The Visoki Decani Monastery monastery today released on its YouTube channel a segment of the archival documentary “The Cross and the Red”, produced in the 1960s by German public broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), documenting the life of Serbian monasteries during the communist era.
The film has been dubbed from German into Serbian and is also available with subtitles in Albanian, English, Italian and German, as well as in Serbian in both Cyrillic and Latin scripts, with additional English and Italian voice-over versions.
The documentary is part of a broader film, subtitled “Serbian Monasteries”, by author Klaus Liebe, portraying some of the most important shrines of the Serbian Orthodox Church — Žiča Monastery, Studenica Monastery, Patriarchate of Pec, Sopoćani Monastery, Visoki Decani Monastery and Kovilj Monastery — in the specific historical context of socialist Yugoslavia.
The Decani brotherhood published a 17-minute segment focusing on the Patriarchate of Pec and Visoki Decani.
A document of its time and attitudes toward heritage
According to the monastery, the film carries particular documentary value.
The German narrator describes old Serbian art as equal to the greatest achievements of Western medieval art, with special attention given to the Nemanjić dynasty, particularly Stefan Dečanski and Emperor Dušan as founders and patrons of Decani.
Rare footage from the communist period
The film contains a number of now rare and historically significant scenes — from everyday life in the streets of Pec to the architecture and frescoes of the Patriarchate of Pec and Decani, as well as monastic daily life during communism.
It also records the enthronement of Patriarch German, where representatives of the then communist authorities can be seen, alongside delegations of Albanians from Rugova and congratulations from the mufti.
Scenes from Decani also show the remains of the monastery quarters that had been used as a party school and burned down after being abandoned by the communists in 1949. At the same time, a local policeman can be seen in the monastery courtyard observing and taking notes.
Testimonies of survival
Particularly valuable are the scenes featuring the then abbot Makarije and the young monk Justin, who would later lead the monastery until 1992.
Makarije is shown typing daily correspondence with the communist authorities on a mechanical typewriter — something the narrator underscores as a necessity in the circumstances of the time.
The film states that the monastery was “on the brink of survival,” with only 30 hectares of vineyards and forest land, though it does not mention that the authorities confiscated around 800 hectares of its property in 1946.
A striking detail is a shot from the monastery library, where, alongside icons of Stefan Dečanski and Patriarch German, there is also a photograph of Josip Broz Tito — interpreted by the filmmakers as a sign of the Serbian Orthodox Church’s adaptability and ability to survive under both Ottoman and communist rule.
The guestbook as a historical document
The segment published on YouTube concludes with scenes of Decani’s old guestbook, which, as Abbot Makarije flips through it, reveals a layered history.
The book begins in 1924 with the signatures of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Queen Maria of Yugoslavia. It also contains entries by Serbian bishops, a Bavarian prince, and a Muslim religious leader, while one note mentions that Hermann Göring failed to visit the monastery in 1935.
It concludes with entries from World War II — signatures of Italian soldiers guarding the monastery, the commander of the SS division “Skenderbeg,” as well as communist commanders, commissioners and members of OZNA.
A testimony to a complex era
In less than 20 minutes, the film offers a layered testimony of a period in which monasteries in Dukagjini/Metohija found themselves between political systems, while monks sought to preserve liturgical life and the economic sustainability of the shrines.
By publishing this archival material, Visoki Decani has made available to the public a rare visual testimony from one of the most sensitive periods in the history of Serbian Orthodox heritage.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
