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. It was originally established as the League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ) on 10 October 1919 and retained that name until 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 was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

, and consequently became a major organizer of Partisan resistance to

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

occupation and local Quisling forces. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, SKOJ became a part of a wider organization of Yugoslav youth, the

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

, which later became the League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia. Zgrada osnutka SKOJ-a

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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

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 an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

."Political parties, social-political organisations and trade unions" at the Croatian State Archives (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. Regional committees were reestablished in 1939.

Seven Secretaries 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 A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or 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" (). In France and so ...

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

After

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

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 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 (Sava), Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, in th ...

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 iden ...

, 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 reorganised into League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia] (SSOJ), which was founded as a merger of the League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia and the People's Youth of Yugoslavia organizations after

. Membership in the organization, though not compulsory, was desirable for those wishing to pursue higher education and a career in public service, and typically began after children completed their time in the Union of Pioneers of Yugoslavia at around 14 or 15 years of age. Similarly to the party itself, the SSOJ was decentralized and each Republic of Yugoslavia had a branch of its own. It was one of the five main government sanctioned socio-political organizations of Yugoslavia and sent its own delegates to the Federal Assembly. In the 1980s, attitudes within the SSOJ began to change its structure, and by the latter half of the decade it helped facilitate a network of alternative social and political opinions within the youth sphere of Yugoslavia. The organization attempted to subvert the growing threat of nationalism while following a liberal approach to social issues. The SSOJ tried to facilitate youth culture by encouraging the promotion of the arts, including literature and popular music styles. Following the dissolution of the SKJ shortly after the 14th Congress in 1990, the SSOJ was disbanded as well.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Authority control Political organizations based in Yugoslavia Youth wings of communist parties 1948 establishments in Yugoslavia Youth organizations established in 1948 Youth organizations based in Yugoslavia League of Communists of Yugoslavia