Prince Philip of Serbia, son of Crown Prince Alexander, has expressed his support to those who wish to preserve Serbia’s history and commemorate those killed in Serbia during the era of communism. In a statement on Facebook, the Serbian Prince wrote about his feelings about the 60,000 people who were executed by the communist regime in the country.
Prince Philip wrote: “There are many hardworking people in Serbia who make a great effort every day to protect our people’s values and defend our future. Such a group of people with different ages, education, professions and a different history, are united as one, to honour the victims of the communist regime, in one of the 211 places where more than 60,000 people were shot after liberation. These were professors, actors, industry-workers, priests, officers, etc.”
Prince Philip continued: “One place people were executed was in Belgrade and was located near the King’s Fountain, not far from the Royal Palace. Volunteers have cleared this site with a moral responsibility to the community, and they want to create a memorial park. With all my heart, I support their efforts as well as the efforts of all those who contribute to the community and with their personal example, want to make the community of Serbia better.”
The Socialist Republic of Serbia was one of the six republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the nation-state of the Serbs.
In recent years, Serbia has found places where nationalists and patriots were executed by the communists. These sites are cleared and used as monuments to honour the executed. The Communist regime in Serbia saw more than 60,000 people killed and thousands more locked up. In 2003, a lustration law was passed in Serbia to target former Communist collaborators.
After the Second World War, King Peter II of Yugoslavia was prevented from returning to his country by the communist regime, which had seized power in Belgrade. King Peter never abdicated and had to live in exile. The King died in exile and only when the communist regime fell, his son, Crown Prince Alexander, was able to return to his homeland.
