Whether the main objectives of the First Five-Year Industrialisation Plan were achieved? A contribution to the study of the development of heavy industry in Yugoslavia (1947−1952)

Abstract

The article is an attempt to conduct an examination of both plans and results of the establishing of heavy industry during the implementation of the First Five-Year Plan in socialist Yugoslavia, through a detailed analysis of published and unpublished historical sources. Previous studies have not offered precise answers to this question and therefore the paper will present new results of this controversial period of Yugoslav economic history. 

Summary: The social revolution in Yugoslavia, which began with the establishment of communist government in the midst of the struggle for the liberation of the country in the autumn of 1944, had far-reaching consequences for all segments of society. In the following months, the state structure was raised from the ashes by the Yugoslav communists. Without proper governing experience, but with clear ideological determination, they shaped it according to the model of the Soviet Union. Concentrating enormous political power in their hands, the leadership of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia began a comprehensive process of reshaping society according to its own ideas. The economy, as a key segment of the “new worldview”, soon became one of the main preoccupations of the state and party leadership. In the domain of the economy, the only thing that had not been questioned since the establishment of the government was the policy of industrialization of the country according to the system of Soviet five-year plans. Therefore, all the efforts of economic leaders were directed towards overcoming the institutional difficulties in adopting a nationwide economic plan for the long-term development of the country. By April 1947, when the First Five-Year Industrialization Plan was promulgated, major strides had been made in establishing and organizing institutions of command-planned economy. The text of the Five-Year Plan, prepared by Federal Planning Commission in cooperation with the Economic Council, foresaw high goals for the development of heavy industry. The initial upswing lost its vigor due to the conflict with the USSR in 1948, but the Communist Party of Yugoslavia managed to quickly overcome the crisis and to break the economic blockade from the East during the following year. The reorientation process of foreign trade was carried out in complex foreign policy circumstances, and the state was forced to revise Petoletka and reshape its ambitions to facilities of vital importance for faster economic development. By the end of 1952, substantial successes had been achieved. Although the goals of the First FiveYear Plan were not achieved, production in almost all branches of heavy industry significantly exceeded the pre-war level. The production of a number of new products that were not previously produced in the country testifies to the great effort of the entire country to transform the economic structure in a short time. Achievements during the six years of implementation of the First Five-Year Plan laid the foundations for the accelerated growth of the Yugoslav economy in the 1950s.