Editing International Brigades (section)

===Yugoslavia===
[[File:Koča Popović (1).jpg|thumb|160px|left|[[Koča Popović]], highes-ranking IB combatant]]
Though the law passed in 1937 stripped volunteers of citizenship,<ref> Vjeran Pavlaković, ''Yugoslav volunteers in the spanish Civil War'', Beograd 2016, p. 70</ref> some 350 ex-combatants made it to [[Yugoslavia]]; most engaged in Communist-led resistance.<ref> Pavlaković 2016, p. 89</ref> Unlike in anti-Nazi movements of other East European countries, Yugoslav interbrigadiers played a major role, e.g. in Croatian general staff of the [[National Liberation Army (Yugoslavia)|National Liberation Army]] 3 key positions were held by ex-combatants: commander ([[Ivan Rukavina]]), political commissar ([[Marko Orešković]]) and operations officer ([[:hr:Franjo Ogulinac|Franjo Ogulinac]]).<ref> Pavlaković 2016, p. 84</ref> [[Josip Broz Tito|Tito]] specifically issued orders for so-called ''Španci'' to assume command or otherwise important roles.<ref> Pavlaković 2016, p. 85</ref> Three individuals ([[Peko Dapčević]], [[Kosta Nađ]] and [[Petar Drapšin]]) were commanding army-size groupings. Around 30 were later promoted to the rank of a general, 59 became [[People's Hero of Yugoslavia|People's Heroes]], and 130 were killed.<ref> Pavlaković 2016, pp. 89-90</ref>

In the post-war Yugoslavia IB combatants were overrepresented in power structures; [[:hr:Ivan Krajačić|Ivan Krajačić]] and [[Maks Baće]] were instrumental in seting up [[OZNA]],<ref> Pavlaković 2016, p. 90</ref> while [[Koča Popović]] and Dapčević were chiefs of general staff. Like elsewhere in the communist bloc, some fell victim to the Tito-Stalin split, but here it was the Stalinists who were repressed; some 35 got imprisoned, though no-one was executed.<ref> Pavlaković 2016, p. 90. Also, a group of Slovenes interned in France, later moved to Dachau and liberated in 1945, upon return were trialed as spies, Pavlaković 2016, p. 89</ref> Later a few (less than in East Germany, but more than in Poland) entered executive of the state party, and 20 entered the Central Committee.<ref> Pavlaković 2016, p. 90</ref> Popović briefly served as vice-president of Yugoslavia (1966-67) and a handful were ministers (Popović at foreign affairs, [[Ivan Gošnjak]] at defence, [[Rodoljub Čolaković]] in education). The dictator himself was related to the IB, as in 1936-37 Tito was heavily involved in organising recruitment to the Brigades.
[[File:Prijem delegacije Udruženja španskih boraca Jugoslavije kod predsednika Tita.jpg|thumb|[[Josip Broz Tito|Tito]] with ''Španci'', 1972]]
There were at least 400 members in the Yugoslav IB ex-combatant organization.<ref> the association was named Udruženje jugoslovenskih republikanskih dobrovoljaca Španske republikanske vojske 1936-1939</ref> It remained a highly prestigious group<ref> in 1971 the association was collectively awarded Order of the People’s Hero</ref> and in 1972 the parliament granted them extra rights.<ref> Law on the Basic Rights of Veterans of the Spanish National Liberation War and Revolution (1936-1939)</ref> Some scholars claim that the organisation enjoyed limited political power.<ref> allegedly continuing absence of diplomatic relations between Yugoslavia and Spain, despite some attempts by Franco, resulted from pressure on part of the combatants, Pavlaković 2016, pp. 92-93</ref> ''Španci'' remained celebrated, though usually combined with their role in resistance. First numerous biographies have been published<ref>first books published about the Španci were about individual martyrs and heroes who had fought and died for the Party. The heroic narrative present in biographies about fallen communists such as Marko Orešković-Krntija (1953), Franjo Ogulinac-Seljo (1954), Blagoje Parović (1955), and others</ref> and then broader massive works followed.<ref> Čedo Kapor, a long-time president of the Spanish veterans’ organization, was one of the most active in publishing materials related to the Spanish Civil War, such as the five-volume set, Španija 1936–1939,  Vjeran Pavlaković, Oriol Lopez Badell, ''Jugoslavenski dobrovoljci u Španjolskom građanskom ratu: Povijest i kultura sjećanja'', Rijeka 2021</ref> No Spain-dedicated film has been made, but a ''Španac'', battle-hardened combatant in partisan units, was frequent in movies about the resistance.<ref> Pavlaković 2016, p. 100</ref> Apart from monuments to partisan commanders with earlier IB record,<ref> e.g. to Nikola Car (Crikvenica), Marko Orešković (Korenica, Belgrade), Robert Domanji (Plaški), Blagoje Parović (Nevesinje), and Žikica Jovanović Španac (Valjevo, Radanovci)</ref> a monument dedicated specifically to IB combatants was unveiled in 1976 in [[Rijeka]].<ref> Pavlaković, Lopez Badell 2021, p. 39</ref> Numerous schools, streets and institutions were named after ''naši Španci''. Despite some controversy in 1984,<ref> the combatants' association was unexpectedly targeted by propaganda as enemies of the people following its claim that the party should organize an open national debate, Pavlaković 2016, pp. 94-95</ref> in 1986 massive commemorative events were organized across the country.<ref>"during the fiftieth anniversary commemorations of the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1986, the Yugoslav cultural space was used to promote and celebrate the Spanish veterans, and by extension, the Yugoslav revolutionary tradition. Museums across Yugoslavia prepared exhibits to commemorate Yugoslav volunteers’ participation. The Spanish Civil War, with its associated myths and romanticized heroic narrative, was seen as a tool used to rekindle revolutionary consciousness in the younger generations. The official brochure for the exhibit in Zagreb’s Revolutionary Museum of the Peoples of Croatia (Muzej revolucije naroda Hrvatske) referred to the International Brigade members as a 'symbol' and as 'legends', stating that their decision to volunteer was a 'heroic deed ar excellence'." Other cities across Croatia and Serbia organized similar displays. Pavlaković 2016, p. 101</ref> Few brigadiers became political dissidents, though most remained faithful to the party line.<ref>e.g. Maks Baće became a recognizable dissident; on the other hand, Kosta Nađ remained a loyal man of the regime</ref>

In all succcessor states the same pattern is at work as to heritage of IB volunteers. The memory debate has largely bypassed them due to the predominance of the Second World War on the mnemonic battlefield. However, for the Left they remain anti-fascist freedom fighters, while the Right relates brigadiers to post-war crimes such as the [[Bleiburg repatriations|Bleiburg massacre]].<ref> Pavlaković 2016, pp. 103-104. In a Serbian 2004 movie ''Duga mračna noć'' a Španac is traditionally presented as a great fighter and organizer, but compared to earlier films there is new thread present; he is also an authoritarian figure, brutal towards anyone challenging him and the party, Pavlaković 2016, pp. 100-101</ref> The Rijeka monument has been dismantled; monuments to other IB combatants (and resistance figures) suffered different fate, some removed,<ref> The bust of Ćopić, unveiled in his native Senj in 1976, was removed and its location is unknown,  Pavlaković, Lopez Badell 2021, p. 19</ref> some re-located to less prestigious spots,<ref> e.g. the large monument of Blagoje Parović in Nevesinje</ref> and some renovated,<ref> e.g. the partisan memorial - with explicit references to Spain and International Brigades - in Perjasica (Croatia)</ref> yet the purges are interpreted as "part of the general nationalization of public space in the successor states" rather than a specific anti-IB or de-communisation project.<ref> Pavlaković 2016, p. 104</ref> Author of recent mononograph refers to "forgotten history of Yugoslav volunteers"; his perspective is that memory of the combatants is equal to cultivating "antifascist values necessary to foster an open and tolerant society in the twenty-first century".<ref> Vjeran Pavlaković, ''[https://europeanmemories.net/magazine/cultural-memory-of-yugoslav-volunteers-in-the-spanish-civil-war-1/ Cultural Memory of Yugoslav Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War]'', [in:] ''EuropeanMemories'' service 16.12.2020 </ref>