From the beginning to the end of the 20th century, the Balkan region of Europe saw more upheaval and turmoil than most of the rest of the continent. Two Balkan wars that preceded World War I killed hundreds of thousands.
The infamous origin of the awful conflict began one June day in Sarajevo when Gavrilo Princip shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand. This was followed by a South Slavic kingdom, to be replaced by puppet regimes under Nazi control.
Then came the communists and a charismatic leader who straddled the divide between East and West. This was followed in the 1990s by the disintegration of Yugoslavia and several devastating wars that led to the worst massacres seen in Europe since the Holocaust.
One man whose journey mirrored those monumental times in the early part of the century was Mosa (Moshe) Pijade, a towering yet controversial figure in the history of Yugoslavia – a forgotten character in a country that no longer exists.
Born in Belgrade on January 4, 1890, Pijade lived a life that encompassed roles as an artist, journalist, communist revolutionary, and key political leader in Josip Broz Tito’s post-WWII government. A member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Pijade has a legacy that is interwoven with the tumultuous transformation of Yugoslavia during the 20th century.
Pijade hailed from a prosperous mercantile family of Sephardi Jewish descent. His paternal grandfather emigrated from Bulgaria to Serbia, where his father, Samuilo, a wealthy merchant, expanded the family business. A striking gesture of gratitude to Serbian Prince Milos for granting trade freedoms to Jews was evident in the shop, which prominently displayed a life-size portrait of the prince alongside the company name.
As Serbian Jews, the Pijade household emphasized multilingualism; the children grew up speaking Serbian, Spanish, and German, aided by their German nanny. Mosa’s eldest brother, David, nurtured Pijade’s artistic inclinations, introducing him to painting and art.
During his school years, Pijade joined the literary group Nada, and it was during this period that his interest in socialist ideologies began to take root. On his 14th birthday in 1903, instead of sweets, he gifted himself a copy of Karl Marx’s Das Kapital, inscribing on the first page, “This book is presented by Mosa Pijade to himself on his birthday, December 22, 1903, Belgrade.”
(Due to Serbia’s still using the Julian calendar, there was a 13-day deficit with the Gregorian calendar already adopted by Western Europe.)
After graduating high school, Pijade pursued art studies, enrolling in a local art school. By 1906, he moved to Munich, where he immersed himself in the dynamic artistic movements of Europe and the lively cabaret culture. However, financial troubles struck when his father went bankrupt, forcing Pijade to end his formal education prematurely.
From Munich, Pijade spent a year in Paris, followed by time in Brittany, honing his skills as a landscape painter. Returning to Belgrade in 1910, he shifted his focus from painting to writing, becoming a journalist and marking the beginning of his intellectual and political journey.
“He grew up in a family that was quite well established, but it was actually his older brother David who oriented him toward the leftist avant-garde ideas of the time,” Serb Consul to Israel, Alexander Nikolic, told the Magazine. “It transformed him from a curious, intellectual painter to somebody who became acquainted with Marxist ideas, and later on he became one of the most important translators, such as [for] works like Marx’s Das Kapital.
“Before World War I, he belonged to the romanticism of the South Slavic national beliefs, the Illyrian movement, which is kind of a pan-Yugoslavism.”
In 1913, Pijade relocated to Ohrid, then part of southern Serbia, where he taught art, French, and German.
When World War I began in 1914, he volunteered for the Serbian Army but was refused induction. The following year, he returned to Belgrade and began working for the newspaper Pravda.
However, after Serbia fell under Austro-Hungarian occupation in September 1915, Pijade adapted as best he could by taking jobs as a waiter in Cuprija and later as an advertising agent in Valjevo.
Pijade found that his work as a journalist and political caricaturist in the World War I years gave him the opportunity to be involved with the political commentary of the day, although at the time he was still not a full-fledged communist. World War I gave rise to plenty of nationalist feelings in the Balkans – it was a Bosnian Serb nationalist who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
However, the journey from artist to socialist was almost complete.
In 1919, Pijade launched the daily newspaper Slobodna rec (“Free Word”) in Belgrade. By 1920, he was actively contributing to the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY) newspaper Radnicke novine (“Workers’ News”) and officially joined the CPY that year.
During the municipal elections of August 1920, he was elected to the Belgrade City Assembly as a CPY candidate. Although the party won a majority and was poised to appoint a communist mayor, Filip Filipović, government authorities barred the elected representatives from assuming their roles, citing allegations of improper oath-taking.
In 1921, Pijade joined the CPY’s executive committee following the arrest of its previous members amid a crackdown on communist activities.
When the CPY was banned by the royal regime and forced underground, Pijade revived Slobodna rec as a weekly publication and became active in the Independent Workers’ Party of Yugoslavia (IWPY), a legal front established by communists.
As editor of IWPY’s newspapers, which included Radnik (“The Worker”) and later Okovani radnik (“Chained Worker”), Pijade worked to disseminate socialist ideas despite frequent government bans. However, the IWPY failed to secure parliamentary seats in the 1923 and 1925 elections and was eventually outlawed.
During this period, Pijade aligned with the CPY’s leftist faction, advocating Leninism and Bolshevism. Tasked with operating an underground print shop in Belgrade, he produced communist literature, such as the magazine Kommunist.
The authorities discovered the operation in 1925, leading to Pijade’s arrest and a 12-year prison sentence for “anti-state activity,” later extended by two years for continuing his activism while incarcerated.
It has often been noted how Tito and the Yugoslav communist leadership maintained their distinction from Stalin during the nearly three decades that the Soviet leader held power. However, Tito would not begin to rule Yugoslavia until after World War II. In the 1920s, the Yugoslav communists found themselves closely aligned with Stalin, leading to a purge of the party in the 1930s.
“Considering that practically the entire old guard of the CPY was killed in Stalin’s Great Purge between 1936 and 1939, Pijade was among the few members of Tito’s leadership who had contact with the original ideas of Leninism in the early 1920s, before the triumph of Stalin and his idea of ‘socialism,’” noted historian Stefan Guzvica.
SENTENCED TO 12 years of imprisonment, with two years tacked on, Pijade’s time of incarceration was to prove probably the most decisive of his life, considering the path he was to take after his release.
Imprisoned in several prisons and camps, it was in Lepoglava Prison that he met Josip Broz, better known to the world as Tito. An imposing, flamboyant figure, Tito was charismatic and would go on to become the most dominant figure in socialist Yugoslavia’s history.
Breaking with Stalin after World War II, Tito would help bridge the divide between the Western and Eastern blocs, eventually helping to form the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961.
“As a prisoner, Tito was in charge of a small power station supplying electricity,” Nikolic noted. “Tito was an electrician by trade, and Pijade was his assistant, and that’s where they met.
“Those were times when Pijade was very well known to the inmates as a translator. And that’s actually how he became famous. They really dedicated this period of their lives to creating an intellectual base for the communist movement.
“This is where he translated Das Kapital into Serbo-Croat and the Communist Manifesto, which was a major contribution of his, not for the intellectual but the theoretical prospects of the lower level of the communist movement.”
During his imprisonment in Sremska Mitrovica in 1927, Pijade became a central figure in the organized life of communist inmates. He led a hunger strike demanding political prisoner status and better conditions for communist prisoners. Pijade used his time to educate fellow inmates, founding a “workers’ university” within the prison.
He systematically taught political economy, philosophy, history, and journalism, creating structured classes and shorter courses for those nearing release. He also instilled a love of reading among prisoners, emphasizing understanding over rote memorization.
Under the pseudonym “Uncle Janko,” he conducted his translation work. His educational efforts and translations made the prison a hub of intellectual and ideological development for communist activists.
One prison camp guard reminisced to a Yugoslav biographer of Pijade’s that during his time incarcerated, he was particularly influential in converting fellow prisoners to the socialist cause. “Maybe when someone comes to prison and sees [Pijade], he is not a communist; but when he leaves prison, he certainly is.”
After his release in April 1939, Pijade resumed his political activities but was repeatedly arrested. In 1939, he married Lepa Nesic, a fellow CPY member. At the CPY’s Fifth National Conference in 1940, Pijade was elected to its Central Committee, solidifying his role in the party’s leadership.
This was followed by a brief detention in concentration camp Bileća and another incarceration in early 1941. He was released just days before the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941.
DURING WWII Pijade, now in his 50s, was instrumental in organizing the Yugoslav partisans’ administrative and propaganda efforts.
After the Nazi invasion in April 1941, Pijade relocated to Montenegro, where he headed the communist-led uprising against Axis occupation in July 1941. The rebellion initially succeeded, temporarily liberating much of Montenegro. However, under Pijade and Milovan Dilas, the Montenegrin partisans implemented severe policies against perceived class enemies and those resisting communist authority.
This approach, later criticized as “Leftist errors” by the CPY, resulted in significant violence against civilians deemed “enemies of the people.”
By late 1941, Pijade joined the main partisan headquarters, focusing on organizing supplies and managing liberated territories rather than military strategy. His personal losses during the Holocaust were immense, with most of his family, including siblings, killed in concentration camps.
Despite these tragedies, Pijade remained active, authoring the pivotal “Foca Regulations” in 1942, which established the administrative framework for liberated territories and were later hailed as foundational to Yugoslavia’s post-war governance.
Pijade became a key figure in organizing the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ), serving as its vice president after its second session in Jajce in 1943.
He also spearheaded the creation of Tanjug, the partisan news agency, to garner international support for the partisan cause. As a high-ranking member of Tito’s partisans, Pijade held prominent positions in the CPY’s Central Committee and Politburo, solidifying his role as a leading architect of the communist movement during the war.
AFTER THE WAR, Pijade became a central figure in Yugoslavia’s political reconstruction under Tito.
Initially appointed to significant roles in drafting Yugoslavia’s socialist constitution, he was soon elevated to positions that solidified his influence. His tenure as vice president of the Federal Assembly showcased his legislative acumen, while his later appointment as president of the Federal People’s Assembly marked the zenith of his political career.
The Federal People’s Assembly, or the Yugoslav Parliament, was the highest organ of state power and the only branch of government in the country, with all state organs subservient to it under the control of the Communist Party.
As president of the Yugoslav legislature, Pijade played a critical role in shaping policies that aimed to harmonize the diverse ethnic and political fabric of Yugoslavia, a complicated federation of several states and peoples. He was a staunch advocate of the self-management system, which devolved economic and political power to workers, a hallmark of Tito’s socialism.
His diplomatic efforts, particularly in the aftermath of the Tito-Stalin split, underscored his commitment to Yugoslavia’s independence from Soviet domination while sticking to a Marxist framework.
“Those years after the Holocaust and after the liberation of the country were critical,” Nikolic described. “Pijade had enormous power; we cannot even imagine how powerful he was. He had Tito’s trust almost without limits.”
Pijade also served as first deputy prime minister and, during his time at the zenith of Yugoslav politics, championed policies aimed at modernizing Yugoslavia’s cultural and educational systems, ensuring that they reflected socialist values while accommodating the region’s diverse heritage. His writings and speeches during this period reveal a leader deeply invested in balancing ideology with pragmatism.
“He was a member of the Central Politburo, a position very few could achieve, so he was a top party leader on a national, federal level, not just provincial,” Nikolic said.
“He led numerous parliamentary delegations, mostly around Europe. Not only was he loyal to Tito and a devoted communist, but he represented the country in a very dignified way because he spoke so many languages. He could not only help or participate but even lead the conversation about arts, poetry, and literature.
“He was very much about promoting a better picture of Yugoslavia, especially after the breakaway from Stalin and the Soviet Union in 1948, which was crucial for Yugoslavia. This is why it was important to have as good relations with the US, the UK, and France, or other important Western nations, as possible.”
ALMOST UNIQUELY among the European Jews who found themselves thrust into power in socialist countries during the 20th century, Pijade never shied away from his Jewish roots.
Whereas Russian revolutionaries such as Leon Trotsky, Lev Kamenev, and Grigory Zinoviev rejected their heritage in the belief of communism, Pijade, while not a religious Jew nor a member of a community, never publicly hid his faith and interacted with the remnants of a community devastated by the Holocaust.
“He never denied his roots, but he also had the privilege to assist when it was so difficult for Jews to recover their lives somehow,” Nikolic explained. “And the most central question of the Jewish community in the late 1940s was, of course, the ability to obtain permission to make aliyah.”
In the aftermath of World War II and amid the rebuilding of Yugoslavia as a socialist state, many Jewish families chose to begin anew elsewhere rather than resettle in a country still reeling from the effects of civil war and the Holocaust. Between 1948 and 1952, more than 8,500 Yugoslav Jews – approximately half of the Holocaust survivors in the region – immigrated to the newly established State of Israel in four significant waves.
This group joined a smaller contingent of Yugoslav Jews who had arrived in Palestine prior to Israel’s independence. Meanwhile, others opted to immigrate to countries such as the United States, Canada, or parts of Europe.
Among the Jews who decided to stay in Yugoslavia, many were former partisan fighters or individuals who had intermarried before, during, or after the war. Those with strong Zionist ideals or ties to Jewish identity were more inclined to leave, while those deeply connected to socialism or Yugoslavia often chose to remain.
However, staying did not necessarily mean returning to their prewar hometowns; many rebuilt their lives in new regions within the country, adapting to the postwar reality.
Pijade’s actions in helping the Jews of Yugoslavia, often against significant opposition, highlighted his humanitarianism and understanding of the Jewish plight, despite his commitment to an atheistic and socialist worldview.
“Personally, I’m so happy that I worked with individuals that had direct contact with him,” Nikolic recalled.
Nikolic spent time in his youth as the leader of the Jewish Students and Youth Department of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Yugoslavia (FJCY), bringing him into contact with members of the community who had interacted with Pijade, such as Lavoslav Kadelburg, president of the FJCY.
“I would say that the most precious source for us, as Jews, is what David ‘Dacha’ Alkalaj wrote about him.”
Alkalaj and Kadelburg “went personally numerous times to Pijade to ask for his thoughts or his suggestions on how to deal with the most critical aspects of Jewish life. They portrayed Pijade as a very approachable, simple man with a lot of patience for them and a real readiness to assist. Pijade, ideologically speaking, was a communist. He was never a member of the Jewish community.”
There is, however, an extraordinary photo from late 1944 in existence. Belgrade was liberated from the Nazis in October 1944, so the photo must date from November or December of that year. It shows Pijade, in full partisan military uniform, attending a ceremony at the Belgrade Synagogue, also known as the Sukkat Shalom Synagogue.
For such an idealist communist, to attend a synagogue ceremony in partisan uniform shows the profound complexity of Pijade’s identity.
ON MARCH 15, 1957, Pijade was returning to Yugoslavia via Paris from London, where he had talks as leader of a Yugoslav parliamentary delegation. He and his wife stayed at the residence of Yugoslav ambassador Ales Bebler. Later that day, he took ill.
His condition deteriorated, and at 6:15 p.m. Pijade was pronounced dead. Five days of mourning were declared in Yugoslavia.
“He was actually the only communist leader that Tito, in person, delivered a eulogy at his funeral,” Consul Nikolic said. “It’s unbelievable. Only Mosa Pijade’s. Tito went by foot and was even standing beside his coffin [as it lay in state] in the federal parliament. Tito was the first one standing there. It was genuine grief.”
Pijade’s death in Paris in 1957 marked the end of an era. Streets, schools, and monuments across Yugoslavia bore his name as a testament to his contributions. He remains one of the few Yugoslav politicians to still have streets and schools in his name.
“Moshe Pijade was a real, idealistic communist, with no conformism whatsoever and no opportunism,” Nikolic observed.
“He paid with 14 of the best years of his life being imprisoned. Today, the general feeling toward Pijade is somewhere between the general feeling toward the communist leadership, but I would say that there is much more, if not sympathy, then empathy toward his memory than to other communists, which is very nice for Serbia, that even in this case there is always somehow a soft spot for the Jewish community.
“He is very important in fighting historical revisionism today.”
From his paintings to his political strategies, Pijade embodied the complexities of Yugoslavia’s journey through monarchy, war, and socialism. His post-war career cemented his place as a key architect of the country’s socialist experiment, even as his methods and ideologies invite debate.
The life of Mosa Pijade serves as a powerful prism for understanding the seismic shifts and ideological struggles of 20th-century Europe and portrays the turbulent times the continent endured.
The dissolved country of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia was a multi-ethnic federation of several states in the Balkans, existing in various forms from 1918 to 2006. Initially established as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes after World War I, it was renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929.
Following World War II, it became a socialist republic under long-term leader Josip Broz Tito, comprising six republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia, alongside two autonomous provinces inside Serbia, Kosovo and Vojvodina.
Each republic had its own government ruled by its respective Communist Party, which was governed in turn by the federal Yugoslav government.
Yugoslavia was notable for its unique position during the Cold War, aligning with neither the Soviet bloc nor the West but leading the Non-Aligned Movement. It dissolved in the 1990s amid ethnic tensions and several wars, notably in Bosnia and Kosovo, as each republic sought independence.
The term “Yugoslavia” persisted until 2003, when the remaining Serbia and Montenegro federation was renamed, dissolving entirely in 2006 with Montenegro’s independence.