Josip Broz Tito, Cult of PersonalityJust like Stalin and Mussolini, Tito had cult of personality.
For example, his birthday (25 May) was celebrated by all the people, and was called Day of Youth.
Every federal unit had one town or city renamed to have Tito's name included, like Titov Drvar , Titograd, Titovo Uzice, Titova Mitrovica and more.
His name was mentioned in many songs, poems, and newspapers.
Many books that were wrote about him (Knjiga o Titu, by France Bevk) tells that, overall, Tito had a good childhood and was a good son. He failed the first grade, but was an excellent student later on. He was generous was just a normal person, like anybody else. This is what many books and propaganda about Tito suggested.
VIGNETTE 2 – Benito Mussolini, Cult of Personality
·Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922 as the prime minister of Italy.
·By 1936 his cult of personality was obvious, his title in 1936 was as follows His Excellency Benito Mussolini, Head of Government, Duce of Fascism, and Founder of the Empire etc. This shows how he wanted to be perceived by his people, and this continued to increases his personality cult by passing a law that poets and songwriters could only talk about him in a glorious way. Posters of him were all over Italy, and he held magnificent speeches where whole squares were filled and he was on a balcony looking invincible and god-like.
·Nationalistic Italians event went on “pilgrimages” to the Duce’s birthplace in Predappio. As all others cult of personalities anything that was negative about the Duce was and anything that showed his humanity was censored from the public.
·He created a cult of personality in the Soviet Union. Thus, he accepted grandiloquent and pompus titles, like Coryphaeus of Science, Father of Nations, Brilliant Genius of Humanity, Great Architect of Communism, Gardener of Human Happiness, and others.
·Stalin’s name was included in the new Soviet national anthem, during the Patriotic war. He became the focus of literature, poetry, music, paintings and film, exhibiting fawning devotion, crediting Stalin with almost god-like qualities, and suggesting he single-handedly won the Second World War.
·Numerous towns, villages and cities were renamed after this Soviet leader (Stalingrad, Stalino, Stalinsk, Imeni Stalin, Stalinstadt etc).
·The irony is that all of the statutes of Stalin portray him as a tall man, but his height barely reached 165cm.
