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A Traditional Friendship? A TRADITIONAL FRIENDSHIP? A TRADITIONAL FRIENDSHIP? FRANCE AND YUGOSLAVIA IN THE COLD WAR WORLD, 1944–1969 By KATARINA TODIĆ, M.A., B.A. (Hon.) A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy McMaster University © Copyright by Katarina Todić, March 2015 McMaster University DOCTOR OF ARTS (2015) Hamilton, Ontario (History) TITLE: A Traditional Friendship? France and Yugoslavia in the Cold War World, 1945–1969 AUTHOR: Katarina Todić, M.A., B.A. (Hon.) (McMaster University) SUPERVISOR: Professor M. Horn NUMBER OF PAGES: xi, 320 ii Lay Abstract This investigation contributes to studies of post-1945 Europe and the Cold War by examining Franco-Yugoslavian relations in the period 1944–1969. The defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 did not function as “year zero” and rather than abandoning their “traditional friendship” that had been forged in the First World War, capitalist France and communist Yugoslavia revived their “traditional” forms of cooperation despite the onset of the Cold War. As each sought to exploit the revival of the friendship for its own purposes, the foreign policies of the two countries, elaborated by their leaders – General Charles de Gaulle and Josip Broz Tito – took remarkably similar paths. Although the revival of the “traditional friendship” demonstrates that the political and ideological division of Europe after the Second World War was fluid, it was the ideological underpinnings of the two leaders’ foreign policies that precluded any meaningful form of cooperation during the Cold War. iii Abstract This investigation contributes to studies of post-1945 Europe and the Cold War by examining Franco-Yugoslavian relations in the period 1944–1969. In analyzing the diplomatic, economic, military, and cultural relations between the two countries, this dissertation argues that contrary to dominant narratives, neither the destruction wrought by the Second World War nor the ideological divide imposed by the Cold War swept away pre-1945 structures. Rather than jettisoning their “traditional friendship” that had been forged in the First World War, after the defeat of Nazi Germany France and Yugoslavia revived their many forms of cooperation despite the radically changed political landscape. That each sought to exploit the friendship for its own gain was not surprising. While it has been assumed that France quietly retreated from its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe after 1945, this work argues that until 1966 Yugoslavia was an important site for the reclamation of French power and prestige vis-à-vis the British and Americans. Although Yugoslavia’s claim to international status was its leadership of the Non- Aligned Movement, its security concerns remained in Europe. Consequently, it sought to capitalize upon its friendship with France for a variety of purposes, including to facilitate the legitimation of the new regime and its territorial claims against Italy, insurance against German resurgence, and cooperation on the international stage. Belgrade’s desire for cooperation with France stemmed from the similarities between “Gaullism” and “Titoism.” The crucial ideologically-derived differences between the two, however, precluded any meaningful form of collaboration. In addition to reintroducing ideology into the realism-dominated field of Cold War studies, the evidence in this dissertation – that both France and Yugoslavia remained invested in the “traditional friendship” – demonstrates that the post-1945 political and ideological division of Europe was porous. iv Acknowledgements This project could not have come together without the assistance of many individuals. I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Martin Horn, for his mentorship over the years and guidance during this project. He, along with Dr. Tracy McDonald and Dr. Pamela Swett, provided critical feedback on chapter drafts. I would also like to thank the History Department staff, in particular Wendy Benedetti and Debbie Lobban, for their assistance, as well as my friends and colleagues in the graduate program at McMaster University for their encouragement throughout the various stages of the dissertation process. I could not have conducted my research without the assistance of the staff and archivists at the Archive of Yugoslavia, the Archive of the Yugoslavian State Secretariat for Foreign Affairs, the Historical Archive of Belgrade, the Archives of the French Foreign and Defense Ministries, and the French National Archives. I owe a special thanks to my grandparents, Mirjana and Vladimir Vasić, and my aunt, Jelena Anić, for ensuring that I never went hungry during my stays in Belgrade. Equally indispensable was the support of my parents, Vesna and Dejan Relić, who encouraged me to follow my passion; my husband and best friend, Aleksandar Todić, for his love and support; and my dear friend, Samantha Sandassie, who never shied from sharing dessert and a bottle of wine to help calm the nerves of a graduate student. v Table of Contents Lay Abstract ………………………………………………………………….…….. iii Abstract …………………………………………………………...……………….. iv Acknowledgements ……………………………………………..…………………… v List of Tables ……………………………………………………………...……….. vii List of Abbreviations ………………………………………………...……...……… viii Declaration of Academic Achievement ……………………………………..…………. xi Introduction ……………………………….………………..………………….……. 1 Chapter 1: Trieste for a Copper Mine? May 1944–June 1948 ……………………………. 37 Chapter 2: “A Policy of Presence,” June 1948–June 1954 ……..………...……………… 81 Chapter 3: From Rapprochement to Isolation, June 1954–January 1959 ……….............… 144 Chapter 4: The Crisis Years, January 1959–August 1962 …...…………………...……... 204 Chapter 5: The Tito of the West? August 1962–April 1969 ……..……………………… 246 Conclusion: A Traditional Friendship? ......................................................................... 302 Bibliography …..…………………………………..……………………………… 308 vi List of Tables Yugoslavia’s Trade with France, 1946–1948 …………………………...……………… 62 French Contribution to Tripartite Aid to Yugoslavia, 1951–1954 ……………………….. 106 Elementary and High School Students Learning Foreign Languages in Yugoslavia, 1959 …………..……………………………………………………. 256 vii List of Abbreviations A CK SKJ Arhiv centralnog komiteta Saveza Komunista Jugoslavije (Archive of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia) AJ Arhiv Jugoslavije (The Archive of Yugoslavia) A KMJ Arhiv kabineta Maršala Jugoslavije (Archive of the Cabinet of the Marshall of Yugoslavia) A KPR Arhiv kabineta Predsednika Jugoslavije (Archive of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Yugoslavia) AN Archives Nationales (National Archives) A SIV Arhiv Saveznog Izvršnog Veća (Archive of the Federal Executive Committee) CAP Common Agricultural Policy CGT Confédération Générale du Travail (General Confederation of Labour) CNIP Centre National des Indépendants et Paysans (National Centre of Independents and Peasants) CNR Conseil National de la Résistance (National Council of the Resistance) CPY Communist Party of Yugoslavia (Komunistička Partija Jugoslavije) DGRC Direction Générale des Relations Culturelles (General Direction of Cultural Relations) DSIP Državni sekretarijat za inostrane poslove (State Secretariat for Foreign Affairs) EDC European Defence Community (“Pleven Plan”) EEC European Economic Community viii EFTA European Free Trade Association ERP European Recovery Program (“Marshall Plan”) FLN Front de Libération Nationale (National Liberation Front) FNRJ Federativna Narodna Republika Jugoslavije (Federal National Republic of Yugoslavia) FRG Federal Republic of Germany GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GDR German Democratic Republic GPRA Gouvernement Provisoire de la République Algérienne (Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic) IAB Istorijski arhiv Beograda (The Historical Archives of Belgrade) JNA Jugoslovenska narodna armija (Yugoslavian People’s Army) LCY League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Savez Komunista Jugoslavije) MAE Ministère des Affaires Etrangères (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) MLF Multilateral Force MRP Mouvement Républicain Populaire (Popular Republican Movement) NDH Nezavisna Država Hrvatska (Independent State of Croatia) NOB Narodnooslobodilačka borba (The Fight for National Liberation) OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OEEC Organization for European Economic Cooperation ix PCA Parti Communiste Algérien (Communist Party of Algeria) PCF Parti Communiste Français (French Communist Party) RPF Rassemblement du Peuple Français (Rally of the French People) SFIO Section Française de l’Internationale Ouvrière (French Section of the Workers’ International) SHD Service Historique de la Défense (Defence Historical Service) SIV Savezno izvršno veće (Federal Executive Council of Yugoslavia) UDBa Uprava državne bezbednosti (State Security Administration) UFAC Union Française des Anciens Combattants (French Union of War Veterans) UJF Udruženje Jugoslovena u Francuskoj (Association of Yugoslavs in France) x Declaration of Academic Achievement Katarina Todić is the sole author of this dissertation. xi Ph.D. Thesis – K. Todić; McMaster University – History Introduction On November 11, 1930, a monument was inaugurated in the Yugoslavian capital of Belgrade. Situated in a park inside the ancient fortress of Kalemegdan in the heart of the city, it features an allegorical female figure atop a massive pedestal with the inscription, “A la France.” The work of the internationally-renowned Croatian
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