He Never Fell

         Filipovic's triumphant last stand was an act of heroism and when he called for resistance and denounced the Germans, he was addressing a group, but his words touched individuals. Those present had to stand for one hour before his body, in silence, and it is only logical that some of them would reflect upon his words. He encouraged the masses and he affected the individual. However, the photograph of his last moment and the emotional bond, however slight, that each person has with the hero is the most convincing argument for the statue's survival during the war with Croatia. The casualties suffered by the Serbs during the Second World War were incalculably immense. Very few families were spared the loss of a loved one: a civil war, bloody conflicts with the Croat quisling-state, the German reprisals. It was a tumultuous time, a time of significant political and societal change in Yugoslavia. The country had been laid to waste by fighting and bombing. It was certainly a lean and desperate time for most, and there Filipovic stood, minutes before death, leaving his final words of faith and hope to his fellows: continue the struggle for freedom, don't give up, rebel, and if you are stopped in your tracks, make your last stand with glory and honor. Those are sentiments to which individuals can relate. Though a poem was not written about our young Partisan, his image and the myth that surrounds him are tribute enough.

         On a collective level, apathy is another reason that Filipovic was not torn down. The war certainly taxed, yet again, the stamina of the Yugoslav people. Filipovic was an established part of their town and his memory was associated with another time. His story was not a contemporary one and, thus, not controversial.

         The stone marker near the Filipovic monument is inscribed as follows:

         Once again, the reference to the "traitors of the people" is included. It is an epithet that Partisan sources tend to use for Četniks. We saw the exact same phrase in the encyclopedia's version of Filipovic's speech. Do we have here two parallel examples, that we may add to Memorial Park, of Partisan tampering? Yes. The deliberate and systematic, yet subtle, attempts do affect the development of historical consciousness. When people relate on a personnel level with a memory from the part, like those who witnessed Filipovic's execution, they are not so affected by subtle attempts to manipulate collective memory. On the other hand, when a carefully veiled attempt is made to influence historical consciousness, and that attempt is on-going and directed from all sides (education, monuments, television, brochures, and museums), the audience will be affected.

         The inscription also brings up an important debate over the nature of Filipovic's memory and all of the special attention that has been paid to it. Did Filipovic do something extraordinary and thus, is deserving of his own statue? The inscription gently encourages us to see Filipovic as one of many who deserve commendation and commemoration, but that view erases his singularity. Is Filipovic a Partisan hero or a hero of humanity? The two points of view are not mutually exclusive. Filipovic has been embraced by Valjevo and by others who learned of him in school both as a heroic individual and as a part of the larger Partisan movement. As an individual, his courage is inspiring and as a Partisan, his valiant last stand and defiant words lend justification and honor to his movement. The statue will continue to keep Filipovic's legacy alive, but that legacy is only one of many other stories of honor, virtue, martyrdom and triumph, and some tales may be even more touching than Filipovic's. The difference is the degree to which Filipovic's memory has permeated the historical consciousness of the people, his statue(s) being the vehicle for this process. Perhaps a Valjevan feels a particular bond to Filipovic because he was present at the execution. Perhaps another in Belgrade is inspired by the heroism of the Partisan resistance against the Germans, of which Filipovic is a symbol. Filipovic's statue certainly served as a rallying point for the Communist movement; however, for some people, at least for one fine, old gentleman from Valjevo with whom I spoke and for Mrs. Rakic, Filipovic was simply a hero, not a Partisan hero.