During WWII Josip Broz Tito grew to command one of the most fearsome partisan armies ever. Aided in arms & intelligence from the Allies to fight occupying German and Italian forces they grew steadily from 75.000 in 1941, to 650,000 partisans mobilised by 1944. By the end of WWII the victorious partisan leader was known as Marshal Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia and ruled the Balkan federation until 1980 when he died aged 88. We hear first from David Guinness, retired Stroud-based engineer and political commentator who much admires the old Jugoslav constitution as a model for the rest of the world. Then we take a tour of Titos Villa Galeb in Herzeg-Novi, Montenegro with our guide Alen FilipoviÄ of the villas trustees, Institut Dr Simo MiloÅ¡eviÄ. The villa was constructed in six months as a therapy centre to relieve circulation problems from which president Tito suffered. http://www.igalospa.com/en/titova_vila.html http://www.dialectradio.co.uk - 31 September 2019 - Tony Gosling
President Josip Broz Tito began his life fighting as a mercenary then helped overthrow the Czars in the Russian revolution. During WWII he grew to command one of the most fearsome partisan armies ever, growing steadily from 75.000 in 1941 and given some aid in arms and intelligence from the West to fight occupying German and Italian forces to 650,000 guerrilla soldiers mobilised in 1944. By the end of WWII the partisan leader was known as Marshal Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia and ruled the Balkan federation from the end of World War II to 1980 when he died aged 88. The country he led blended the social justice of communism with the freedom of thought, religion and expression of the West. Whilst it was Stalin that threatened to invade Titos country it was eventually CAFOD, NATO and Western capitalism that brought Yugoslavia to its knees between 1991 and 2001. The country has now been Balkanised and falls firmly within the influence of NATO, The West and the European Union. This programme we hear first from David Guinness, retired Stroud based engineer and political commentator who much admires the old Yugoslav constitution as a model for the rest of the world. Then we take a tour of Titos Villa Galeb in Herzeg-Novi, Montenegro with our guide Alen FilipoviÄ of the villas trustees, Institut Dr Simo MiloÅ¡eviÄ. The villa was was visited twice by Prince Charles and was constructed in six months as a therapy centre to relieve blood circulation problems from which president Tito suffered in later life. http://www.igalospa.com/en/titova_vila.html