Yugoslavia Tito table-medal

[Christian Zulus]

Gentlemen,

two years ago I got this table medal (diameter is 6 cm) in a nice red case as present from an Austrian friend:

As far as I can translate, the inscription says "30 years of workers selfgovernment".

Does anyone have further informations about that medal ?

Best regards

Christian

Edited May 20, 2007 by Christian Zulus

[Drugo]

Dear Christian,

the inscription says only 30 years of selfgovernment, and it's written in Slovene. Slovenia was a federal republic of old Jugoslavia, based on the "power and self-management of the working class and all working people, and a socialist selfgovernable democratic community of working people and citizens".

Regards,

Filip

[Christian Zulus]

Dear Filip,

many thanks for your expertise .

I thought, that it is Slovenian, because my friend has shares of a company over there . The inscription also didn't sound very srpski to me (also the latin letters).

So, when did they start with that "selfgovernment-concept" in YU in the companies officially ? 30 years later, that will be the date of issue of that table-medal.

Best regards

Christian

Dear Christian,

the inscription says only 30 years of selfgovernment, and it's written in Slovene. Slovenia was a federal republic of old Jugoslavia, based on the "power and self-management of the working class and all working people, and a socialist selfgovernable democratic community of working people and citizens".

Regards,

Filip

[Drugo]

Dear Christian,

I think it should be 1948, when Yugoslavia was kicked out of the Cominform because not allinead with the economic politics of the Comecon.

This means that your table should be dated around 1978.

Regards,

Filip

P.S. Sorry for my late reply.

[Christian Zulus]

Dear Filip,

many thanks for your hint .

I checked the history at Wikipedia's Tito-entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josip_Broz_Tito and it says:

"On June 26, 1950, the National Assembly supported a crucial bill written by Milovan Đilas and Tito about "self-management" (samoupravljanje): a type of independent socialism that experimented with profit sharing with workers in state-run enterprises. On January 13, 1953, they established that the law on self-management was the basis of the entire social order in Yugoslavia. Tito also succeeded Ivan Ribar as the President of Yugoslavia on January 14, 1953."

So it seems, that this table-medal had been issued in Ljubljana just after the death of Marshal Tito there (he died on May 4, 1980 in Ljubljana, Slovenia). Tito's mother had been from Slovenia and his father was a Croat (and Tito's nationality had been Austrian ).

Seems to be a strange coincidence: Ljubljana issues that anniversary medal of "30 years worker's self-management" and Tito dies there at the same time .

Best regards

Christian

Dear Christian,

I think it should be 1948, when Yugoslavia was kicked out of the Cominform because not allinead with the economic politics of the Comecon.

This means that your table should be dated around 1978.

Regards,

Filip

P.S. Sorry for my late reply.

[Drugo]

Nice! And I was wrong for a couple of years...

"On June 26, 1950, the National Assembly supported a crucial bill written by Milovan Đilas and Tito about "self-management" (samoupravljanje): a type of independent socialism that experimented with profit sharing with workers in state-run enterprises. On January 13, 1953, they established that the law on self-management was the basis of the entire social order in Yugoslavia. Tito also succeeded Ivan Ribar as the President of Yugoslavia on January 14, 1953."

So it seems, that this table-medal had been issued in Ljubljana just after the death of Marshal Tito there (he died on May 4, 1980 in Ljubljana, Slovenia). Tito's mother had been from Slovenia and his father was a Croat (and Tito's nationality had been Austrian ).

Seems to be a strange coincidence: Ljubljana issues that anniversary medal of "30 years worker's self-management" and Tito dies there at the same time .

Best regards

Christian

Yes, what a pitty they won't issue a 60 years table... however it took them a while to notice that the selfmanagement wasn't that smart...

[Christian Zulus]

YU-Workers-Selfgovernment: A concept of the US-State Department

Nice! And I was wrong for a couple of years...

Yes, what a pitty they won't issue a 60 years table... however it took them a while to notice that the selfmanagement wasn't that smart...

Dear Filip,

that's true: Milovan Đilas' original concept of workers selfmanagement prooved to be a complete mess and the YU-economy almost collapsed in the 1960s (just remember the high unemployment-rate and the massive "export" of the workingforce - "Gastarbeiter" - to Germany, Austria and Switzerland).

A historic fact is, that the DDR-economy in the 1960s, under Walter Ulbricht, performed much better, than the YU-economy under Tito.

Milovan Đilas' borrowed idea had been a bit "primitive": He took the economic organisation of the medivial "Zadruga" of the Balkans and tried to organize the whole YU-economy in that way.

At least, it had not been Milovan Đilas' genuine idea . It had been a concept of some "think-tanks" around the US-State Department in the 1940s and the US-Adminstration offered that "great" concept for economy to the "friends" of Drug Tito after his break with Stalin.

That sounds like a really "wild story" . But I found a copy of the original and published US-paper in one of the famous state archives in Vienna and managed to get the original document as a present .

Sorry ...., I can't scan the papers right now, because I borrowed it to the Serbian Ministery of Foreign Affairs for further research.

Well, that US-concept-paper is setting the YU-politics of the years 1948 to 1980 into a very new light.

Best regards

Christian

[Drugo]

But I found a copy of the original and published US-paper in one of the famous state archives in Vienna and managed to get the original document as a present .

Sorry ...., I can't scan the papers right now, because I borrowed it to the Serbian Ministery of Foreign Affairs for further research.

I hate you!

I want to see those papers as soon as you receive them back (if it will ever happen... )

Regards,

Filip

[Christian Zulus]

I hate you!

I want to see those papers as soon as you receive them back (if it will ever happen... )

Regards,

Filip

Dear Filip,

o.k., o.k., o.k., ..... I will try to get the original publication back a.s.p. .

I assume, our new Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vuk Jeremic http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vlada/ministri.php , doesen't seem to be sooooooo interested into the research of the involvement of the US-Adminstriation in YU-politics 1948 to 1980 .

Best regards

Christian

BTW: These US-papers might be a great subject for a master-thesis for a student in the field of history, politics, etc. If someone is interested, please contact me: http://www.zulusrecords.com

[Christian Zulus]

2 lapel pins of that table medal - bronze & gold

Gentlemen,

I found in my YU lapel pin collection two matching pins to that Slovenian table medal for the 30th anniversary of workers selfmanagement:

Best regards

Christian