, SKOJ
mk, Сојуз на комунистичката младина на Југославија, СКМЈ
sl, Zveza komunistične mladine Jugoslavije, ZKMJ , colorcode = red , founded = 1919 , dissolved = 1948 , succeeded by =

League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia The League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia (SSOJ) was the youth movement, member organisation of the Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia (SSRNJ). Membership stood at more than 3.6 million individuals in 1983. History The SSOJ was ...

, ideology =

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology which was the main communist movement throughout the 20th century. Developed by the Bolsheviks, it was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, its satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, and vario ...

, headquarters =

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

, mother party =

Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...

, international =

World Federation of Democratic Youth The World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) is an international youth organization, and has historically characterized itself as left-wing and anti-imperialist. WFDY was founded in London in 1945 as a broad international youth movement, ...

League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia, commonly known in English as the Young Communist League of Yugoslavia, or simply Communist Youth, was the youth wing of the

from 1919 to 1948. Although it was banned just two years after its establishment and at times ruthlessly prosecuted, it continued to work clandestinely and was an influential organization among revolutionary youth in the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 191 ...

, and consequently became a major organizer of Partisan resistance to

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

occupation and local

Quisling ''Quisling'' (, ) is a term used in Scandinavian languages and in English meaning a citizen or politician of an occupied country who collaborates with an enemy occupying force – or more generally as a synonym for ''traitor''. The word ori ...

forces. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, SKOJ became a part of a wider organization of Yugoslav youth, the People's Youth of Yugoslavia, which later became the

History

Original SKOJ

SKOJ was founded in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

on October 10, 1919 as a political organization of revolutionary youth the youth which followed the policy of the communist

Socialist Workers' Party of Yugoslavia Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

."Political parties, social-political organisations and trade unions" at the

Croatian State Archives The Croatian State Archives ( hr, Hrvatski državni arhiv) are the national archives of Croatia located in its capital, Zagreb. The history of the state archives can be traced back to the 17th century. There are also regional state archives loca ...

(in Croatian) Regional committees were originally established but they were abolished in 1920. In 1921, the organization was banned together with the party, which had in the meantime been renamed Communist Party of Yugoslavia. Two congresses were held clandestinely during the 1920s, the Second Congress in June 1923, and the Third Congress in June 1926. SKOJ was affiliated to the

Young Communist International The Young Communist International was the parallel international youth organization affiliated with the Communist International (Comintern). History International socialist youth organization before World War I After failed efforts to form an i ...

. Regional committees were reestablished in 1939.

Seven Secreaties of SKOJ

''Seven Secretaries of SKOJ'', also known as ''Seven Courageous'', were seven leading figures of the organization, between 1924 and 1931, who died at the hand of the government, in direct confrontation with the

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

, suicide, or indirectly as a consequence of being subjugated to extremely poor conditions during imprisonment and/or torture, which lead to their death from extreme weakening and illness. The Seven were, in sequence of taking the role of a secretary of the organization: * Zlatko Šnajder (1903, Slavonski Brod), organisation secretary between 1924-1926; imprisoned 1926; while in prison he was tortured suffering numerous beatings before he was finally released in May 1931, but died three months later of tuberculosis. *

Mijo Oreški Mijo may refer to: People * Mijo Babić (1903–1941), Croatian fascist * Mijo Caktaš (born 1992), Croatian football player * Mijo Dadić (born 1981), Croatian football player * Mijo Gorski (born 1952), Croatian Roman Catholic prelate * Mijo ...

(1905, Zagreb), organisation secretary between 1926-1928, and again as political secretary with Mišić as organisation secretary between January 1929-July 1929; both were killed in shooting exchange with gendarmerie on 27 July 1929. *

Pajo Marganović Pajo may refer to: * Pajo, a surname ** Ave Pajo (born 1984), Estonian football player ** David Pajo (born 1968), American musician ** Louise Pajo (1940–2020), British actress ** Ludmilla Pajo (1947–1995), Moscow-born Albanian writer and journ ...

(1904, Kovin u Vojvodini), political secretary between 1928-April 1929; died from the consequences of torture 30. July 1929. *

Josip Debeljak Josip () is a male given name found among Croats and Slovenes, a cognate of Joseph. In Croatia, the name Josip was the second most common masculine given name in the decades up to 1959, and has stayed among the top ten most common ones throughout 2 ...

(1902, Orešje u Hrvatskom zagorju), organisation secretary between 1928-April 1929, and again between August 1930-October 1931; he was the last of the seven to head the organisation, and he was also killed in shooting with gendarmerie on 15 October 1931 in Zagreb. *

Janko Mišić Janko is a name that derives from a diminutive form of the name '' Jan'' (Slavic languages), '' Janez'' (Slovenian), '' János'' (Hungarian), and '' Yakov''/''Jacob'' (Ashkenazi Jewish). It also derives from the vernacular form of Latin ''Johannes ...

(1900, Slani Dol kod Samobora), organisation secretary with Oreški as political secretary between January 1929-July 1929; both were killed in shooting exchange with gendarmerie on 27 July 1929. *

Josip Kolumbo Josip () is a male given name found among Croats and Slovenes, a cognate of Joseph. In Croatia, the name Josip was the second most common masculine given name in the decades up to 1959, and has stayed among the top ten most common ones throughout 2 ...

(1905, Kutjevo), political with Popović as organisation secretary between July 1929-August 1930; both committed suicide on 14 Augusta 1930 after falling into gendarmerie trap. *

Pero Popović Aga Pero may refer to: * Pero (mythology), several personages in Greek mythology ** Pero (princess), daughter of Neleus * Pero (name) Pero is a masculine given name. In South Slavic usage ( sr-Cyrl, Перо) it is a diminutive form of the name Petar ...

(1905, Užice), organisation with Kolumbo as political secretary between July 1929-August 1930; both committed suicide on 14 Augusta 1930 after falling into gendarmerie trap.

During the WWII

After

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

occupied Yugoslavia in 1941, SKOJ organized a united youth front with the program of struggle against fascism and war, Anti-Fascist Youth Committees which at the Congress of Anti-Fascist Youth of Yugoslavia in

Bihać Bihać ( cyrl, Бихаћ) is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovin ...

in 1942 united into the Unified League of Anti-Fascist Youth of Yugoslavia (''Ujedinjeni savez antifašističke omladine Jugoslavije'' - USAOJ). SKOJ became a part of the

umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

, but continued to act autonomously within it.

Post-WWII socialist Yugoslavia

In May 1946, USAOJ was renamed People's Youth of Yugoslavia (''Narodna omladina Jugoslavije'' - NOJ), and in 1948 SKOJ and NOJ were united into a single organization, which continued to use the name People's Youth of Yugoslavia, and the use of the name SKOJ was discontinued. NOJ was later renamed

(''Savez Socijalističke Omladine Jugoslavije'' - SSOJ). This disintegrated together with

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

in early 1990s.

Legacy

The

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

n branch was transformed into the

Liberal Democracy of Slovenia Liberal Democracy of Slovenia ( sl, Liberalna demokracija Slovenije, LDS) is a social-liberal political party in Slovenia. Between 1992 and 2004 it was the largest (and ruling) party in the country. In the 2011 Slovenian parliamentary election, ...

, one of the major Slovenian parties. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the

New Communist Party of Yugoslavia The New Communist Party of Yugoslavia ( sr-cyrl, Нова комунистичка партија Југославије, Nova Komunistička Partija Jugoslavije, NKPJ) is an anti-revisionist Marxist–Leninist communist party in Serbia. Its go ...

founded a youth wing with the same name in 1992.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{Authority control League of Communists of Yugoslavia Youth wings of communist parties Youth wings of political parties in Yugoslavia Youth organizations established in 1919 Organizations disestablished in 1990