Parties don't know it's Goebbels, but like his ideas

Two Belgrade-based unemployed playwrights staged an "unusual subversion" at the height of the election campaign fever, media are reporting. Maja Pelevic and Milan Markovic - whom Radio Free Europe (RFE) describes as "having written plays staged in Belgrade theaters, but without permanent employment" - over the past month became members of a host of major political parties. Parties don't know it's Goebbels, but like his ideas As soon as they did, they threw in their proposed contribution - what they said was "a marketing strategy" - but one based on the writings of Nazi Germany propaganda chief, Joseph Goebbels. The pair did not reveal to the parties that the text entitled, "Idea Strategy Movement" was in fact taken directly from Goebbels' 1928 work "Knowledge and Propaganda". However, said Pelevic and Markovic, "everyone reacted positively". One party - unnamed in the RFE report - even uploaded the text to its website, but has in the meantime removed it. During the past month, Pelevic and Markovic became new members of the Democratic Party (DS), the Serb Progressive Party (DSS), the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP), the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), the United Regions of Serbia (URS), and the Social-Democratic Party (SDP). On their Wordpress-hosted blog, the artists wrote that soon after joining, they also became members of culture councils in most, while some parties even put them on their "personnel lists". One party's feedback was quoted in the RFE article: "Dear Maja and Milan, I read the text and forwarded it. I think you have shown that you are fully aware of the role of engaged people within the concept of an engaged culture, which at the same time does not resemble the same thing in the service of authoritarian systems." The idea to throw Goebbels into the mix came when Pelevic and Markovic were given the job of writing an article for the Scena (Scene) magazine, meant to focus on "the cultural policy in Serbia and what it's like to be a young artist under the given circumstances". The purpose of their subsequent "subversion", the writers revealed, was to see whether their lives would be different and whether they would "move up in the world" easily if they joined political parties. They now claim that partisan favoritism is prevalent in the country's cultural scene, and that it is "impossible to work as an art director, or even a writer, without the support of a party". Meanwhile, Belgrade-based tabloid Kurir asked some of the mentioned parties for their comments, and reported their reactions: Andreja Mladenovic (DSS): "They filled out the electronic membership form, but nobody has seen them at the party. (Writer and professor) Sinisa Kovacevic was in charge of culture, he surely would not use Goebbels." Aleksandar Antic (SPS): "I never heard of this. We have our councils that adopt these documents, while the SPS youth is composed of members that we know and I don't believe they would use anything by Goebbels." Miroslav Cuckovic (URS): "I heard that Milan Markovic is on the list for councilors in (the Belgrade municipality of) Stari Grad. The culture program was done by the Municipal Council of Stari Grad. We have our campaign and our strategy, but certainly without Goebbels." Nebojsa Stefanovic (SNS): "I never heard about those people, and I never met them. I never heard about the program. I think they would have been better off doing something concrete to help children or the elderly." Aleksandar Sapic (DS): "This is the first I hear about this. I don't know whether they joined the party in one of the councils, it would be flippant to say anything about that. But, neither of them contacted me." (onizive.wordpress.com) RFE, Kurir

Parties don't know it's Goebbels, but like his ideas

As soon as they did, they threw in their proposed contribution - what they said was "a marketing strategy" - but one based on the writings of Nazi Germany propaganda chief, Joseph Goebbels.

The pair did not reveal to the parties that the text entitled, "Idea Strategy Movement" was in fact taken directly from Goebbels' 1928 work "Knowledge and Propaganda". However, said Pelević and Marković, "everyone reacted positively".

One party - unnamed in the RFE report - even uploaded the text to its website, but has in the meantime removed it.

During the past month, Pelević and Marković became new members of the Democratic Party (DS), the Serb Progressive Party (DSS), the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), the Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP), the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), the United Regions of Serbia (URS), and the Social-Democratic Party (SDP).

On their Wordpress-hosted blog, the artists wrote that soon after joining, they also became members of culture councils in most, while some parties even put them on their "personnel lists".

One party's feedback was quoted in the RFE article: "Dear Maja and Milan, I read the text and forwarded it. I think you have shown that you are fully aware of the role of engaged people within the concept of an engaged culture, which at the same time does not resemble the same thing in the service of authoritarian systems."

The idea to throw Goebbels into the mix came when Pelević and Marković were given the job of writing an article for the Scena (Scene) magazine, meant to focus on "the cultural policy in Serbia and what it's like to be a young artist under the given circumstances".

The purpose of their subsequent "subversion", the writers revealed, was to see whether their lives would be different and whether they would "move up in the world" easily if they joined political parties.

They now claim that partisan favoritism is prevalent in the country's cultural scene, and that it is "impossible to work as an art director, or even a writer, without the support of a party".

Meanwhile, Belgrade-based tabloid Kurir asked some of the mentioned parties for their comments, and reported their reactions:

Andreja Mladenović (DSS): "They filled out the electronic membership form, but nobody has seen them at the party. (Writer and professor) Siniša Kovačević was in charge of culture, he surely would not use Goebbels."

Aleksandar Antić (SPS): "I never heard of this. We have our councils that adopt these documents, while the SPS youth is composed of members that we know and I don't believe they would use anything by Goebbels."

Miroslav Čučković (URS): "I heard that Milan Marković is on the list for councilors in (the Belgrade municipality of) Stari Grad. The culture program was done by the Municipal Council of Stari Grad. We have our campaign and our strategy, but certainly without Goebbels."

Nebojša Stefanović (SNS): "I never heard about those people, and I never met them. I never heard about the program. I think they would have been better off doing something concrete to help children or the elderly."

Aleksandar Šapić (DS): "This is the first I hear about this. I don't know whether they joined the party in one of the councils, it would be flippant to say anything about that. But, neither of them contacted me."