Cultural texts, enemies, and taboos: autocommunicative meaning-making surrounding the “Ready for the Homeland” Ustaša salute in Croatia

Damčević, Katarina

doi:10.1080/10350330.2021.1883404

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…9 One such event took place in November 2016, when former members of the Croatian Defense Forces and right-wing politicians installed a memorial plaque that featured the Ustaša ZDS salute near the Jasenovac memorial site. While the plaque was subsequently moved to nearby Novska, it took the government almost a year to do so, which sparked both local and international criticism (see Damčević 2021). President Milanović's comments after the Jasenovac commemoration in 2020 that the memorial plaque "should be removed, thrown away somewhere" and that "it has nothing to do with the Homeland War" 10 sparked a backlash from many veteran groups, including those that had no direct ties to the HOS.…”

Section: Jasenovac and Operation Flashmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ZDS -the official salute of the WWII Nazi-aligned Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska -NDH) -has been among the central symbols linked to the rise of nationalism; from its use during football matches (Brentin 2016), commemorative practices (Pavlaković, Brentin, Pauković 2018;Pavlaković, Pauković 2019), 1990s war veterans' meetings and commemorations (Damčević 2021), to wider debates concerning the regulation of hate speech and contested symbols related to WWII and the 1990s "Homeland War" (see Đurašković 2016 ;Blanuša, Kulenović 2018). The relativization of the salute by certain social actors and political parties lies in its ties with the Croatian "Homeland War", when it was used primarily by members of the Croatian Defense Forces (Hrvatske obrambene snage -HOS).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Ready for the Homeland” in Croatian media: Commemorations, victory, and foundation

Damčević

2023

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This article analyses the media discourse surrounding the WWII fascist salute Za dom spremni (ZDS) in the aftermath of two national commemorations that took place in Croatia in spring 2020: Jasenovac and Operation Flash (Bljesak). In spring 2020 Zoran Milanović, the newly elected President of Croatia, adamantly criticized the presence of the salute, associated with the collaborationist Ustaša regime, at the two commemorations, calling for its removal and ban. This led to heated reactions from war veterans and politicians who considered Milanović’s actions unacceptable and offensive towards the memory and legacy of the 1990s war, which triggered a wider debate regarding Croatia’s post-war national identity. The object of the analysis is the discourse surrounding the salute as it emerges in opinion pieces published in weekly and daily newspapers in April, May, and June 2020. With the salute becoming an increasingly prominent part of negotiating national identity and tailoring political agendas, investigating how it is justified, disapproved or otherwise challenged in the media is an aspect that deserves more attention. Relying on insights from discourse studies, the article sheds light on various statements that (de)legitimize the salute and consequently particular actors and actions associated with it. With the help of semiotics of culture wider signification tendencies and dominant discourse(s) upon which the national selfdescription has been built are identified. The article contributes to scholarship on hate speech and contested symbols in the post-Yugoslav space and their (mis)uses in societies struggling with traumatic legacies.

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Section: Jasenovac and Operation Flashmentioning

confidence: 99%