POMOĆ JUGOSLAVIJI U HRANI OD STRANE ZAPADNIH ZEMALJA 1950-1951.
WESTERN AID TO YUGOSLAVIA IN FOOD 1950-1951

Summary/Abstract: The aid given to Yugoslavia in food, between 1950 and 1951 by the US and other western countries was of the highest importance to the Yugoslav regime. This aid was part of a wider program of assistance, which also included military and other forms of help, and served the strategic interests of the US in its struggle against the USSR in the period of the cold war. These interests were aimed at supporting Tito in his confrontation with Moscow by encouraging his independence and thereby creating a possible model for other satellites of the Soviet orbit but also of offering him all necessary material aid to ward off potential Soviet aggression. In return certain concessions were discreetly requested of Tito in the sphere of domestic and foreign politics: general liberalization of the domestic political system, freeing of political prisoners, a milder agricultural policy, loosening of tension in relations with Greece, with Italy regarding Trieste and with Austria, and the creation of closer military ties with western countries. The aid received supplied 20% of Yugoslavia’s needs in wheat, 23.35% in corn, 43,8% in barley, 75.11% in beans and peas, 66.2% in fats and as much as 73% in sugar. The acceptance of this aid marked the beginning of a definite turn in Yugoslavia’s entire politics and economy away from the East and towards the West. Following this major reversal, Yugoslavia proceeded to normalize relations with the East again and, in the period to come skillfully steered a middle course between the two blocs, keeping up the appearance of neutrality and political independence and drawing substantial political and material benefits in this way.

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