»Naj živi kritika!« Vilko Čižmek kot preizkusni kamen socialistične svobode govora

slovenian

2025

volume 96 = n. v. 61, issue 3

Criminal Code of 1951   criticism of authority   freedom of expression under socialism   hostile propaganda   Maribor electoral letter   political repression   verbal delict   Yugoslavia

Zgodovinsko društvo v Mariboru
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

This article examines the criminal proceedings against Vilko Čižmek in 1958 (case K 713/58), one of the most prominent examples of the prosecution of political criticism in early Yugoslav socialism. While Borivoj Breže’s study published in ČZN (2019) focused primarily on Čižmek’s personal background as well as his wartime and political career, the present study is the first to offer a comprehensive analysis of the criminal proceedings, his “Maribor Electoral Letter,” and the extensive correspondence on the basis of which he was charged with hostile propaganda. Čižmek’s critique transcends the framework of typical verbal delicts, as it represents a deliberate and internally socialist attempt to improve the system through free political debate. The authorities understood his actions as a threat, whereas he viewed them as a necessary social corrective. The case reveals the limits of permissible speech in postwar Yugoslavia and the tension between the idea of socialist democracy and the actual practices of punishing dissent.

16.03.2026