08.05.2025.
Forum titled “Anti-Fascism – Part of Identity” held
As May 9 – Victory over Fascism Day approaches, a forum titled “Anti-Fascism – Part of Identity”, organized by the Public Relations Department’s Media Centre “Odbrana”, was held today at the Central Military Club in Belgrade.
The event started with an opening speech delivered by the director of Media Centre “Odbrana”, Colonel Asst. Prof. Miljan Milkić, Ph.D., followed by other speakers who in their speeches looked at the events before and after the Second World War from different perspectives and highlighted the most important events of that period. Head of the Military History Department, Strategic Research Institute, Colonel Dalibor Denda, Ph.D., first outlined the sequence of events leading to the outbreak of, even statistically, the largest armed conflict in history. In his opinion, the Second World War was a conflict based on the polarization of two hostile military and political blocs characterized by clear ideological doctrines.
The Head of the Department of Social Sciences at the Military Academy, Colonel Slobodan Đukić, Ph.D., spoke about the struggle against fascism in Yugoslavia, which we should be proud of for three reasons: the rejection of the agreement to join the Tripartite Pact, the national liberation uprising in the occupied territory, and participation in the liberation of the country. He noted that, in addition to an anti-fascist war that was waged on the territory of Yugoslavia, there was also a civil conflict that largely determined the political structure of the state in the post-war era.The Vice-Rector for Quality and Development at the Defence University, Colonel Srđan Starčević, Ph.D., gave an analysis of the anti-fascist movement from the perspective of humanities and social sciences through the concept of the "given man". Starting from the philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre’s maxim that man is a unique individual, he concluded that all human societies, since ancient times, have had a need to create concepts of an ideal age that would be accompanied by the idea of an ideal man. Drawing on Nikolai Berdyaev's thought about the need to create a revolution in people, Colonel Starčević concluded his presentation with the definitions of a fascist and an anti-fascist.
The head of the Central Military Club Gallery, Jelena Knežević, highlighted the most significant artists who in their works immortalized the era of suffering and struggle in the territory of Yugoslavia. She invited citizens to visit the exhibition titled "Victory and Freedom" at the Central Military Club Gallery, which will be open until July 8, and see the quality of the artworks originating from the war.The forum was attended by acting Assistant Minister for Defence Policy Predrag Bandić, members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, and guests.
PHOTOGALLERY
VIDEOGALLERY08.05.2025
mp4 (246,36 MB)The forum
