Peasants and Propaganda in Croatia

American Association for Public Opinion Research

Peasants and Propaganda in Croatia Author(s): Dinko Tomasic Source: The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Jul., 1937), pp. 68-74 Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2744668 . Accessed: 12/05/2011 09:48 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at . http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aapor. . Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

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PEASANTS AND PROPAGANDA IN CROATIA By DINKO TOMASIC Dr. Tomasic,a nativeof Croatia,returnedto Jugoslaviain I935 after fouryearsin thiscountrygatheringmaterialforhis book,The Slav in Foundation,1931-33, America.He held a fellowshipof the Rockefeller fromthesame foundation. His higher and laterreceiveda grant-in-aid of Zagreband continuedat the Unieducationbegan at the University versityof Paris, where he receivedthe degree of Dr. Jurisin I926. of the Beforecomingto the UnitedStates,Dr. Tomasicwas an officer HygieneClinic in Belgrade,and he is now teachingsociologyin his nativeland. This articlegives a new orientationto familiartypesof and showshow a group,withoutaccessto some symbolmanipulation, use of mass opinion,makeseffective of the morepowerfulinstruments of otherpropagandachannels.

trouble of Croatianpeasantswerea constant Local and generaluprisings

Afterthe downfallof the to feudallordsin Croatiaforseveralcenturies. tendencies of Croatian in Croatiain I848, therevolutionary feudalsystem upon the superimposed peasantsturnedagainstall otherpoliticalsystems the Hungariangovernment, Croatianvillage.The Austriangovernment, wereforcedmorethanonceto sendtheir politicalauthorities and Jugoslav of Croatianpeasants.Also therewereminor armiesto suppressuprisings and betweenCroatian clashesbetweenCroatianpeasantsand gendarmes organizations. peasantsand Serbnationalistic SYMBOLS

OF DEMAND

All of thesepeasantuprisingsand clashesin Croatiahad common movements in whichat leastoneor characteristics inthattheywerecollective imposedfromwithout;and theyall authority morevillageswereresisting thedemandfor"starapravica"(old background, had a commonsymbolic rightsand justice).MatijaGubec,a peasantwho in the year I575 led a is stilltodaytheleadingheroof peasantarmyagainsttheCroatiannobility, "justice," for"rights," Croatianpeasantsand thesymbolof theirstruggle and "equality." in Croatiaand newly When a "democratic" regimewas established formed bourgeois partiesneededthevotesof peasantson electionday,they

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in spiteofthefactthatthis usedthesymbol"pravica"in theirpropaganda fromthatforthe different symbol hadmeaningfortheCroatianbourgeoisie theCroatian of thefeudalsystem, Croatianpeasants.Afterthebreakdown intelligentsia based its struggleagainstAustrianand Hungarianpolitical of theCroatiannobility. domination on thehistorical rightsand privileges to a special To them"pravica"meanttherights oftheCroatianintellectuals politicalstatusin Austria-Hungary. To the peasants"pravica"meantthe partition of feudalestatesand the alleviationof taxesand like burdens imposedbythemodernstate.But thevotescastor declaredbypeasantsfor were againstHungarianauthorities, bourgeois parties, andpeasantuprisings of intellecnotusedin theinterests of thepeasantsbutonlyin theinterests of the tualsand othertownspeople. The socialand economicconditions peasantsdidnotchange. Antunand StjepanRadic'with At theend of thenineteenth century, fortheeconomic, thehelpofa fewotherintellectuals organizeda movement cultural, and political emancipation ofthepeasants.The propagandaofthis attitudesof Croatian movementwas based mainlyon the antagonistic peasants towardanyauthority whichcamefromtheoutside,combinedwith the tendency of thepeasantsto havetheirowncontrolovertheireconomic revolution in I848 did noteffect and politicallife.The Croatianbourgeois anyimportant changeforCroatianpeasants;theyweredeclared"free"but it developedthatinsteadof beingcontrolled and exploitedby thenobility lawyers,and priests.These were theybecamethe preyof tax collectors, clothes,had different manners, "gospoda,"gentlemen who woredifferent better incomes, andan easierlife.Thesecametovillagesonlytocollecttaxes, fees,and othertributes frompeasants."Black hats-bad signs,"peasants to formhis slogansagainst wouldsay,and StjepanRadicusedthisattitude "pokvarena gospoda"(rottengentlemen). SYMBOLS OF EXPECTATION The leadingsymbols in thepropaganda ofAntun and slogansemployed and StjepanRadicformed thebasisof theUtopian"peasantstate."In such a statepeasantswouldformtherulinggroupand all otherswouldhaveto to theincomesand needsof the adjusttheirincomesand needsaccording unitin which peasants.This statewas imaginedas a socialand pacifistic taxesand compulsory military dutywould be abolished.It would be a wouldbe taken humanestatein whichall who neededhelpand protection careof. This statewas imaginedas composedof groupsof freepeasant

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i covjecanska homesgovernedfromwithin;Radic called it "mirotvorna republic). and all-human republika"(pacifistic It seemsthatall of thesesymbolsand ideas wereformedafterthe life which was still patternof the idealizedskupina (old community) of Croatianpeasantsand whichwas mostconimplanted in thetraditions The statewas imaginedas a village and attitudes. sonantwiththeirfeelings of"freehomes."The idealwas a peacefullifewithno interference composed all duty,able to satisfy fromoutside,withouttaxesand withoutmilitary without resorting differences andtoregulate all internal needsofthepeasants to an armedforce.Eventodayin manyregionsof Croatiapeasantssupply expensebeing on theirownlandalmostall oftheirneeds,thelargestyearly thetaxesforwhichtheygive a largepartof theirincomeand mustoften unitsare rationtheirfood supplies.Peasantsfromtheseself-supporting dutyis botha and military ratherimmobileand notinclinedto emigrate, economy. incident in thefamily greatpersonalburdenand a disruptive SYMBOLS

OF IDENTIFICATION

on provokeda strongreaction The ideologyof thepeasantmovement The dergyin partiesand on thepartoftheclergy. thepartofthebourgeois whohad to give supported bythepeasantsthemselves Croatiawas partially a partoftheirproducts to thechurchand tothepriest"whosepockethas no thanthe bottom" andwhohad as a rulefarmoreland and otherproperties identified priestswithfeudal peasant.Peasantstherefore mostwell-to-do to theideologyofthepeasant lordsandlaterwith"gospoda."Butaccording party,priestswould lose their land and their privilegedposition in the peasant state. Thereforea strongcounter-propagandaon the part of the clergy,with all of its powerfulsymbolsand channels,was to be expected. To preventsuch a counter-propaganda, and knowingthe religiousfeelings of the peasants,Stiepan Radic'acknowledgedthe necessityfor religion, of "vjera u Boga" (faithin God). On theotherhand,to preventthe counterpropaganda of the bourgeoisparties,Radic' encouragedCroatian patriotism among the peasants,but above all he pointedout the necessityfor all peasants to keep together,the need for "selja'ckasloga" (peasant solidarity)in order to fightthe adversaries.So was formedhis great slogan "vjera u Boga i selja'ckasloga" which one veryoftenfindswrittenabove the main door of Croatian peasant homes and which is also found on the flagsand othersymbolsof Croatian peasant organizations.

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In his propaganda Stjepan Radic was both a revolutionaryand a reformer.On one hand he was propagatingthe idea of the abolition of bourgeoisand capitalisticsocietyand the establishmentof a "peasant state." On the otherhand he did not want to destroysuch symbolsof bourgeois societyas religionand nationalism.This combinationof class, nationalistic, and religioussymbolstoday enables the Peasant Partyto lead all Croatian classes-peasants, workers, and bourgeoisie-in their common struggle against Serb dominationand Belgrade regimes. The peasantmovementin Croatia grew rapidly.Three deputiesin I906 swelled to seventydeputiesin I924, and todaythe Peasant Partyis the only Croatianpartyin Croatia,gettingmorethan go per centof all votesdeclared on an electionday. This rapid and suocessfuldevelopmentof the peasant movementwas notonlyfavoredby the ideologyof thePeasant Partybut also by the organizationof propaganda and by special political conditionsin Croatian regions. PROPAGANDA

CHANNELS

Women and Children.When the Peasant Partywas organized,Croatia did not have universalsuffrage,and the numberof voterswas insignificant in relationto the numberof adult citizens. Bourgeois partieslimitedtheir propagandato thosewho had the rightto vote,while thePeasant Partyfrom its very beginningdirected its propaganda to all peasants regardlessof sex, or age. Women and children,in fact,were among economicdifferences, the best channels for the propaganda of the Peasant Party. Today also, childrenare activein shoutingthe slogansof the Peasant Partyon the main roadswhen "gospoda" are drivingby in theircars,and women have proved to be much more aggressivethan men in demonstrations. Newspapers. There are two other importantchannels for the propaganda ofthePeasant Party:a weeklypaper called Dom (home) and a direct and intimatecontactbetweenthe partyleadersand the masses.Dom at the beginningwas printedin I0,000 copies, but later,affectedby the counterpropaganda of the clergy,its edition dropped to 2,500 copies. Then as Slobodni Dom (free home) it increasedagain to 30,000 copies beforethe establishmentof the dictatorshipin Jugoslavia,when it was suppressed. Today Dom is coming out as SeliackiDom (peasant home) in ioo,ooo copies. (Croatian populationin Jugoslaviaestimatedat 4,000,000.) Literate Peasants. From the very beginning the subscribersof Dom have been mostlyliteratepeasantsof a middle economicstatusin the village.

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of propagandain theirvillages.Becauseof their Theybecamethecenters in theirown smallpeasant notunsuccessful were they and because literacy restofthepeasantswho over the a authority economies, theyenjoyed certain from two to eighthectares, Owninglittleproperty, weremostlyilliterate. theyalso had moretimeat theirdisposalto dedicateto politicalactivities. moretalkand wererelatively theyshowedmoreknowledge Beingliterate, in relationto ativethanthe others.Such peasantswerealso independent whichwas notalwaysthecasewithmore theclergyand to theauthorities, peasantswho behavedlike "gospoda." well-to-do is notwelldeveloped in whichindividualinitiative In an environment are ofmutualdependence tendencies and feelings and in whichcollectivistic stillverystrong,literateand talkativepeasantswith some freetimefor propagandacouldeasilycontrolthe restof the peasantsin thevillage.In fordeference arenotwell cravings in whichindividual suchan environment nor strongopposition, is there do notencounter developed,propagandists maycausea partysplit.At politicalmeetambitions dangerthatindividual Proingsin Croatianvillagesthereis littletalkand almostno controversy. existsit does not If dissatisfaction posalsare usuallyacceptedunanimously. but maturesand spreads;greaterand greater findimmediateexpression towarda new react,turning theycollectively becomepassivebefore numbers muchtalkand withnoopencontroversy. trendagainwithout PersonalContactsof PartyLeaders.The leadersof the peasantmoveAntunand StiepanRadic',hikedfromvillageto village, ment,especial;ly sleepingin peasanthomesand eatingpeasantfood.Theycollectedfeesand with contacts In theirintimate to partyliterature. securednew subscribers of thepeasantsand thepeasants, theydiscussednotonlygeneralproblems ofeachhome troubles butalsothedomestic ofthePeasantParty, theideology wheretheywerereceived.In thisway Croatianpeasantsbecamenotonly boundto the leadersof the peasant but also sentimentally ideologically one of thebestschoolsfortheleadersof was also contact movement. This knowledgeof the needsand feelingsof the theirintimate themovement; guidein theuse of propaganda. peasantsservedas an excellent PeasantDeputies.Peasantselectedas deputiestothenationalDiet were The PeasantPartywas thefirstto also important channelsof propaganda. electpeasantdeputies,deputiesof otherpartiesin Croatiabeing elected whenthefirstpeasantdeputyappeared exclusively fromtheintelligentsia; him,butsincethen greeted in the"Sabor"(CroatianDiet) a roaroflaughter

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thePeasantPartyhas alwaysbeencomposedmostlyof peasantswitha very limitednumberof intellectuals. telephone,or mail service,all Couriers.Withoutuse of telegraph, control, thePeasantPartyis able to spreadnewsthroughundergovernment ofpeasantcouriers. outall Croatianregionsin a veryshorttimebya system whichin aresentfromheadquarters to countyorganizations, Suchcouriers and theseagain to turnsend theircouriersto communalorganizations villages.In thiswayit is possibleto gathergreatmassesof peasantsat one pointin a fewhours.In somephysicalclashesbetweenpeasantsand genthis organizations, darmes,and betweenpeasantsand Serb nationalistic used. Recentlya "home guard" of a sortwas methodwas successfully tactics in military organizedamongtheyoungpeasants;theseareinstructed don'tdareto cometo our village soldiersand now "gendarmes by former anymore." havebeenwidelyused In additionto theregularpress,leaflets Leaflets. important recently as channelsof propaganda.Leafletsbecameextremely aretransinexpensive, underthepressure ofcensorship. Theyare relatively and easilyavoidcontrolof withtheleastdifficulty, portedand distributed printedlately,overa the authorities. VariousPeasantPartyorganizations six-months period,morethan500,000leaflets. PARTY FINANCES The Croatian peasant movementfrom its very beginningwas on theprinciple ofthecollaboration oflargelayersofthepopulaorganized and ideasof boundto theleaders,symbols, tion,whichweresentimentally to havea largefundfor This is whyit was notnecessary themovement. The of the organization. thepurposeof propagandaand the functioning and to a main incomeof the partywas alwaysfrompartypublications smaller extentfrommembership fees.AftertheWorldWar,whentheparty in America increased, Croatianemigrants and itsexpenses developedrapidly to itsfund,as did someCroatianmerchants and industrialists. contributed However,expenseswere nevergreat.Even todaypartyexpensesdo not exceed io,ooo dinars($200) a month.The chiefsecretary of the party

receives a monthly salary of 1,50o dinars($30).

WORLD WAR EFFECTS ON PEASANT ATTITUDES the rapiddevelopment Therewereotherconditions whichinfluenced and its of the PeasantPartyin Croatiabesidesits ideology,its symbols,

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organization. The war encouragedthe revolutionary sentiments of the peasants. Beforethecloseofthewar,deserters fromthearmyweregrowing in numberand theseorganizedin groupsforplunder.Someof thegroups also had an ideologicalbasis.Therewereattempts to take overcitiesand controltheeconomiclife.DuringtheWorldWar someCroatianpeasants weremadeprisoners in Russia.Thesewitnessed and theRussianrevolution broughtbackwiththemnew experiences and new attitudes. Some ten of thembecameveryprominent in propagandaworkforthe PeasantParty. The formation of Jugoslavia, the centralization of powerin Belgrade,and thepolitical and economicdomination of Serbiaovertherestof Jugoslavia, encouragedhatredof the Serbs.Peasantsin Croatiaalwaysblamedthe ofpoliticalpowerforall oftheirdifficulties, bearers and nowpolitical power was in thehandsof theSerbswithwhomtheyhad differed long before Jugoslavia was established. Afterthewar,when Jugoslav military authorities startedto take an inventory ofpeasantcattleandbeatsomepeasantswhorefused tocollaborate, rumorswererifethattherewas to be a confiscation ofcattleforarmyneeds, and Croatianpeasantsengagedin bloodyuprisings. It is easyto see how theseeventswereexploited forpropaganda purposes, and it was in suchan thatStjepanRadic'at a publicmeeting in Zagrebproclaimed atmosphere a "CroatianRepublic"and calleduponBelgradeto withdrawitsarmy. WhenRadic'gaveup therepublican idea,recognized themonarchy and theconstitution, and wentto Belgrade,believingin the possibility of an agreement withthe Serbs,he lost manyof his followersas well as the to partyfundsfromAmerican contributions emigrants. Butafterhis assassinationin theBelgradeparliament by a Serbdeputy,he becamea national of sacrifice hero,a symbol and of martyrdom. His successor, Ma'cek,had no in renewing difficulty theorganization of Croatianpeasantsin theiroppositionagainstBelgrade.This opposition has remainedunbreakable duringall the yearsof the dictatorship in spiteof the bribery, threats,and force in an effort employed to subdueand control Croatia.

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