Josip Broz ‘Tito’: Too Tough for Stalin 

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Interesting story about Tito: My paternal grandfather served in the British Airforce in WW2. One morning, towards the latter years of the war, my grandfather's friend gave him a knife. Later that day, my grandfather was shot down by a German pilot in Yugoslavia, and he parachuted into the water. The only reason he didn't drown was because he used the knife to cut open the parachute that was collapsing on him in the water. He was able to swim towards the shore, and a Yugoslavian fisherman ended up swimming out to help my exhausted grandfather to the shore. He brought him in and eventually took him to a nearby camp of The Partisans, the communist guerilla group led by Tito. Tito was at this camp. My grandfather met him, and Tito personally handwrote a letter that allowed my grandfather safe passage back to England. We still own the letter and the knife.

I think there were about 56 assasionation attempts on Tito, there is a book about it I read years ago. Most of them attempted by USSR and the USA. He visited JFK once in NYC, and he was almost shot there. There is a recorded phone call from Tito to JFK after Tito got home, telling JFK he loved it in America and that he should come visit Yugoslavia so he could return the hospitality

The Yugoslav passport was once the most desirable passport in the world, with the largest number of countries you could visit without a visa. You could travel from Japan, the Soviet Union, Western Europe, Cuba, the North and South America. This fact in itself is an amazing achievement...

He fought Hitler, he downed two american warplanes, confronted Stalin - quite unique and impressive performance.

My grandpa was a musician that played for Tito. He talked to him on several occasions. Once, my grandpa and his band played their clarinets for about 8-9 hours. Tito kept asking things like “When was the last time you ate? Are you ok?” when he found out they were playing so long

Here is a real story showing what kind of character Tito was. My father used to play accordion in a traditional music group, so called Kulturno Umjetničko Društvo (cultural and artistic company) from Sarajevo. These companies were a thing that literally every city, town or village had in Yugoslavia. Many of them exist to this day. The purpose of those troops is to preserve old songs and traditional dances of the people of Yugoslavia and give young people a place to pursue a hobby. Anyway, in his orchestra the lead accordion player has met Tito in person and had a really nice story about him. He was also a good friend of my father, his name was Mehmed, all of us kids called him uncle Meho. He enlisted in Yugoslav Navy in December 1952. as a sailor. At the time the mandatory military service in the navy was 3 years long so he was due to serve until December 1955. After finishing his basic training he was assigned to serve aboard Tito's presidential yacht "Galeb". In 1953. Tito started his famous world peace tour with "Galeb" and the trip lasted for 478 days. During the trip, at open sea, Tito insisted on having so called "sailor's evenings" where the crew would gather, sing, dance and spend the evening hanging out with him. The official reason behind it was that it is good for crew morale, but the truth was that Tito preferred hanging out with regular people instead of all the suck-ups and lackeys around him. And no one dared to oppose Tito regarding having those events. So my dad's friend, being a musician, was given an accordion and he was the main entertainer on those evenings. Not just because he knew how to play accordion and Tito's favorite folk songs, but also because he was from Bosnia and had that recognizable Bosnian sense of humor and a sense for a good party. Tito even remembered his first name and called him "comrade Meho". Almost half a year after that Tito came back to "Galeb" for some official state reception. As he was walking in front of the lined up crew he recognized uncle Meho and asked him "you are still here, Meho?" and uncle Meho replied "3 years of service, comrade Tito". Tito looked at him with a bit stunned expression and asked "when was the last time you went home for a leave?" and he replied "for 2 weeks, when we came back from the trip". Tito just let out some confused "hmmmm" then added "that is outrageous", patted him on the shoulder and said "we'll get that right". After 2 weeks he received honorable discharge papers signed by Tito personally, almost a year before his service was due. He kept them framed on his wall for his entire life as a souvenir and also as proof of the story. Not long after that navy service was cut down to 2 years. You can guess whose idea and order it was. You can say and think about him whatever you want, but you can't deny that Tito cared about the common people of Yugoslavia.

Serbs: Tito was a Croatian dictator. Croats: Tito was a Serbian dictator. Bosnians: Tito was a nice guy.

This man had the most celebrated and attended funeral of any world leader ever.

“Stalin, stop sending people to kill me! We’ve already captured five of them, one with a bomb and another with a rifle... If you keep sending killers, I’ll send one to Moscow. And I won’t have to send another.” The best quote. Ever.

I went to Yugoslavia as a kid and never knew it was a communist country. It just seemed like going anywhere else. I remember it was very green and the bread was good. Ten years later it had disintegrated.

Remarkable, comprehensive short story about Tito. I was born and used to live in Yugoslavia during those days of Tito’s rule. This story is very accurate and well said!

I was 4 years old and Tito's death was the first time I "learned" of the concept of death. I remember asking Mom why are all the people outside on the streets crying. One of my earliest memories, along with grandpa's passing that same year. Loss of two great men. R.I.P. 🥀

Fun fact: Tito was the only one who was allowed to smoke in the White House.

One thing that was not mentioned is: He was absolutely adored by people of Yugoslavia. (With the exception of the small number who were undermining the system and being under surveillance of his secret service). Masses of people who loved their leader because he brought peace and freedom , free education, free health system, he gave rights to women and so on...

Tito was the best leader on the World. We miss him. 😪😪

My friend’s father from Serbia killed himself after Tito died. He said Yugoslavia would now destroy itself and he was too old to want to go through anymore wars. He knew what was coming. My friend said he was happy his father at least had some good years after ww2 with Josip in charge.

I visited Croatia, Yugoslavia, in 1985, stayed with a local family and got to know their friends. 5 years after his death there were still huge poster etc. of Tito everywhere, and our general impression was that the locals really liked Tito. I haven't experienced this anywhere else, and I have been to a number of (then) present or former dictatorships. As for dictators, it seem like Tito was special.

Having grown up in our house with my father’s parents living with us, it kept me informed about world events. My grandfather was in WW I and technically WW II but he was state side. He was very aware of that region of the world and how volatile it was. I remember he spoke about Tito with a respect for his ability to survive and his combat experience. My grandfather saw that same war and how it happened. He felt that area was a powder keg for another world war. So I have a strong memory of this guy and history. It’s one of the many reasons I was fortunate to live with my grandparents who had experienced so much of that history.

"Tried to please everyone, ended up pissing everyone off." Ain't that just the story of human history.

I enjoy your videos. My first real impression of Tito was well after his death; when the Former Yugoslav Republics became a bloodbath of ethnic strife and it seemed like an unsolvable mess I was struck with the fact that one man had held these people together. It seemed unimaginable then that they could have ever been governed, but I reflected that Tito had surely done it. I don’t know enough about him to know if he was a good guy or a bad guy but he was definitely a remarkable guy.

My mom actually saw him in person when she was still very young. He come to visit a memorial site very close to my hometown. It's interesting to hear her and her peers accounts of the day. It was a very prideful moment for them, and she recalls it as a fond memory. Side note: it's interesting to see that so many people have great stories of Tito. Whether it's a personal experience, or a story passed down from our parents, it's interesting to see the impact the man had on the world around us

My mother's dear friend, Kordia, had been Tito's personal secretary. Her husband, Dusan Kveder, who had passed away before I met her, had been Tito's youngest General, and was a national hero. My family visited with her in 1968 at her apartment in Belgrade when I was 14. Oh, and she and my mother had met in university in New York (Columbia, I think). Kordia was a great beauty and had won the Miss Subway contest, beating out runner-up Bess Meyerson, who was later to be crowned Miss America. Just a bit of trivia.

1:00 - Chapter 1 - The Young sergeant 3:45 - Chapter 2 - Becoming a communist 7:20 - Chapter 3 - Tito begins 8:50 - Chapter 4 - Dangerous times, dangerous men 12:30 - Chapter 5 - A tale of two island 14:55 - Chapter 6 - A note to Stalin 17:10 - Chapter 7 - Leader of the non aligned 21:30 - Chapter 8 - Death & legacy

I am from former Yugoslavia, my grandparents were partisans. I didn't get to live for long in this country before it collapsed, but it was (going to be) glorious. My parents still can't get over this loss.

His father, Franjo Broz, was a carpenter, a drunkard who beat his kids and wife. He would make Josip beg for money around Kumrovec just so the poor family could survive. His mother, Marija Broz, was the bearing pillar of the entire family, working multiple jobs. Tito in his later years talked of her with great respect and love. In 1977 the 85-year-old Tito was asked by a journalist to describe the hardest part of his life: "The hardest blow of my entire life, was when I returned from captivity in 1920, and I couldn't find my mother."

The only flaw Tito had was that he wasn't immortal. When he died, Yugoslavia died with him.

Stalin: Who are you and how did you get in here? Tito: I'm a locksmith and I'm a locksmith.

Based on the number of attending politicians and state delegations, it is the largest state funeral in history. This included 4 kings, 31 presidents, 6 princes, 22 prime ministers, and 47 ministers of foreign affairs, from both sides of the Iron Curtain and beyond. that says it all

I think that Charles Bukowski quote explains a lot regarding how it was in Yugoslavia in period 1945 - 1990: “The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting”. The truth is simple; the large majority of Yugoslav population loved Tito, because they had jobs, roof over their heads, most could afford a week holiday on the Adriatic, they enjoyed western style cultural life (hollywood films, rock'n'roll, levi's jeans), but most importantly they could see that wherever Tito went (and he travelled a lot), he was greeted as some sort of semi God. The attendance at his funeral tells its own story.

After Richard Burton and his wife Elizabeth Taylor flew to Yugoslavia and met Tito in the 1970s, Burton from then on declared himself a communist. The fact that Tito left such an impression on someone like Richard Burton from just one meeting is truly something.

Fun fact: On his funeral were "four kings, 31 presidents, six princes, 22 prime ministers, and 47 ministers of foreign affairs, from both sides of the Iron Curtain. In total 128 countries out of the 154 UN members at the time were represented."

As a Serb, I am happy to see people talk about Tito. He and some other leaders are just as important as Cherchil, Stalin and Hitler, say. - It's good to see someone talk about him. Thank you. 👌

Tito is one of the few leaders that truly earned to be called a benevolent dictator.

My father was in the Yugoslavian army and was rather high up in communications. My father had taken orders from Tito and met him personally as well. Tito also gifted my grandfather a medal after fighting in WW2, I believe it's a silver medal which ill inherit after my uncle's death. Both my uncle and father served in the Yugoslavian army, cousins ended up fighting for the croatians during the horrific wars in Yugoslavia. Very interesting history with tito and the slavic countries.

This man was one of the toughest leaders of WW2.Balls of steel.I would put the great Finnish leader Manneheim in the same class.Respect.

First time when Queen Elizabeth came to visit Tito in Yugoslavia, they spent hours talking. Being so impressed by him she said : If this man is a metal worker, then I'm not a Queen !

"AND I won't need to send another..." is the most badass thing ever said if you think about who Stalin was and what power he had, and who Tito was.

Fun facts: A lot of people that lived in Yugoslavia (90%) (also my parents, grandparents etc. used to live there) say till this day that they loved life in Yugoslavia and that Tito was a good leader.

As a Bosnian who grew up loving the guy, I'm not disappointed with your portrayal of him. Every leader has his own barrage of sins, but for his time Tito came closest to a true revolutionary, the uncrowned king of the people. Day today, in the remains of a once prosperous nation, everything happened what Tito knew was going to happen had he not done some of the horrible things he did for the sake of balance (it was only lengthened/delayed for the inevitable). A majority of all ethnic groups hate each other because they're all measuring dicks for one stupid reason or another (religion, fascism, economic strength), Bosnia's still a mess 30 years after the war (facing a massive brain drain of 300,000-500,000 students (10% of the population) who can't live anywhere else under normal circumstances, having to resort to refugee status just to either have a proper education, or to earn more than a 100€ (110$) per month (if they're even paid at all)), some of the largest national debts in Europe, and mass bureaucratic privatisation of various businesses that is having a faint, yet similar economic effect on all of the nations (except Slovenia) to what's been happening in most of South America for the past 50 years. When he died, Yugoslavia died with him... A man's dream lost, crushed under the soles of human ignorance, that for which he was willing to do anything to prevent. All we did was go back to where we started. But that's my opinion, what is your take on him?

Fitzroy McLean's book 'Eastern Approaches' is a great read and details his account on being flown into Yugoslavia during WW2 to create ties between the British and Yugoslavian governments at the behest of Churchill. Excellent read, I thoroughly recommend it.

I work with many former Bosnian refugees who came to the US after Yugoslavia broke up. They have nothing but glowing praise for Tito. He was quite the character. Don't think I would agree with any of his politics, but as a person, as a man, he was the MAN.

Tito is one of the greatest figures of the 20th century! Very underrated! Yugoslavia, under his leadership and the leadership of the communist party, was the only country to liberate itself from fascist occupation. Which would in itself be a great enough achievement to get a place of honor in the annals of history. But after that he built socialism, explored new ways to build a socialist society, played both superpowers and formed and led the non aligned movement. He also, often secretly, supported many oppressed peoples all over the world. Just one great man.

Damn, dude has Hitler and Stalin going after him and he survives.

A Bosniak coworker of mine (who lived thru the Tito time period up to the Yugoslavian Civil War as a teen), told me that during the Tito time period of Yugoslavia, if someone heard you bad talk about Tito, some "scary looking guys" will turn up to your home and then "question and correct" you a bit. Told me a story of a drunk guy in his village who was ranting about Tito. An hour later some guys turn up and questioned that drunk guy to "repeat what you said about Tito" while slapping his face repeatedly just to humiliate and degrade him until he start to cry. Someone in the village probably ratted him out

Another fun story between Tito and Stalin. Once Stalin send to Tito jar of rice with note: "try to count us". Then Tito send him back jar of spicy pepperoni with note: "try to taste us".

Being the youngest sgt in, at the time, one of the world's largest and most modern armies is a testament to the kind of leadership qualities he had as a teenager wow

When he was asked in one interview "Who do you trust most of anyone else?" , he said "the barber". They asked him rather confused, expecting totaly different answers.. "Why barber", on what which he replied "Because he holds his razor every morning on under my neck, and he can kill me any time he likes, but don't "

Thanks to Tito, I live in an apartment my parents got from the government for very little money when I was a kid. By today's standards my family would never be able to buy a new home. Thanks to Tito, we don't understand racism in Slovenia. We lived with Bosnians and Serbs, we had black and Asian people come work here before I was even born. He thought us equality and he thought us to help each other. Even though Yugoslavia has fallen apart, there is still a sense of brotherhood between all these nations and mostly their people. I also remember that in his regime if you worked in a factory, you owned a part of it. You didn't get fired and the manager was only allowed to have a certain percentage higher salary then the cleaning lady. Most people see those days as perfect time and place to live. And I can say that even though my grandfather was prosecuted by the government at that time for being an intellectual. But that's another story for another day.

Fun Fact: Yugoslavians were the only people who could cross the German Wall legally.

As a kid in Los Angeles in the early 50s, I remember watching an airplane skywriting a message. I asked my dad what the message said, he told me it read "No Guns for Tito" For some reason I still remember that.

Its not often that you see a comunist/socialist leader being presented neutrally and in a completely unbiased manner by western presenters. But you, have managed to do it VERY correctly. I live in Macedonia, and the majority of the people in the Balkans, remember Tito as nothing but a VERY positive leader, especially with the events and violent breakups due to as*holes politicians after his death...He was a worlds one of a kind. He died few years before I was even born, but Tito's Yugoslavia is also remembered by my parrents as a paradise country - passport had value everywhere around the world, job guaranteed, money, travels, culture...it was safe enough to just park the car anywhere in Yugolsavia and sleep over, WHEREVER...no one would touch you. Murders were very rare, crime rate was low....Politically, he was cunning enough to juggle between the west, the east and all the rest non-engaged countries and actually liked by all. Inside, he was able to keep together so many nations that otherwise hated eachothers guts(as we saw in later years), into one, strong, prosperous, militarily, financially and politically strong country. May he rest in peace!!!!!! 🙏 Very good documentary!! 👍

if Tito was still alive today Jugoslavija would be one of the leading nations in Europe for sure maybe even the world

Tito seems like a rad dude. Anyone who isn't afraid of Stalin and pissed off Hitler is legit in my mind. 💪

Correction: Tito died from complications with gangrene caused by arterial blockages in his leg, not heart failure. He had arterial blockages in his left leg which brought on gangrene. Tito refused to have his leg amputated, and by the time two of his sons convinced him to go through with the operation, it was too late to save his life. He was 87, just days from his 88th birthday.

Fun Fact: Josip Broz Tito was also a fencing master. He competed in tournaments throughout his military career.

Your work ethic is incredible . Now in my mid-40s , your channels help me to fondly remember, expand on, and re-envigorate knowledge gained at school. Top-tier material!

As much as I despise communist dictators I've got to give Tito a nod of respect for that letter he sent to Stalin! That is truly way up on the badass scale!

My father's father was born in Kumrovec & grew up six houses away from the Broz family. My grandfather, who died before I was born, came to the U.S. to get away from all that. The history before, during, and after Yugoslavia is a badly bloody one.

Cracks me up every time I watch this and listen to the part about the letter to Stalin! Absolute Class!

that letter from tito to stalin is the most badass letter in 20th century. the man truly had the balls of steel.

A biographics on Glenn T Seaborg would be awesome! He was a Manhattan project scientist, helped discover 7 elements, rearranged the periodic table, and had an element named after him while still alive.

This is why I love history so very much... Not just learning from Simon but I mean, he is badass and makes you want to keep learning! 🥰

No words could explain how badass Tito was.

"Nobody says 'no' to Stalin and lives." Tito: Hold my Pelinkovac

Fun Story: My grandpops told me this story about Tito One day they needed to see and consult Tito on a matter so they go into his office just to see it empty, so they panic, desperately searching for where Tito was, eventually later that day they found Tito in the park, sitting on the bench, talking to an old guy, just reminiscing about old times

I know Tito wasn’t exactly the greatest guy, but man, *what a legend*

Good show. I remember Yugoslavia. It was really hard after it fell apart to keep track of the separate countries and their individual nationalities. Simon, you did a great job keeping things straight. Imagine how difficult it was for Tito.

The guy was a magician, and most under-rated leader maybe ever.

He kept all the ethnicities united, and didn't prey on divisions to retain power, and while he was a dictator, Yugoslavian cinema from Tito's era includes some of the greatest masterpieces ever made, criminally underated, and way, way, way, ahead of their time. i don't know much about the society, but i'm intrigued by how an authoritarian state produced such subtle, sublime, works of art.

Tito: "Hey Stalin, i have a joke for you" Stalin: "What's it?" Tito: "1980" Stalin: "I dont get it" Tito: "Exactly"

Fun fact: Tito's funeral: Based on the number of attending politicians and state delegations, it is the largest state funeral in history.[2] This included four kings, 31 presidents, six princes, 22 prime ministers, and 47 ministers of foreign affairs, from both sides of the Iron Curtain and beyond. In total, 128 countries out of the 154 UN members at the time were represented

It was at Brioni islands, when Tito was visible emotional effected by lately Soviet intervention in Budapest. Drinking whiskey, smoking cigars, he looked sad and serious. "Sometimes I think we had a choice in summer of 45, but can see now after Hungarian events, we had no choice" My relative was a partisan, but she had brothers on wrong side as well, who like thousands of others were executed secretly in hot summer nights of 45. Interesting few months later she was arrested and she was in prison for a year. I doubt Tito gave order, but secret police had ears everywhere.

Until today Tito remains the only foreigner to give a speech in my country's (Bangladesh) parliament. he was widely respected here.

One of my dad's friends was in the OSS in WW2. He was a senior exec at Mobil or Exxon, cant remember which, and lived in NYC. He said that in 1944 he was sent into Yugoslavia to protect Tito, along with some other special forces, and I believe that this was for 2-3 years. Don't know any more than that, but it would seem to be in the US interest to keep Tito alive.

Fun fact "goli otok" is literaly translated to naked island since there was nothing but rocks

I find it interesting his nickname is "Tito" which in Spanish culture is a sign of respect for an older man who may or may not be an actual blood relative.

I adore this man so much and I am not even an Ex-Yugoslav, but just a socialist who looks to the most successful example of socialism for inspiration. This man created a socialist state that was both successful and internationally respected (on both sides of the Iron Curtain). Main reason it failed in the end is because he did not properly groom a successor.

His letter to Stalin was pretty straight to the point, huh?

His funeral was spectacular though. Absolutely every world leader came, from Mrs.Thatcher to Sadam to Guadaffi. It was a freak show in way...

Stumbled upon this video, thoroughly enjoyed the mix of good pacing and the way it's narrated. Liked & subscribed to the channel. Great content!

If history books were written like Simon's narrative style there won't be anyone that could resist in learning. :D

Tito was one of the most badass people to ever live

I would argue Titoism wasn’t a step towards liberalism, as you put it. It was a step towards socialism. Real socialism i.e. society itself controls the means of production (cooperatively by the people closest to production) rather than the Bolshevik oligarchy in Moscow.

My Nana was the daughter of someone who fought against Tito’s army. My great Grandfather was a Serb in Yugoslavia, and as I said fought against Tito’s army. They lost, and he was forced to flee to Britain. He couldn’t return although he wanted to, because he would have been arrested.

Tito is every ex yugoslavian grandmother’s love

The fact that this dude had Hitler and Stalin followed after him and still survived shows his goddamned strength. You will never see a second like this again.

Fun fact: Tito was voted as a best dressed world leader. When visited Queen Elisabeth, the had a chat after dinner which lasted till 4 am. Queen was absolutely fascinated by Tito’s story and said to him, “ I can not believe how much you achieved in your life”. Also you can see in footage that she shook hands with him which she hardly ever did with anyone.

Cenim vaš trud. Btw, trebali ste se pripremiti i pitati bilo koga ko govori srpski kako se izgovaraju imena i prezimena. To bi bio viši nivo.😆

Fascinating. Did not know “Tito” was a nickname-he’s always referred to as Josip Broz Tito.

My grandfather was born in 1927. When he was about 14y old (1941) Chetniks occupied his village and massacred the village by tying peoples hands behind their back, putting a rock in a persons mouth, kicking it with a boot (to break the jaw) and then tossing them into a pit, while still alive, and buried them. My grandfather was short and skinny, so only he, his brother and another cousin were spared. That's when my grandad joined the partisans. He become a personal courier to Sava Kovacevic, and on this one occasion, Sava gave him letter to deliver to Josip Broz Tito. He told him that the letter was of some great importance and it was for Tito's eyes only. When my grandad arrived to the camp, he was brought to a commander and the commander asked for the letter, but my grandad refused because he was instructed to deliver the letter ONLY to Tito. Even tho this commander asked for the letter a couple of times ensuring him that he will give it to Tito, my grandad refused. Then another officer came into the room and when he heard the conversation he smiled and said, "hey kid, that IS "drug Stari" (Comrade elder) - a.k.a. Josip Broz Tito. The thing was, my grandad never met Tito before, and he didn't even knew what he looked like. But the discipline amongst the partisans was at such a high level that is beyond words. Tito noticed my grandad wearing 'opanci' (a thin sheep leather footwear that is not meant for cold weather), and ordered the officer to bring a pair of boots. My grandad was fed, given the boots, and sent back. But he was a kid and never wore anything but 'opanci' before, so he traded the boots with another partisan for -- a pair of opancis. =)

Tito always found himself caught in between two geopolitical rivalries yet he was able to survive it, thumbs up mate.

Absolutely Brilliant! Born in Yugoslavia and my old man speak of great times during prosperity of this country. For anyone not knowing the Balkans and how crazy our history has been Tito was a machine that united us all. Now we are independent how we wanted and fighting to join EU and re-join? Something that the WEST back in the 1980 offered to us for free!!!

Just a note about the historical timeline - Alexander I was assassinated 1934. in Marseille, and his successor was Peter II who was underage at the time so his uncle ruled as a regent. Also, does anyone else find something odd about the Tito's picture from 1917 and 1928? I wish AI could analyse it, but my layman's eye says it is not the same man.

When a father died and then the children kill each other for inheritance, it's a story we all know too well. To think we can learn from mistakes of the past but alas, gold is thicker than blood.

Stalin unwillingly drove Tito towards the west . It is astounding that he was too smart for Stalin

Even as a kid we knew about the brave and tough man in Joguslavia, Tito, the man that not even Stalin could touch! The man that kept Joguslavia under control. What a character!

The men between East and West when it was the most dangerous to be between them. He managed to balance perfectly. Not only that he balance between them he opposed them with Non-aligned movement. He was the leader to turn to when you wanted something in global affairs. The men who escaped from the most ruthless men of all time Hitler and Stalin. The men who gatherd Partisans to fight under his guidence to liberate Yugoslavia. Where ever he went he was welcomed with highest honours. His funural was the biggest political gathering in the history of humanity, everyone came to say the last goodbay to great leader. He gave the people of Yugoslavia peace, sovereignty, free education, free health care, jobs for everyone with free houseing and very affordable cars. He gave those people global meaning, beacuse Yugoslavia was big player in global affairs. To say at least Tito's Yugoslavia was probably the most prosperous country to live in at his time. Tito is the greatest figure of 20th century.

His childhood home is a bit of a shrine despite his reputation. They still have his uniform and fake passport among other things all in very good condition. When asked, our guide admitted most Croatians didnt like him (at least in his experience) but they still find it very important to keep everything pristine.

Tito, not quite the hero, not quite the villain. He was a man who is responsible for both the best and worst to come out of the Balkans in the second half of the 20th century.