# Karađorđevo Session and Purge (1 December 1971)

URL: https://allhistories.com/croatia/timeline/1971-kara-or-evo-session-and-purge
Location: Karađorđevo, Vojvodina
Themes: Key Events

By late 1971 the Croatian Spring had alarmed the Yugoslav People's Army, conservative communists in Croatia and other republics, and many Croatian Serbs. A student strike in Zagreb in late November demanding control over foreign currency earnings was seen in Belgrade as a sign that the Croatian party had lost control. On 30 November and 1 December 1971 Tito convened the 21st session of the Presidium of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia at the hunting lodge of Karađorđevo in Vojvodina. He accused the Croatian leadership of tolerating counter-revolution and nationalism. Within days Savka Dabčević-Kučar, Miko Tripalo and Pero Pirker resigned, and student leaders and Matica hrvatska activists were arrested. Thousands of party members were expelled, hundreds were imprisoned, among them Franjo Tuđman, Vlado Gotovac, Marko Veselica and Dražen Budiša, and Matica hrvatska was effectively banned. The purge was followed by similar action against liberal leaders in Serbia in 1972. Croatia entered a long period of political silence, often called the 'Croatian silence', during which the republic's leadership under Milka Planinc and others kept strict control. Many of those punished in 1971–72 re-emerged in 1989–90 as founders of the first non-communist parties.

## Why it matters
Karađorđevo ended the Croatian Spring and left a lasting sense of grievance that fed the national movement of 1989–90.

Ruler at the Time: [Josip Broz Tito](https://allhistories.com/croatia/rulers/josip-broz-tito)

President of the Federal Executive Council of Yugoslavia: Džemal Bijedić (League of Communists of Yugoslavia)
President of the Executive Council of Croatia: Dragutin Haramija (League of Communists of Croatia)
President of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Croatia: Savka Dabčević-Kučar (League of Communists of Croatia)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Karađorđevo meeting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karađorđevo_meeting)
- [Croatian Encyclopedia (Hrvatska enciklopedija)](https://www.enciklopedija.hr/)
- [Wikipedia — Socialist Croatia (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Republic_of_Croatia)