Memoir of a Revolutionary

by Milovan Djilas, Drenka Willen (Translator)

"Now I felt that the world was so clear to me that I would be able to influence its destiny." That is the spirit of the 1930's, the period Milovan Djilas describes in "Memoir of a Revolutionary." He became a communist when the Communist movement in Yugoslavia was growing into the force that eventually gave form to modern Yugoslavia. Determined and heroically hardheaded, Djilas suffered brutalities at the hands of King Alexander's police. Undeterred, he continued to organize, write, publish, learn. For a while Djilas tried to combine his literary ambitions with his political ideals. But he soon realized that his "poetic passion" was in conflict with his revolutionary discipline. There is iron determination in this man who became, under Tito's leadership, a chief architect of the Communist revolution. The Yugoslav Communists built an organization strong enough to resist both Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia. A tightly knot group personally and politically, they enforced a personal morality that drove some dedicated men to despair. Djilas helped to mild minds; others organized cadres. With Tito, Djilas maintained a special "father-and-son relationship." With almost perfect recall, Djilas tells of these years of struggle and triumph, of the time spent in prison, which was, he says, "perhaps the most important school … for our spiritual transformation." This book is a rare study of human commitment.

Genres: Biography, History

402 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Milovan Đilas was a prolific political writer and former Yugoslav communist official remembered for his disillusionment with communism. Much of his work has been translated into English from Serbian. He was, above all, a literary artist. In several of his books, Djilas proclaimed himself a writer by vocation, and a politician only under the pressure of events.

Reviews

[Darius · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for fans of Djilas, "Memoir of a Revolutionary" follows on from where "Land Without Justice", Djilas' first autobiography, finished. Delivered with the sharp perceptive insight and poetic prose that makes Djilas as a writer so entertaining and inspiring, MOAR is a fine read.

Pros:
- Fascinating descriptions of pre-WWII Yugoslavia
- The artful poetic language that forms a hallmark of Djilas’ writing is present in the many descriptions of the people and places that defined his early adulthood in MOAR
- In Djilas’ actions and decisions, the personal integrity and utter conviction to his principles that would define his later life as a political dissident shine through – as when he withstood police torture without betraying his comrades

Cons:
- Although the observant and insightful way Djilas analyses people and situations is a major attraction of his works, too often MOAR falls into endless lists of character descriptions for people who make only fleeting appearances in Djilas' life. It felt like so much of this could have been excised without impacting the comprehensiveness of the narrative while improving readability a lot.
- MOAR finishes just as Hitler's Germany attacks Yugoslavia - right when the action all kicks off! Although an interesting read in itself, this feels like such a tease. I held out the whole book waiting for the remarkable story of the Partisan resistance and Djilas' ascendance from student revolutionary to military and political leader only to be left hanging

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Djilas was a figure of some note amongst my circle in high school. I hadn't read him yet, but some of my older friends had, particularly his The New Class. We were all socialists of one sort or another back then, the common character of our convictions being a concern for the vast separation between the very poor and the very rich, both in terms of persons and peoples. Djilas, a communist critical of most existing states led by ostensibly communist organizations, appeared to share our concerns; had had an heroic past including intimate association with the best, and the worst, of revolutionary socialist movements and establishments and served as one of several guiding lights in our own efforts.

As is often the case, the seeds planted in high school led, many years later, to an active pursuit of more information about this man and about the Yugoslav revolution he had served. I read many books about Yugoslavia, biographies of Tito and Djilas himself as well as several of Djilas' autobiographical accounts including this. As is often the case, the seeds of the past came to fruition too late for the harvest--Yugoslavia and its promise having been utterly destroyed.

I passed this, and several other similar books on to refugee friends from the former Yugoslavia upon completion.

[Zapatoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das Revolutionär-werden ging im Falle Djilas ausweislich seiner Memoiren einher mit dem Erwachsen-werden. Der aus Montenegro ins Zentrum des SHS-Staates ziehende 18jährige Student, begann sich in einem zunehmend repressiver werdenden Umfeld - das Jahr 1929 steht schließlich auch für den Beginn der Königsdiktatur unter Alexander I. Der Politisierungs- und Organisierungsprozess ausgehend von nur sehr wenig, die Kommunistische Partei war auch in den Jahren vorher bereits verboten und andere oppositionelle Gruppierungen wurden ebenfalls in die Illegalität gezwungen, ausgehend, scheint dabei zugleich das Wahrnehmen einer eigenen Entwicklungsperspektive bis hin zu einer der zentralen Figuren innerhalb der Führung dieser KP ermöglicht zu haben. Die Erzählung und Schilderung der Zeit politischer Aktivität, im Untergrund, auf Demonstrationen oder lange Jahre in Gefängnissen ist eindrucksvoll und der Lernweg so nachvollziehbar. Der Standpunkt in innerparteilichen Auseinandersetzungen wird deutlich, auch wenn der Zeitpunkt des Verfassens und die zeitweise Rolle nach 1945 als "zweiter Mann im Staat" und v.a. im Bunde der Kommunisten natürlich das Schreiben beeinflusst. Auch wenn der Blick auf sich selbst von der Vorstellung der eigenen Integrität und Konsistenz der Handlungen geprägt ist - schließlich auch das, was er sich nach seiner Dissidenz und Entfernung aus allen Ämtern aufgrund seiner kritischen Äußerungen selbst zugeschrieben hat und wie er durchaus auch (im Westen) jenseits der jugoslawischen Staatsgrenzen gelesen wurde.
Am meisten habe ich aber über die zahlreichen politischen Akteure und das politische Umfeld des Jugoslawiens der Zwischenkriegszeit mitgenommen. Das wird deutlicher und ausführlicher, durchaus mit Längen deren Sinn nicht ganz so einfach zu erschließen sind, als die nur kurz angerissene Zeit des Partisanenkampfes nach dem Deutschen Überfall Jugoslawiens (April '41), die, wie auch die Nachkriegszeit, in den beiden weiteren Memoirenbänden behandelt werden. Im Fazit durchaus erkenntnisbringend und lohnenswert weiter zu lesen, wie auch in historischer Forschung an einzelnen Punkten gut anzuknüpfen wäre.