a hedonist, a womanizer' andareal
B a\<annwn, a ty|i' this way; all are simultaneously great leaders and subrnban
macho.'' rLG was simultaneously a typical
botbers, to use Charlie Chaplin's brilliantly stylized figures
col C entr al Ew op an arrdea t picd c o smop olfu@ He started out
as a member of lhe lower class, then rose to the petty middle from'The Great Dictator" (r94o). Remember the images
of the charismatic Franz Jospeh, as a glorious and sumptu-
class, and eventually to the upper class, actually the high'
ous Habsburg, on the one hand, and an ordinary man with
est. Within the post-war political imaginary he was identi'
(at whom one could chat about the most trivial everyday sub-
fied with his state, Ttto'sYugoslauia, and all its citizens
popular slogan of the past-We ate jects, on the other;"2 or the "secular magic of monarchy"
least according to one
surrounding the English royal family, which is presented as
allTttot). His notorious political contemporaries - Hitler,
coldly supercilious, aristocratically luxurious and at the same
Ante Paveliö, DraZa Mihajloviö, young King Petar n Kara-
time simply human, middle-class (Cannadine, 1995); or the
dordeviö, later Stalin as well, and even some among his co'
self-legitimization of the Karadordeviö family as crowned
fighters-tumed-opponents, for example Milovan Dilas, were
plebeians, who never concealed their simple origin bur, on
plsented his antagonistic counterparts' and Broz emerged
as
the contrary exploited this for their own advanrage (pre-
a winner ftom every conflict with them."+ His political
acu'
but also affabil- sumably that was why they could be more sensitive ro rhe
men, tactical wisdom, military ingeniosiry,
needs of ordinary people!). The same holds true of certain
ity, charm, and even physical endurance and vitaliry were
"uncrowned heads," contemporary politicians, such as Jörg
highlighted."5 It is possible to synthesize all these vignettes
Haider (Omomeyer, zooo), Silvio Berlusconi and Umber-
into rwo main ones: in the first, he appears xagreatleolct,
to Bossi (Velikonja, zoo3b, 53,54). These examples speak
a successful, unwavering and just politician, photographed
for themselves ; these people are untouchable, but at any
in the company of top world leaders, crowned heads and
one time near-at-hand; somwehere far away, but among us.
Hotlywood stars, living in immense tuxury, hunting, play'
They are something special, buralso the same as we are (see
ing with tamed leopards, navigating his yacht, etc' In the
Barthes, ry93, grj3).
s".o.rd, he is "one of us," a mm of the people, shown in in'
Moreover, any emphasis on the celebrity chic surround-
formal situations, for example, picking fruit, taking photos,
ing Broz and his life in the lap of luxury at a rime when he
swimming, playing chess, playing a piano, shaping metal,
was the leader of a developing country that was more poor
dancing ttt. 1"t", and chatting to ordinary people, workers,
than not, is of dubious explanatory value. One would im-
children and soldiers."6 This inflation of a leader's imag'
agine that, in a society where egalitarianism and commu-
es and his "phony closeness" supposedly facilitate people's
nitarism were both a pre-modem tradition and a socialist
identification with him; that is how one could summarize
propaganda maxim, his blatant monarchic extravagancy
the simplified rationalization of affection for a living or late
would be seen as a drawback rather than a posirive trait. It
politician. The more, the better, it seems.
is interesting that today's nostalgics do not hold it against
Yet even this explanation is not sufficiently convinc'
him, although they, much like the wider sociery in posr-so-
ing, knowing that the simultaneous humanization and
cialist countries, evaluate negatively contemporary upstarts,
13
- - ln America,
this would The Aneircan [hqm' Acrually' it is one of the
be called
z- taycoons, profiteers and people who have become rich and
Ä"Ä."ot tiberal mytlu about the infinite posibilitio of venical mobility - for
an individual, not for a clas or a group ofpeople - according to which
anyone can famous overnight. This double criterion is usually justified
achieve anything, provided that he/she ho talmt and' puts it enough effut' humorously, along the lines of, Tn snle but he also gaue;
,r+
- -- forttit"a.i."oiit"it,t"tuotly,betterthananyofhissucceson,.i'e post-scialist
poiiii.i"*. o"e among them says, M1 dzar Tin, Ml imitate J ou bvt nw un hold a those today stzalbut giue y1!ing.
iandle o )or (in the visitom book in Dedinju). ARGUMENT rrve .l$edas, and still is, esteemed for
zr5 Letmementionjustoneamongtheseeminglylesimportant.elementsofthisimage'
--'th"rit,J"pi"tioroofBror*itha.imals:playingmachildwithpets(apodle'leop' his political originaliw."s However, Broz's Yugoslavism was
*Jr i" Ä.iit"il, use of them in his work (riding a white hose' his loyal dog just one form of the wider and older South Slavic supra-na-
lu* ^"king
t"u"a lislife in wwu, p,otecting him with its body {iom a grenade)'
*J "U"g"ätv *ild mimals m a hunter (proidly posing with beas' wild boars etc )' zt7
Titoist says, Dm't knw, I thi*he is wgiml becarce he wu ew\'
"o.äu"r'itc SeeJ.-P. Bled, FmcJoZef. Mlad. knjiga, Ljubljma, r99o.
z16 A young'Croatlan 2 18 A respondent from Bonia told me th at lu udiwrl peoplc the then politiml sysum wu
rJring, üä f noc atlthing tlui lp
pm not' He ustedevtlthing, Fism' he also uns some
tlv best in fubal tms , atd rhat thte will retq fu any bettu slsten arywhae.
kind of baÄu. (Kovaöic, zo6, l:5).

li
98 99
t;
 Titostalgia -A Study of Nostalgia for Joip Broz
tional ideology, i.e. Balkan pan-Slavi#l originating with
Ivan Franjo Jukii and Ljudevit Gäj in the first half of the
rgth century (lllyrism' various other Yugoslavisms). In much
the same way, socialism as a political system existed before
Broz's time and evolved, after wwu, elsewhete in Eastem
Europe as well and beyond it. Mass rallies and various cul'
tural-sport-political events resembling Yoath Day are a regu-
lar part ofthe ritual repertoire ofevery authoritarian group:
the Church, the state, political parties etc' Just think of the
opening of the zooS Olympic Games in Beijing. And last
but not least, many important elements of the Broz propa-
ganda engineering were not without precedent. In r94o,
the relay race in honor of the then underage King Petar II
of Yugoslavia was held, starting in Kragujevac and crossing
all former bano vilw (abarnqtirwwas an administrative district
in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia). Towards the end of wwtt
it was again in Kragujevac that the idea about a relay race
in honor of the new leadeg Broz, originated. Furthermore,
he took over from the Karadordeviö family the custom of
being the godfather to the ninth or tenth child in a family
(see, among others,'West, r996, ryl)'We ateTto's,Titois
ours is a slogan much reminiscent of the one used by the
Serbian radicals towards the end of the rgth century (We
belongn Paäö, Pafiiöbelongs to as) (Öolovii, zoo4, r4o) .Fi'
nally, Broz's succinct "last will," Warch oowbtotlvthood and
wtit1, we paid for it in blnod!, is reminiscent of the alleged
last words of the Yugoslav King Aleksandar assassinated in
ry34 in Marseille: Warch over Yugoslaviat-e The obsessive
brotherhood rhetoric is at any rate part of every corpora-
tivism - we can even hear it as part of the ideology of the
new eurocentrism.'"o
Furthermore, new mass'culture production, souvenir
produition and use of his image in advertising can be ex'
plained by purely commercial motives - Tito simply sells
well. This was the guidingprinciple of the Mima voda com'
pany based in Zagreb, which named its new bottled water
Tnv izum (Ttto Spring). We rctned itTito springbecause J oia
zr9 lt was the historian Dejan Diokid who alerted me to this and to other meming-
ful pamllels beveen Äekndar's ideological image of chiualron king, inegrato and
miryr md the ideological image of Broz (his Yugoslavism, triumphant commmding
of the amy during the world wam, authoritarimism, arbitmge among various fac-
tiom inside the country "non-aligned" foreign policy, and of coume, his closenes
to the people md charisma)' Penonal conespondence, August 28, zm8' See also
Kt\ii(. zoo5, zz6-zz8 - iro, the patina of time and history in the drdams of another place md another time',
zzo See examplo in Velikonja, zo5b.
roo
ii
'i
(Clunter)Explanations
conbringprofit, was their explanation.",' The name was pro-
posed to them by an adverrising company aiming to bring a
breath of fresh air to the market. The commercialization of
Tito is by no means an exception. Other charismatic lead.
ers or personalities can be found in similar roles, for exam,
ple, Che (on cigarette packets, vodka bottles, ice cream and
bikinis), Sralin (on glasses and in the shape of a candle),
Mao (on watches and tags), Gorbachev (a vodka label), and
Atatürk (found practically everywhere across the symbolic
landscape of rhe Tirrkish state).-, Alt this adds up to a genu-
ine nostalgia industry. Volöiö (zoo7, zr) argues that the use
of Broz's image in advertising is "perhaps the final sign that
Slovenia had become a full-fledged consumer society freed
from anxiety of sliding back toward irs socialist past."
Tito sells well, no doubt, and even eams capital gains,
but many of the objecs and arrangements mentioned earlier
are home-made and intended, as their creators claim, firr use
in tlw priuacy of onet home. By the same token, many simi-
lar activities and events ("pilgrimages" to Kumrovec or to
the House of Flawers, his mausoleum in Belgrade) have no
commercial value whatsoever and are not profit.oriented.
A large part of this production follows the orv principle. In
support of this thesis, just think of the messages in visitor's
books, most of which are very intimate, introverted and self-
purposed, or the edrlier mentioned satirical arrest warränts
listing his "crimes." Titosralgia is not only an effective mar-
keting trick, but also a typical phenomenon of "reflective
nostalgia" as defined by Boym (zoor,4r-55)...t
A RG u M E N T r r N .flF" posthumous informal "reha- an apartment.
bilitation" of Broz ".r
is lurt ffi-*ong the presendy popular eastern Bosnia, 2oo8
obsessions and fascinations with the past, or pasti$o to put
it concisely. The spontaneous toying with and r€filaying of
history is a strategy frequently used by post-modem narra-
tives ranging from media culrure to arts, all adding to the
zzr See R. Kaizer: Blagovna znamka Tito (Tito Tmdemark). Delo, Llubllana, May z r,
za5,p. 32, andJ.Z./mn: Tito se 5e vedno dobro prodaja (Tito Still Sells rü(/ell). Delo
on-line, Lj., May r6, zo5, accesed on August rz, zo5, They plan to export bot-
tled water primarily to non.aligned countries, ufroe Tirt rome still rules. The Bos-
nim tom ofJaice, the birthplace ofthe second Yugoslavia in November 1943, en-
tertains a similar idea. They see a window ofopportunity in nstalgic evens held
in late November on the miversary of the foundation of Yugoslavia, which have
recently attracted a large number ofparticipans including delegations fiom all post-
Yugoslav republics, cultuml groups and veterm' mmiatioro.
zzz In the words ofM. Lacey (2o7, ibid.), "ln fact, 4o yeare after his death Che is ro
much a marketing tml ro m intemational revolutionary icon ".
:23 In contrut to rctomtive nostalgia, which snivq for the active recomtruction of the
p6t, reflectiye nstalgia rsts more on feelings of yeaming md los: it "lingen on ru-
(lbid., er).
IOI
 Study of Nostalgia for Joip Broz
Titostalgia -A
past a measure of spectacle and pop-art and changing it into
a thrilhng, titillating and trivialized story' This gives rise to
the present feverish search for freak details in Broz's life: his
looe adventures, his most loved dishes, friendships with do'
mestic and foreign film stars, marital scandals, ambiguous
origins etc. (speculations about his origins truly run wild,
so üe is said tohave been a Russian, aHwgarian, aUl<rain'
ion, a Jew, a Polc, an itlegitimatl dBscendant of a member of
the Habshn s dlnast1, a comt, a Britishl Snlinist agent,
Muon I pr evnnabty bwied' in the V adcan utl not in B
a F ree
elgralc l,
an abbreviation for a secret organization, Clnnchill's
a uomon/l!/; it is also said that he died young and was
son l\1,
re'
placed by his educated half-brother, Franc, and even that he
iever existBd at all).-+ As with any other kind of nostalgia,
titostalgia, too, can be a kind ofhobby, as it is in the case of
the Noitalgia Institute mentioned earlier'"5 Yet, although
this is true in principle, one may ask why other nostalgic
trends in these societies are not equally strong' and why
there is no equally obvious nostalgia for other important
personalities?-Naturally, other such personalities are the
,,rb1"ct of various nostalgias; the "old demons retum," as
Adam Michnik put it, in Slovenia and elsewhere in post-
socialist Europe. Certain controversial personalities from
modem history are being venerated again, for example, the
Chetnik leader DraZa Mihajlovid, and Bishop Nikolaj Ve-
limirovid in Serbia, the Ustasha leader, Ante Paveliö, and
Archbishop Alojzij Stepinac in Croatia, Bishop Gregorij
Roiman inSlovenia and so on. However, these trends are
incomparably less strong than in the case of Broz''"6 Accord-
ingly, Broz has firmly settled into first place on the Croatian
top one-hundred list of historical figures, Alojzij Stepinac
has taken zrst place (interestingly, he shares this position
ri,ith the l"g..tiury rock singer Johnny Stulie ), while Ante
Paveliö."r,.to, be found among the top roo personalities'
*r On the Slovenian list dating from zoo3, Broz occupies
politicians Puönik'
4th place, while the renowned Slovenian
Koro5ec and Krek lag well behind.
Broz is said to be respected by his ol'd conwades , Titoists '
diehard Yugoslan ts, rigid y ugonosnlgics, y ugophiles, yugo'B oL
zz4 See, e.g., Wst, 1996, r83.
;;;:i;:':;;;i",ä i',äi"* lv tut' Kmtelic with the lfftitute's rounder' entitled
';; Nostalgik s kakovostio (Quality Notalgia)'
io*i äi*ident and later Polish President Walesa' who start-
-O n grä.*".pt" it ttt"
"-
oppoition leader in the r98o, became one of the leading politi'
;;;;";;tic
i.,tt" ,99os, bui since then hm been reduced to a political ousider'
zz7 "l"t
Tito je najve6ii{ruat.u poviiesti (Tito ls The Greatst Croatian In Ou
History)'
zo4, ibid.
t02
(Counter)Explanations
\eI t
,J
7Ä
<G*f'
-..::=:-it .u; i\
'Feg
\t: t\ v an antique shop,
Saraievo,2ooS
sheuil<s, cryptocutmuntists, HeySlaeis, the stinkingguts of Yugo-
'
slauia, Udbmlen (Udba was a Yugoslav version of the xon),
spies of international bolsheuism, false prophe* , otmy fficers'
children,theredbourgeoisie,childrenfromethnical\mixedmm-
riages, we-sweo*to-yous, yugocomrades, yugoTonbies, P artßon
fossils orlamwrjajTarillamtmjare (the last one is a juicy insult
roughly equivalent to contmie, denoting supporters of the
former regime)."8 Generally, he is believed to be more pop-
ular among anti-Fascists and left-wingers, according to the
logic, "Suffice it that it is on the left!" There are at leasr four
objections to this argument, First, among the most ardent
anti-Titoists of today, I myself often mer - ah, cucre ingrato
- the one-time most eager Titoists. The "advocates" of the
Tito lettering on the hilltop above Branik have established
that among the desecrators and opponents ofthis sign are
certain people who decades ago actually painted it and then
maintained it for a long rime."e Even the responsibility for
the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the late rg8os can be
partly attributed to certain groups within the ruling elites,
meaning the political parry elites in individual republics
which swore to folbw Tto's path but actually diverted from
it. Furthermore, various antagonistic groups from this period
referred to him and even staged demonstrations in which
they carried his portrait, but their real goals were different
(for example, Kosovo Albanians and Serbs). To bonow from
Slavoi ZiZek ( 1989, r r5): "Tiro has not died for the secoriä-l
time through the agency of an Enemy: his legitimate suc-
|
cessors took care of that pretty well."'3"
zz8 -J
on these "flowers ofevil," ree I. Antiö: Playback - Poletni äpiski iz deiele
For more
vitezov (Playback - Summer Norc From The Lmd Of Knights). Delo, sp, Ljubljma,
September z r, 1996, p. 36, md Jaroen, zm5, fmtnote t o\p. 22r, 222.
?29 An intewiew with E. Bizjak, r3. 8. zo8.
23o See also Pavlowitch, zo6, 89,
9o.
r03

litotalgia - A Srudy of Notalgia for Josip Broz
The second objection: why is it he (and, e'g', Che) and
not some other left-wing politician, either global (Stalin'
(MoSa
Mao, Castro, Tro sky, nhcunndante Marcos) or local
Edvard Kardelj, one of the legendary Partisan com'
Pijade,
a.rd rrational heroes such as Sava Kovaöeviö, Peko
-arrde.,
Dapöevii, Franc Rozman Stane, Koöa Popoviö, Ivo Lola
Rib"., or'Bosko Buha)?'r' And the third objection - the
examples from real life testify to the opposite of what is
claimed, given that even some nationalists and right-wing
politicians also refer to him. For example, the notorious
ieader of the Slovenian Nationalist Parry, Zmago Jelinöiö,
placed a monument to Broz in the garden of his villa
(it is
op.r, ,o visitors twice a year' on December za-, the day of
the plebiscite on independence in Slovenia, and on May 25,
Tto', birthd^y). The inscription on the plinth reads, Son o/
the Slovenian mother of wwn -Marshal of Yugosla'
-Wirmet
oia. It just two new monuments to Tito (the other
is one of
one is in Labin, Istria) erected over the last twenry years'
For Jelinöiö, Broz is (generally) one of the coolest guys in
-hirrory
o.r. and a fantastic politician''r'In zoo5, his parry
proposed that the main street in Ljubljana, once called'lito
3n .t b,rt r".r"med when Slovenia became independent and
dlvided into Sloc/eruka Street and Dmaisla Street, should
have its former name restored. A candidate for the right-
wing Slovenian People's Party at thelocal election in zoo6
incl"uded in his eleclion pamphlet a long quotation from
Broz's famed speech in Okroglica dating from 1953, and a
well,known pärrait of Broz."33 After all, the Croatian his-
torian Jakovina also writes about the "first Croatian Presi-
dent F. Tüdman's never fully voiced but nevertheless obvi'
ous sympathies for Broz."':+
Ätrd t"t, but not least, the explicitly positive image of
Broz emerging from opinion surveys -corroborated by the
d"t" pr"r.rrt.ä in the previous chapter - should not be at'
tribuied solely to secularist left-wingers, as the following wo
messages choosen from many similar ones found in visitor's
boolcillustrate' The first comes from the book in his mauso-
leum in Dedinj e; Honatablc, J osip BrozTito , ntq the allnighty
Godbestow on you etemal peace an'd restl (signature)' The
23r Not to mention the more controversial figures such m Aleksandar Rmkovi6'
Andri'
ja Hebmng or Dilm.
,r, i;;;;-ik-;;., rce ru, Liubljma, Augut 9, zo8' The Slovenim.humorist Tof also
-- ;;;J,h;, Tito wm a genius (in thJroadcut Pri Öinöu on ödi ry' Mav
g' zooS)'
,r, loi i-Ät vo"r ru1u i.. Ha'ei, ansu cmdidate in elections for the municipal
council in Nova Gorica, zo6'
234 Jakovina, zm8, P.53.
to4
(Counter)Explanations
second one is from his birth house in Kumrovec: I'mhappy
that I kued while you were Presifunt; mal you restin God's peace
(signature). In a Bosnia-Herzegovina broadcast on Broz of
a few years ago, an older woman who was asked what she
thought about him and his time, replied, May Godgiuehim
a saued pmadise.':s A recent survey among Slovenian vot-
ers asked about their opinions of Broz's personality. The re-
sults were quite interesting: naturally, he was described in
more positive terms by the supporters of "left-liberal" par.
ties (rooo/o of voters for the Retired People's Paty, gz.9o/o
of voters for the Social Democrats and gz.3o/o of voters for
the Liberal Democrats) and secular narionalists (88.9olo),
but the proporotion of right-wing voters who saw him in
positive terms was also high (8o7o of voters for the People's
Parry, 59.8olo of voters for the Democratic Party, and 5z.zo/o
of voters for the pro-Catholic i.lsi Party).'*
ARGUMENT rt*". $n interpret the "second com-
ing" of Broz through mass culture as being backward, satic,
old-fashioned (even technologically backward), as inertia or
asa the past that will soon die together with
his aging subjec*, that it will disappear through
entropy. A continuiry with the past undoubtedly
exists. At events paying tribute to him, people fly old flags,
wear old medals and fragments of uniforms, and the rheto.
ric is reminiscent of that used during the heroic times of
the Partisan resistance and the era ofenthusiastic post-war
building of socialism. On the other hand, titostalgic dis-
course has also moved to new media. As already mentioned,
there are several web pages dedicated to him; debates be,
tween his supporters and opponents in various chatrooms
and on blogs are also interesting. On his birthday or on the
(former) Republic Day,humorous greering cards are distrib-
uted by e-mail (e.g., the one showingapretry young woman
congratulating him), often including a well-known state.
ment in all the Yugoslav languages (DearYoungComrades,
Happy Youth DaJ, MaJ 25, zooT!), or humorous descrip-
tions of those times (e.g. Seven wonders of socialism, briefly
ironizing all that was dysfunctional but despite which the
r.shirts and other objects with
system nevertheless worked).
Broz's image can be bought on.line fromJosrp Brol Tito Shop
at hftp://www.josipbroz.com/ .
.
:3s
A. Telibeöirovii: "Bog mu daj sveti raj!" - Lik Tita v BIH ("May God Give Him a Sa-
cred Paradise" . The Image Of Tito ln Bosnia.Heregovina. Mladina, Ljubljma, No.
2t,24. 4.2@4,p. 25,
236 Repe, zoz, ibid.
r05
 Y

r .\ Srrr.lr ,,1 N,'rr,rlrirr tL'r l,'.rp I\,'- (( t,u11trI )[:\l'llt]ilt t(iil,

Jrr,*r,rl"i

I-lis inr:rgc is nlso re pltrt[rccLl ()n morLsc Thosc sol.l

1.1115.
in l-jubljana irre in thc shirpc trf firlmcrll' usetl signs s ith
t!! ii,. ., .. ,,---
street namcs (c.g. Tiarrrl44); rn l3clglirtle, hc is .le.l.ictccl
()n l \\'hite horsc ;ut.l plal,ing u piano; in C}.o:ltia, ntoust-
**.mg€* patls be'ar his irn:rgc liom Putisirn tirucs altll 2ut ilrscriirrir)lr
rrlltr.lirrg to p1l1111; Ttto is iror llerul, ri'ith an cncrlcletl A (lirr'
T!
* *TITO'S HOME PAGE*
Anrn'clrr ).
Josip lhoz -'lfl'O
,* .i.*rr'd
r#.iü kt"Fn

& Movles

\.',/eb tgq,i
','.'or d.,',/tdc

Tlrc Slovcnirltt hl()ggcl l]]agi1:inc l)rr'lgi .slcr (OthcL

W,rLlcl), ilvirilirlrlc at http://u's'rv.tlntgisle t.cour/ alld thc \'1la-
.lir-rskl knjigr prrhlishcr laLrnchc.l irn illvitrlti()n to lrloggcls
to urlild rrbr.rrt rhcir llelt j ol Tiro trt. ntt inrercsriitg drf'dri('rlcr '
ol srr)r.l .i rnes.\.i.qd rlcaling LL'irh rhis nr/ric; thc fiLst fitiv irmot-rg i nrouscpad

thcrn n'crc lu'ar.lc,l ;t \'ollchcr \\'(lllh to cLlr(ls thilt cotlL(l llc (-roai r. 2ooE

ARCr Lr il EhNT -tEN. \y/hitt is inYOlVetl is thc cuntilllirr ir)ll

usetl {irr ()lr-lillc shoPIi11s at l-rttp://rvs u-cnlktl si/ Thc rn-
vitirti()n \\'2'IS arlvel'tisetl rhr',,r.rgh ;1ll ic()ll n ith Tittl's inllgc
an.l thc rlc-\slgc linr is rt.tt,:hirlg rorrl Cllii:/rl (http:i/ri'ri'u"th Lr-
gisvct.cotr/ucrvs/t itir.htrtt[ ) Tl'rc Sl,,t'erliau cotnpatll' I'itn1r
tttlets caricattlres;intl httttll-r-t'icrr trl llrlttt'tts |l:l)()nillltics
,rnrl othct' tllttlstlill sor.tutl t:itccts tor !tlttt moltilc |h()tlc;
illn()ng ()thcrs lttc rt ,ptrtrct o1l the /)hoild s'itl'r ar-r iulgcl, 'sc)'d1t'
r:orr u ith a full-l.r'urstctl u',,Lttittt, /irck, it'-s tÄe phr-rrlc rirrgrrrg
rl,ith rur rngr-1' l-.41.1', stclt'()t)pL'rl iltrrlgcs of .liftcrcr-rt "typi-
cal Balkarriarts" s'itlt tlttasi-ctluriclrl c()Llllllellts, tht ttttrt'ol'
of his p1'15111111it1'ctr1t, l'ris chalisrnirtic inrirgc iurtl nalcissistie
se lf-inagc, cultir,atetl b1' l-tittt irnrl firr l'rim cr.cl sincc u n rr.
ln this arcument, thc ernpl'rilsis is o1r his hctklrisur, luxurl',
glamotn, r-rt,nchirliu-rcc, urtl his assoc ilrtion \\'i th inl|( )rt iult,
c()ntelr|()r'.1r)' |()litcialts an.l the jet-sct iout thc ['o|ltl of
cr'rtcrtrrinurcnt (1'ris grrcsts inchrrlc.l Sopl1111 Lorcn, Ginl Lol-
krhrigirla, Richaltl Rurtt,n, Kilk L)oLrglas, Joscphine B:rkcr,
Yul Rr'1'nner', Vlirrio .lcl tv-lor-r:rco antl C)rson WclLes, ls u,cll
es.Jean-Paul S:rrtlc an.l Chc ancl thc iilst \\.onlirlr ilsrrol)ilrr,

tlt Yugoslav nnthetrt I lcr Slat'.s rvirh the sl'lu' elllblcln' rulrl \/irlcntinir Tcrcsl-rkova). Afte r l'l,rr he rrrclc r 4z rrrps, r'i:-
(jornrrrtic Tiro, rt'itl'r '.1 ctlrictltr.lrc ,,f Bro: atl.l Jtlvlrukll tctlri- itctl (rz couutries, antl uret |lrctir-allr' :rll the n,ollrl strrtcs-
rurcn as eithcr theil gtrcst or thcir host. This is nlso thc irn-
nisccnt ,rf I-lt,tncr llu.l lvlalge Siulrsott.'r;
agc usullll' prese ntcrl b)' c()1tclnpo1':ll)' nc\\,spqcr- ilrticles,
n ith one of thc chalactclistic sentcnces l.cirrg: Tlto r-t,rr-s n
trJrlca/ bon lir.,rrnt, acLlnllr rirc epironre r.,f Acilonisnr.,,' Tt'ue, l.ur
the n)'tlroLo.ics sr.rrrounclir-rg grcirt lcatlers, thc "her.oirrch1,"
or "urrr,cnuncnt of hcroes," to use Thomtrs C:ul1'lc'5 1e11n,
cone and so, ri'hilc thc one th:rt clcvcloperl art,un.l Bro: rlot
only 5p111'11'g..1, l.trt also lctlLrircrl nen, tlinrcnsions in a politi-
caLIl'anrl cLrltulalll,changecl u',r'ltl. lt scems as if Br.o: l-ras
hccn regencrirterl firr nL.\\' gcltclitti()ns thrit l.r:rr,c only sec-
ot-rtl-hancl, intlirect kntru'lc.lge about him. Evcn rrmrrng the
lcit-u'ir-rg palries, ir is therr ):ourh secrions l.arher th:ur tl-re
,n;r(l\,crticcmcft. l.ulk of rnerr-rl-rcrs th:rt prcselve his mernor-t', although ruanl'
SloveniJ.20oE
sttch parties itrrtsc fi'rtrD thc forme'r- Lcagtre of C()lDmunisrs
rl; lt\r.trr,rrr,tlirittrhcitttltttnni'i:ooT lrlr.rc'rin!lrlillrlnrli('lil\"itillt'r'crtitr 215 I1.r1i1.",.,. LLrl.cj, ihrl.
qi'rl\i,ilr/( lr',rtiirrli Il, rsrrr.rrl

I oa) TOJ

Titostalgia -A Study ofNostalgia for Joip Broz
or one of the political organizations that existed under the
former regime. A typical example is the Slovenian Youth
Forum of Social Democrats, whose representatives regularly
attend the ceremonies inKumrovec and lay wreaths at the
monument to Broz, as do their Croatian counterparts from
the Youth Forum of the Croatian Social Democratic Party
(sop). As already mentioned, his image is also frequently
found on the altemative glsubcultural stage.
certain circumstances, Broz is
A RG U M E N T E LE v EN Lbf-
still delicate political topic, particularly in everday wran-
a
gles am@'pölffifpTft1€$ he seems to be a kind of pglitical
älrrid" r.pärrring the left wing from the right wfiE?n The
right-wing SlouÄi* .olu-.rist Bemard Nezmffiiiting at
a time when the ruling parties were the Liberal Democracy
of Slovenia (r-ps) and the United List of Social Democrats
(zr-sn), accused the political mÄmanlgement elite of celebrat'
ing the orcession to the xu , while perpeumting their contradic'
torl silent ohniration of Tito onA de facto replicanon of his atti'
aÄp towards the opposition-'+'A similarly tense atmosphere
is frequently felt in Croatia, particularly between the two
biggest parties, the leading right'wing Croatian Democratic
Union (npz) and the leading left'wing Social Democratic
Parry (soe). There, the recurring themes during the election
campaigns are the evaluation of Broz's (evil) deeds, and dec-
larations in su1port of Tin as opposed to those in support of
rVhen Zoran Milanoviö, the
Cr oatia's late Presiüent Tuhrwn
sop leader, said in the summer of zoo? that Tito was greater
thonTuhmm,he provoked an avalanche of accusationsftom
the opposing camp. There were allegations that someone
wishJ to restore Yugoslavia, re'establish links among these
a fuuent Titoist who
countries, that Milanovid was actually
was in favor of Yugoslaua md' connrut'nism, that he was a
friend of the Serbian president Boris Tädi6 and a supporter
of Zeljko Kom5i6, aTitoist from Bosnia'Herzegovina, that
heileolizedTinism, that instead of attending the celebration
of Sntelwod Day he chose to attend the commemoration
for the Day of Ana-F ucist Strugp;lz.etc"a' Nevertheless, this
is not a rule, as is obvious ftom the several examples given
239
-' This also extends to everyday life and coffee table discusiom' One older Titoist
io* Slou".i" told me that he embaroed his acquaintmce, who had chmged loy-
job , pmiffi , who?Titt!
alties, by asking him , And wha gale m you all t)vt ' edrcation,
(obviously, his question also provided the mwer)'
,ao Ä. N";*"ü, Tto v Brilirokih spomenikih (Tito in Freising Mmucripts)' Mladina'
Liubljma, May 24, z@4, P. 20.
-ritri(i*;;*"..1"i".o.ätt"dbyzdravkoTomac,.afomerhighsnrofticialtumed
,+,
orthodox right-winger, in the anicle entitled "MilanoviC provodi ndikalnu deüöm'
io"iir;' G. ij*ouie-sei On The Radical De-Raömization Cpune) (Fokus, Zagreb'
July 6, zoo7, p. r4, r5).
ro8
(Crunter)Explmations
above, revealing that Broz's supporters also come from the
right end of the political spectrum.
However,.the situation on the "left" end of the polit-
ical spectrum is not uncomplicated, either. The Croatian
soe experienced a split berween "Titoists" and "revisionists."
The conflict broke out in the summer of zoo3 after public
debate in the wake of the publication of a photo on which
the then parry leader and the Croatian plr Ivica Raöan posed
I next to Tito's picrure at the celebration of rhe 6oth anni-
versary of a Partisan uprising in Istria. The sop vice.leader's
personal opinion, and also the sop's official standpoint, was
that Broz had been, despite mistakes, an exüemeb compe.
tent lealer wltro dBserued credit for what Iw did far Croatia md"
tlw glabal anti-Fascist moq)ementj for his parry colleague, he
was also undoubtedly a posiri ue hisunical figwe. On the other
hand, Zdravko Tomac, another leading figure in the sor, was
much more critical ofhim, claiming that the sop shoull"not
draw on Tn's heringe because of his responsibility far political
imprisonment md. mass murder, nor should it unnitically per-
petuate a kind of continuity with Tin's principles.,a, Generally
speaking, it is symptomatic that many posr-Yugoslav poli-
ticians, who were embarking on their political careers, or
had already held high polirical office when he was still alive,
and later either remained part of the transition "left-wing"
or switched to the right-wing, are conspicuously silent on
the issue of Tito. Through this "policy of silence," theyhave
simply renounced him, avoiding him as if avoiding their ourn
bad conscience dating from some other time]"43 An excep-
I
tion in this respect is the current Croatian President, Stipe
Mesiö, for whom Broz is the most important person in local
history'oo and who promptly and emphatically condemned
the blowing up of the monumenr ro Broz in zoo4. In Slov,
enia, the only prominent politician who publicly expresses
his favoring of Broz is the above-menrioned Jelinöiö, who
242 N. BotiC: Tomac: Da, Tito je odgovom a mme zloöine (Tomac Ya, Tito Is Re-
sporoible For \ü7ar Crimo). Nedeljni Jutamji, ägreb, August 3,
?@3, p. 4.
243 This is undemrmdable, given Tüdmb dscription of him in the bmk entitled
Socrcnje smialisotke Jrgoshuj:e (The Fomation of Scialist Yugolavia) dating ftom
196o (Naprijed, Zg., p. 33): His pasonality catbirc tfu churcwistics of arcuolutim.
arJ, poktician, statesmn and, urnl lcads. ln shut, duing tlwt
laufiil puiod of rheir his-
rn1, lv rutim of Yugoshvia had a populor leadu anÄ o grut m, srch u oppeu mly
dunng tlv nilcstme Wiods in rctialal and, gwal Äistory. ,' Dilu, to, dwrib"d hi* i.
ii his early writings as un wavuing, ptudmt and mirur1, the mbod imnt of tlv ircon-
qwahle pw of ow rcdorc nd. ow Party , a gm sm of ow parl and our rorioro etc.
(Clanki ry4t-tg46, Articles r94r-1946. Cankujeva zaloäba, Ljubljma, p.
Sq, Zf).
E.
Dobrie CaiC had pmised him until the mid-r96os, bur in the early r99o he de-
rcribed him m a ssindls on a globol scale, a Salinist, a
.' ryrcü, Wu.htng-y,lvdmis-
ac, a mI and cmpt demagogre, an igwamu and careo mn (in Kuliit, zo5,
432-
+tt).
244 Tito je najveii Hryat u poviisti (Tito
Is The Greatest Croat In History). Nacional,
Zagreb, January 6, z oo4, p-
46.
r09
 Tiosrirlgir A Sr LrJr' ,ri N,r.telgia ibr JLrsip Ilnr: (C()unli'r)Exl)lrIit i!m\

probably aitrrs at rvillnitlg o\rer sevel'al \/oters' givel1 the pre- z, rvhere Broz looks likc Marlor-r Brtrnr'lo ir-r the rnovie Thc
.lornir-tantly positi\rc e\r?rlr.latioll of Broz in Sloveni''r' Vild One (tgSl); he is depicted trs a bikel u'ith bared, mus-
A R C; U l\'1 E N'I' T \\/ E L v E . TitOstalgi:l
(ancl yugonostalgia) culal arrns, ir-r a sleevless jeans jzrcket stLrcldecl u'itl-r patcl-res,
canrlot be fully expl:rinecl by the fact that Yugoslav social- anc'l ricling an impressivc l-noto1bikc.

isrn, i.e. Brttz's goverutnent) was lnore hlllnane colnpalecl

to Another one is his irnirge on a T-shirt shorving hirn at
.ther socialist i"git','r"., tl-rat 1-ris authoritarianisur rvas tnilcl- trn trclvancecl age; ir-r tl-re origir-ral photo, he is srnoking ir
er ar-rrl softer tl-rari that of his eastern cotrnterpalts, that
the cigar, but here it htrs been changerl ir.rto ir leally big joint;
liVing star-rclard lvas higl-rer, that the state took care tlf etn- next to it is the well-kr-ro',vn socialist slogar-r Tujegn noöerno,
ploy*.rlt, accomtnodation ancl stlciirl security' and that l-re srojego ne damo (\X/e want nothing thar belong.s to others, and

,u..e"d".l cor-rciliating the c'lifferences for so long' cot-t-

ir-r uton't give dlr)rhing thatbelor"tgs to r.rs). A L.ook by Dejan No-
tributing in this way to peace in tl-re region To sutn Lrp' thg vaöiö, a fake tourist guide entitletl srn;; Moja deieln (senv:
nostzrlgic pastorals claim that lif e unrler Tiro was quire.g3gd- My Countly), ri'hich humorously re interprets the Yugoslav
While it is easy to go aiong s'itl'r tl-re above argr'tttletlts' it past, rnass culture, politics, achievernents ancl delusions, anrl
shor,rlcl be noted that tl-re n-rajority of Yugoslavs hacl
never inevitably Broz, opens ',r'ith a Biblical scene of creation: L
h:rcl close experieuce of life under the real-socialist regirles In tlrc beginning there utas the earth, /ormles-s ond empty, dark-
outsicle Yugttsl:rvia. The negaltive in-rages of tl-iese regitrcs iless urds ouer tl'Le nn face of the deep. Tlren Tito said, " Let there

rvere fortnetl on the basis of anti-prop:rgantla

(clairning that be ligfu," and tlrcre uas hght. z. AndTito separated the l(hr
out' seLf'mar^ngenretrt socialistt u'as better than their crdristi'' lt'orn rhe darkness, and called rhe lighr "U s ," and the dorkness
bureattcraticsocialism) aud sustainccl through the silent fear he calLed "TÄern. "'ot'Years ago, acornmercial raclio station in
tlrat tlre Russiatrs might euenumlLy decide to nta'ch into Yrigo- Slovenia bro:rclcast a hulnorous Lrrogrän rvith "Tto" calhng
slauio.'ai The Ytrgoslavs l'ra.l mc,re experiet'rce of ancl
not'e in frorn heauen Sruc, the cuk exl.ribition space ir.r LjLrbljana,
contacts u,itl'r life ir-i the West, so it rvtlulc-l not be sLtrprising tuses Broz's image for tl-re sign on the rnen's toilet, ancl rhe

if they evaltr:tted life ir-r socialist Yugoslavia in rvorse tertns image of his rvife Jovar-rka for the laclies'.
ancl r.r,ere clitical ol it.

a gallery.

,, TUGOSIOVANSKI VEIIKANI vol.2 Ljubljara.2oo5

Slovenia. a[ter 2ooo vca,l Vuious youth c[lbs organize p:rrties, collcelts ancl oth-
AItcuMENT TH IRTEEN. There at'e lnally attetnpts to er cvents on Tito's birtl-rrliry, rvl-rile yugo-nostirlgic /es1n par-
explain the mirssive prcsellce of BrLlz's tnany itnages as pttt'e ties ancl l'etro-parties hirve bec,Ine a constant itern on the
pnr.r.1y, ctl a playftrl subVersioll of clotniutrnt politictrl' culturrrl entertainrnerrt lnenu across firrmel Yugoslavia. Tl're rnusic
t't'
ot'rr'l *..lia .liscourses. Exan-rp-'les of htttnorous rentlcling plnyerl at these pirrties ancl in certnin cäses the cntire iln-
Brtlz arc nlllnefolls. Strc['r is 11 l]hoto-tlltrntirge on the co\/L'l: agery is rerniniscenr of rl-rosc times. This is interpretetl as
of a ctr cot-npilatitlu of great Ex-Yr'rgclslavia 1-rop-stars' \b[' an entirel)' :rpolitical type of entertainme.nt, a stunt or r-niltl
pro\/ocatioltJ a pretext to thro\v a goocl partf in rnemrlr)' of
:.15 l tcmcrnl.cr a jokc circrrlirrirrg irt rhc rinle 'rf thc rg'g4 Wirlte r Olrnpics irr -Sarricr "' sorneone, irlthotreh the m:rjority of 1'61,r-rt people attcnding
rht S()\'i!'t leirnr
sr\iing tlrnt rhc Yugoshv,'rgatri:eri g()t shivcts Nhcn thci'ht'rr'l thai ,16 (lrhi", LlLrl.llanr,2oo.l, f.
inclrr.lc.l twcnrt th,,rrsan.l birrhLrrr skiers' 7.

tIo III

r
 Titostalgia - A Stu.il ,n NostrLgir lor i,rsil' IJrr: ((i(\rntcr)l:\llNnrri{)ns

presulnalrly clo not knorl' exactl)I rvho he actLlally \\'as' The bel1211'1.-,r is not withollt politicirl connot:ltions, trlthttugh
..'lturnl scielltist Grcgor Tbrnc explarins that yoturg people these are inrlirect ar-rcl shifreri ro trnother. levcl (more on
irttending tlre se parties d o not lßle anJ attiutde unuardsYugo' tl-ris in the last chapter.).
skruia anrl that they accept thirr.qs ruithorlt prejudice - thcl' sinr-
ply corne for the t-nusic :rncl to cnjoy thcmselr'es''1;
'.,;;;,ffi

a stall \\,ith aftiques.

in o[{ice.
Ljubljana. zoo3
Tl-re rcläxing, comical re-playing of the past antl ;rla1ri11g
$,irh ir are both ur.rclouLrteilll' part of neostirlgia. Yet i be-
lieve that tl'rese also cotlstittrte a kinti of politicirl gcsture of
\\,hich its protagollists ttrtr llLrt necessalil)/ fillly au'are' Nat-
urä1Iy, I c'lo uot argue tl-r:rt a1l those r'vl'ro weiu'T-shirts \\'ith
lris irrrage, Faltici|lrtt'ill coltlltlr'ltlol'älivl'('\'r'nls ()l Illllie5,
or tlrink of hirn as good lecder alstl atll-rere collsciousl)/ to
^
his politicirl lcgacy or suppolt his politicrrl plirtforrn This
kincl of loyalty cannot be lturchasetl alor-rg u'ith ir T-shirt or
ir ticket. Ancl yet, it is legitimate to ask u'h)' the holitlny of
the tlefur-rct state an.1 the birthclay of the late lc:rcler are
Labrn.2oo8
Finally, n'e l-ravc good rcasor-r ro 2lsscrr tl-rat titostalgia rs
rnore a lejection of tl're curreltr political situ:rrior-r ar.rcl lcad_
ers than an r.rtrcritical glorification of tl.re politics of scver.al
clecirdcs :rgo irncl of Broz himself. It cirn tl-rer.ef<rrc be r-rn-
tlelstoocl as il Lrrotest, or an effectii'e
frovocationJ or even
a clefense, particLrlarly fbr 1,e111-ru people agailst nggr.essivc
imposition of ncu' iclcological tr.encls (e.g. nationalisln, the
rlccrec of hurnl.le acce.s.sion to Etnctpe, ncoliberalisrn, cor.r-
ser\rarisu'rJ traditional ism, clcrical isrn, restiturion of tl-re oltl
political situatior-r).,+5 l|1is l-relps us to unclerstand thc gr.affiti
'r'rro KpJ at the cnrraltce to a btrilcling Of the Split-Makar-
ska arch.liocesc, trn ir-rsclitr-rtion rvl-rich apfreared .r fer.r,year.s
srr agcr,'+e or thc Trro spral'grl over. \Velcorne tct tlrc Reprhlic of Srp-

*,idely cclebrtrtetl in Slovenia, autl t-rot, say, Srntehoorl I)c1 .s/ra ri'ritten on11, 111 Serbiirr.r (in Cyrillic) and in English ,,,n

), or Ertt'ope Day (May 9)/ Tlic answer can be ftruntl

(JLrr-re z5 a large billbo:rrcl grccting 1,ou on cntcring the Serbian pal.t
i11 the l2rte11t ancl ttt'tctlusci.ltts, aucl freclirentll'
g1'sn ()bf i- of Bosnia-Herzegovina, or rhe \\,riting in Labir-r (Croatia)
,xrs an.l rvell-reflectetl, sr.tbversiou inhereut to this type tlf lcacling, We u,nttTito, rutt the r.u.
nostalgic .liscottrse. The tu't'r holidays
oflicial nationnl holi.lays irnt'l p,rrt of
mcntione(l
t'lotniuaut
abot'c arc
clisctrrsive
c(lnstrLlctiolls, so itle vitablf it fclllorvs that it is nece sszulr t()
zrpprtrprii'Lte otl-rer httliclays, if onl1'from the sitnple ncet'l tcr
cl-ralleugc tl-re of{iciai oucs' Therefore' iry'.rrt frotn nrimetic
n1' left:

i#.rffi
Croatia.2o08
nostalgia, lvhich is scriotts, clogrnatic, unchirngeable, ex-
pressly political irnci cttt-ttinttorts, itt u'hich Bloz's itnage is right:
Bosnia-Herzegovina
thc satne ils it rvas in tl-re past, therc also exists cotlntel-nos- zooS

t:rlgia, satirictrl r-rostalgitr or 11eostalgi.l. Its clefining featrtrcs

:43
are tnischeviotls tcasing ancl a .lehbertrte subversiou of the In \lichnik': Iucitl r ics, thc nrlirr Jrngcrs rhar thrtrtcn
|()5r-sL)cirli\r socierics in
clrr.[.rtgtrcssivr rcligitrus inrcqrisnr, fost-aontntutrist
cun'elrt systern by exploiting the problemirtic p:rst Strch arrti-comnrrnisrl ( r997, :35, u 37).
l,,l,,,lirn,
",rJ
Neanilc,rtltal

r19 Fcrrl TrihuDe , Sl'lir, Allil r. 2oo j, . B.

:47 Ilepnik, ihiLl., p. r7 f

II2 I I3

1
 (CounIer)Explanations
lirrstalgia - A Study ofNosralgia f'rr Josip Bro:

good The exaltation of Broz therefore involves criticism of

The following anecdote frorn Ljubljana is another
the ptrnk craze the present ruling structure, but also offers a different per-
ilh,rstration of the underlying motive' During spective, which in many ways comes close to contemporary
graf-
;;h;l;; rg?os and theeailv r98os, there appeared a
d we go with left-wing [rends (rejection of unjust globalization, capiral-
ärt U"*a on ii-r" offi.ial pioneer slogau Foru'rar
ism, militarization and supra-national corporations, as welI
Txo, fo, o*homeland! (Za domovino sTitomnaprej!)' except
provocative as aversion to American unilateralism, NATo and the ru).
thar Tito was crossed out and replaced by the Consequently, it is not by chance that the criticism of the
pr"L t* the slogan read Forward we go with punk' for our
when punk had current state ofaffairs (plus rnatching slogans) and appeals
i,oÄ"londt).To*ärd. the end of the r99os'
a new for a just society coming frorn the young fighters for a more
already gained its "citizenship rights", there appeared just world (alter-giobalists) are airnost identical to the criti-
,nit graffiti' wid-r pr'rnk now crossed out and Tto'
""rrio""of written instead' Obvi- cism and appeals voiced by aging Titoists, pop-leftists and
frv if-t" time alr"eady a provocation'
neo-Titoists.'sr Some venture far beyond sirnple negation-
ously, what is important is to always maintain a contrary
isrn. Neo-Titoists from former Yugoslav republics do not
position!"o restrict their activity to comfiremorations in Kumrovec or
The author of the Slovenian web page about Tito
says
of capitalist Dedinle. For example, in zooT they rnet in Bihaö on the
that young people resisting the irnpersonality
(Tito because occasion ofthe 65th anniversary ofthe rst AVNoJ congress
society seei es cipr- i',', obsolete ideaLs 'Yugoslauia) and announced better organization and higher participation
intet'ested in
it it . *^l to kitl two birds with one stone ' Thel are
wor.Id (a reuok in zoo8, at the commemoration of t1're 65th anniversary of
something qrhich is not part of todal's capi;rrlist
the even more important znd avNol congress in Jajce (the
against tlends , commerciaLization, and everJthtng that is popu'
people were commit- two congresses were crucial to the establishrnent of socialist
tä) ona which aLso iLlustrates times when
Yugoslavia). They strive for the reconstruction ofYugoslavia
,rÄ ,o o shared idea andbelieued in shored Soals'';' Yet' Broz's
within its forrner borders, organized into a loose federation,
in-,ug" ur.d Partisan slogans (Death to Fascism Freedont to - witir Bihaö
political ac- as its capital.'s+
tiFnplrt rnust) are frequently part of new
is a
the zooS Finally, Broz figures as one of the icons of leftist resist-
tivisrn, as well; for example' they can be seen in ance, along with Che, and that is I'row he is presented: not
posters of Bosnian anti-Fascist organizations petititioning
only as the founder of a stable state, a peacemaker and a
f* n lo* prohibiting the organiTation dnd actiaitJ of neo'Fas'
-Bosnia'H legislator, that is as a "Solor-r-like" figure,'55 but also as a war-
er zegol)ina, and posters advertis-
'
cist or gani'.7ations in
rior, a victor wearing the uniform, syrnbolizing a continual
ir-rg lärrir"t't fighters' anniversaries and events organized by
and struggle and ar-r "Alexancler the Great" figure's6 (a kind of
veterans associations. The flags of socialist Yugoslavia "Yugoslav Che" from wwrr, "Che preceding Che," or "Che
communist star)'
its individual republics (featuring the red for dornestic use").'si On r-shirts he is rnost frequently de-
it" ."a bar-rt-r".s of tl-re fonner Leaglre of Comnrrrnists and 253 For exirmple, thc name oi the organi:ation and the slogan of the Sltx,cnian and ltal-
pnoto, of Broz are also seen at variotts worker ancl student ian alrer-globalists Dost je! lYa basta (Enough is enough | ) is the same as thar found
and inter-
ä.roo.rrtrutior'rs.'5' After all, rny conversations on the clcction pamphlet of the Macedonian part!, TÄc Alliance ry' Tiro\ Le/t Forces
(Dosta beiel). The earlier nentionetl co,rrilinator, R. Faragura, thinks thar Yug,-slav
subject of titostalgia and yugonostalgia as a
views on the sel[-manage'mcnt is srill the bcsr akernarive ro present,cl:ry capitalism,;ut as rr oncc
lny
rule en,led with serious accLlsations on the palt of
re- rvas a better oprion than Soviet.typc reirl socialisrn; relations nmong rhe Yugoslav

ancl formcr repul-lics should lrc frienclly and cooperative, rescmbling thosc anong rhe
,fotl.t".r* about the current state of affairs' the systeln
Scandinar,irn ctruntries (in a personirl irrtervierv held on July 3, zooS).
in aLI rc'
iir-poli,i.io,-,r, or idiots, euerJ one an'Long them u)orse 254 lnt'irmratirn providecl by T. Nakovski (in a pers,rnal intervies'Arrgust 5,:oo8).
it (in various languages of 255 SccGirarrlet, r986, p.77,78.
speccs than BroTwas,as lnani pLrt
256 See Girardet, r 986, p. 75 TT. lr is not rmsignificant thrt iriicr thc rvar thcrc s'ere
fonner Yugoslavia). attenrpts to link Br()z's origins to the insurgcncy rraclition of the region of Zlgorje
(the great paesirnr rebellion in r57g, see Brklialtii, zoo6, r87-rgo, Dedijer, r9Bo,
I J-r 5); there rvcre irlso sfsqsl61loq5 ,.b.ut tlistant family relations betq'een the
rlre- morrl panic anJ
:<o Such a tumabout is lll rhe tnore irritaring rvhetl one rememl'ers (Na:i- I 6rh ccntury insurgency lender Matija Ambroz Gubec and the Br,rz tanily (Arnbroz
"" ;.::";,a;*.,t'u,".i lh.s ar the ti.rc of its alpearirnce i^.-91'11'g1111
",'i t"rof rhcir i"iecent behr.'ior' pi"l'ibiti"n' nf
;.;.,tatior )'
- Broz). Dedijer rvrote that rhe region of Zagorje in Croaria be:rrs the slme signifi-
;;J -..,';:i"l: ''"""ttt "tt cance as Piedmont in ltaly nn.1 Sumaclija in Scrbiir. (lbnl., rz).
ofJito's Yttgoslalia
i.tn it., r"".t,"ft tf.m the supptlrtcrs and instirutitlns 257 To invert thc logic, in corrtenrporarl' nrass culrure Che figures as a kin.l of "Tito rn r
nlso Pcijak' zoo6
,5 r n"1t"i[,', 990, l'6. For sinrilar sratemcnrs' see quickly tlerccrs
gkrbal scale." Tirostalgic phenomena can be partly comparerl, s'hile acknou'ledging
thc current g{)vernnerlt \vith horror' sitrce rhcir shres'tl
eye
z5z Thel' fill the grert diifcrences, rvirh the presence ofChe's imagc in contcmporary mass cul-
r/r, i,,nspir,rcr,,/,'lJ.'rnrrrrrrrÄt /'ri is'

II5
774
 Titostalgia -A Study ofNostalgia forJosip Broz (Crunter)Explanations

picted as a Partisan commander and less frequently as the

bresident ofYugoslavia in his later years (and even when
depicted as President he sometimes wears the Marshal uni'
foirn). Si-ilut holds true of other products on sale and sou'
venirs of the culture of titostalgia: there, too, a younger'
"Partisan" Broz Prevaits."58

THE IMAGE OT BROZ ON T'SHIRTS

As a Partisan commander 25 55'5 o/o

("Alexander" image)
As head of state in his advanced age 13 29 o/o

a newsstand,
(':Solon" image) Tuzla. zoo8

Without Broz's image 7 l5'5 o/o

-I did not know the racial or religious intolerance thot came
(only a text referring to Broz, his signature or withnew times.'ss The famous Roma singer Bma RedZepo-
a slogan). va from Macedonia remembers him as the best statesmenin
TorAt 45 too o/o
*wse pmts, because he linl<ed us.'6

Tiue, the motive here is etemal opposition to the

cuffent state of affairs, but there is more to it than meets
the eye. In my opinion, it is not just saying Nol to the
p."r..rr, brrt aito, ot even above all, reaffirming the pre'
iio.rr, .rot neglected values such as social justice, com-
mon property' health and social security, solidarity within
society, li"kittg of nations etc. In brief, what is involved
is the promotiän of what was positive in "the lost world
of Tito." For example, his impersonator Godniö says
that as a Tto youth - mÄ I'm still thankful to htm fot this
patcho rvith the image
rure and politic. After all, the sellers of r-shirts, badges md
of consumen'
of Che oi Tito in forner Yugoslav republia target the same segrent
'Iime magai." included Ctie in a lisi of the one hrndred mos t inllmtial peopb of ille
,oA r"näry,butin tle group Herus anÄIcm, rct lxadqs and Revolstiorodes' mw'
(

tirire.com/time/timeroo/heroes ). According to one suwey in Austria'

a many ro
qeil ti-v""i Aa e.usniaro have heard ofChe (A' Salihbegovii: Che fotogmfije
.i
i"ii* i"i.t"tt"ii" bila sjena (Revolution ln The Shadow Of Che Photos)' An in-
tervi"w'*ith P"tei Celn. Jutamli tist, Zagreb, Julv 5, zo8, p 76)' He' too' is per-
u, ,o*".,ic, univenal and inevitably photogenic icon ofyouth rebellion'
.Ii"
""it.J*oro." of .h" .xhibition of che photographs in vienna in zog inspiringly says
o.. of ,hem Che loola like a rotwalfiIm sar,Iike a su1qsw and
qf6ci
Äui i.
*t"g "".1, ibid., p. zs-rz)' Rastko Manik (zo4' r95) named
*-*iaaübegovic,
f,,o ä ;'nä-*,1"
"" p"p" ii the sense tirat he realized the rommtic ideal that life is
popular and mony'
only a work of arti"it wm a mus use of fomulas - often truly
mous, sometimes in the way pureued by the culrunl indutry
which belongs to the
üra.y tf ptactices ihat already experienced the.paradigmatic fomulation'
*iti.tt ""it,i.
p.".it.ty because of that can be reproduced " ln a way' the infinite re'
""J chic
n.oau.rio. of grort (or Che's) image blunts his political charge' so he becomes
here an inter'
iod ac."pabl" to .upporten ofvariou political optioro' Let merelate
by Che's daughter Aledia' Afrer signing.T'shirs with his
image
.ta .i

or? "*..tot"
"*i.g of,h" .onfe.enÄ on h"r father held in ltaly, she leamt that some
"i ^u^".ous
y;;,h;;* Fascists who knew nothing about him (Lacev' zo7' ibid )'
;;; t
i.;';ounger' should be relativized, since during the war Broz was in his
ma- 259 Hmstar, Pirc, zoa, ibid.
,58 ä" ;;i
z6o [n m intewiew for Nacional, Zagreb,
ture Yea6, 49 to 53. Jmuary 6, zoo4, p. 4s,

tr

II6 I tt7
;

Titostalgia - A Study of Notalgia for Josip Broz
VI. CONCLUSION _ I will now first explain why I "dare" call these phenom-
'We
o:reTito's,Tito is Ours (Mi smo Tinui,Tito ierwi)
He was dead even before he was born.
Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral
AmPhilochios'6'
Each of these (counter)arguments is true in a certain
respect and can partly explain the endurance ofBroz's
larity, but altogether they still do not provide sufficient an-
,*.r, ,o the questions asked in the introductory chapter,
nor do they explain the complexity of this phenomenon'
Yugonostalgia is similar in this respect, having many instant
explanations which, however, cannot quite encompass its
diversity. But the reader should not be misled by the extent
of the pirenomenon and the myriad of examples' I empha-
sized in unambiguous terrns very early in the book that ti-
tostalgia is not a ubiquitous or mass phenomenon and that
other cultural, media and political content is predominant'
Nevertheless, the instances of it are so numerous' present
in so many localities and among such diverse groups that
they cannot possibly escape the notice of even a disinter'
ested traveler wandering through the geographical and men'
tal landscapes of post'Yugoslav transition. Furthermore, I
should emphasize that the examples presented in this book
frequently reveal the intemal inconsistency, the absence of
logic and the contradictoriness of nostalgic discourse, mak'
ing room for criticism and even repudiation by way of their
cÄistent interpretation. In my opinion, which is substanti'
ated in this concluding chapter, a prerequisite for the emer-
gence and development of any type of nostalgia is something
iurg", th"n all thät has been presented so far'
southern seöia. 2oo8
z6r
--- V J. Öulibrk: Ne'zaobilane srategiie (Non'Circumventable Strategies) Prclekat .
n"'r,to, SiHioteka srpske kutture ia intemetu, Filcofiia, http://w rutko'org'yu/
film{ija/j agnje/otacjovm'html
r18
Y
Crncluion
ena nostalgja rather than simply retro. Undoubtedly, the pre-
sented products of the culture of nostalgia, as well as many
others that did not find their way into this book, are qlso 1
retro producß, and yet not solely retro. The reason is their
essentially positive disposition, their affirmarive emotional
added value and utopian perspective. Moreover, I identified
the same qualities in the mental dimensions of nostalgic cul-
popu' ture. Nostalgia ventures "deeper" than retro, which is satis-
fied with the more superficial replays and ironization, and is
primarily sarcastic and sacrilegious. In Guffey's words, retro l
"considers the recent past with an unsentimental nostalgia",
The cardinal fearures ofnosralgia are - apart from the sugary
idealized image of someone or something departed - a posi-
tive emotional involvement and a look beyond the present.
The popular opinion and mental images of Broz are much
more affirmative than negative, so bowing down before the
late president can justifiably be called nostalgia. It is present
among his old comraÄes but also among new entrepreneurs,
collectors as well as eclectic artists, but primarily among a
multitude of people who hold firm, or loose, or superficial
but ultimately positive opinion about him. In this connec-
tion I should draw attention to the conspicuous absence of
anti-Tito discourses from everyday culrure: there are practi-
cally no insrances of anti-Tito graffiti or images discrediting
him; his image on ?shirts is not crossed-our or ridiculed,
and bad opinion about him, as opinion surveys clearly show,
is in the minoriry.,6, In political jokes - at least in those of
which I am aware and which date from both Yugoslav and
post-Yugoslav times - Broz is always a positive figure. In.
terestingly, there was no negative reaction among the pub-
lic in Istria and wider Croatia when rhe monument to Broz
was unveiled in Labin in zoo5.
It is equally clear that people today are nor simply un-
critical of his historical role; rhey are nor, as is often claimed,
still delutßd ot misled, so it is not possible to label this phe-
nomenon posf .contmunistrvo,convrutnism, as one Croatian
Catholic conservative called it (in Perica, zooz, r93).peo.
ple are familiar with other faces of Broz, as they are with
z6z
{il
tl
II9
 r
Tiro:rirlqi,r .\:trrlr ,'l N,,.trrlgi,r l,rr lr^ip l\r,,:
tll bl'OJ I!
I fi9l.- ,9I'i(r
a.) n0tlO!
1'11 aoJ,. o/t pararbero
O! f PAi r!rlt4TE KOlz1 f Q
l9_qHT /BAAT
h AEno'-i
\liople.2ooii
the sttpprcssetl, clrrrk sicles of firt'urcr Yrtgoslaviil' Tittrstalgia
is ofte'n tlcsclil.ecl iu tertrs tl-rat ir-r lr)r (rpilli()ll ptliut ttr irt-t
insullicier-rt iutetptetation, in lvl'rich Broz is siritl ro hrvt'
bee n simpll, clcirttsccl of thc tliltl' pi'rlt of l'ris bioglaphl' ar-rd
controvcrsitll historical periods iltl.l rnistakes avoitlctl' rr'ith
titost:rlgir ke epiug aloitf {rotn thcm lt is tlaivc to tl-rir-rk rh:rt
past euloflies to tl-re blightiress rf Tto'-s.srrrr, pnth rtltl u'hat-uot
coukl hirvc left au1'otte oblivitl,.ts to the injttsticcs, cLitltu:
irn.l c'leficierrcics fbl u'hich l-re ar-rtl his state \\/cle rcs|()nsi-
ble. These incltrclc brtrtal iutcr-u'al ancl f.ost-u'ar shos'.lou'tls
ri'ith actual :rt'rcl f.otcutiirl Politicirl ()p|ollcllts, tttlscrttltttlolts
in'r1-rositiot't of rclohttiortnly jrr.sricc, itnpt'ist;utncut irtl.l rept'cs-
sion cluring the clasl-r lvith Stalin, cttnfiout:rtitrt't rvit| the
plotilllonists of liberalism in Serbia irutl Slovcuin irncl thc
irclv.rcatcs firr gt'eatcr tlLlton()ln)' filr Croati:r bcltlnging ttl the
Maspo/t nlovertlcnt J ctll t2lil iltg of 1-rtrurar-r r igl'rts, ccnsorsh ip
r,[r.1 political tnottisttt. There l'rave [.cen tnany tlttellll)ts to
protluce rru objective', ctttnpreheusive l.alirtlcc sl-rect by rrLl-
/ng pluscs aircl ntitrttsc.s, i'rutl Bro: seetlls to have trl\\':r)'s scol'ccl
morc' l.luses thirn tnittttses, :r sitr-tation u4lich prestltnably strf-
ficcs firr ttostalgiit to.levclo1t Yet, I clo t-tot Lrelieve tl'rat this
is sr.rfTicient to sr.tstiritt ntlstalgic fce lings. I teucl to sce it il5 rI
kintl oifctisl-risizecl rlenial ttr thc effect thirt ruc knorl thct Tiro
not sole 11 a lrr.rsititre pet'sonalitl antl that Yr'rgoskn'ic also ilrki
rrr.r.s
ir-s dark -side.s, brrt still. . . I Itxvevcr, thc rrffectiou or uost'llgi:r
for sorneottc cann()t bc explair-red by stryir-rg that hc/shc l'racl
more positivc tl-rau negtitive tltralitics, that he/she s''rs t''b-
jectitreh a posltitre hi.sal'ical figure ; solllethillg clse trrrrst be at
u,ork as u,e ll. Sirnilirrll', it is uot Pr(tportionate oul)' to otrc's
lrr( (lil :l||elr;lllcc: r rl ()lllllil)rest,tlcc.
Tnking into :tccttLtttt irll f:rcts pl'esentecl iu this tert
z6j
anrl explirnatic,ns of tuho Brol ncrucll ,* tld.s' as n'cll as thc
r20
(--rlrclrrsitrr
controversics, chtrnges, turnabouts, lnockiltg [ernzlrks anrl
eulogies, ] car-r conclurle tlrat, tlespite all, he ]tzrs pr.eser.r,e.1 a
kincl of "ir-rclefinable ps5111yi1y." lf, rvl-ren speakillg ro some-
olle, yor.l insist on 2tn answer to the rluestion tuhl i.s ltpr.ecisell
Titol , or u'h)' it is pecisely he u,ho is consiclerecl good, or try
to estalrlish tl'ris frorn the ciiscoLrrse itsell you Llsualll, {e 161
obtain a clefir-ritive ans\\,er, or the ansu,er is sl-rallou, alor-rg
the lines of , after allhe was ox, or, gencralll speaking, Äe u,as
a goctcl antl honest leadet, or lre uas c cool gtq, or solnething
sirnilar half thor,rgl-rt-r)ur. He i.s ruho he ls, to parapl.rrtrse the
Bible,'6r without rnuch actlitior-ral or reduntlant explana-
tior-r. The rexrs fi'orn rwo T-shirrs rr,itl-r his irnage illustrate
tl.ris '"vell: Trro is Tro * \X/e al]L l<nou, that, rneaning that u,e
clo not have any 1-rrecise :lns\\rer as to lr4rat kincl of rnan he
\vas, or rr,hat \\'e i]ctu:tll]/ "knttu," about l-rirn, since nost:rl-
gia can function onll' n5 the uurl.restiontrble, inclispLrtable,
rrnchirrrgir-rg rrtrth. The other u'riting is Trro i.s ()t.ns, We are
Tro\; it is not irnportant so much u4ro l-re actually \\,as, what
is irnportant is that u'e sec hirn as "otrrs."
Alternative center
N4etelkova.
Ljubljana. ?oo6
For tl're irLrrpose of evaltrirtir-rg a l-rist<;ricnl personage, for-
getting is equally impsllxng as re rnemlrering, to lraraphrase
Err-rest Renil-r. Horvcver, to tr-r1oyi1lg the finnl interpreratitn,
n,c hitve to movc olte step fbrri,arcl: the positive imnge of
Broz htrs, in rny opinior-r, lcss to clo u'ith rvho or rvhat kinrl of
rn:ur he actually \l/as than u'ith u,hat his prrcselt s)/mpathiz-
ers q'anrecl l-rirnto bc ir-r the past. Nostalgia tclls r,rs n,hat ri,e
like to have hacl back then, or in the case of Broz, rvhat
rvoLrltl
a good leader shoulcl look likc. At rhe sarne tirne, nostalgia
also tells us a lot about dissatisfaction u,ith tire present ir.r
-
this case, u,hnt u'e miss in Lrresent political lcilder.s. Or.re of
the rnost important functions of both personal antl collec-
ttvC nost lgiai iS tltc (reiilitllr, nrrf Ittt're rcstol.lrti(rlt ()I ellt-
bellishrnent, of the 1.251 that in re:rliry never cxistetl, tl-rat
I am süo I rnr (Er 3, r4).
I2I
 Titostalgia -A Study ofNostalgia for Josip Broz
never was, save in the present notions and wishes. Nostalgia
is based on the utopias of the past: it is not (only) lethar-
gic remembering of past realities, but primarily remember-
ing of past should-bes, ambitions, illusions and hopes that
no longer exist."64 It is the story of a lost paradise that never
existed in reality."6s People do not moum for the real past,
but for their past wishes, perspectives, and old glory. They
miss past dreams, not real life in the past. The same can be
said about nostalgicized leaders, which in these a posteriori
projections more resemble goodrulers or fatherly protectors
than actual historical personalities with all their good and
bad sides and achievements.
At this point it is necessary to clearly emphasize the uto-
pian dimension of nostalgia that has been barely mentioned
so far. In so doing, I start from Stewart's thesis (1993, z3)
that nostalgia "wears a distinctly utopian face, a face that
tums toward a future-past, a past which has only ideologi-
cal reality". The same as in nostalgia, in utopia, too, one
seeks happiness, freedom, non-alienation, a Golden Age,
and a land of milk and honey (Bloch, r98r, 1636). Nqs-
talgia cannot be explained in the positivist manner exclu-
sively in terms of something that we presumably lost over
time and now grieve for. Underlying the nostalgic longing
is a desire for abetter world, as demonstrated by the exam-
ples in this book and many others. Progressists and various
futurists sought it in the future; esoterics have found it in
parallel worlds; nostalgics have found it in the past; and
yugo- and tito-nostalgics in Tito's rimes.
Utopian scenarios varied over time. If from the times of
the French poet and politician Lamartin, the predominant
view was that utopias were nothing more than "truths whose
time has not yet come", we could say that within nostalgia,
utopia is the "truth whose time has run out". Nostalgics'
"millenarianism" is fixed onto the past - their goldcn age is
alredy pass6. Furthermore, the notion of utopia comprised
only non-realizable dreams about an ideal sociery, but the
examples in this study clearly show that nostalgics surpass
the present existence through their narratives and practices
264 This is clearly aniculated by jelinöiö who, speaking about his memories of Yorh Da1
and the Relal Rces, says, It re nice , ue had, a good time and, we alwys rcckored on o
betts tmww. Tlrat is no longa so t oda!, thqe ß no mqe hope tlwt it will change lu lv
kta. N. Gole: Ni upmja, da bomo mlaj5i (No Hore Tlrat We tViUBe GetringYoung-
a) - a suwey. Klin, Ljubljana, May zo8, p. 5.
265 In Stewart's words, it is "sadnes without m object, a sadnes which creates a long-
ing thatofnecesity is inauthentic because it doc not take pan in lived experience.
Rather, it remains behind and before that experience". In other words, "nostalgia is
the desire fordsire" (rqgl, rl).
t22
Conclusion
- they defend their own views, criticize presentist dictates,
reject the amnesia of dominant discursive constructions
and
consrruct what I call their ivory towers (in this case it
is,
for instance, a virtual Yugoslavia, the commemorations of
Broz's anniversaries, the materialization of memories
in the
form ofvarious titostalgic keepsakes, the creation of Broz
"comers" at home or in public places etc.).
Karl Mannheim (r968, r57) argues that utopian con-
sciousness is not in harmony with the existence around it.
In his opinion, utopia transcends the existent social cir-
cumstances, the same as ideology, which also ffanscends
the here-and-now but drawing on rhe past, meaning that
it actually supports the present by crippling the reformative
potenrial. Utopia, on the other hand, looks forward and
has
a vision about a better and realizable future; it criticizes and
subverts whatever exists now, strives actively to transfonn
it and also makes it come rrue through historical practic.
es. It is a perspective and a will to act. It is the criterion
of
practical realization that divides ideology from utopia;
the
former does not become realized; the latter does; the former
actually conserves; the latter introduces changes for the bet-
ter; the former conceals realiry the latrer destroys it (lbid.,
r 58- r 7o). Therefore, following Mannheim's
suggestion, nos-
talgia could be proclaimed an ideology that äipraises the
prese,nt using a retrograde principle, meaning that
its tran-
scending ofthe present world is phony, b".ause it actually
supporrs it. This is partly true, given that nostalgia also hai
conservative potential. However, in claiming so, we would
ignbre one of its essential elements: its activJ engagemenr,
:l As a matter of fact, it does not restrict itself to criticism of
!
the present world but also constructs an alternative world
and aspires for the realization of a different reality of
exist-
ence. Thar is where I find the utopian moment of
nostal-
gia, because the images of our wishes become utopian
only
when rhey acquire a revolutionary role (lbid., ,5'g;, *h.r,
they ransform existenr hisrorical reality througt counter_
action thar moves in the direction of their own idea (lbitl.,
r59) In nosralgia it is visible whenever narratives about
how it ww are coupled with criticism of the present
in the
sense, Irt nolongerlil<c that.For example,
in iitostalgic dis-
course, one can find the listing of Broz's
merits as well as a
critique of present govemments and their leaders (who
are
said to bereffish, hypocritical, duplicitous,
subserulent to far-
etgners and so on), all of which
creates new forms of
ation and socializing. "fiili-
t23
 ntostalgia -A Srudy of Nostalgia for .losip Broz
According to Frank E. Manuel (tszt)' the utopias of
modern time can be divided into three periods. Frorn Tho-
mas More to the French Revolution, utopian scenarios had
been dominated by "quiet bliss." In the rgth century' these
were pushed out by progressist historical-deterministic ttto-
pias, while in the zoth century, psychological-philosophical
utopias predominated. He finds it important to poir-rt out
that even if we use the abstract criterion of truthfttlness, we
can still doubt that utopias distorted the future lnore than
historians distorted the past ( tsr t, sS). The narrative con-
structions about Broz and Yugoslavia, both the past and the
present ones, those favorable and those unfavorable, are a
good example of this.
Fredric Jameson has established that utopia's "vety ex-
istence and emergence certainly registers the agitation of
the various'transitional periods"' (zoo5, r5). A "utopian
program" ot "project" differs frorn a "utopian in-rpulse". The
former is "systemic" and incl,.rdes "revolutionary political
practice, when it aims at founding a whole new society"'
meaning that it is clearly articulated and goal-orientecl.
The latter, which is more relevant for this study given the
plethora of its exampies in nostalgic constructs' is "obscure
yet omnipresent," and its milieu is "a variety of covert ex-
pressions and practices" (lbid., 3-8). Utopian longings are
therefore far from practical politics, but they are neverthe-
less political in nature, although on another level. Accord-
ing to Jarneson (lbid., 84), the desire called Utopia "must
be concrete and ongoing, without being defeatist of inca-
pacitating". In practice it is realized within utopian, closed
spaces which are - as is obvious from certain examples - "an
imaginary enclave within real social space" (lbid.' r s).
Ernst Bloch has found utopian motives in our irnrnedi'
ate environtnent, here and now, in a multitude of everyday
activities, practices and discourses, and in most Llnexpect-
ed places where they apparently do not exist. Bloch argues
that the utopian search for the better is inherent to the
human rnind, characterized by processuality and a forward
gaze; in his words, everything, but prirnarily human life, is
certainly and by all means a kind of transcendence, a kind
ofstepping beyond the given (r98r, r633, r634). A con-
crete fantasy and the sculpture of its mediated anticipation
boil within the very process of reaiity and are mirrored in
concrete dreams about the future; anticipatory elements are
constituent parts ofreality; dreams about a better life reach
far beyond their social-utopian dwelling into every kind of
124
\.
g
Conclusion
cultural anticipation. (Ibid., zz7, i8o).,66 \(/herever rhere is
a wisl'r for the better and a gaze into the future, there is also
utopia, although not necessarily articulated in clear terrns.
Undoubtedly, abstract utopian dreans contain an immarure
utopian function, one rhar does nor yet rely on a solid sub-
ject and does nor refer ro the real-possible (lbid., r65). He
introduced the notion ofthe "utopian present," since utopia
is nothing unless ir points to the present day and tlemands
da se mu njegova sedanjost izroöi" (lbid.,
36636g).,tt
Roland Barthes (tryg, t) similarly theorizes rhar uro-
pia is not reflected as much in theoretical construcrs as in
the organization ofeveryday life, since everyday is a feature
of utopia. Such notior-rs of "subiiminal',, non-programrned,
everyday utopia seem essenrial for this srudy. The forrns of
the utopian longir-rg for a better world change over tirne,
acquire new faces and political denorarions, but the rvish as
such rentains, never coming to an end, and never corning
true. The utopian longing is always around, always present;
as Bloch says, concrete utopia stands on the horizon ofevery
reality (Bloch, ry8r, z59). Tl-re search for a better world, rhe
dreams, cravings and hopes for change do not necessarily
involve a clear and articulated goal, purpose, action plan or
the means for its realization. A utopiar-r wish is characterized
by "vulnerabilty ancl fragility" (Jameson, zoo5,
7r), as well
as elusiveness, vagueness, and capillarity. In fact, ,,utopia
as a fonn is not the representation of radical alternatives;
it is rather sirnply the imperarive to irnagine thern,' (lbid.,
4r6). Revolutionaries and other operarive anriciparors of
the future necessarily criticize such a stance, seeing it as irn-
lnature, naked escapisn, as a kind of ideological somnarn-
bulisrn: they advocate concrete, realizable utopias.
Back to nostalgia. Since it is a notion hovering between
no longer and not yer, between a past that is not yet over and
a future that is not yet here, I interpret it in three cornple-
lnentary ways. First, as resignation and escapist conserva-
tisrn. Meraphorically speaking, nostalgic dreams about the
past are substitutes for active and eng aged awakeningorient-
ed towards the future. Instead ofconfronting present issues
and injustices, ir larnenrs a fictive old order, lost stability,
past comforts and outdated values. What I find problernatic
r66 In his capital stucly of uropia, he {incls such practices ancl discourses ,.anricipating
the
frrture" in cl:rydreams as rvell as in scientific sysrerns, in phihrsophy as well
as merli-
cine, in various forms ofart ancl architecture, ml,rhologies ancl relig(rns,
nisn ancl geographical discoveries of rhe s,orltl.
and femi-
'?67
Also, utopia frncions only for the sake of the present, rvhich musr bc achieverl, so
this present is instilled in all uropian deviations.
r25

f-inrstrlgia -A Snrdy of Nostalgia ftrr Jrrsip Broz
in nostalgia is not its retroactiveness ancl defensiveness, but
prirnarily tire fact that it is an a priori strategy: it is not a
retreat in the wake of defeat, but a tetreat in the face of de-
feat. Its discourse offers conservative explanations and soL'r-
tions to rnoclern dilernmas' it bedazzles, obstructs anc'l para-
lyzes the new and the fresh, using the usual traditionalist
repertoire and can therefore have serious political implica-
tions. For this reason, because it offers a false haven, nos-
talgia can be an unprodttctive, et'en a clangerous choice' It
is possible to criticize it as a fatalistic manoeuvre' infantile
regression, or an ostrich mentality. It "resolves" problerns
by fleeing from them into the ernbellished past. The more
it seems that nostalgia "helps" oL "consoles" nostalgics, the
worse service it does to thern. They remain alienated frorn
cllrrent problerns, apathetic, fixatecl on expired and fossil-
izetl things, entrenched in the "continllous past" (Petrovii,
zoo8b, z r ), and deprived of hope for a better future.
ln rny second interpretation, nostalgia is one of the
conpeting l-regemonic discourses that fill
ed by the lack of sense in late capitalist societies. Jiirgen
Habermas (1975) says that we are in the position of "le'
gitirnization deficit." Contetnporary societies have serious
problerns with self-legitit.nization, with finding the point
of their olt'n existence. Consumerism does not know ttto-
pia, only the rraked here ancl now, while societies in trausi-
tion do not know the present, because they live in a lirnbo
between the lost past and the uncertain future. Therefore,
nostalgia rnay be created and sustained as a c'leliberate an-
swer, as a smart trick, or a smokescreen invented by the
dominant social forces faced lvith legitirnization problerns.
It can be "an additional resource in the rvarehouse of late
capitalism's ruses and lures" (Jarneson, 2oo5' r68). The rul-
ing eiites are much ntore comfortable when people cornpla-
cently look into the past, cultivating a hotneostatic feeling
as if tomot'row willneuer come, than when they look for ways
to transfortn the present and design potentially dangerous
scenarios for the future. The nostalgics cannot accept the
existing world, so they seek refuge in the idealizecl past.
This is precisely what the heger-r-ronic forces waut, since for
them the retlo spectiue is certainly better than the prospecrit'e.
Accordingly, nostalgia is a "safe discourse," since its inher-
ent assurnption is that the belle epoque , just masters ,and \ost
)o1{fh can never return. It is a wish for the better that can
never be fuifilled, a wish broken in itself. Viewed frorn the
perspective of the ruling elite, nostalgia is necessary for the
tz6
f
Ctnclusion
norrnal functioning of contemporary societies: it socializes
its adclressees around harmless, innocent, not to say child-
ish, irnages of the past.
the voitl creat-
above:
Zage6. 2oa6
below:
N4ostar,2ool
While the two readings above criticize nostalgia for.sup-
porting dominant ideologies despite appärently opposing
thern (first by escaping into the in-raginary past, and second
by legitirnizing tl-re empriness of conremporary societies), the
thircl espouses it as an explicit o1-rposition to the present. In
rny trnderstanding nostalgia is also a dissident discourse, a
kind ofresistance to the blanket accusations ofthe past, ancl
a survival straregy in a fast-changing world. I fully agree with
Boyrn (zoor, 354) tl-rat "nostalgia can be botl-r a social dis-
ease and a creative elnotion, a poison and a cure',. Nostalgia
also has its thirc'l face: it is an emotional protectiolt against
the narrative breaks in people's life stories; it has a cathartic,
tl-rerapeutic and healing effecr. k resisrs the criminalization
of the past and "strikes back," preserving in this way tl-re con-
tinuity of identiry threatened by historical discontinuities.
It protects rhe past tl'rat would otherwise be stolen, in the
senseof Milan Kundera\ farnous maxirn that "the struggle
of man agailrst power is the struggle of memory against for-
r27
x
I
i
J
 Titosralgia -A Study ol Nostalgia t,rr Josip Bro:
getting." As such, nostalgia is utopi:rn ancl alternative, ancl
transce ncls the existing order. Solne lnay fincl this aspect of
it contradictt'rry, since it actutrlly yearns for old times ancl the
rhings ah'ead1 experienced. At any rzrte, the sirnple fact that
it searches for ancl allticipates ir world that '"votrltl [.e nrore
just than tlrc present one, tnakes nostalgia a potential engine
ancl means of ernancipation. For this reason, I do t-rot see
it only as re-actioll, but also as action; not only as healing
q,ouncls, but also as cl'eating cracks q'ithir-r u,hatevet is cur-
rently clominant; not only as a denial of leirlity, but also as
a constnlctioll of a ne$' reality; not c]nly as a pious pish, but
also as an initiative for its realization.
IlfAetl.mu2&
ralM
Tuzla,2ooS
It is this third interpretation of r-rostalgia that clearly
exposes its utopian aspect, of rvhich u'e can becotne arvaLe
only if rve liberate utopia from its cornrnitment to the fLr-
ture, and insist on its search for thebetter. lt is precisely uto-
pia, Bloch's "landscapes of u'ish," that represents that vital,
active, creative, irnaginative ancl heuce political capacity
in r-iostalgia. It is by no rneans innocent or u'ithout a silent
revolutionary lrotential; it is not only a c,nservative, pas-
satist, fatalistic and paralyzing discourse ofpoor creafures whtr
cannot make theit' wn'l through the present, are tlrc prisoners of
the past,losers ir-L new times, to use the harsh langr-rage of the
transition era, or a cliscourse of those r'vho have no futttre str
they cling to the lost past existentially ancl transcenclentally.
Above all, nostalgia is a prerequisite for survival, a sha4't and
rz8
Cirnclusitn
subversive criticpe of presentisn, curlent clorninant ic.leo-
logical rnatlices of tl're never concluclecl transition, accorcl-
ing to rvhich rhe currenr n,orlcl is the best of all; r-rostalgia
provicles perspecrives on Aou, the uorld sÄouhl be.,{,s At tl-re
sarne time, it cloes not venture beyond the contcmplative
levei. In most cases, nostalgia is not directly or consciousll,
orientecl tou,arcls a concrete political goal, btrt it remains a
fäntas1', fragrnented, meditative, elegiac and trnconscious. In
short, it is ern inversion of the present antl sirnultaneously a
foretaste of the different, but not also a prograrn-basetl ac-
tion. Its utopia is irbstract, not collcrete or real. Br.rt it ma1,
becorne sucl-r."",
Tl.rerefore, rny ukinare conclusion in this srLrcly is little
unexlrected and seemingly cor-rtradictorl,. The Tito fror.Lr ti-
tostalgia l-ras not much to clo u,ith the "real Broz." ln fact,
as a l'ristorical personality, he is not even vel.y important in
that context. It is precisely this retrospective utopia within
nostalgic narfatives that can explain u4ry today we encoun-
ter not only the surviving exarnples, or resiclues, of forrner
veneration of Broz, but prin-rarily l-ris new irnage, created in
new ways. It tells us that for utopizr the acural expertence of
his times isnot irnportallt, so young preople rvho share rvith
the olcler generatior-r the vision of a better worlcl can ap-
propriate hirn, too; that various LtntiLlres and sttuvenirs are
ltot only rnerterialized rlrernories whose task is to evoke in
our rninds a pleasant irnage of him, but tl-rat they also tell us
u'hat kind of irnage it shoul.l be ; that they are on offer nor
only because the "rnarket asks for thern," but because supply
itself creates the rlarket, or put clifferently, that melnory is
not only evokecl but also created; that wl-rar is involvetl is
not sinply a "reruru of the strppressecl," brrt a kincl of r-rerv
coming into being; not only a reinterlrretation, r.einvention,
reclefinition, re-appropriartion, reconstruction, and trclapta-
tion, btrt also the invention and construction of tl-re prast
as it never exister'I. It is not solely a shift of rneaning, br:t
the creation of neaning; r-rot only clec<tr-rtextualization, but
cornpletely new contexrllalization. Nostalgia has less to clo
$'ith the ernbellishmer-rt of the past rhan u,ith its invenrirln
or constrLrction ancl u'ith neu' conceptions. All this cloes
r-rot necessarily have n-ruch to clo rvith horv the pasr acru-
ally looked and u4rat kind of characrer one acruzrlly u,as.
It is primarily a ne\\/ colnpositior-r and not only a positive
:6ilThc iindings ol her srrrdy lcd Pctrrx,id to cdrcluJe rhirr,.nostrlgia is rrbout gairring
the righr co hlvc a tuturc" (zoo8a, z4).
269 Nluch likc other firrs anl-ltnkif il," r,nr, ir is clpalrlc ol a rer.olurionrry
conscrrrs-
uess, anJ can becomc lirrr oi histor), s,irlrout cleparring fitm s,lut is good in rhese
.lrcams (Bloch, r93r, r(ru4).
r29
 Tiarstalgi:r - A Study of Nostalgia for Josip Broz
historical heritage, or the legdc) of our beautiful shctred past.
It is not welcome bacl<, but hello to the new.
To be more concrete, the diction of titostalgics - Tito is
alic)el - should be understood literally: their Broz is a figure
ofthe present, not ofthe past. Broz in titostalgia is not the
fervently sought second Ti[o."o He has not come back, but
was born in nostalgia - distant frorn his historical image
- born anew to a large degree. Whac is involved is not his
rcdesigtt, an ideological lifting or makeover, to use the lingo
of modern popular culture, or a pump'mJ'leader proiect.
His replica born out of nostalgic yearnings is in all respects
more perfect, better, and more just than the historical pro-
totype. Utopia tl'retefore rnakes nostalgia a critical, active
social notion, not just a passive, defensive and reactionary
one, as it is usually blamed for being.
Huo(s, t-
Kumrovec.2ooT
In brief, Broz in titostalgia is a symptom of post-socialist
transition, meaning the painful combination of neo-liberal-
isrn, neo-conseruatism and post-colonialisrn, and not a reap-
pearance of socialism.'?' Of course, the question that arises
is why it is Tito and titostalgia that are present in modern
culture, if historical Broz is not of crucial importance and
if this has rnore to do with the search for a utopian society
and its just leaderl In rny opinion, the answer lies in the
fact that, for people in this part of the world, Broz and Yu-
goslavia, as a social experiment that worked for some titne,
provide the closest frame of reference for the realized uto-
pian ideais o{ a just society, meaning jasr for the most of its
z7o That is horv MiloIelid rvas described in the songs ofhis supForters during the time of
the "happening ofpeople"r The people rok u,ho toill rtplace Tito, nou u'e knoru t'ho t/re
second llto is, Slobodan is a noble narnel
z?r Boyer (zoo6, 163) argues similarly in connection s'ith C)stalgie: "it is n sluptrrn
of East German nostalgia than of West German utopia"
r30
Conclrrsion
mernbers, and of a fair leader..7, At the same time, it is aiso
a sharp critique, parricularly from young people, ofpresent
social injustice, economic injustice, political arrogance, and
of course, a critique of nationalism, nation-states and their
national-cultures as well as other exclusivisms, because ex-
amples from the past prove that it was possible to live ro-
gether.'z: Here the historical lesson appears as an altemative
to the present. The social anthropologist SrefJansen argues
that yugonostalgia in anti-narionalist individuals is a,,con-
tinuity" with the former normality, "prosaic memories of
everyday life which provided the basis for the developrnent
oftheir resistance strategy", and "resistance to nationalistic
arnnesia and selective memory," which, as such, is,,capable
of influencing everyday practices and can lead to a concrete
engagement," while at the same time it "frequently also in-
cludes a powerful 'yearning'for a better life in general" and
for "a kind of anti-nationalist 'home' that never existed as
such and that does not exist anywehere, meaning a ,home'
within some better, utopian furure" (zoo5, 254-258).
The examples provided by forrner Yugoslavia and its
spirit ofposlrive cJnicism'14 are rherefore conveniently close
and can be used in new narrative constellations. The most
effective way to express abstract notions in everyday culture
and beliefs is by using the existenr, convenienr, well-known,
tested things or concrete persons. Tl-re creation process and
content of the nostalgic notions can be explained with the
help of Ldvi-Strauss's concepr of bricolage (ry78, 57-fu),
which produces brilliant and unexpected results. Using this
"science of the concrete," a new practical product, in this
case a social notion, is created retrospectively by relying
on available sources, examples, elements and references.
In this way one "withstands the absence of meaning" and
overcomes contradictoriness. Accordingly, the birth and
the structure of utopian notions are also, in a way, cultur-
ally and historically determined, defined and limited by
z7r Jameson (tbid., r:) holds rhat utopian programs can als,ays be explainecl rvith one
and the same slogan. In the concrete examlrlc, instead of saying a bemer uorld, you
say Yrrgosiavia, insread of (ropu it is Yrropia, and instead of a good mcter, rhe [ing, rhe
cooi grrl - Tito.
273 Some recent sun'eys c<nducred after rhe last rvars point to this as rvell. The resitlents
ofVojvodina, ofborh Hungarian and Serbian origin, thought that the golden era
rvas'ärot era; Broz rvas also voted the most preferred figure in Serbian history (ahead
of Tesla, Mihajlo Pupin, Vuk Krradzii and Karad,rrde). There, Broz is still ,'popu-
lar as the symbol ofsuprararional integrations" (Kuljii, 2oo5,466; see alsoperica,
zooz, ro6).
less :?4 The term used by one of my respondcnts in research on yugonostalgia anong the
disapora in the us (uoo5).
I3I
..._.-4F-
 Titosralgia -A Study of Nosralgia for Josip Broz
already existing norions which are refashioned, upgradecl
and combined with others.,75
Back to Broz. Practically all Post-Yugoslavs know him.
He is the rnost accessible and "borrowed" image of indeter-
minable utopian search, or the historical figure thar ,,goes
beyond human boundaries."';6 As the examples of titostal-
gic culture clearly show, pracrically every tirosraigic per-
son can create his/her "own Tiro" while pursuing his/her
nostalgia hobby. Much like other nostalgicized personali-
ties, things and eras, the notion of him is polysernic, poly-
phone and unstable; it has neither the same meaning nor
the same ring to it for a[ of its crearors and recipients. k is
understood, to use Hall's classical division (zoo4, 3o6-3og),
in the dominanr-hegemonic, professional (relatively inde-
pendent), negoriated or oppositional terms. Despite a few
shared characterisics, a common frarnework and momen-
tary ideological preferences, everyone irnagines, organizes,
and (if he/she wishes) disserninares it in his/her own way.
Jameson arrived at a similar conclusion (lbid., z5), when
he described the "exciremenr thar identifies a forgotten or
repressed üroment of the past as the new and subversive',.
What is important is that Broz can be attributed the uto-
pian wish mentioned earlier, that is to say, that the ideol-
ogy of that utopia is materialized in the titostalgic cultural
production, to use Althusser's words. Yugonostalgia, as the
wider phenomenon, and titostalgia as the narrower one,
express precisely that: the nostalgics' wish for better times,
a better political system and a better leader, although, un-
fortunately for thern, these belong to the pasr. To rephrase
the clich6: uropia dies last.
southern Serbia.2ooS
u75 ReferringtothesubversionofbourgeoisideologyBarthes(r979,r6)saysthatthe
only possible anss'er to it is nor resistance or destrucrion, but thefl to crush rhe old
texts ofculture, science, literarure and rearrange rhem according ro previously un-
knorvn rules.
276 See Bloch, rg8r, r r8erzr9.
r32
f,
.8...,+'l'E
Conclusion
In our case, nostalgia,,speaks" the yugoslav, Tiroist lan-
guage, not only because the reality of that tirne
collapsed
before the very eyes of the majority of its citizens, or be-
cause of enduring collective and personal memories of those
times and testimonies about them, or because certain things
suroiued the chaotic transition. There is also the utopiaä,
transcending, emancipatory element: a vaguely profiled wish
for the betrer. For this reason, the introäuciory quesrions
\X/hy is itTito! andV/hy is ityugoslauia! need
ro be ieversed.
These are not questions but answers. The real questions
are tYhere do we go now! How! tY/ho , in f act , are today,s leaL-
In this sense, tirosralgia is a political discourse, bur on
ersJ
another level, not the apparent one. This discourse is not
direcrly and convenrionally political in the sense that it re-
suscittltes Yugoslavia, takes us back to Tiro etc., which is
the
interpretation favored by its constantly alert opponenrs and
one avoided by many of its proponenrs.,T? It is not such not
only because these implications are impossible, but prima-
rily because Yugoslavia and Tito never existed in tÄe *ay
they are constructed within titostalgia and yugonostalgia.
It is not a revisionist or ,,restorative ,-rostalgi"," as clefined
by Boym (zoor, 4r-48), nor a rerurn of tÄ" purt, rhe re-
g.ime, the leader or pasr times, but a return of tÄe
utopias of
those times. Re-politicization therefore occurs on a rnuch
more abstract or meta level, within utopia. It transcends
the_concrere, left-right political divicles, daily politics, ac-
tual historical personalities, circumstances anJ regimes. It
is rather an indefinable wish for better tirnes, a more jusr
world and incorruptible people which only larer made use
of sornething definable as its reference. It is a clear message
to rhe presenr, exposing its deficiencies and relling it holw
a better world should look.
The Yugoslavia from the nostalgic discourse never exisr-
ed. It is its utopian simulation, yugoslavia as it should have
be,en, adreamland purified from all weaknesses and
mistakes,
a kind of socialist Cockaigne. The same holds true
of Tito.
It is ironic that Broz's brave promises, optimism and en-
deavors to creare a better life for the yugoilru nations have
survived only in the imagined world of nostalgia. Ail thar
remains of the anricip ated kingdom of
freedom is an inspir-
ing recent past; a Bloch-like ,,anticipatory consciousness,,
has been rendered into a retrospective utopia and a
wish for
:77 Although-litosralgia anJ yugonosralgia are also tlirectly instrrmentalizetl politically;
the)' are ofren presenr in pre-elcction activities and
the propaganda of the Bosnian
Social Democrats.
133
 Conclusi,rn
Tirrstalgir - A Sturll of Nosralgir for Josil Bro:

the better tl'rat looks back into the past. The real historical VII. BIBLIOGRAPHY _
personality has becorne a typical myth, The late politician I'm watching 1ou, majku uan"t boiiju
l'ras reappeared as a pop idol; the comrnunist has become a
profitable brand name; rhebeautifulfurrire is behind us, not Or, to be more concrete: it is not possible to idolize certain
in front of us, and the signifiers of the former prolerarian state icons and monuments to certain heroes who are directly re-
have become nodern consumer comrnodities. Judging by sponsible for drastic violations of human rights and at the
these nostalgic narratives, Yugoslavia was a perfect stafe and same time expect the younger generation to respect human
its leacler, Tito, a perfect ruler. But as we know, such per- rights and accept them as part of their attitude and general
fection can live only in nostalgia and exist only as utopia, outlook.
which, remember, is a place that does not exist. Slovenian eu Janez Jania in his speech on the Hu-
man Rights Day, December @.2oo7

Slovenia.
autümn 2oo8

aonr6, rRts; ARsENTryrvrö, vLADTMtR; uarr6,

DoRDE (ros.)
(zoo4): Leksikon Yu rnirologije (The Lexicon of Yu-My
thology). Rende, Belgrade; Postscriptum, Zagreb.

BARNETT, NEIL
(zoo6): Tito. Haus Publishing, Lor-rdon

BARTHES, ROLAND
(rslü, Sade, Fourier, Loyola. Biblioteka Zodiak, Kultura,
Belgrade.
( tSg:), Mythologies. Vintage, London, Syclney, Auck-
land, Bergvlei.

BAUDRILLARD, ]EAN
( tqSq), Sirnulaker in simulacija; Popoln zloöin (Sirnula-
cres et simulation) Studentska zaloZba, Ljubljana.

BELAJ, MARIJANA
(zoo6): Tito posliie Tira
- Kip Josipa Broza kao Zari5te
obrednog ponaSanja ('Iito After Tito - The Sculpture

r34
135

x
 lilrstalgia - A Study'ofNostalgia {or Josip Broz
of Josip Broz As A Site Of Ritual). In: Kristi Math-
iesen Hjemdahl, Nevena Sk.bie Alempijevii (eds.):
O Titu kao mitu - Proslava Dana rnladosti u Kum-
rovcu (Tito As a Myth - The Celebration Of Yor,rth
Day in Kurnrovec). Filozofski fakultet, Srednja Eu-
ropa, Zagreb, pp. 2or-2rg.
etRo, utxloS
(zoo6): Homo postcommunisticus. Biblioteka xx vek,
Belgrade.
BLOCH, ERNST
(r98r ): Princip nada (Das Prinzip Hoffnung). Naprijed,
Zagreb.
BOYER, DOMINlC
(zoo6): Ostalgie and the Politics of the Future in Eastern
Germany. Public Culture, Duke University Press, vol.
r8, no. z, pp.36r-38r.
BOYM, SVETLANA
(zoor ): The Future of Nostalgia. Basic Books, New York
snxr-Jajörö, raeJa
(zoo6): Svinjska glava: Priöa o djetinstvu (Pig's Head:
A Story About Childhood). In: Lada Öale Feldrnan,
Ines Prica (eds.): Devijacije i prorna5aji (Deviations
and Failures). Institut za etnoiogiju i folkloristiku, Za-
greb, pp. r79-2o3.
CARDINAL, ROGER
Gsgd, Collecting and Collage-Making: The Case of
Kurt Schwitters. In: John Elsner, Roger Cardinal
(eds.): The Cultures of Collecting. Harvard Universi-
ty Press, Cambridge, pp. 68-96.
CANNADINE, DAVID
( t gs5 ), The Context, Performance and Meaning of Rit-
ual: The British Monarchy and the'lnvention of Tia-
dition', c. tSzo-tg77.ln: Eric Hobsbawm, Terence
Ranger (eds.): The Invention of Tiadition. Carnbridge
University Press, Cambridge, Nerv York, Melbourne,
pp. ror-r64.
136
t
Bihliographl'
CAZENEUVE, JEAN
(rq86): Sociologija obreda (Sociologie du rite) Sxuc,
Filozofska fakulteta, Lj ublj ana.
CHASE, MALCOLM; SHAW, CHRISTOPHER
(Iq8q): The Dimensions of Nostaigia: In: Christopher
Shaw, Malcohn Chase (eds.): The hnagined Past -
History and Nostalgia. Manchester University Press,
Manchester, Nerv York, pp. r-rz
öor-ovrö, rvaN
(zoo4): O rnaketama iStafetama. h'r: Radonja Leposavid
(ec1.): VlasTito iskustvo / Past-Present (Own Experi-
ence/Past-Present). Sarnizclat 892, Belgrade, pp. r3Z-
r 48.
DAVIS, FRED
Gqg), Yearning for Yesterday - A Sociology of Nostal-
gia. The Free Press, New York; Collier Macrnilian
Puhlishers, L.,ndon.
DEBORD, GUY
(tggg), Drr.rZba spektakla (La soci6t6 du spectacle); Ko-
rnentarji k druZbi spektakla (Cornrnents On The So-
ciety ofThe Spectacle); Panegirik r. del. Studentska
zaloiba, Ljubljana.
DEDIJER, VLADIMIR
(r98o, r98r, r984): Novi prilozi za biografiju Josipa Bro-
za Tita r., rr., rrr.. (New Cor-rtributions To The Biogra-
phy of Josip Broz Tito) Mladost, Zagreb; Liburnija, Ri-
jeka; Spektar, Zagreb (r.); Liburnija, Rijeka; Mladost,
Zagreb (u.); Rad, Belgrade (rrr.).
oont6, RADosLAV zLATAN
(zoo5): Kako srno ljubili tovariSa Tita (Hor.v \7e Loved
Comrade Tito). Scenario, translated by Darko Komac,
Nova Gorica, BavSöica.
FISTER, VESNA
(zooz): "Ti, na5e pesmi zaöetek!" - Kult osebnosti rnarSala
Tita v pesrnih od vojne do r98o. ("You, The Beginning
of Our Song"-The Cult of Marshal 'llto in Songs From
r77
 'litostalgia
-A Study ofNostalgia for Josip Broz Bibliography

i
the \far to r98o). Öasopis za kritiko znanosri, Ljublja-
na, vol. 3c., zogf 2ro, pp. 2r7-23i.
'no.
FREUD, SIGMUND
(r98r): Stirje spisi o psihologiji nezavednega (Four Papers
On The Psychology Of The Unconscious). In: Rastko
Moönik (ed.): Psihoanaliza in kultura (Psychoanalysis
and Culture ). DrZavna zaloiba S lovenij e, Lj ub lj ana,
pp. ro9-r4r.
GIRARDET, RAOUL
(rq86): Mythes et mythologies politiques. Editions du
Seuil, Paris.
GUFFEY, ELIZABETH E.
(zoo6): Retro - The Culture of Revival. Reaktion Books,
London.
HABERMAS,1üncrN
(tSlS), Legitimation Crisis. Beacon
HALBWACHS, MAURICE
(zoor): Kolektivni spomin (La mdmoire collecrive). Stu-
dia Humanitatis, Ljubljana.
HALL, STUART
(zoo4): The television discourse; encoding and decod-
ing. In: D. McQuail (ed.): McQuail's Reader in Mass
Communication Theory. Sage Publications, London,
Thousand Oaks, New Delhi, pp. 3oz-3o8.
HJEMDAHL, KRISTI MÄ
(zoo6): Slijedeöi neke od Titovih pure5esrvija
pretacija transformacije (Following Some Of Tiro's
Paths - An Interpretation Of Tiansformation). In:
Kristi Mathiesen Hjemdahl, Nevena Sk.bie Al..
rnpijeviö (eds.): O Titu kao mitu - Proslava Dana
mladosti u Kumrovcu (Tito As a Myth - The Celebra-
tion Of Youth Day in Kumrovec). Filozofski fakultet,
Srednja Europa, Zagreb, pp. 49-7 4.
HJEMDAHL, KRrsrr MATHTEsEN; SxnetC ALEMpr.
yevrö, NEVENA
(zoo6): 'Jesi li jedna od nas?" S proslave Tirova rrz. Rod-
jendana "Are You One Of Us?" Celebration of Tito's
r rzth Bir*rday). In: Lada Öale Feldman, Ines Prica
(eds.): Devijacije i promaSaji (Deviations and Failures).
Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku, Zagreb,pp. z4tz67
JAMESON, FREDRIC
(zoo5): Archaeologies of the Future - The Desire Called
Utopia and Other Science Fictions. Verso, New York,
London.
JANSEN, STEF
(zoo5): Antinacionaiizarn - Etnografija otpora u Be-
ogradu i Zagrebu (Antinarionalism - An Ethnography
of Resistance inZagreb and Belgrade). Biblioteka xx
vek, Belgrade.
JOVANOVSKA, JANA
(zooz): Iskanje izgubljenega raja (Searching For Paradise
Lost). Graduare paper, Eov, Llubljana.
Press, Boston. ;uRxovtC, JASMINA
zoo6): Tigovanje Titom - Od "komunisriökog otpada" do
suvenira (Tiading In Tito - From "Communisr Junk"
To Souvenirs). In: Kristi Mathiesen Hjemdahl, Neve-
.tu Sk.bl6 Alempijeviö (eds.): O Tiru kao miru - Pro-
slava Dana rnladosti u Kumrovcu. Filozofski fakultet,
Srednja Europa, Zagreb, pp. 27 7-2gg.
KOMEL, MIRT
(zoo8a): Napis NaJ llto na Sabotinu pri Novi Gorici
(The Nai Tito Lettering On Sabotin Near Nova Gor-
ica). Öasopis za kritiko znanosri - special issue Graf-
fiti in street art, Ljubljana,r.o.23r-234 vol.36, pp.
- Inter- 36r-j67.
(zoo8b): Poskus nekega dotika (Attempting A Touch).
Zaloiba nov, Lj ublj ana.
rovaötö, NENAD
(zoo6): Petorica mladih Hrvata putuju u odobra stara
vremena< (Five Young Croats Tiavel To "Good Old
Times"). In: Kristi Mathiesen Hjemdahl, Nevena
Skrbiö Alernpijevii (eds.): O Titu kao miru - Proslava
Dana mladosti u Kumrovcu. Filozofski fakultet, Sred-
nja Europa, Zagreb, pp. 31 7-342.

r38 139

o
 lirostalgia - A Study ofNostalgia for Josip Broz
r Bibliography

KULJIö, TODOR troöNrr, NrNa

(zoo5): Tito - Socioloiko-istorijska srudija (lito - A So- (zoo8): UgledaliSöena nostalgija - raziskovalno delo v
ciological-Historical Study). Gradska narodna bibli- okviru prakse (Theatrical Adaptations Of Nostalgia)
oteka, Zrenjanin. Fakulteta za druZbene vede, Ljubljana.

KUNZLE, DAVID laoöNtx, RAsrKo

Gssl)t Che Guevara: Icon, Myth, and Message. ucla, (zoo4): Tito - majstorsrvo popromanrizma (Tito The
-
Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Center for the Mastery of Popromantism). In: Radonja Leposavii
Study of Political Graphics, Los Angeles. (ed.): VlasTito iskustvo / Past.Present (Own Expe-
rience / Past-Present). Samizdat B9z, Belgrade, pp.
LASCH, CHRISTOPHER tg3-203.
( r 99 r ): The Tiue and Only Heaven: Progress and Its

Critics. \7. \(/. Norton and Company, New York, Lon- oTTOMAYER, KLAUS
don. (zooo): Haiderjev Show (Haider's Show). öasopis za kri-
tiko znanosti - Posebne izdaje politikon, Srudentska
LIPSITZ, GEORGE zaloäba, Ljubljana.
OSgl)t Time Passages - Collective Memory and Ameri-
can Popular Culture. University of Minnesota Press, PAVLOWITCH, STEVAN
Minneapolis, London. (zoo6): Tito - Yugoslaviars Grear Dicrator. Hurst & Co.,
London.
uaNnrd, tcoR
(tgl6): Mitologije svakidaSnjeg Zivota (The Mythologies teö1ax, LaRa
Of Everyday Life). Otokar Ker5evani, Rijeka. (zoo6): Nostalgija po sedanjosti: oblike, pomeni in vloge
nostalgiönega diskurza med mladimi (Nostalgia For
MANNHEIM, KARL the Present: Forms, Meanings and Roles Of Nostalgic
(rq68): Ideologija i utopija (ldeologie und Utopie). No- Discourses Among Young People) . Öasopis za kritiko
lit, Belgrade. znanosti, Ljubljana, vol. 34, rlo. 224, pp. 44-55.

MANUEL, FRANK E. PERICA, VJEKOSLAV

(ry7t): Toward a Psychological History of Utopias. (zooz): Balkan Idols - Religion and Nationalism in Yugo-
In: Frank E. Manuel (ed.): Utopias and Utopian slav States. Oxford University Press, New York.
Thought. Beacon Press, Boston, pp. zo-95.
nrrRovrC, TANJA
MICHNIK, ADAM (to be published in zooSa): tYlhenWeWere Europe: So.
(tSSl)t SkuSnjavec na5ega öasa (The Temptations Of Our cialist Workers in Serbia and Their Nostalgic Narra-
Time). Mladinska knjiga, Ljubljana. tives. The Case of the Cable Factory Workers in Jago-
dina (Serbia). In: Maria Todorova (ed.): Remember-
MICHNIK, ADAM; HAVEL, VACLAV ing Communism: Genres of Representation. Social
(rggz): Preöudno obdobje postkomunizma (The Very Cu. Science Research Council, New York.
rious Period of Post.Socialism). Nova revija, Ljublja- (to be published in zooSb): Officers Without an Army
na, no. tzr-r22, pp.598-6r7. - Memories of Socialism and Everyday Strategies in
Post-Socialist Slovenia. In: Breda Luthar, Maruia
Pu5nik (eds.). Remembering Utopia: The Culrure of
Everyday Life in Socialist Yugoslavia. Ljubljana.

r40 74r

o :f.+4
 Titostalgia -A Study ofNosmlgia for Josip Broz
PIRJEVEC, JOZE
(tssS), Jugoslavija tgrS-rggz - Nastanek, nzvoj in ruz-
pad Karadordevideve in Titove Jugoslavije (Yugoslavia
rgtS-tggz - The Birth, Development And Disinte-
gration of Karadordeviö's And Tito's Yugoslavra). Zal-
oZba Lipa, Koper.
RADOVANI, IVANA
(zoo6): IzvjeStavanje o Danu mladosti - Medilska poruka
u povijesnoj predstavi (Reporting On Youth Day - A
Media Message Through History). In: Kristi Math-
iesen Hjemdahl, Nevena Skrbie Al"-pijevii (eds.):
O Titu kao mitu - Proslava Dana mladosti u Kum-
rovcu. Filozofski fakultet, Srednja Europa, Zagreb, pp.
4r9-444.
neyxovr6, MARTJETA
(zoo6): Uspon i pad iednog politiökog mjesta iz per-
spektive lokalnorn stanovni5tva (The Rise And Fall
Of A Political Site From The Perspective Of Local
Residents). In: Kristi Mathiesen Hjemdahl, Nevena
Skrbie Alempijevii (eds.): O Titu kao mitu - Proslava
Dana rnladosti u Kumrovcu. Filozofski fakultet, Sred-
nja Europa, Zagreb,pp. t2r-r45.
SCHWANDNER.SIEVERST STEPHANIE
(to be published in zoo8) A Visible Void: Albanian
Memory of Socialism after the !üar in Kosovo. In:
Maria Todorova, Zsuzsa Gille (eds.): Post-Communist
Nostlagia. Berghahn, New York.
STEWART, SUSAN
(tss:), On Longing - Narratives of the Miniature, the
Gigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection. Duke Univer-
sity Press, Durham & London.
5xnsr6 alruptJrvrö, NEVENA
(zoo6): "Mi smo folklor" - Kumroveöki pioniri i druge
preobrazbe na proslavi Titova r r z rodendana ("We
Are Folklore" - Kumrovec Pioneers And Other Tians-
formations At The Celebration Of Tito's r r2th Birth-
day). In: Kristi Mathiesen Hjemdahl, Nevena Skrbiö
Alempijevii (eds.): O Titu kao mitu - Proslava Dana
r42
o
Bibliography
rnladosti u Kumrovcu. Filozofski fakultet, Srednja Eu-
ropa, Zagreb, pp. r17_1g9.
5rR,q,JHrn, MoJcA
(zoo4): "Vse Titove smrti". (All Tito's Deaths) Öasopis za
kritiko znanosti, Ljubljana, vol. 32, no. zr5lzt6, pp.
zo6-zzt.
TOFFLER, ALVIN
(r97o): Future Shock. Random House, London.
ro5, Nrro ET AL.
(tgqs)' Vrednote v prehodu rr. - Slovensko javno mnen.
je rggo-rg98 (Values In Tiansition rr. - Slovenian
Public Opinion r99o-r998). Dokumenti sJM - FDV,
rDV, cJMMK, Ljubljana.
(zoo4): Vrednote v prehodu ur. - Slovensko javno mnen-
je rggg-zoo4 (Values In Tlansition nr. - Slovenian
Public Opinion rggg-zoo4). Dokumenti sJM - FDV,
rDv, cJMMK, Ljubljana.
VELIKONJA, MITJA
(zoo3a): Religious Separation and Political Intolerance
in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Texas ao.v University Press,
College Station.
(zoo3b): Mitografije sedanjosti - Studije primerov sodo.
bnih politiönih mitologij (The Mythologies Of The
Present - Case Studies Of Contemporary Political
Mythologies). Studentska zaloiba, Ljubllana.
(zoo4): 'I)stega
lepega dne - Znaörlnosti sodobnega nostal.
giönega diskurza (OnThatBeautiful Day - The Fea-
tures Of Contemporary Nostalgic Discourse). Bal
Canis Ljubljana.Belgrade, vol. 5, no. tz-r6, pp. 36-
40.
(zoo5a): ITgubljeno u tranTiciji - Razmjeri nostalgije nakon
socializma (Lost In Tiansition - The Proportions Of
Nostalgia in Post-Socialism). Tema - öasopis za kn-
jigu,Zagreb, vol. z, no. 6, pp. 37-45.
(zoo5b): Evroza - Kritika novega evrocentrizma / Eurosis
- A Critique of the New Eurocentrism. MediaWatch,
Mirovni inStitut, Ljubljana. http://mediawarch.mirov-
ni-institut.si/eng/mw r 7.htm.
( zoo6 ) : Odprte duri ograjenega vrta: j ugonostalgij a med
izseljenci iz nekdanje Jugoslavije v voa (The Open Gates
Of The Errclosed Garden: Yugonostalgia Among The
r43
 w-

Titostalgia -A Study ofNostalgia forJosip Broz

Bibliography

Emigrants From Former Yugoslavia). Öasopis za kritiko

znanosti, Ljubljana, vol. 34, no. 224, pp. ro2-r r r.
VOLöIö, zALA
(zoo7): Yugo-nostalgia: Cultural Memory and Media
in the former Yugoslavia. Critical Studies in Media
Communication, vol. 24,r:'o. r, March, zr-38.
WEST, RICHARD
(rqg6): Tito and the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia, Sinclair-
Stevenson, London, Auckland, Melbourne, Singa.
pore, Toronto.
(rqq8) (Wounds). Feature film, director Srdjan Drago-
jevii, nn Yugoslavia.
TITO - SFRJ
(rSSq). cD, aurhor and publisher unknown, a compilation
of songs about Tito and Yugoslavia, downloaded from
the web and Jugoton archives.
IDE Trro... - 33 NAJLErSp ppsup o rrru
(Tito Crosses ... - 33 mosr beauriful songs about Tito).
Author, publisher and year of publishing unknown.

ltLY.x, sLAVoJ uanSal

(r q8q): Druga smrt Josipa Broza Tita (The Second Death ( r999) (Marshal). Feature film, director Vinko BreSan,
Of Josip Broz Tito). DrZavna zalolba Slovenije, Croatia.
Ljubljana.
ra yr $rl 'rovantS rrro
I (zooo) (And So Comrade Tito lVent Away). cD, aurhors
Korado and Brendi, Slovenia.

TITO _ POSTHUMOUS BIOGRAPHY

(zoo3). Documentary film, director Sergej Kostin, Russia.

EX-JUGOSLOVANSKI VELIKANI VOL. 2

(Ex.Yugoslavia Giants Vol z). co compilation, aurhor,
publisher and year of publishing unknown, Slovenia.

FILMS AND MUSIC ALBUMS i r-....'-.. Y_ i,Eitai:

'-t--
q|H''i .F
tt
TITO I JA
(r992) (Tito and I). Feature fihn, director Goran Marko-
. tuq#i F

viö, rR Yugoslavia. a l
'l

TITO PO DRUGI PUT MEDJU SRBIMA

ätj,**\f
'
F!I. -- ,I
(rqqf ) (Tto Among The Serbs For The Second Time). Gä-J E

l
Documenrary film, director Zelimir Zilnik, rn Yugo-
i
slavia.
PHOTO CREDITS
LEPA SELA LEPO GORE
(r996) (Pretty Mllages, Pretty Flames). Feature film, di- The majority of photos are by Elena Fajt, and a small-
rector Srdjan Dragojeviö, nn Yugoslavia. er number by the author of rhis book. Other photos are by
Martin Pogaöar (p. t+), Tänja Petrovi( (p. ++ and p. 7o,
below right), Mira Barii (p. 67, left), Ines Kuburoviö (p.

r44 145
 Bibliogmphy

76, ftustfrom left), Katarina Pogaöar (p. rzr) and Monika

Kropgj b.trl). The photos on pages 6o and 88 are from
Ivo Godniö's personal collection. I would like to express my
thanks to all of them for their cooperation and permission
to reproduce their photos in this book.

r46

r:.rr-
 v
628 2382
\/ INJO)l I -1:1,\ \i 1.1 T l\J

TIT-(-ll"i'j",n\ [,{ i] {"\

Srrrr/lirr tio.sarlgiic 1ro .lo.sr/;i r iJt'o:.it

I
U
k
3
il
I

irr"rgl ,1,t,, I utJ ntäyu Sog fir ,^'Pirt.\ \/

\i iI'.! i'';i'Il;t t i,i,[,

N4 ITJ A \,'EI_t K()N.J,A

a