Three decades after the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbia is still struggling to deal with its communist past. Statues of communist leaders remain. Former communist officials were voted into office, rather than face repercussions for their crimes. Josip Broz Tito, the former communist dictator, is still viewed as an infallible leader by many.
To explore why Serbia is unable to reckon with its past, and how the country can move on, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation held an event on December 2 to hear from leading Serbian scholars. Dr. Srdjan Cvetkovic and Dr. Ena Mirkovic considered: the challenges facing researchers working to memorialize the victims of communism, the origin of Yugoslavia’s cult of personality, and how Serbia can reckon with the crimes of its past.
