Ljubomir Petrović
Ljubomir Petrović, Ph.D., was born in Belgrade in 1970. He attended Elementary school and graduated Secondary school in Belgrade. Studies of history entered in 1989. at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. He graduated in 1994. Chair of the History of Yugoslavia in which the same year entered MA studies. He gained MA degree in 1999. The thesis theme was "State and Society in periodicals of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia 1920 - 1941, ("Serbian Literary Herald" and "New Europe"). He gained Ph.D. degree in 2006. The thesis was "Position and the life of invalids in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia 1918 - 1941". He is Research Associate at the Institute of Contemporary History. His research interest include:
1. History of Serbia and Yugoslavia in 20th century.
2. Social History in Yugoslavia and Serbia 1918 - 2001.
3. Repression in Yugoslav society.
4. History of disabled persons and minority groups.
5. History of shooting sport in Serbia.
6. Yugoslav nuclear policy.
7. Cold War in culture.
He is also member and director in Centre for Critical Thinking.
Phone: + 381113398362
Address: Ljubomir Petrovic
Institute of Contemporary History
Trg Nikole Pasica 11, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
1. History of Serbia and Yugoslavia in 20th century.
2. Social History in Yugoslavia and Serbia 1918 - 2001.
3. Repression in Yugoslav society.
4. History of disabled persons and minority groups.
5. History of shooting sport in Serbia.
6. Yugoslav nuclear policy.
7. Cold War in culture.
He is also member and director in Centre for Critical Thinking.
Phone: + 381113398362
Address: Ljubomir Petrovic
Institute of Contemporary History
Trg Nikole Pasica 11, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
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Books by Ljubomir Petrović
Cultural periodicals, Intellectual elite, "Srpski knjizevni glasnik" (The Serbian Literary Herald), "Nova Evropa" (New Europe) , Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Zagreb.
Abstract:
The book is based on research of cultural periodicals as sources describing the conditions, processes, and events wich was characteristic for Yugoslavia. The purpose of this book is to explain the views of the thinking elite in Yugoslavia between two wars, regarding the problems of state and society. The most prominent and most reputable jounals were "Srpski knjizevni glasnik" (The Serbian Literary Herald) from Belgrade and "Nova Evropa" (New Europe) from Zagreb. Published in different cities, they were representative of intellectually prominent elite, but one whose members held different political wiews. These periodicals, published for two decades, reflected complex social realities, and represented informal centres of power.
Summary:
The book consists of an introduction and five chapters. The introduction provides a short history of both periodicals, and describes the social conditions of their time.
The first chapter -"The State and Society" deals with the effect of periodic editiones on the forming of public opinion and the readers' teritorial, historical and ideological consciousness, laying the foundations for creating a political and national (Yugoslav) identity.
The second chapter - "Internal Politics", describes the conflicts and descrepancies in the views of intellectuals and politicians regarding the possible course of the country's devenlopment. The most frequently treated political problems concern views on democracy and parliamentary government, the manner of obteining and preserving political power, and constitutional questions.
The third chapter - "Foreign Policy", deals with the views on Yugoslav diplomacy, the relations of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia with neighboring countries, and criticism of the Yugoslav Ministry of Foreign Affairs activities in international organizations.
The fourth chapter - "The State's Economic Defects" concerns problems in the devenlopment of Yugoslav industry, agriculture, and the National Bank, and the effect of politics on forming the economy and views regarding economy.
The fifth chapter - "Views of the Role of Culture", presents a number of opinions regarding the type of culture to be desired, and the incongruity between educational backwardness on the one side, and international cultural trends on the other. The book deals with phenomenn of politiciying culture and the effect of this phenomenon on forming views regarding a sound cultural policy.
The existing differences and inconsistencies contributed to creating a negative image of the state and its institutiones, wich added credibilities to critical attitudes, creating the basis for the Croatians' rejection of the Yugoslav experience, and for resistance to the idea of the common state.
disabled, social policy, invalids, the war disabled, disability work, children retarded in development, legislation, economy disability, perception and reception of disability.
Abstract:
This book deals with the history of three types of disability in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia: war invalids, labour disabled and disabled children . Explore the theoretical concepts of disability in medicine, the health situation, elements of legal protection, causes of disability, language of disability and how it received the status of war invalids. Examines the inter-state relations and war invalids, disadvantages legislation, international cooperation various disabled organizations, the financial policy of the state according to the disability, transport and accommodation of disabled persons, employment, humanitarian assistance and disability co-operatives. Yugoslav experience includes work with the labour disabled who were users of social security. Special unit dedicated to special education, students, teaching and teachers. The last part of book include a picture of disability in the public opinion and media coverage problems of invalids in the press and arts of various profiles. In all spheres of life, there is discrimination of disabled persons wich is expreses through double standards of society. The majority of disabled persons was not protected or in the acquisition of the disability pension. Institutions, in which some groups of disabled persons were located, served more of their isolation then for protection.
CONCLUSION
The status which the people with disability had in Yugoslav society was strongly influenced by contempt, political attitudes and prejudices. The answer to the question why the social policy concerning the disabled was so unsuccessful lies in the fact that the field of social welfare was marked by great contrasts. Such contrasts can best be illustrated by the cases of labour invalids who were rejected by modern social institutions while the obsolete nineteenth-century laws could not meet the basic requirements of modern social and medical care. Applying social policy to war invalids was hard since the laws and regulations dealing with that particular group of invalids were changing so often that it was hard to determine whether their effects on war invalids and their families were harmful or beneficial. The economic reasons stemming from the fact that the society itself was already behind in its progress had strong influence on the government policy towards the disabled and invalids. There were prejudices against the disabled widely spread throughout the society, which resulted in the negative image of the disabled who were marginalized both socially and economically. Social shame and poor organization of educational institutions specialized in educating children with special needs allowed for only a small number of disabled children to have essential education to which they were entitled as members of a civilized society. The disabled were of limited political use and there was neither social nor spatial mobility within the community of the disabled persons which added to their separation and isolation.
Rigid policy resulted from the fact that disability had been accepted only in cases when it was supposed to be legally labeled or when the power of the supernatural was to be emphasized. Fear of disability was rooted in superstitious belief that any illness was a demonic state. During the Middle ages in Serbia the disabled were deprived of their rights and forced to live on charity, from monasteries mainly. People who were punished for their misdeeds by mutilation just spread the prejudices and misconceptions about the disabled people. With Turkish occupation the war invalids became fewer but the number of those whose disability was a result of some illness increased. Mystic healing rituals were widely spread. Physical and mental abuse of the sick was an obligatory part of the therapy when it came to the treatment of mental disorders. When the first schools were established, children showing difficulties in learning were literally molested unless they could show certain mental and physical abilities. During the 18th and 19th century, some people with disabilities were institutionalized, while charity donations were collected for the others.
Social welfare policy after Second Serbian Uprising was shaped very slowly although respectable individuals were given some kind of invalid pensions. It was not until 1841 that invalid pensions became an integral part of all legal norms in the Kingdom of Serbia. Municipal authorities were responsible of taking care of all those individuals unable to work and support themselves. Economic aspect of the issue of disability was seen as quite a serious social problem and some efforts were made towards solving it by establishing a fund for the poor whose main aim was to prevent begging.
First social welfare policy acts bore resemblance to all the other legal acts in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. There was a considerable lack of both will and ability to enforce the aforementioned social policy acts. Tragic Great War brought about a great number of war invalids supported and protected by Serbian authorities during war operations. Refugees and prisoners of war who were in Russia at the time would receive financial compensation if they were incompetent to go to battle or if they were wounded.
Serbian population of the time lacked essential sanitary and health habits. Therefore, the number of disabled people increased although the war was over. Incompetently performed child-labors in bad sanitary conditions, very few doctors, high child mortality rate, unbalanced and poor nutrition, and the fact that whole generations never had any professional medical treatment contributed to a high rate of natal and post natal disability. Insufficient sanitary protection and refusal of companies to introduce modern labour protection measures brought about many accidents at work which resulted in high number of disabled workers. Disability was also a result of many infectious diseases widely spread among population. Disabled children could not receive proper treatment and care as at the time the causes of the disability were only speculated on.
Social prejudices against disabled people were expressed by the language which labeled them and made them excommunicated. Many expressions changed their meaning from precisely denoting a person’s condition to obscene and insulting words. On the other hand, there were terms which remained within their primary semantic field but still described a person’s disability as his feature.
Communities loaded with prejudices easily turned their backs on those disabled individuals who were of different ethnic or cultural background. Such was the fate of all the refugees from Imperial Russia who found refuge in Yugoslavia after the civil war. They had an association of war invalids whose primary activity was to help the invalids and their families satisfy their staple needs. These Russian war invalids belonged to the most deprived social categories, though Yugoslav war invalids were not treating them accordingly. Some of those Russian war invalids had professional training in some trades. Charity donations provided by the Royal family represented a main part of charitable funds and contributions raised for Russian war invalids. Such funds were used to build homes for the sick and old. No Russian war invalid was a beneficiary of state pensions despite regularly receiving state dole.
The government was faced with the problem how to adjust and adapt legislative norms simultaneously erasing prejudices against the disabled that were widespread among the people. Legal regulations had never before been able to suppress the bias and the abuse of the disabled. At its early phase social policy towards the disabled was marked by strong competition among the authorities which were in charge of caring for the disabled. The largest group of social welfare beneficiaries was war invalids. However there was a lot of bias against the disabled. People with disability were regarded to be of weaker working potential than those who had no disability. Thus they were not seen as equal in terms of legal, social and financial equality. The disabled were entitled to a state pension while the laws dealing with the issues of the disabled were seen as constituent parts of the state social welfare policy. In such conditions the process of establishing social rights was prone to bureaucratization, which would later become the main feature of the social policy towards the disabled in Yugoslavia between the two world wars. Invalids themselves as well as the families of those killed and missing in battle had to get loads of documents issued by various institutions in order to exercise their social rights.
First invalid pensions were prone to revisions, which only brought additional confusion to local authorities. The number of beneficiaries of invalid pensions was quite large, so the government’s budget and social policy had to be extremely restrictive towards the disabled. There were quite a few efforts to fight such restrictive social policy, but unfortunately they were not particularly successful as there were several veteran associations which were fighting tooth and nail among themselves. At lower administrative levels, the deprived members of the community received financial aid from County service for protection of the disabled, young and children. However, expert bodies designed to evaluate the level of physical disability of war veterans used to be quite strict. Therefore, many a veteran received less compensation money than they would have been entitled to according to their true medical condition.
All in all, there were five legal acts dealing with the issue of the disabled in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. All of them agreed on the following: the disabled people whose disability was less than 20% should not be taken into consideration for social welfare compensation. Legal system of social welfare of war invalids had plenty of weak spots. It was inevitable since war invalids themselves had the same rights as the families of those killed or missing in war operations. Providing free medical care for the invalids was a constantly avoided issue since at the time it was hard to determine whether a particular medical condition had resulted from certain wound and injuries inflicted in battle. The number of those who were beneficiaries of invalid pensions was constantly reduced whenever new laws and regulations were introduced. One of the most rigorous legal acts was in power since 1929. As a result, many disabled people, whose disability was 30% or 40%, were deprived of their social rights. The courts for the disabled worked extremely slowly and inefficiently which defied short legal deadlines when it came to evaluating those cases of disability which had not been taken into account by previous legal acts. Some local, state and self-management authorities and institutions ignored the legal acts and norms by mistreating the disabled as members of community while some individuals deliberately broke or obstructed the law.
The Yugoslav association of war invalids demanded from its local affiliations to organize rallies and to pressurize authorities by bringing public resolutions. Such expression of public discontent lasted for two years. They demanded that all the war invalids who, being incapable of timely applying for social welfare program, had been left out of it, should be given the benefits of the invalid social welfare. Some invalids’ applications had been turned down only because their behaviour was branded as immoral and socially unacceptable by the local authorities who had a legal right to do so. Such behaviour included extra-marital relationships, gambling and drinking. The existing legal acts of the time seemed to have been designed to make it extremely hard for the disabled to get state pensions. Furthermore there were some regional legal barriers resulting from overzealous interpretation of the existing legal norms. The actual number of those who were the beneficiaries of state invalid pensions was less than a half of all those registered as war invalids. The census of all the people with disabilities hadn’t been done in a unified manner, so all the people suffering from mental disability were excluded from the census of the disabled in 1931. Although the results were quite contradictory depending on the source, it is generally considered that at the time the total number of all the people with disabilities must have been well over 200.000. Strangely enough, unofficial statistic data were more thorough and more precise than the official ones.
Social and medical care referred exclusively to war invalids and seemingly it was a widespread concept. Orthopedic hospitals had special workshops where orthopedic prostheses were made and there were a whole lot of other institutions such as temporary shelters, sanatoriums and trade schools. There were six principles of the invalid healthcare which included urgent medical care and the rights to free prostheses. Furthermore, institutions for permanent accommodation of all those unable to take care of themselves were to be founded. Prostheses immediately were a problematic issue since it was hard to estimate the number of all those who needed them. As soon as certain medical measures were introduced and regulated by legal acts, they would be derogated by a simple act of limiting the number of the invalids who could be institutionalized. The invalids were entitled to free transportation which would allow them to exercise their right to freedom of movement. However, different institutions had different attitudes to the aforementioned issue. County authorities would advertise free transportation for the invalids but doctors and other staff discouraged them from using it.
The invalids kept trying to improve their social status by taking an active part in elections. Not being particularly successful they turned to Royal Court hoping to find help for wrongful decisions and acts of social welfare institutions. The help of the Royal Court was of limited nature, but the disabled were used for creation of favourable political and national identity by instrumentalization of the past. In return they could directly deal with the marshal of the Court when some collective or individual issues were to be solved. Daily politics had negative influence on the unity of the invalid associations. After the Kingdom of Croatia had been created, the invalids from Croatia formed an independent association of war invalids. All war invalids from Yugoslavia had very good cooperation with international organizations of war invalids.
Economic issues of disability were many as industrial capacities could not prevent constant economic marginalization of the disabled by employing them permanently. By 1921 the amount of social welfare benefit allotted to the disabled had been determined by outdated legal acts. There was a considerable disproportion between the amounts that the beneficiaries of invalid pensions received in Serbia and Montenegro and in other parts of the country. At first the number of budget loans given to invalids was constantly increased but it could not permanently solve their professional status. All the social issues from war times had been economically based which raised the issue whether the temporary economic measures introduced in war should remain or should be abolished. Situation became additionally complicated as military authorities pried into civil social policy matters.
The government never cared sufficiently for the beneficiaries of invalid pensions because the invalids were generally regarded as a group whose social welfare could most easily be limited and restricted. Politicians felt that the budget of Ministry of social welfare was burdened by the people who could find other ways of supporting themselves apart from receiving invalid pensions. Lack of social care was so evident and widespread that the state failed to pay the invalids regularly and owned them large sums of money. Another way of abusing the rights of war invalids was buying out the disability pensions. The buyout-money would rarely be paid in time which made the invalids more indebted and even poorer, and the government showed no interest in rational use of this kind of social welfare money.
Thus the Association of war invalids had to support itself and to contribute to the Invalid home fund. By selling books, lottery tickets or badges invalids tried to become financially independent of government financial aid which was not sufficient anyway. The association supported itself from the funds provided by wealthy charity donors. Such funds were only regular income of the association. Local authorities constantly obstructed the economic policy in county affiliations, which was partly responsible for total lack of coherent support to social integration of the disabled.
Students of special schools could not rely on their permanent accommodation as Home of Invalids was constantly under pressure coming from more powerful groups to be fragmented in smaller institutions, which could hardly survive the change of working conditions. Permanent accommodation of a group of invalids hadn’t occurred until 1935, when Home of the war invalids was opened in Belgrade. The Home capacity was quite limited. Other homes were constantly faced with problems with local authorities which perceived such institutions as public shame. Sometimes Ministry of social welfare would fund some projects, facility construction or food and provisions for its beneficiaries but it was just a reflection of an unimaginative approach to tackling the expenses of the institutions which cared for the disabled.
Even during the Great War there were some initiatives and plans concerning the employment of the disabled and some disabled people had been professionally trained. This professional training was referred to as re-education. Although most people with disabilities had been meant to work in small enterprises and manufacture sector, the public and private companies were legally obliged to employ a certain number of the disabled individuals. Very few persons with disabilities managed to survive in the sector of small enterprises and manufacture.
There were different aspects of humanitarian aid which was distributed not only to institutions dealing with the disabled but to individuals as well. However, this aid could not improve the financial and social status of the disabled. The disabled organized themselves into cooperative societies which was another effort of theirs to gain some economic stability. There were different types of cooperative societies including agricultural and trade societies with different functions. Some were credit cooperative societies, others were dealing with supplies and there was the third kind of combined cooperative societies. They functioned according to some rules and regulations and each had managerial and control mechanisms and institutions from managing and control board to a secretary and treasurer. Not many cooperative societies had a long life, for one, because their existence and functions were not legally regulated. Many had been closed down because their employees committed embezzlements and because the members of the cooperatives tended to be quite irregular when it came to paying off their loans. Those which managed to survive had to ask the Court for financial support.
Labour disabled were not considered to fall in any groups of people with disability. However they had some influence in the field of social insurance. Such invalids were classified together with those who were the beneficiaries of rent compensation in case they were the victims of accidents which had occurred at work. Yugoslav insurance system was based on the Hapsburg insurance system. The state needed well over three years to create its own legislation concerning the issue of employee protection. Legal acts and norms resulted from the fact that the sate had right to intervene with industrial relations in order to reduce the existing social contradictions. By constitution women and children were protected form doing jobs hazardous to their health. The law dealing with the issue of employee insurance demanded that the state give the money necessary for improvement of employee insurance system, though the state ignored such demand. Thus the burden of insurance was on the shoulders of both employees and employers who were obliged to save money. The main purpose of the insurance was to reduce the damage caused by a diminished working capacity. The system of insurance turned into a closed system with a sole purpose to spend as little money as possible on people with the diminished working capacity, which resulted in complete exclusion of labour invalids. Yugoslavia as a member of international labour bureau accepted just a few conventions protecting the people with disabilities inflicted at work.
At the beginning, all the workers were intended to be included in a single act dealing with labour insurance, but as the time went by there grew the number of jobs excluded from legal jurisdiction. The state made efforts to create a supportive fund for old and sick workers. This measure was activated too late and could never be implemented due to the outbreak of the Second World War. The Central office for the employee insurance ( SUZOR ) regulated voluntary and more extensive insurance of the disabled in such a way that the Office itself would take over the responsibility of paying out all active invalid pensions, but only if an employer or the labour organization, of which a particular disabled individual was a member, had previously paid an appropriate sum of money as a guarantee. For that reason invalid pensions were prone to revisions, and there were cases that an individual would physically get used to his disability, thus his pension would be reduced. Not all labour invalids were in position to use social insurance. Exclusion from the system of insurance was simple.
Proving the occurrence of disability at work was a hard thing to do. There were principles that if maximum damages were to be paid, an invalid had to prove that the disability in question actually occurred at work and that he himself had not been responsible for the accident. The official number of labour invalids was 15.000 which is a comparatively low number if compared to more than 200.000 accidents at work which occurred during the period of 15 years. State labour inspection had no possibility to control enterprises, companies, employees and equipment. It turned out that overproductivity combined with the inexperience of young employees when dealing with the equipment was responsible for a large number of accidents at work in Yugoslavia. Employers showed strong resistance when it came to introducing protective measures at work, as it raised production costs. There were jobs for which both modern and outdated protection regulations were applied which lead to a normative mess. Insurance companies were constantly faced with the lack of money in their funds from which a compensation in case of accident at work was to be paid. This was so because legally the status of seasonal and full-time workers was equal when it came to right to invalid pensions. The fact that the authorities were always quite reluctant to give invalid pensions is best illustrated by a legal clause which allowed the Central office, if an employee agreed, to offer an injured person free accommodation in a medical institution instead of paying out the rent compensation money.
The concept of accident at work was not defined by law, which many of labour invalids paid dearly as they were not in a position to fight for their rights due to the fact that their injuries and the conditions in which they occurred hadn’t been précised by legal acts. How risky jobs were was determined by a complicated system of scales which contained 14 categories. The insurance system was prone to corruption and foul play, especially when it came to sectors which were not included in a mandatory insurance. For 10 years all those whose health was damaged as a result of an accident at work. Only later were illnesses caused by phosphorus, lead and mercury recognized.
Labour invalids were not entitled to old-age pension. Evaluation of disability level was never perceived as an offence, even in cases when such evaluations were on the expense of a disabled persons. Very often, the lawyers from SUZOR would evaluate someone’s vocation and its attractiveness at labour market rather than his actual disability.
The faith of all those labour invalids, who were not within the system of mandatory insurance, depended on collegial social institutions which would give some money to brotherhood funds from which labour invalids and old-age pensioners were supported. Miners’ law and regulations were obeyed by thousands of people, but actual number of invalids among miners was never precisely determined. Employers were partially responsible for all disabilities that occurred in mines as they exploited both workers and their wives and children paying them only meagre sums of money. There was no first-aid in case of an accident. Life conditions in and around mines were extremely poor.
Brotherhood funds operated more or less in the same manner as SUZOR viewing disability not as a phenomenon but rather as a condition of diminished working capacity. When it came to insuring sailors, discrimination was so strong that insurance system records throughout Yugoslavia contain no evidence that any sailor had ever received personal invalid pension. Generally, they received family pensions or compensations for the poor.
First years of joint state were marked by a lack of special education institutions and teachers. Since primary education was mandatory, most children with disabilities had to attend regular schools which were not appropriate for them. The existing practice was reformed based on the experience of different institutions such as the Institute for the blind in Zemun, which had a primary school for blind children. This school had been working since 1919.
When the students belonging to special education system became interesting to the authorities for ideological purposes, special education institutions were in a favourable position to insist on a wider network of specialized departments for children with special needs in public schools. Prior to joining specialized classes, disabled children had to have their abilities tested and evaluated. Not all disabled children could attend classes, as those with more severe disabilities (such as blind, deaf and dumb and epileptic children) were not accepted. The children who applied for special classes were supervised by teachers and special expert panels. Special classes had to have at least 10 students with special needs. All the children in the class were of the same age and of the same grade. Underdeveloped communities and local authorities in Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and central Serbia were strongly opposed to such practice, which was hardly a surprise as these communities had many illiterate people.
There were additional special schools which were in charge of educating those who had already completed primary special schools with 6 grades. Such schools had 4 more grades. The classes were not co-educational. Such a complexity of special education system forced school authorities to start schools for children with special needs which would be independent of public schools. This practice was first introduced in 1935. There was a possibility to transfer some special education students to regular schools which had been unthinkable of before. Every student had a thorough file which contained the records about a particular disabled child with precise data about its medical and educational potentials. There were 11 subjects taught in schools irrespective of different disabilities their students might have suffered from.
Secondary education for children with special needs was limited to private high-schools or music schools. Prejudices against children with disabilities often included their teachers. Most children with disabilities could not attend classes regularly. Only ¼ of blind children, 1/10 of deaf and dumb children and just 1 in 25 with mental disabilities were included in educational system. Special syllabuse and curriculum were designed to suit the needs of the disabled children who were blind, deaf and dumb or mentally retarded.
Teachers working in special schools were making tremendous efforts to turn defectology into a scientific discipline outside the framework of pedagogy. The Czechoslovakian model was used in order to create educational profile of teachers. Teachers were educated at different courses abroad. Professional specialization brought about foundation of association of teachers working in special education institutions. Social and financial status of such teachers was defined by a decision of educational authorities to equalize them with teachers who were instructing professional skills in public schools. All teachers working in special education schools had to take an exam which would prove their competence to work in special schools.
For centuries, disability as social and medical phenomenon was perceived and accepted with strong resistance and reluctance. Every method of marginalization of people with disability relied on this prejudice. Sometimes medical research was used for the purpose of forcefully eliminating some forms of disability. The main concern of Yugoslav Ministry of social welfare was to create the false exaggerated image that the state showed a great care for people with disability. They did nothing to change the existing stereotypes and prejudices about the disabled. Only much later did it occur to state officials to challenge the existing social policy and speak in favour of socially responsible behaviour towards the disabled, though referring to war invalids only. People with disability were described in terms of a hypothesis that they belonged to lower category of people according to their values and abilities. Attitudes which advocated the need to help disabled people to live with their handicap became criteria for profiling accepted or rejected invalid groups. Educated invalids were more cooperative when it came to implementing the ideas concerning their moral and civil “usefulness” in society.
Negative perception of disabilities caused traumas for the wounded who, faced with their disabilities, had to choose between passively accepting their poor social status and futile anger turned against politicians and institutions who were neglecting them. Not even the media attention could help the interests of the disabled as their only magazine War Invalid was constantly on the verge of bankruptcy fighting to make ends meet. Some naïve philanthropists suggested that physically able people should do work of war invalids on voluntary basis as a token of appreciation for all the sacrifices the war veterans had made. Naturally, it was far from reality.
Representatives of the disabled viewed state institutions as being reluctant to support them. They were under the impression that state institutions had the intention to protect the society from people with disabilities rather than helping the disabled overcome social injustice. Other classes of invalids had neither power nor people who would advocate their needs in a different context from the one imposed by social prejudices. Civil invalids were socially accepted or rejected depending on whether or not they attended special educational institutions. Students’ highest achievements were restricted to either trade or work in schools specialized for the blind. People with disabilities of other kind had no chance to show their pedagogical talents. Neither War Invalid nor The Voice of the Innocent could win the attention of any readers other than those who were interested in solving the social policy issues of the disabled population.
Literature and other forms of art also marginalized people with disabilities. This was not so much the result of social context but rather of artists’ ability to use the tragedy of a disabled person, his acceptance or rejection as sentimental impression in their works. People with disabilities were still regarded as weak and incompetent even when their disability was seen as the price they had to pay for the sins of their forefathers or the ones of their own. A faint hint of respect towards the war invalids for the sacrifices they had made could be sensed. Despite differences in time, style or regional background, some artists kept on nurturing the prejudices concerning the criminalization of disability, which could hardly be seen as a way to improve and enhance the perception and reception of the people with disabilities in communities which looked favourably on such works of art.
social groups, state repression, social reprssion, social exclusion, legal scholars, government, authority, legitimisation of power, verbal offences, surveillance, foreign entertainers, army deserters, teachers, war invalids.
Abstract:
The book "Yugoslav Interwar Society in the Web of Governmental Authority" analyses the authoritarian aspects present in Yugoslav society much before the establishment of dictatorship in 1929. Legal scholars in the interwar period contributed to the process of identity creation of the institutions of legitimate violence. The scope of state power and repressive governance over the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was dictated by the belief that some of the social groups represented a moral or political threat. Other groups, such as disabled persons, were repressed due to their symbolic susceptibility to the interest of the state. Citizenry and peasantry were affected by repression and state power through limitations imposed on the rights of free speech and writing. The awareness that one might go to prison for words hastily spoken, dramatized the experience of „the little man“, in view of the fact that the majority did not belong to the category of the enemies of the state. In the words of Michael Foucault, it was „a ceremony of the manifestation of power“, bearing important consequences on aspects of obedience and lack of resistance towards authority. The society in this new state was prone to the dynamics of social exclusion, particularly toward low ranking groups, leading to the point of collision between the interests of the society and the visions the state had about integration. The outcome was illegal nongovernmental, but social repression, as a reflection of the acceptance of authoritarian experience.
Conclusion:
The first chapter, "Justification legalisation of represive power in Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovens", deals with the official legitimization of repression in the state between 1918 and 1929. Theorization of the usage of repressive systems in protection of governmental authority was a matter of legal controversy. The dispute between legal scholars is analyzed through a multidisciplinary approach to historiographical, legal and sociological texts of the time. Yugoslav legal scholars agreed that the state is an institution created with the purpose of defending human liberties, but also restraining their excesses. The state retained its authority even when it acted contrary to legal norms. Lawyers were divided politically over the issue whether the state needed to maintain repression, at a time when a wide specter of views concerning the purposes and functions of repression and penalty was being created globally. The majority of legal scholars accepted punishment as a form of repression and retribution, justifying it as an element of threat directed towards offenders. They also agreed that the penalty had to be unconditional in cases when the offense was challenging the authority of the state. Retribution was to be achieved through a dosage of preventive measures. The success of the legal system was measured in terms of balance between preventive and repressive action in the fight against all violations of law. In practice, reality was quite remote from the theoretical conceptions and idealist visions of repression and penalty. The state did not succeed in achieving the rationalization of economical and technical efficiency that could match social reactions to punishment. Resistance towards the state occurred as a psychosocial consequence. The authorities feared that accommodating social sensibilities could cause the erosion of importance of security measures, which was in turn forging the system of values in which the abuse of power was unacceptable at the local level, and omnipresent on the level of the state. The absence of mutual trust and cooperation between local power players was leading towards the abuse of repressive measures in the conflicts between local authorities. Ordinary people were therefore experiencing the misuse of repressive power as a tool of encounter with the enemy. That had become a part of the mentality among all social strata. Power-mongering and party interests were the dominant experiences of the abuse of power.
The second chapter, "Technology of surveillance over foreigners", depicts the process of assuming control through surveillance methods. The web of governmental authority and power was maintained through preventive measures, among them surveillance. The official surveillance was not directed solely towards citizens of Yugoslav origin. Besides those deemed dangerous for the security of the state, surveillance allowed to track individuals considered morally unsuitable, due to their professions or known pacifism. Foreigners were tracked in the Kingdom if they happened to belong to the categories of entertainers and deserters from other countries’ armies. Theoretically, the system of surveillance was well founded, but it showed many weaknesses in practice, that were typical for insufficiently educated police rank-and-file. The position of foreign artists in interwar Yugoslavia was oscillating between artificial glamour, fancy artistic names and open erotic charm, on the one hand, and miserable wages and moral prejudices of the society, on the other. The society was eager for entertainment, but at the same time sensitive to illegal activities, which, according to common views, were an inseparable part of the nighttime. There was also visible resistance towards the influx of foreigners into the ranks of local artists. Hence the governmental efforts, as well as those of artistic trade unions and institutions, to keep tight control over artists, who struggled to acquire jobs even when they were at odds with the law. Over a thousand foreign artists were performing between 1935 and 1941 in the Yugoslav public space.
The third chapter, "The anatomy of petty defiance", shows how verbal delict spread in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, as a form of resistance to the state authorities. It was unevenly spread, being common place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vojvodina, Dalmatia and Croatia, but not elsewhere. The obscene attacks on symbols of the state, including the monarchs Peter I and Alexander I, were part of the politically heated everyday life, despite the threat of prison sentences proclaimed for such offenses. The enemies of the new state and political opponents of the ruling parties did not hesitate to proclaim their disagreement with political trends of the time, sometimes in a very rude manner, to the degree in which the state was forced to restrict freedom of expression in order to protect its authority. In the legislative realm there was continuity with the criminal law of the Kingdom of Serbia in which such offenders were sentenced to time in prison, ranging from one month to ten years, depending on the gravity of the deed. Not even social groups that had no voting rights, such as women and children, were exempted. Prisoners serving their time for other crimes could be sentenced for committing a verbal delict. As a background to verbal delict, there was frequent expression of political sexuality, articulated through the deeds of fictitious rape and verbal abuse over opponents in the most private spaces of their existence.
The fourth chapter, "The hostages of the politicized profession", analyses the cult of a perfect educator promoted by the Ministry of Education of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the pressure it exercised over teachers in order to make them confirm to the social and political role models. Educational and police authorities were inspecting political opinions and private lives of educators, punishing them to the extent that they were even repressed as victims of backward beliefs of their surroundings. Many denunciations that reached Ministry of Education can be analyzed in the light of local ethnic and political tensions. Political and moral conformity remained crucial components expected from educators in order to create the ideal obedient Yugoslav citizen. These expectations created a collision between personal and professional identities among educators, whose loyalty to their work was colliding with their political, social and even sexual beliefs, if the latter happened not to be within the boundaries of proclaimed aspiration to perfectionism.
The fifth chapter, "Persistance of social prejudices" is based on the sources that treat the disabled, in legal documents as well as literature, and bears witness to the insufficient efficiency of the web of government and power in regard to the life of war invalids. Although the government controlled the activity of the societies of war invalids and used them frequently in official ceremonies, it did not succeed in protecting their existential interests. The disabled were experiencing repression that was illegal, but socially legitimate. It was exercised by other social gro¬ups, and the law constantly failed to prevent it. The issue of employment of the invalids of war was one of the social outcomes of the First World War. Over 50.000 invalids were in such position, according to the state regulations, and they enjoyed some social privileges, including formal priority in obtaining a job. In practice, the situation was much different, since a great number of companies and institutions systematically obstructed this right. It was a consequence of social prejudice towards the disabled in a dominantly rural and traditional environment, which was in turn shaping the attitudes of citizens as well. Theoretically undefined, although very much present in practice, the resistance to the employment of disabled persons was an expression of the social exclusion of unwanted people. Their imagined „guilt“ was the failure to fit in the concept of health as imagined by the average citizen. The result was resistance to the social policy of the state, which can be tracked through low numbers of employment and low life standard of disabled persons and their families.
Instead of establishing the necessary social, moral and political agendas, the web of power and authority was itself caught into a wide range of social prejudice, leading to marginalization and underestimation of certain professions (artists, educators) and social groups (disabled). Elements of political conformity, imposed through the control of free speech, stimulated denunciation and pretended obedience as dominant strategies of success and survival in the conditions of the over politicization of Yugoslav society. The overall result was the creation of a barely visible, but established presence of political strategies of individuals and interest groups, that would go on to play a significant role in the following period of single-minded Communism.
If the succesess of shooting club "Partizan" can be expresed within language of numbers, it could be acquired the real insight into the range of results that it classified most triumphant among clubs in the region of former Yugoslavia. Prior to year 2005. the senior teams have been champions 26 times, and ladies have been 19 times, in a numbers of shooting disciplines and with various weapons. "Partizan"’s shooters justified the calls in the Yugoslav and the Serbian national teams, conquering 29 medals at European championships (12 gold, 9 silver and 8 bronze), and 7 medals, of which 2 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze on the World Cup. Men and women teams won 8 domestic Cup, 146 times were individual state champions and set the state record 36 times.
In particular shooting category, as the section of the club, shooters for „flying targets“, or „trap“ were state champions 11 times, and in the Cup event won 10 times between 1994 - 2004. years. In the same time, they also won 8 of the Champions titles in the individual competitions.
Achievements of the club have increased during the next few years. By order of importance most important trophies are: Gold medal on Olympic Games with Olympic Record (Goran Maksimović in Seoul in 1988.) They won 3 gold, 3 silver, and 4 bronze medals on World Championships with four World Records. „Partizan“’s shooters had good results on European Championships: 16 gold, 11 silver, and 8 bronze medals. Prominent and numerous are Balkan titles: 52 gold, 52 silver, 50 bronze medals with 14 Balkan Records. They were among most successfull teams on Championships of Yugoslavia with 172 Gold medals.
Papers by Ljubomir Petrović
Housing was one of the acute social problems in the interwar period, both in Belgrade and in the interior of the country. The problem is tracked, both in capital and in the interior of the country, with an emphasis on the social and legislative conditions of perception.
Summary
The problem of housing in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was segmented and was treated without general principles and solutions, which would have eliminated disparity resulting from differing degrees of progress and inherent cultural and religious variety, and would have allowed a uniform and systematic approach to the problem of housing. One of the reasons the situation remained unchanged was the material benefit that the rentiers gained from the scarcity of housing space, which was hardly alleviated by the construction of unsuitable and unhygienic living quarters or by the slow progress in housing legislation. The problem of housing never exceeded the margins of local politics, despite efforts made in legislation and through various publications to solve this problem at the national level.
The "Serbian Literary Gazette" was s a living monument for serbian national heritage, but also was the initiator of modernization in the sphere of culture. Trough various texts serbian thinking elite were broadening the spiritual horizon of Serbs and were spreeding knowledge in achievements of natural sciences, humanities, and art. Its writers and editors have contributed to the creation of a modern European cultural identity.
Summary
"Serbian Literary Gazette" ranked among the best and the most prestigious magazines in Serbia and Yugoslavia during the 20th century. From the times of being an expression of the political rebellion of the Serbian intelligentsia at the start of its publishing, it was transformed into a specific symbol of Europeization of the Serb culture. It had a broad circle of associates from almost all of the Balkan and most of the European countries. Throughout its existence it was giving an example how the people of different artistic, political and academic affinities can co-operate amongst themselves. Its founders were distinguished public personalities in the sphere of politics and culture. It was supporting the ideology of Yugoslav unity and was striving for a global democratization of society after the model of Great Britain and France. The circle of founders formed from the "Serbian Literary Gazette" a stockholding company with its managing and supervising bodies. Democratically elected management and supervisory boards were drafting general policy of the magazine, while giving the editors almost complete freedom in their work.
Yugoslavia's authorities, due to its political and economic interests, put great efforts into enabling the normalization of cultural life in Albania.
Summary
The level of rare Albanian cultural workers' performances in Yugoslavia could not satisfy the demands of the audience. Albanian delegations' visits turned into the organized demonstration of Yugoslavia's economic and cultural superiority. Under the impression of the unconditional support of Belgrade, Albanian communists demanded the cultural support that very much surpassed the moderate Yugoslavia's financial and personnel possibilities. This was especially felt in the field of classical music. Consequently, the closed circle was created in which Yugoslavia was dissatisfied with the status of culture in Albania as well as with the way the cultural policy was carried out. On the other hand, the Albanians were also not thrilled with the slow help and difficulties that appeared in the process of satisfying their cultural needs. A numerous omissions were, for the better part of it, the consequence of uncoordinated work of the cultural and art Committee of Yugoslavia's government that often needed interventions and reminding from the Interior in order to fulfill part of unreal demands and rash promises. This mutual dissatisfaction of Yugoslav and Albanian cultural institutions, although never shown publicly during the cooperation, only made easy the politically motivated breaking of contacts.
Through history, attitudes towards people with disabilities were going through various phases, from acceptance and rejection to reacceptance.
Summary
There were four types of disability: the first one was gained in wars, the second one was a consequence of disease or trauma at birth, the third one resulted from a conflict with the law, while the fourth one was a result of accidents at work. The law regulations towards people with disabilities were restrictive and discriminating.
Rejecting people with disabilities was most often a consequence of fear of disability, whether it was understood as the violation of God’s norms or only as a consequence of disease. Superstition often determined the level up to which people with disabilities would be accepted or rejected, even the methods they would be treated with. There were many assumptions about the appearance of disability with children, which were later rejected. The age limit of mothers-to-be, parents alcoholism and frequent deliveries were believed to be responsible for disability. In the state of Yugoslavia, it was believed that there were about 159,887 of disabled people with disabilities of various causes and levels.
A country with catastrophic health situation and insufficient hygienic culture, such was Yugoslavia between two World wars, had many reasons to define the state of disability. Definitions and their view of disability cause reveal the level of development of health and educational policy towards people with disabilities as a social group. People with disabilities were generally always thought of in the context of incapability in comparison with people without disabilities.
Keywords:
democracy; belgrade magazines; 1929; 1941;
Summary:
All the affirmative views on democracy had one thing in common: endeavoring to find the democracy doctrine extensive enough for the general, politic, economic, social and cultural needs of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The intellectual level of articles also depended on times in which magazines appeared. It was believed that democracy was the system with no class monopoly on production. For some, democracy was the selection of the best, for others, it was the process of liberation of human personality through history, even the philosophical concept applied in practice. Democracy was regarded to be viewed best through the principle of non-interference in economy and goods exchange. Liberal phase prolongation of democratic idea was insisted on. Democracy, as the political ideal, did not justify its supporters’ expectation in political practice. In time, the gap between the ideal and its applicability raised to the level of proclaiming basic institutions of democracy to be undemocratic. Criticizing democracy, in the period of dictatorship, was characterized by wandering among doctrines. The direct aim was the repudiation of democracy itself which was also the fundamental political aim of dictatorship. Ideological wandering of the democracy opponents was expressed in various forms, from mysticism and relating democracy with certain characteristics of authoritarian system to rejection of democracy in favor of corporativism.
The first tendencies of separating the Yugoslav creators from the Soviet experience manifested publicly at the Second Congress of Yugoslav writers in 1949. Contacts with the Western cultural scene in the first decade of the Cold War existed from the arrival of the communists to power and survived in limited dimensions during the process of sovietization of the Yugoslav culture. The perception of the Western cultural model was gradually changed. The proclaimed freedom of creation and observation of art from both sides of the "iron curtain" lead the Yugoslav culture, in the later period, to the position of being a mediator in the cultural exchange of the two opposed blocs
Tireless political activity of Jovan Skerlić or the functioning of the Yugoslav Board were not subjects of analysis leaving out of the sight the most fruitful epoch of the Yugoslav idea. That was causing the lack of consciousness and knowledge of the real importance of the idea in the eve of the First World War and during the war. Anthropology was employed in order to emphasize the homogeneity of the ′Yugoslav race′. In order to familiarize the population with such concept, there was an on going quest for the social strata which could be reached with such ideology (f.e the population of Muslim origin). The attempt was also made to revitalize the political life by creating a pretense of political parties to cater to the economical and social needs of the society.
All those actions were followed with the strong ideological thrust in the realm of language, with the purpose of shaping the communication between the government and the masses. Such language was deficient in formulating the ideological goals, which was a consequence of the competition between the concepts of resolving the cultural and political problems of the state. The unsolvable problems that the ideology of the integral Yugoslavism was facing are analyzed in all the articles in the journal "Jugosloven" (The Yugoslav). The problems could not be solved in part due to the discord in the ranks of Yugoslavists, and partly due to the inability to secure the strong state and unified nation through the one-sided ideological imposition. The activity of this short-lived journal is an indirect proof of the ungrounded character of the Yugoslav ideology in socially heterogeneous, traditional society of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
It is not accidentaly. In both Yugoslav states, shooting was stimulated through power structures in the army. During the Kingdom, the military elite was managing the shooting clubs, and the postwar military also was active in establishing local clubs. Sharpshooters were pressed with expectations of success. Hence the results showing the rise of shooting were largely divorced from reality, in wich the lack of weaponry, particulary pistols, small number of shooting grounds, and lack of interest of Albanians to give a multiethnic dimension to the competition, were all hindering its devenlopment. However, through competition with more successful marksmanship environments, sharpshooters from Kosovo gained the quality needed for success on local, national and international championships.
On the basis of historiography, political sciences and memoirs of Milošević's wife, author examined attitudes of Mirjana Marković about her role and impact on the informal power, her ideological views on policy and interpretation 8th session of the LSC CC. She had intentions to governance from the shadows even after the departure of her husband with the political scene in Serbia.
Keywords:
informal power, the Left, ideology, Eight Session, national communism, personality cult, distorted vision of reality
Summary:
Mirjana Markovic, the wife of Slobodan Milosevic, had a powerful role behind the scenes and in the informal system of power. In an ideological sense she represented a mixture of communism, mondialism and feminism, with a strong autocratic content. As a representative of a family of the top postwar party bureaucracy, she was striving to mantain her position an rise of Milosevic to power, trough a constant emission of distorted images of reality trough the media.
She did not bother to negate allegations about excercising polittical influece over her marital partner. Milosevic faction's victory in the 8th session LSC CC she defended trough the public claims that it was a way to prevent the creation of the Republic of Kosovo. She wanted to establish a monopoly over the winner of historical interpretation of the Eight Session. Criticism and attacks on the system of government she solely understood as personal attacks on her and her family. She justify political views trough an alleged sholarship, by creating an artificial simetry between capitalism and the Yugoslav concept of socialism, as two even doctrines. She was obessed with power, and did not even bother to hide it.
Abstract
The development of nuclear policy in Yugoslavia was burdened with overlapping jurisdictions, which were shifting from one institution to another, many of which hastily created and quickly disappearing.
Summary
Lawmaking in the area of radiation protection was in the process of constant renewal and change, but this did not affect the incompleteness of norms and regulations. Yugoslav Radiation Protection Association failed to constitute itself for many years, but has won itself a say in lawmaking process. The association was facing megalomania in nuclear energy policy of state leadership, frequently steered by the individuals from institutes for development of the nuclear program. The ignorance of wider public, which had no awareness about the risks of usage of technology of radiation, was one of the obstacles in the development of nuclear policy which was ignored by the politicians.
Cultural periodicals, Intellectual elite, "Srpski knjizevni glasnik" (The Serbian Literary Herald), "Nova Evropa" (New Europe) , Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Zagreb.
Abstract:
The book is based on research of cultural periodicals as sources describing the conditions, processes, and events wich was characteristic for Yugoslavia. The purpose of this book is to explain the views of the thinking elite in Yugoslavia between two wars, regarding the problems of state and society. The most prominent and most reputable jounals were "Srpski knjizevni glasnik" (The Serbian Literary Herald) from Belgrade and "Nova Evropa" (New Europe) from Zagreb. Published in different cities, they were representative of intellectually prominent elite, but one whose members held different political wiews. These periodicals, published for two decades, reflected complex social realities, and represented informal centres of power.
Summary:
The book consists of an introduction and five chapters. The introduction provides a short history of both periodicals, and describes the social conditions of their time.
The first chapter -"The State and Society" deals with the effect of periodic editiones on the forming of public opinion and the readers' teritorial, historical and ideological consciousness, laying the foundations for creating a political and national (Yugoslav) identity.
The second chapter - "Internal Politics", describes the conflicts and descrepancies in the views of intellectuals and politicians regarding the possible course of the country's devenlopment. The most frequently treated political problems concern views on democracy and parliamentary government, the manner of obteining and preserving political power, and constitutional questions.
The third chapter - "Foreign Policy", deals with the views on Yugoslav diplomacy, the relations of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia with neighboring countries, and criticism of the Yugoslav Ministry of Foreign Affairs activities in international organizations.
The fourth chapter - "The State's Economic Defects" concerns problems in the devenlopment of Yugoslav industry, agriculture, and the National Bank, and the effect of politics on forming the economy and views regarding economy.
The fifth chapter - "Views of the Role of Culture", presents a number of opinions regarding the type of culture to be desired, and the incongruity between educational backwardness on the one side, and international cultural trends on the other. The book deals with phenomenn of politiciying culture and the effect of this phenomenon on forming views regarding a sound cultural policy.
The existing differences and inconsistencies contributed to creating a negative image of the state and its institutiones, wich added credibilities to critical attitudes, creating the basis for the Croatians' rejection of the Yugoslav experience, and for resistance to the idea of the common state.
disabled, social policy, invalids, the war disabled, disability work, children retarded in development, legislation, economy disability, perception and reception of disability.
Abstract:
This book deals with the history of three types of disability in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia: war invalids, labour disabled and disabled children . Explore the theoretical concepts of disability in medicine, the health situation, elements of legal protection, causes of disability, language of disability and how it received the status of war invalids. Examines the inter-state relations and war invalids, disadvantages legislation, international cooperation various disabled organizations, the financial policy of the state according to the disability, transport and accommodation of disabled persons, employment, humanitarian assistance and disability co-operatives. Yugoslav experience includes work with the labour disabled who were users of social security. Special unit dedicated to special education, students, teaching and teachers. The last part of book include a picture of disability in the public opinion and media coverage problems of invalids in the press and arts of various profiles. In all spheres of life, there is discrimination of disabled persons wich is expreses through double standards of society. The majority of disabled persons was not protected or in the acquisition of the disability pension. Institutions, in which some groups of disabled persons were located, served more of their isolation then for protection.
CONCLUSION
The status which the people with disability had in Yugoslav society was strongly influenced by contempt, political attitudes and prejudices. The answer to the question why the social policy concerning the disabled was so unsuccessful lies in the fact that the field of social welfare was marked by great contrasts. Such contrasts can best be illustrated by the cases of labour invalids who were rejected by modern social institutions while the obsolete nineteenth-century laws could not meet the basic requirements of modern social and medical care. Applying social policy to war invalids was hard since the laws and regulations dealing with that particular group of invalids were changing so often that it was hard to determine whether their effects on war invalids and their families were harmful or beneficial. The economic reasons stemming from the fact that the society itself was already behind in its progress had strong influence on the government policy towards the disabled and invalids. There were prejudices against the disabled widely spread throughout the society, which resulted in the negative image of the disabled who were marginalized both socially and economically. Social shame and poor organization of educational institutions specialized in educating children with special needs allowed for only a small number of disabled children to have essential education to which they were entitled as members of a civilized society. The disabled were of limited political use and there was neither social nor spatial mobility within the community of the disabled persons which added to their separation and isolation.
Rigid policy resulted from the fact that disability had been accepted only in cases when it was supposed to be legally labeled or when the power of the supernatural was to be emphasized. Fear of disability was rooted in superstitious belief that any illness was a demonic state. During the Middle ages in Serbia the disabled were deprived of their rights and forced to live on charity, from monasteries mainly. People who were punished for their misdeeds by mutilation just spread the prejudices and misconceptions about the disabled people. With Turkish occupation the war invalids became fewer but the number of those whose disability was a result of some illness increased. Mystic healing rituals were widely spread. Physical and mental abuse of the sick was an obligatory part of the therapy when it came to the treatment of mental disorders. When the first schools were established, children showing difficulties in learning were literally molested unless they could show certain mental and physical abilities. During the 18th and 19th century, some people with disabilities were institutionalized, while charity donations were collected for the others.
Social welfare policy after Second Serbian Uprising was shaped very slowly although respectable individuals were given some kind of invalid pensions. It was not until 1841 that invalid pensions became an integral part of all legal norms in the Kingdom of Serbia. Municipal authorities were responsible of taking care of all those individuals unable to work and support themselves. Economic aspect of the issue of disability was seen as quite a serious social problem and some efforts were made towards solving it by establishing a fund for the poor whose main aim was to prevent begging.
First social welfare policy acts bore resemblance to all the other legal acts in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. There was a considerable lack of both will and ability to enforce the aforementioned social policy acts. Tragic Great War brought about a great number of war invalids supported and protected by Serbian authorities during war operations. Refugees and prisoners of war who were in Russia at the time would receive financial compensation if they were incompetent to go to battle or if they were wounded.
Serbian population of the time lacked essential sanitary and health habits. Therefore, the number of disabled people increased although the war was over. Incompetently performed child-labors in bad sanitary conditions, very few doctors, high child mortality rate, unbalanced and poor nutrition, and the fact that whole generations never had any professional medical treatment contributed to a high rate of natal and post natal disability. Insufficient sanitary protection and refusal of companies to introduce modern labour protection measures brought about many accidents at work which resulted in high number of disabled workers. Disability was also a result of many infectious diseases widely spread among population. Disabled children could not receive proper treatment and care as at the time the causes of the disability were only speculated on.
Social prejudices against disabled people were expressed by the language which labeled them and made them excommunicated. Many expressions changed their meaning from precisely denoting a person’s condition to obscene and insulting words. On the other hand, there were terms which remained within their primary semantic field but still described a person’s disability as his feature.
Communities loaded with prejudices easily turned their backs on those disabled individuals who were of different ethnic or cultural background. Such was the fate of all the refugees from Imperial Russia who found refuge in Yugoslavia after the civil war. They had an association of war invalids whose primary activity was to help the invalids and their families satisfy their staple needs. These Russian war invalids belonged to the most deprived social categories, though Yugoslav war invalids were not treating them accordingly. Some of those Russian war invalids had professional training in some trades. Charity donations provided by the Royal family represented a main part of charitable funds and contributions raised for Russian war invalids. Such funds were used to build homes for the sick and old. No Russian war invalid was a beneficiary of state pensions despite regularly receiving state dole.
The government was faced with the problem how to adjust and adapt legislative norms simultaneously erasing prejudices against the disabled that were widespread among the people. Legal regulations had never before been able to suppress the bias and the abuse of the disabled. At its early phase social policy towards the disabled was marked by strong competition among the authorities which were in charge of caring for the disabled. The largest group of social welfare beneficiaries was war invalids. However there was a lot of bias against the disabled. People with disability were regarded to be of weaker working potential than those who had no disability. Thus they were not seen as equal in terms of legal, social and financial equality. The disabled were entitled to a state pension while the laws dealing with the issues of the disabled were seen as constituent parts of the state social welfare policy. In such conditions the process of establishing social rights was prone to bureaucratization, which would later become the main feature of the social policy towards the disabled in Yugoslavia between the two world wars. Invalids themselves as well as the families of those killed and missing in battle had to get loads of documents issued by various institutions in order to exercise their social rights.
First invalid pensions were prone to revisions, which only brought additional confusion to local authorities. The number of beneficiaries of invalid pensions was quite large, so the government’s budget and social policy had to be extremely restrictive towards the disabled. There were quite a few efforts to fight such restrictive social policy, but unfortunately they were not particularly successful as there were several veteran associations which were fighting tooth and nail among themselves. At lower administrative levels, the deprived members of the community received financial aid from County service for protection of the disabled, young and children. However, expert bodies designed to evaluate the level of physical disability of war veterans used to be quite strict. Therefore, many a veteran received less compensation money than they would have been entitled to according to their true medical condition.
All in all, there were five legal acts dealing with the issue of the disabled in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. All of them agreed on the following: the disabled people whose disability was less than 20% should not be taken into consideration for social welfare compensation. Legal system of social welfare of war invalids had plenty of weak spots. It was inevitable since war invalids themselves had the same rights as the families of those killed or missing in war operations. Providing free medical care for the invalids was a constantly avoided issue since at the time it was hard to determine whether a particular medical condition had resulted from certain wound and injuries inflicted in battle. The number of those who were beneficiaries of invalid pensions was constantly reduced whenever new laws and regulations were introduced. One of the most rigorous legal acts was in power since 1929. As a result, many disabled people, whose disability was 30% or 40%, were deprived of their social rights. The courts for the disabled worked extremely slowly and inefficiently which defied short legal deadlines when it came to evaluating those cases of disability which had not been taken into account by previous legal acts. Some local, state and self-management authorities and institutions ignored the legal acts and norms by mistreating the disabled as members of community while some individuals deliberately broke or obstructed the law.
The Yugoslav association of war invalids demanded from its local affiliations to organize rallies and to pressurize authorities by bringing public resolutions. Such expression of public discontent lasted for two years. They demanded that all the war invalids who, being incapable of timely applying for social welfare program, had been left out of it, should be given the benefits of the invalid social welfare. Some invalids’ applications had been turned down only because their behaviour was branded as immoral and socially unacceptable by the local authorities who had a legal right to do so. Such behaviour included extra-marital relationships, gambling and drinking. The existing legal acts of the time seemed to have been designed to make it extremely hard for the disabled to get state pensions. Furthermore there were some regional legal barriers resulting from overzealous interpretation of the existing legal norms. The actual number of those who were the beneficiaries of state invalid pensions was less than a half of all those registered as war invalids. The census of all the people with disabilities hadn’t been done in a unified manner, so all the people suffering from mental disability were excluded from the census of the disabled in 1931. Although the results were quite contradictory depending on the source, it is generally considered that at the time the total number of all the people with disabilities must have been well over 200.000. Strangely enough, unofficial statistic data were more thorough and more precise than the official ones.
Social and medical care referred exclusively to war invalids and seemingly it was a widespread concept. Orthopedic hospitals had special workshops where orthopedic prostheses were made and there were a whole lot of other institutions such as temporary shelters, sanatoriums and trade schools. There were six principles of the invalid healthcare which included urgent medical care and the rights to free prostheses. Furthermore, institutions for permanent accommodation of all those unable to take care of themselves were to be founded. Prostheses immediately were a problematic issue since it was hard to estimate the number of all those who needed them. As soon as certain medical measures were introduced and regulated by legal acts, they would be derogated by a simple act of limiting the number of the invalids who could be institutionalized. The invalids were entitled to free transportation which would allow them to exercise their right to freedom of movement. However, different institutions had different attitudes to the aforementioned issue. County authorities would advertise free transportation for the invalids but doctors and other staff discouraged them from using it.
The invalids kept trying to improve their social status by taking an active part in elections. Not being particularly successful they turned to Royal Court hoping to find help for wrongful decisions and acts of social welfare institutions. The help of the Royal Court was of limited nature, but the disabled were used for creation of favourable political and national identity by instrumentalization of the past. In return they could directly deal with the marshal of the Court when some collective or individual issues were to be solved. Daily politics had negative influence on the unity of the invalid associations. After the Kingdom of Croatia had been created, the invalids from Croatia formed an independent association of war invalids. All war invalids from Yugoslavia had very good cooperation with international organizations of war invalids.
Economic issues of disability were many as industrial capacities could not prevent constant economic marginalization of the disabled by employing them permanently. By 1921 the amount of social welfare benefit allotted to the disabled had been determined by outdated legal acts. There was a considerable disproportion between the amounts that the beneficiaries of invalid pensions received in Serbia and Montenegro and in other parts of the country. At first the number of budget loans given to invalids was constantly increased but it could not permanently solve their professional status. All the social issues from war times had been economically based which raised the issue whether the temporary economic measures introduced in war should remain or should be abolished. Situation became additionally complicated as military authorities pried into civil social policy matters.
The government never cared sufficiently for the beneficiaries of invalid pensions because the invalids were generally regarded as a group whose social welfare could most easily be limited and restricted. Politicians felt that the budget of Ministry of social welfare was burdened by the people who could find other ways of supporting themselves apart from receiving invalid pensions. Lack of social care was so evident and widespread that the state failed to pay the invalids regularly and owned them large sums of money. Another way of abusing the rights of war invalids was buying out the disability pensions. The buyout-money would rarely be paid in time which made the invalids more indebted and even poorer, and the government showed no interest in rational use of this kind of social welfare money.
Thus the Association of war invalids had to support itself and to contribute to the Invalid home fund. By selling books, lottery tickets or badges invalids tried to become financially independent of government financial aid which was not sufficient anyway. The association supported itself from the funds provided by wealthy charity donors. Such funds were only regular income of the association. Local authorities constantly obstructed the economic policy in county affiliations, which was partly responsible for total lack of coherent support to social integration of the disabled.
Students of special schools could not rely on their permanent accommodation as Home of Invalids was constantly under pressure coming from more powerful groups to be fragmented in smaller institutions, which could hardly survive the change of working conditions. Permanent accommodation of a group of invalids hadn’t occurred until 1935, when Home of the war invalids was opened in Belgrade. The Home capacity was quite limited. Other homes were constantly faced with problems with local authorities which perceived such institutions as public shame. Sometimes Ministry of social welfare would fund some projects, facility construction or food and provisions for its beneficiaries but it was just a reflection of an unimaginative approach to tackling the expenses of the institutions which cared for the disabled.
Even during the Great War there were some initiatives and plans concerning the employment of the disabled and some disabled people had been professionally trained. This professional training was referred to as re-education. Although most people with disabilities had been meant to work in small enterprises and manufacture sector, the public and private companies were legally obliged to employ a certain number of the disabled individuals. Very few persons with disabilities managed to survive in the sector of small enterprises and manufacture.
There were different aspects of humanitarian aid which was distributed not only to institutions dealing with the disabled but to individuals as well. However, this aid could not improve the financial and social status of the disabled. The disabled organized themselves into cooperative societies which was another effort of theirs to gain some economic stability. There were different types of cooperative societies including agricultural and trade societies with different functions. Some were credit cooperative societies, others were dealing with supplies and there was the third kind of combined cooperative societies. They functioned according to some rules and regulations and each had managerial and control mechanisms and institutions from managing and control board to a secretary and treasurer. Not many cooperative societies had a long life, for one, because their existence and functions were not legally regulated. Many had been closed down because their employees committed embezzlements and because the members of the cooperatives tended to be quite irregular when it came to paying off their loans. Those which managed to survive had to ask the Court for financial support.
Labour disabled were not considered to fall in any groups of people with disability. However they had some influence in the field of social insurance. Such invalids were classified together with those who were the beneficiaries of rent compensation in case they were the victims of accidents which had occurred at work. Yugoslav insurance system was based on the Hapsburg insurance system. The state needed well over three years to create its own legislation concerning the issue of employee protection. Legal acts and norms resulted from the fact that the sate had right to intervene with industrial relations in order to reduce the existing social contradictions. By constitution women and children were protected form doing jobs hazardous to their health. The law dealing with the issue of employee insurance demanded that the state give the money necessary for improvement of employee insurance system, though the state ignored such demand. Thus the burden of insurance was on the shoulders of both employees and employers who were obliged to save money. The main purpose of the insurance was to reduce the damage caused by a diminished working capacity. The system of insurance turned into a closed system with a sole purpose to spend as little money as possible on people with the diminished working capacity, which resulted in complete exclusion of labour invalids. Yugoslavia as a member of international labour bureau accepted just a few conventions protecting the people with disabilities inflicted at work.
At the beginning, all the workers were intended to be included in a single act dealing with labour insurance, but as the time went by there grew the number of jobs excluded from legal jurisdiction. The state made efforts to create a supportive fund for old and sick workers. This measure was activated too late and could never be implemented due to the outbreak of the Second World War. The Central office for the employee insurance ( SUZOR ) regulated voluntary and more extensive insurance of the disabled in such a way that the Office itself would take over the responsibility of paying out all active invalid pensions, but only if an employer or the labour organization, of which a particular disabled individual was a member, had previously paid an appropriate sum of money as a guarantee. For that reason invalid pensions were prone to revisions, and there were cases that an individual would physically get used to his disability, thus his pension would be reduced. Not all labour invalids were in position to use social insurance. Exclusion from the system of insurance was simple.
Proving the occurrence of disability at work was a hard thing to do. There were principles that if maximum damages were to be paid, an invalid had to prove that the disability in question actually occurred at work and that he himself had not been responsible for the accident. The official number of labour invalids was 15.000 which is a comparatively low number if compared to more than 200.000 accidents at work which occurred during the period of 15 years. State labour inspection had no possibility to control enterprises, companies, employees and equipment. It turned out that overproductivity combined with the inexperience of young employees when dealing with the equipment was responsible for a large number of accidents at work in Yugoslavia. Employers showed strong resistance when it came to introducing protective measures at work, as it raised production costs. There were jobs for which both modern and outdated protection regulations were applied which lead to a normative mess. Insurance companies were constantly faced with the lack of money in their funds from which a compensation in case of accident at work was to be paid. This was so because legally the status of seasonal and full-time workers was equal when it came to right to invalid pensions. The fact that the authorities were always quite reluctant to give invalid pensions is best illustrated by a legal clause which allowed the Central office, if an employee agreed, to offer an injured person free accommodation in a medical institution instead of paying out the rent compensation money.
The concept of accident at work was not defined by law, which many of labour invalids paid dearly as they were not in a position to fight for their rights due to the fact that their injuries and the conditions in which they occurred hadn’t been précised by legal acts. How risky jobs were was determined by a complicated system of scales which contained 14 categories. The insurance system was prone to corruption and foul play, especially when it came to sectors which were not included in a mandatory insurance. For 10 years all those whose health was damaged as a result of an accident at work. Only later were illnesses caused by phosphorus, lead and mercury recognized.
Labour invalids were not entitled to old-age pension. Evaluation of disability level was never perceived as an offence, even in cases when such evaluations were on the expense of a disabled persons. Very often, the lawyers from SUZOR would evaluate someone’s vocation and its attractiveness at labour market rather than his actual disability.
The faith of all those labour invalids, who were not within the system of mandatory insurance, depended on collegial social institutions which would give some money to brotherhood funds from which labour invalids and old-age pensioners were supported. Miners’ law and regulations were obeyed by thousands of people, but actual number of invalids among miners was never precisely determined. Employers were partially responsible for all disabilities that occurred in mines as they exploited both workers and their wives and children paying them only meagre sums of money. There was no first-aid in case of an accident. Life conditions in and around mines were extremely poor.
Brotherhood funds operated more or less in the same manner as SUZOR viewing disability not as a phenomenon but rather as a condition of diminished working capacity. When it came to insuring sailors, discrimination was so strong that insurance system records throughout Yugoslavia contain no evidence that any sailor had ever received personal invalid pension. Generally, they received family pensions or compensations for the poor.
First years of joint state were marked by a lack of special education institutions and teachers. Since primary education was mandatory, most children with disabilities had to attend regular schools which were not appropriate for them. The existing practice was reformed based on the experience of different institutions such as the Institute for the blind in Zemun, which had a primary school for blind children. This school had been working since 1919.
When the students belonging to special education system became interesting to the authorities for ideological purposes, special education institutions were in a favourable position to insist on a wider network of specialized departments for children with special needs in public schools. Prior to joining specialized classes, disabled children had to have their abilities tested and evaluated. Not all disabled children could attend classes, as those with more severe disabilities (such as blind, deaf and dumb and epileptic children) were not accepted. The children who applied for special classes were supervised by teachers and special expert panels. Special classes had to have at least 10 students with special needs. All the children in the class were of the same age and of the same grade. Underdeveloped communities and local authorities in Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and central Serbia were strongly opposed to such practice, which was hardly a surprise as these communities had many illiterate people.
There were additional special schools which were in charge of educating those who had already completed primary special schools with 6 grades. Such schools had 4 more grades. The classes were not co-educational. Such a complexity of special education system forced school authorities to start schools for children with special needs which would be independent of public schools. This practice was first introduced in 1935. There was a possibility to transfer some special education students to regular schools which had been unthinkable of before. Every student had a thorough file which contained the records about a particular disabled child with precise data about its medical and educational potentials. There were 11 subjects taught in schools irrespective of different disabilities their students might have suffered from.
Secondary education for children with special needs was limited to private high-schools or music schools. Prejudices against children with disabilities often included their teachers. Most children with disabilities could not attend classes regularly. Only ¼ of blind children, 1/10 of deaf and dumb children and just 1 in 25 with mental disabilities were included in educational system. Special syllabuse and curriculum were designed to suit the needs of the disabled children who were blind, deaf and dumb or mentally retarded.
Teachers working in special schools were making tremendous efforts to turn defectology into a scientific discipline outside the framework of pedagogy. The Czechoslovakian model was used in order to create educational profile of teachers. Teachers were educated at different courses abroad. Professional specialization brought about foundation of association of teachers working in special education institutions. Social and financial status of such teachers was defined by a decision of educational authorities to equalize them with teachers who were instructing professional skills in public schools. All teachers working in special education schools had to take an exam which would prove their competence to work in special schools.
For centuries, disability as social and medical phenomenon was perceived and accepted with strong resistance and reluctance. Every method of marginalization of people with disability relied on this prejudice. Sometimes medical research was used for the purpose of forcefully eliminating some forms of disability. The main concern of Yugoslav Ministry of social welfare was to create the false exaggerated image that the state showed a great care for people with disability. They did nothing to change the existing stereotypes and prejudices about the disabled. Only much later did it occur to state officials to challenge the existing social policy and speak in favour of socially responsible behaviour towards the disabled, though referring to war invalids only. People with disability were described in terms of a hypothesis that they belonged to lower category of people according to their values and abilities. Attitudes which advocated the need to help disabled people to live with their handicap became criteria for profiling accepted or rejected invalid groups. Educated invalids were more cooperative when it came to implementing the ideas concerning their moral and civil “usefulness” in society.
Negative perception of disabilities caused traumas for the wounded who, faced with their disabilities, had to choose between passively accepting their poor social status and futile anger turned against politicians and institutions who were neglecting them. Not even the media attention could help the interests of the disabled as their only magazine War Invalid was constantly on the verge of bankruptcy fighting to make ends meet. Some naïve philanthropists suggested that physically able people should do work of war invalids on voluntary basis as a token of appreciation for all the sacrifices the war veterans had made. Naturally, it was far from reality.
Representatives of the disabled viewed state institutions as being reluctant to support them. They were under the impression that state institutions had the intention to protect the society from people with disabilities rather than helping the disabled overcome social injustice. Other classes of invalids had neither power nor people who would advocate their needs in a different context from the one imposed by social prejudices. Civil invalids were socially accepted or rejected depending on whether or not they attended special educational institutions. Students’ highest achievements were restricted to either trade or work in schools specialized for the blind. People with disabilities of other kind had no chance to show their pedagogical talents. Neither War Invalid nor The Voice of the Innocent could win the attention of any readers other than those who were interested in solving the social policy issues of the disabled population.
Literature and other forms of art also marginalized people with disabilities. This was not so much the result of social context but rather of artists’ ability to use the tragedy of a disabled person, his acceptance or rejection as sentimental impression in their works. People with disabilities were still regarded as weak and incompetent even when their disability was seen as the price they had to pay for the sins of their forefathers or the ones of their own. A faint hint of respect towards the war invalids for the sacrifices they had made could be sensed. Despite differences in time, style or regional background, some artists kept on nurturing the prejudices concerning the criminalization of disability, which could hardly be seen as a way to improve and enhance the perception and reception of the people with disabilities in communities which looked favourably on such works of art.
social groups, state repression, social reprssion, social exclusion, legal scholars, government, authority, legitimisation of power, verbal offences, surveillance, foreign entertainers, army deserters, teachers, war invalids.
Abstract:
The book "Yugoslav Interwar Society in the Web of Governmental Authority" analyses the authoritarian aspects present in Yugoslav society much before the establishment of dictatorship in 1929. Legal scholars in the interwar period contributed to the process of identity creation of the institutions of legitimate violence. The scope of state power and repressive governance over the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was dictated by the belief that some of the social groups represented a moral or political threat. Other groups, such as disabled persons, were repressed due to their symbolic susceptibility to the interest of the state. Citizenry and peasantry were affected by repression and state power through limitations imposed on the rights of free speech and writing. The awareness that one might go to prison for words hastily spoken, dramatized the experience of „the little man“, in view of the fact that the majority did not belong to the category of the enemies of the state. In the words of Michael Foucault, it was „a ceremony of the manifestation of power“, bearing important consequences on aspects of obedience and lack of resistance towards authority. The society in this new state was prone to the dynamics of social exclusion, particularly toward low ranking groups, leading to the point of collision between the interests of the society and the visions the state had about integration. The outcome was illegal nongovernmental, but social repression, as a reflection of the acceptance of authoritarian experience.
Conclusion:
The first chapter, "Justification legalisation of represive power in Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovens", deals with the official legitimization of repression in the state between 1918 and 1929. Theorization of the usage of repressive systems in protection of governmental authority was a matter of legal controversy. The dispute between legal scholars is analyzed through a multidisciplinary approach to historiographical, legal and sociological texts of the time. Yugoslav legal scholars agreed that the state is an institution created with the purpose of defending human liberties, but also restraining their excesses. The state retained its authority even when it acted contrary to legal norms. Lawyers were divided politically over the issue whether the state needed to maintain repression, at a time when a wide specter of views concerning the purposes and functions of repression and penalty was being created globally. The majority of legal scholars accepted punishment as a form of repression and retribution, justifying it as an element of threat directed towards offenders. They also agreed that the penalty had to be unconditional in cases when the offense was challenging the authority of the state. Retribution was to be achieved through a dosage of preventive measures. The success of the legal system was measured in terms of balance between preventive and repressive action in the fight against all violations of law. In practice, reality was quite remote from the theoretical conceptions and idealist visions of repression and penalty. The state did not succeed in achieving the rationalization of economical and technical efficiency that could match social reactions to punishment. Resistance towards the state occurred as a psychosocial consequence. The authorities feared that accommodating social sensibilities could cause the erosion of importance of security measures, which was in turn forging the system of values in which the abuse of power was unacceptable at the local level, and omnipresent on the level of the state. The absence of mutual trust and cooperation between local power players was leading towards the abuse of repressive measures in the conflicts between local authorities. Ordinary people were therefore experiencing the misuse of repressive power as a tool of encounter with the enemy. That had become a part of the mentality among all social strata. Power-mongering and party interests were the dominant experiences of the abuse of power.
The second chapter, "Technology of surveillance over foreigners", depicts the process of assuming control through surveillance methods. The web of governmental authority and power was maintained through preventive measures, among them surveillance. The official surveillance was not directed solely towards citizens of Yugoslav origin. Besides those deemed dangerous for the security of the state, surveillance allowed to track individuals considered morally unsuitable, due to their professions or known pacifism. Foreigners were tracked in the Kingdom if they happened to belong to the categories of entertainers and deserters from other countries’ armies. Theoretically, the system of surveillance was well founded, but it showed many weaknesses in practice, that were typical for insufficiently educated police rank-and-file. The position of foreign artists in interwar Yugoslavia was oscillating between artificial glamour, fancy artistic names and open erotic charm, on the one hand, and miserable wages and moral prejudices of the society, on the other. The society was eager for entertainment, but at the same time sensitive to illegal activities, which, according to common views, were an inseparable part of the nighttime. There was also visible resistance towards the influx of foreigners into the ranks of local artists. Hence the governmental efforts, as well as those of artistic trade unions and institutions, to keep tight control over artists, who struggled to acquire jobs even when they were at odds with the law. Over a thousand foreign artists were performing between 1935 and 1941 in the Yugoslav public space.
The third chapter, "The anatomy of petty defiance", shows how verbal delict spread in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, as a form of resistance to the state authorities. It was unevenly spread, being common place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vojvodina, Dalmatia and Croatia, but not elsewhere. The obscene attacks on symbols of the state, including the monarchs Peter I and Alexander I, were part of the politically heated everyday life, despite the threat of prison sentences proclaimed for such offenses. The enemies of the new state and political opponents of the ruling parties did not hesitate to proclaim their disagreement with political trends of the time, sometimes in a very rude manner, to the degree in which the state was forced to restrict freedom of expression in order to protect its authority. In the legislative realm there was continuity with the criminal law of the Kingdom of Serbia in which such offenders were sentenced to time in prison, ranging from one month to ten years, depending on the gravity of the deed. Not even social groups that had no voting rights, such as women and children, were exempted. Prisoners serving their time for other crimes could be sentenced for committing a verbal delict. As a background to verbal delict, there was frequent expression of political sexuality, articulated through the deeds of fictitious rape and verbal abuse over opponents in the most private spaces of their existence.
The fourth chapter, "The hostages of the politicized profession", analyses the cult of a perfect educator promoted by the Ministry of Education of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the pressure it exercised over teachers in order to make them confirm to the social and political role models. Educational and police authorities were inspecting political opinions and private lives of educators, punishing them to the extent that they were even repressed as victims of backward beliefs of their surroundings. Many denunciations that reached Ministry of Education can be analyzed in the light of local ethnic and political tensions. Political and moral conformity remained crucial components expected from educators in order to create the ideal obedient Yugoslav citizen. These expectations created a collision between personal and professional identities among educators, whose loyalty to their work was colliding with their political, social and even sexual beliefs, if the latter happened not to be within the boundaries of proclaimed aspiration to perfectionism.
The fifth chapter, "Persistance of social prejudices" is based on the sources that treat the disabled, in legal documents as well as literature, and bears witness to the insufficient efficiency of the web of government and power in regard to the life of war invalids. Although the government controlled the activity of the societies of war invalids and used them frequently in official ceremonies, it did not succeed in protecting their existential interests. The disabled were experiencing repression that was illegal, but socially legitimate. It was exercised by other social gro¬ups, and the law constantly failed to prevent it. The issue of employment of the invalids of war was one of the social outcomes of the First World War. Over 50.000 invalids were in such position, according to the state regulations, and they enjoyed some social privileges, including formal priority in obtaining a job. In practice, the situation was much different, since a great number of companies and institutions systematically obstructed this right. It was a consequence of social prejudice towards the disabled in a dominantly rural and traditional environment, which was in turn shaping the attitudes of citizens as well. Theoretically undefined, although very much present in practice, the resistance to the employment of disabled persons was an expression of the social exclusion of unwanted people. Their imagined „guilt“ was the failure to fit in the concept of health as imagined by the average citizen. The result was resistance to the social policy of the state, which can be tracked through low numbers of employment and low life standard of disabled persons and their families.
Instead of establishing the necessary social, moral and political agendas, the web of power and authority was itself caught into a wide range of social prejudice, leading to marginalization and underestimation of certain professions (artists, educators) and social groups (disabled). Elements of political conformity, imposed through the control of free speech, stimulated denunciation and pretended obedience as dominant strategies of success and survival in the conditions of the over politicization of Yugoslav society. The overall result was the creation of a barely visible, but established presence of political strategies of individuals and interest groups, that would go on to play a significant role in the following period of single-minded Communism.
If the succesess of shooting club "Partizan" can be expresed within language of numbers, it could be acquired the real insight into the range of results that it classified most triumphant among clubs in the region of former Yugoslavia. Prior to year 2005. the senior teams have been champions 26 times, and ladies have been 19 times, in a numbers of shooting disciplines and with various weapons. "Partizan"’s shooters justified the calls in the Yugoslav and the Serbian national teams, conquering 29 medals at European championships (12 gold, 9 silver and 8 bronze), and 7 medals, of which 2 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze on the World Cup. Men and women teams won 8 domestic Cup, 146 times were individual state champions and set the state record 36 times.
In particular shooting category, as the section of the club, shooters for „flying targets“, or „trap“ were state champions 11 times, and in the Cup event won 10 times between 1994 - 2004. years. In the same time, they also won 8 of the Champions titles in the individual competitions.
Achievements of the club have increased during the next few years. By order of importance most important trophies are: Gold medal on Olympic Games with Olympic Record (Goran Maksimović in Seoul in 1988.) They won 3 gold, 3 silver, and 4 bronze medals on World Championships with four World Records. „Partizan“’s shooters had good results on European Championships: 16 gold, 11 silver, and 8 bronze medals. Prominent and numerous are Balkan titles: 52 gold, 52 silver, 50 bronze medals with 14 Balkan Records. They were among most successfull teams on Championships of Yugoslavia with 172 Gold medals.
Housing was one of the acute social problems in the interwar period, both in Belgrade and in the interior of the country. The problem is tracked, both in capital and in the interior of the country, with an emphasis on the social and legislative conditions of perception.
Summary
The problem of housing in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was segmented and was treated without general principles and solutions, which would have eliminated disparity resulting from differing degrees of progress and inherent cultural and religious variety, and would have allowed a uniform and systematic approach to the problem of housing. One of the reasons the situation remained unchanged was the material benefit that the rentiers gained from the scarcity of housing space, which was hardly alleviated by the construction of unsuitable and unhygienic living quarters or by the slow progress in housing legislation. The problem of housing never exceeded the margins of local politics, despite efforts made in legislation and through various publications to solve this problem at the national level.
The "Serbian Literary Gazette" was s a living monument for serbian national heritage, but also was the initiator of modernization in the sphere of culture. Trough various texts serbian thinking elite were broadening the spiritual horizon of Serbs and were spreeding knowledge in achievements of natural sciences, humanities, and art. Its writers and editors have contributed to the creation of a modern European cultural identity.
Summary
"Serbian Literary Gazette" ranked among the best and the most prestigious magazines in Serbia and Yugoslavia during the 20th century. From the times of being an expression of the political rebellion of the Serbian intelligentsia at the start of its publishing, it was transformed into a specific symbol of Europeization of the Serb culture. It had a broad circle of associates from almost all of the Balkan and most of the European countries. Throughout its existence it was giving an example how the people of different artistic, political and academic affinities can co-operate amongst themselves. Its founders were distinguished public personalities in the sphere of politics and culture. It was supporting the ideology of Yugoslav unity and was striving for a global democratization of society after the model of Great Britain and France. The circle of founders formed from the "Serbian Literary Gazette" a stockholding company with its managing and supervising bodies. Democratically elected management and supervisory boards were drafting general policy of the magazine, while giving the editors almost complete freedom in their work.
Yugoslavia's authorities, due to its political and economic interests, put great efforts into enabling the normalization of cultural life in Albania.
Summary
The level of rare Albanian cultural workers' performances in Yugoslavia could not satisfy the demands of the audience. Albanian delegations' visits turned into the organized demonstration of Yugoslavia's economic and cultural superiority. Under the impression of the unconditional support of Belgrade, Albanian communists demanded the cultural support that very much surpassed the moderate Yugoslavia's financial and personnel possibilities. This was especially felt in the field of classical music. Consequently, the closed circle was created in which Yugoslavia was dissatisfied with the status of culture in Albania as well as with the way the cultural policy was carried out. On the other hand, the Albanians were also not thrilled with the slow help and difficulties that appeared in the process of satisfying their cultural needs. A numerous omissions were, for the better part of it, the consequence of uncoordinated work of the cultural and art Committee of Yugoslavia's government that often needed interventions and reminding from the Interior in order to fulfill part of unreal demands and rash promises. This mutual dissatisfaction of Yugoslav and Albanian cultural institutions, although never shown publicly during the cooperation, only made easy the politically motivated breaking of contacts.
Through history, attitudes towards people with disabilities were going through various phases, from acceptance and rejection to reacceptance.
Summary
There were four types of disability: the first one was gained in wars, the second one was a consequence of disease or trauma at birth, the third one resulted from a conflict with the law, while the fourth one was a result of accidents at work. The law regulations towards people with disabilities were restrictive and discriminating.
Rejecting people with disabilities was most often a consequence of fear of disability, whether it was understood as the violation of God’s norms or only as a consequence of disease. Superstition often determined the level up to which people with disabilities would be accepted or rejected, even the methods they would be treated with. There were many assumptions about the appearance of disability with children, which were later rejected. The age limit of mothers-to-be, parents alcoholism and frequent deliveries were believed to be responsible for disability. In the state of Yugoslavia, it was believed that there were about 159,887 of disabled people with disabilities of various causes and levels.
A country with catastrophic health situation and insufficient hygienic culture, such was Yugoslavia between two World wars, had many reasons to define the state of disability. Definitions and their view of disability cause reveal the level of development of health and educational policy towards people with disabilities as a social group. People with disabilities were generally always thought of in the context of incapability in comparison with people without disabilities.
Keywords:
democracy; belgrade magazines; 1929; 1941;
Summary:
All the affirmative views on democracy had one thing in common: endeavoring to find the democracy doctrine extensive enough for the general, politic, economic, social and cultural needs of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The intellectual level of articles also depended on times in which magazines appeared. It was believed that democracy was the system with no class monopoly on production. For some, democracy was the selection of the best, for others, it was the process of liberation of human personality through history, even the philosophical concept applied in practice. Democracy was regarded to be viewed best through the principle of non-interference in economy and goods exchange. Liberal phase prolongation of democratic idea was insisted on. Democracy, as the political ideal, did not justify its supporters’ expectation in political practice. In time, the gap between the ideal and its applicability raised to the level of proclaiming basic institutions of democracy to be undemocratic. Criticizing democracy, in the period of dictatorship, was characterized by wandering among doctrines. The direct aim was the repudiation of democracy itself which was also the fundamental political aim of dictatorship. Ideological wandering of the democracy opponents was expressed in various forms, from mysticism and relating democracy with certain characteristics of authoritarian system to rejection of democracy in favor of corporativism.
The first tendencies of separating the Yugoslav creators from the Soviet experience manifested publicly at the Second Congress of Yugoslav writers in 1949. Contacts with the Western cultural scene in the first decade of the Cold War existed from the arrival of the communists to power and survived in limited dimensions during the process of sovietization of the Yugoslav culture. The perception of the Western cultural model was gradually changed. The proclaimed freedom of creation and observation of art from both sides of the "iron curtain" lead the Yugoslav culture, in the later period, to the position of being a mediator in the cultural exchange of the two opposed blocs
Tireless political activity of Jovan Skerlić or the functioning of the Yugoslav Board were not subjects of analysis leaving out of the sight the most fruitful epoch of the Yugoslav idea. That was causing the lack of consciousness and knowledge of the real importance of the idea in the eve of the First World War and during the war. Anthropology was employed in order to emphasize the homogeneity of the ′Yugoslav race′. In order to familiarize the population with such concept, there was an on going quest for the social strata which could be reached with such ideology (f.e the population of Muslim origin). The attempt was also made to revitalize the political life by creating a pretense of political parties to cater to the economical and social needs of the society.
All those actions were followed with the strong ideological thrust in the realm of language, with the purpose of shaping the communication between the government and the masses. Such language was deficient in formulating the ideological goals, which was a consequence of the competition between the concepts of resolving the cultural and political problems of the state. The unsolvable problems that the ideology of the integral Yugoslavism was facing are analyzed in all the articles in the journal "Jugosloven" (The Yugoslav). The problems could not be solved in part due to the discord in the ranks of Yugoslavists, and partly due to the inability to secure the strong state and unified nation through the one-sided ideological imposition. The activity of this short-lived journal is an indirect proof of the ungrounded character of the Yugoslav ideology in socially heterogeneous, traditional society of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
It is not accidentaly. In both Yugoslav states, shooting was stimulated through power structures in the army. During the Kingdom, the military elite was managing the shooting clubs, and the postwar military also was active in establishing local clubs. Sharpshooters were pressed with expectations of success. Hence the results showing the rise of shooting were largely divorced from reality, in wich the lack of weaponry, particulary pistols, small number of shooting grounds, and lack of interest of Albanians to give a multiethnic dimension to the competition, were all hindering its devenlopment. However, through competition with more successful marksmanship environments, sharpshooters from Kosovo gained the quality needed for success on local, national and international championships.
On the basis of historiography, political sciences and memoirs of Milošević's wife, author examined attitudes of Mirjana Marković about her role and impact on the informal power, her ideological views on policy and interpretation 8th session of the LSC CC. She had intentions to governance from the shadows even after the departure of her husband with the political scene in Serbia.
Keywords:
informal power, the Left, ideology, Eight Session, national communism, personality cult, distorted vision of reality
Summary:
Mirjana Markovic, the wife of Slobodan Milosevic, had a powerful role behind the scenes and in the informal system of power. In an ideological sense she represented a mixture of communism, mondialism and feminism, with a strong autocratic content. As a representative of a family of the top postwar party bureaucracy, she was striving to mantain her position an rise of Milosevic to power, trough a constant emission of distorted images of reality trough the media.
She did not bother to negate allegations about excercising polittical influece over her marital partner. Milosevic faction's victory in the 8th session LSC CC she defended trough the public claims that it was a way to prevent the creation of the Republic of Kosovo. She wanted to establish a monopoly over the winner of historical interpretation of the Eight Session. Criticism and attacks on the system of government she solely understood as personal attacks on her and her family. She justify political views trough an alleged sholarship, by creating an artificial simetry between capitalism and the Yugoslav concept of socialism, as two even doctrines. She was obessed with power, and did not even bother to hide it.
Abstract
The development of nuclear policy in Yugoslavia was burdened with overlapping jurisdictions, which were shifting from one institution to another, many of which hastily created and quickly disappearing.
Summary
Lawmaking in the area of radiation protection was in the process of constant renewal and change, but this did not affect the incompleteness of norms and regulations. Yugoslav Radiation Protection Association failed to constitute itself for many years, but has won itself a say in lawmaking process. The association was facing megalomania in nuclear energy policy of state leadership, frequently steered by the individuals from institutes for development of the nuclear program. The ignorance of wider public, which had no awareness about the risks of usage of technology of radiation, was one of the obstacles in the development of nuclear policy which was ignored by the politicians.