AO4 The Secret of Bald Island by Claudia Sonia Colussi Corte

This book tells the story of Cherubino Colussi Corte (1909-1970),

an Italian worker in Mali Lošinj (Croatia) who was imprisoned on

Goli Otok (Bald Island), the infamous Yugoslav concentration

camp for political dissidents that was in operation from 1949 to

1989. It documents the atrocities committed not only by the

political regime of the time, but also by fellow inmates at the

camp who were forced to be each other’s torturers. The book also

tells the story of Cherubino’s wife and daughter and how they

were ostracized by their fellow townspeople because of

Cherubino’s imprisonment. More generally, the book describes

the intense fear and suspicion that grips a community when

tyrannical regimes impose their dictatorial will on the population

and the profoundly negative effects this has on individuals. On a

more positive note, the book talks about the struggle for survival

on the part of Cherubino and his family in the face of persecution.

Because so very little is known about the political oppression

carried out by Marshal Tito’s communist regime in Yugoslavia in

the aftermath of World War Two, this book contributes to our

understanding of the political tensions in the early Cold War

period and opens a wider discussion on current examples of

political suppression and oppression.