The Free City of Belgrade

The Free City of Belgrade, mounted by the Museum of Yugoslav History and the Archives of Yugoslavia to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade, will be officially opened in the Museum of Yugoslav History on October 13 at 1.00 p.m.

In special gratitude to the liberators of Belgrade, the exhibits include items and documents presented on the occasion of the liberation of Belgrade by Josip “Tito” Broz to some of the most important statesmen of that time.  The Free City of Belgrade is a visual reminder of the extraordinary importance the operation of liberating Belgrade after 1,287 days of occupation had, not only for Belgrade and Yugoslavia, but also for the entire antifascist struggle.

The most important exhibits to be shown in the exhibition will include the sword given by Joseph Stalin to Josip “Tito” Broz for services in the struggle against fascism, the Order of Suvorov First Class which was awarded to Tito for exceptional achievements leading troops and conducting war operations, congratulatory telegrams sent to Tito by Winston Churchill and Palmiro Togliatti, Allied and German weapons, drawings and water colours by Aleksandar Deroko who was a witness of the battles on the streets of the city, publications from that period, a map of the European theatre of war in October 1944 and documentary photographs of the street battles for the liberation of Belgrade.

The Belgrade operation was of great strategic importance for the European war because Belgrade was a key crossroads of Balkan communications and an important strategic centre for the defence of the Balkans. A directive from Hitler on August 16, 1944, gave it the status of a stronghold, which meant that it should be defended at any cost.  Units of the Yugoslav National Liberation Army numbering some 55,000 resistance fighters and about 17,500 Red Army troops conducted the operational activities for the liberation of Belgrade against 30,000 troops led by General Wilhelm Schneckenburger, who was in Belgrade itself, and 30,000 led by General Walter von Stettner who attempted to penetrate the city from the direction of Smederevo. In the seven days of fighting, 15,000 German soldiers died, as did 3,000 fighters of the Yugoslav National Liberation Army and 960 soldiers of the Red Army.  In the street battles, Belgraders provided important support for the liberating troops.

Exhibition The Free City of Belgrade will be open till October 21st

Exhibits

Sword decorated with gold and diamonds.  This was a personal gift from Stalin to Tito.  It was made in the nineteenth or early twentieth century when there was a tradition in Russia of presenting weapons as awards.  Some only bore the inscription “for bravery”, while others were richly decorated with precious stones.  The sword presented to Tito is decorated with 260 diamonds and a tassel of gold thread.

Order of Suvorov First Class.  This was awarded to Josip “Tito” Broz for extraordinary achievements in leading troops and conducting war operations against the common enemy of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia – Hitler’s Germans.  The Russian Order of Suvorov was created on July 29, 1942, and awarded to outstanding military commanders. The first recipient was Georgy Zhukov, the most celebrated Soviet commander of the second world war. The decoration was named for one of the most important military leaders of the eighteenth century, Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (1729-1800), veteran of 63 campaigns and one of the few military commanders in the history of war who never lost a single battle.