crimes committed by totalitarian regimes - Ministrstvo za pravosodje

Crimes committed by totalitarian regimes
which was supposed to occur according to the principle of voluntarily joining the collectives, under the
watchful eye of the Party. The Yugoslav party adopted Lenin’s theory of the social position and role
of farmers: poor farmers or village poverty are obstacles to the working class, medium-sized farmers
are their ally, and big rich farmers (kulaks) are a class enemy. On this basis Kardelj announced the
imminent “liquidation of capitalist elements in villages”, by which he meant primarily big and rich
farmers – kulaks. 41 Thus, like the large landowners in the Soviet Union after the October Revolution
and the civil war, the large farmers in Yugoslavia became class enemies in villages who precluded the
development of socialism, i.e. the collectivisation of agriculture. 42 The battle against them was brought
to a head by Yugoslav leader Josip Broz - Tito, who in the summer of 1949 labelled everyone who
opposed socialism a kulak, whether they were landowners or not.
The implementation of this process in practice was set out in a special directive on accelerated
collectivisation in villages through the establishment of agricultural collectives, which was adopted by
the Central Committee of the CPY at the end of January 1949. 43 In it the party set the establishment
of agricultural collectives, which were similar to the Soviet “kolkhozy” and were expected to develop
according to the principle of voluntarism as the most important means for the socialist re-education
of villages and the accelerated development of agriculture. In order to complete these tasks the Party
foresaw the establishment of agricultural party commissions, whose main duty was to ensure that the
party line was adhered to in the villages. 44 The Resolution had long-term consequences, since through
its adoption the process of collectivisation of agriculture was begun in Slovenia as well, ushering in a
period of the most severe repression of farmers.
The establishment of the collectives soon grew into a campaign in which the principle of
voluntary inclusion was not upheld. Since the farmers did not want to join the collectives, the Party
further intensified its policy, and raised farmers’ taxes and obligations, while the courts imposed harsh
sentences, “even up to seizure of property”. 45 In addition, several injustices in the field were committed
by certain activists, who used particularly violent methods “night-time searches involving forced entry
into houses, occasionally while drunk, abusive language and threatening with weapons, threatening
removal and socially beneficial labour, locking people in cellars, battery and other forms of abuse,
removal of movable items /…/. In doing so the redeemers and activists /…/ did not proceed in this
manner only against farmers who had not fulfilled their obligations, but also against those who regularly
fulfilled them.” 46
The biggest pressures on farmers occurred in 1949, when the largest collectives were once
again established, and many farmers joined the collectives due to political and, especially, economic
pressure. This also led to the strengthening of the resistance of farmers who wouldn’t or couldn’t fulfil
the prescribed obligations. One consequence of this was the kulak processes, at which mainly large
farmers (kulaks) were tried. 47 The courts tried them on the basis of the Act on Suppression of Prohibited
Trade and Economic Sabotage and the Founding Act of Agricultural Collectives. For serious forms of
criminal offences, both acts prescribed the sentence of seizure of property, and in the most severe cases
the death penalty. 48 The first defined illegal trading, speculation and sabotage as punishable acts, while
the second defined as criminal offences the obstruction and opposition of collectivisation, damage to
collective property and operating to the detriment of collectives. The most important task of the courts
in this regard was to ensure the correct implementation of penal policy. The public prosecutor’s offices
and the courts followed the party line and meted out particularly harsh sentences to large farmers.
41
J. Stalin, The Questions of Leninism, Ljubljana 1948, p. 51, 53, 261; 5 th Congress of the CPY, pp. 340–355; 2 nd Congress of the
Communist Party of Slovenia, Ljubljana 1949 (2 nd Congress CPS), pp. 196, 446–449.
42
“Maršal Tito je govoril makedonskim zadružnikom”, Kmečki glas, 33, (11. avgust 1949), pp. 1–2.
43
“Resolution on the basis tasks of the Party in the field of socialist re-education of the villages and acceleration of agricultural production”,
Komunist, 2 (March 1949) (hereinafter “Resolution”).
44
“Resolution”; AS 1589, Central Committee of the Association of Communists of Slovenia (AS 1589), box 38, a.e. 1185, Minutes of
the meeting of 21 March 1950; a.e. 1202, Minutes of the conference of presidents and secretaries of authoritative agricultural party
commissions, 13 October 1949.
45
Milko Mikola, Documents on Kulak Processes in the Celje Region, Celje 1999, p. 4 (hereinafter Mikola, Documents); 2 nd Congress CPS, p. 114.
46
AS 353, box 5, Bulletin of the Public Prosecutor’s Officer of the People’s Republic of Slovenia, 18 May 1950.
47
Milko Mikola, “Post-war Forced Expropriation of property in Slovenia”, in: The Dark Side of the Moon, p. 62; Archive of Dr Milko
Mikola, Manuscript of Ivan Pučnik, 14 March 1989; Mirko Munda, In the Name of the People, Maribor 1990, pp. 132–134, 147
(hereinafter Munda, In the Name of the People).
48
OJ DFY, 26/45, OJ FPRY, 56/46 and 49/1949.
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