Politics of Memory in the SFRY: A Case Study of the Valley of Heroes

Abstract

The subject of this research is the state’s performative practices of remembrance in the Valley of Heroes, examined in the context of the significance of the Second World War for the consolidation of the collective social identity in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). More specifically, the research focuses on the commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the Battle of Sutjeska in 1958, a moment when the battle gained new importance and came to symbolize victory, willingness to sacrifice, and the Yugoslav character of the Partisan units. In addition to this anniversary, attention is also given to the 30th anniversary of the battle, marked in 1973, when the memorial complex at Tjentište was completed. The accompanying commemorative program introduced new strategies oriented toward the future and younger generations, who, in the decades following the war, matured within a different social context and developed their own communicative codes. Broadly speaking, the research encompasses an analysis of the actors who shaped and formed narratives about the Second World War, their practices of preserving memories of the war and the fallen, as well as the construction of spaces of remembrance. By analyzing the aforementioned content through qualitative methods, including a case study approach, discourse analysis, and diachronic comparative analysis, this paper aims to demonstrate how changes in the country’s social relations were reflected in the politics of memory and commemorative practices in the Valley of Heroes, as one of the most significant sites of remembrance for the transmission of desirable values within the then-Yugoslav society.