Youth Day celebrations, which used to be held on May 25 to coincide with the date used by the state as Tito’s official birthday, were major events in Socialist Yugoslavia before his death in 1980. Tito was actually born on May 7, 1892.
Although the annual commemorations continue, admiration for Tito in Serbia is far from universal. Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Sapic has mooted the idea of removing famous communist memorials from public spaces in Belgrade, including Tito’s mausoleum from the House of Flowers, although he was overruled. Sapic has also suggested installing a monument to Tito’s rival, the leader of the World War II Chethik movement, Dragoljub ‘Draza’ Mihailovic. The commission for street names and monuments has declined the idea so far.
