Searching for Seka

[truecrimejunkie]

I have believed for quite some time that Seka is the key to finding out more about GB. I think Seka was in the US as a student and that she was from a wealthy family. Surely only a wealthy Serbian family could afford to send their daughter to school in another country and holiday in a beautiful beach side place in Skradin.

I was talking to a work colleague today that is from Macedonia, also part of former Yugoslavia, and she was able to tell me a few interesting things. I haven't re-read this thread yet but I will, I want to throw out there what have found out in the mean time.

My colleague also agrees that Seka would have to be from a wealthy family to be sent to the US to study and have holidays in Skradin.

We have thought for quite some time that Seka meant sister but we were wrong, right word, wrong spelling, ceka (with an accent over the c) is the word for sister not seka. My colleague was quite adamant about the 2 spellings of the word and she told me that Seka is always a shortening for the name Svetlana. She also told me that they have shortenings for most of their names eg: her name is Cristina and it is always shortened to Kiki.

I asked my colleague if little Tito had any meaning and her response was that it would be like calling someone little Hitler as Tito was a Yugoslavian leader that thought along the same lines as Hitler.

As I said, I will re-read this thread and ask my colleague about anything else I come across but if anyone else has any questions I can ask her, please post them, she is very eager to help.

Where is Kivasupport We need you.

I havent been following this case, i just stumbled upon it when I saw people talking about Skradin. I lived in Croatia for 5 years not far from there. In Croatia the word seka is spelled with an "s" and is an affectionate term for sister. Especially on the Dalmatian coast every little girl is referred to as seka or sekica (little sister). A c with an accent makes the "ch" sound. Local dialects can be really different so it may be said differently in Macedonian. Also Seka as a name is more typical for woman of Serbian heritage rather than Croatain.
Lots of people loved and still loved Tito in Croatia because he held Yugoslavia together and would stand up to the Soviets and the United States. Nowhere near as brutal as Hitler. I'll read up on this case.

 

[Annasmom]

Hi Annasmom,

I didn't really understand this. I have thought about it all day and I don't know what you mean. Could you please explain?

It's just a Facebook thing, OzzieMum. I was excited about your discovery!

 

[Annasmom]

I have been thinking about this Svetlana and even if she is not Seka, she would have been in Belgrade at the same time as Seka. The rich and famous usually "rub shoulders" so she may know who Seka is.

Does anyone else think it might be worth while contacting Svetlana? I think it should be done discretely as she is very well know among the medical profession. I think Doogie or Annasmom should be the one's to contact her if they think it is a good idea.

Do we have any indication that this Seka would have been in San Francisco at any time? If (as our newest poster says) Seka is a nickname given to many little girls on the Dalmatian coast, we need a little more information before trying to contact this person. I do find it just fascinating that she is a doctor, however.

 

[Firefly75]

*****

 

[truecrimejunkie]

Still reading this case. Its very interesting, wish I had more time. Have you tried posting to this forum
http://benkovackoguvno.yuku.com/
about Seka? I believe most of the posters on that forum are Serbians who used to live in Benkovac county Croatia but left during the war. Its not too far from Skradin.

 

[Annasmom]

I have been thinking about this Svetlana and even if she is not Seka, she would have been in Belgrade at the same time as Seka. The rich and famous usually "rub shoulders" so she may know who Seka is.

Does anyone else think it might be worth while contacting Svetlana? I think it should be done discretely as she is very well know among the medical profession. I think Doogie or Annasmom should be the one's to contact her if they think it is a good idea.

OzzieMum, I see that Svetlana Broz, Tito's granddaughter, was a free-lance journalist from 1970 to 1975 and that she didn't graduate from medical school until 1980 (which probably meant she began medical school about 1975.) On her web page, colleges at which she has lectured include San Francisco State University and other west coast schools, but there are no dates on these. I can't remember the dates on Brody's letters to Seka, but I'll look at her post card to see if we have a date for that.

 

[Annasmom]

Ok, getting a bit excited here. Tito lived in Belgrade for some time and he had a granddaughter, born in 1955, and her name is Svetlana (as per my colleague, Seka is a shortening for Svetlana) and she is a doctor, a cardiologist.

Going back to search more to see if I can find out if Svetlana was ever in the US.

I'm reposting Seka's card to "Mr. George"...if this is the same Svetlana, it would make sense that she spent the summer on vacation and had to return to school in September.

 

[OzzieMum]

OzzieMum, I see that Svetlana Broz, Tito's granddaughter, was a free-lance journalist from 1970 to 1975 and that she didn't graduate from medical school until 1980 (which probably meant she began medical school about 1975.) On her web page, colleges at which she has lectured include San Francisco State University and other west coast schools, but there are no dates on these. I can't remember the dates on Brody's letters to Seka, but I'll look at her post card to see if we have a date for that.

Annasmom, I haven't been able to find anything on Svetlana being in SF but that doesn't mean she wasn't, I will keep searching. As per her bio, she has lectured quite a bit in the US since becoming a doctor.

I did find it interesting that Svetlana was a free lance journalist at the age of 15. I would like to know what newspapers and magazines she was published in and what they were about.

Can anyone think of any questions I can ask my colleague that might help. Her father grew up in Yugoslavia during Tito's rein and is very knowledgeable about him.

Only one of GB's letters to Seka had a date and that was 1977, a year prior to the postcard.

 

[Annasmom]

Annasmom, I haven't been able to find anything on Svetlana being in SF but that doesn't mean she wasn't, I will keep searching. As per her bio, she has lectured quite a bit in the US since becoming a doctor.

I did find it interesting that Svetlana was a free lance journalist at the age of 15. I would like to know what newspapers and magazines she was published in and what they were about.

Can anyone think of any questions I can ask my colleague that might help. Her father grew up in Yugoslavia during Tito's rein and is very knowledgeable about him.

Only one of GB's letters to Seka had a date and that was 1977, a year prior to the postcard.

If your colleague could give us any information about Tito's grandchildren, that would be helpful. It seems that Svetlana was the daughter of one of his sons.

 

[SideKick]

Searching, 'Tito's daughter'...

http://www.euronews.com/2010/07/09/svetlana-broz-on-bosnian-scars/

SK

~~ Intriguing thread!

 

[SideKick]

Quote: Svetlana Broz, 45, is Tito's youngest grandchild. She qualified as a cardiologist in 1980, the year of his death, but has stopped practising medicine to become a writer. Her first book, Dobri Ljudi U Vremenu Zla (Good People in Evil Times), sought out unheralded acts of individual bravery and mercy among communities in the midst of the Bosnian war, the most vicious conflict in Europe for half a century, when Serbs, Croats and Muslims were all encouraged to think of anyone but their own as being less than human.


http://www.svetlanabroz.org/content/view/80/52/lang,en/

~~~~~

http://www.svetlanabroz.org/content/view/80/52/lang,en/



What was it like growing up as Tito's granddaughter?
"I don't like to speak about my grandfather's private life, but we were very close. We spent as much time together as he could spare from his very busy life. The surname is extremely rare, so my name did make a difference, but I don't think it brought me any advantages. On the contrary, I had to study twice as hard to prove myself."

 

[SideKick]

Author and cardiologist Svetlana Broz, grand-daughter of Marshal Josip Broz Tito

 

[SideKick]

Svetlana Broz - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

She graduated from the Belgrade Medical School in 1980 and has served as a cardiologist at the Military Medical Academy (VMA) from 1981 to 1999, and volunteered her services at the outbreak of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. Her new project is about inter-ethnic marriages entered into during the war.

~ I don't think this is our Seka.

 

[truecrimejunkie]

Svetlana Broz - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

She graduated from the Belgrade Medical School in 1980 and has served as a cardiologist at the Military Medical Academy (VMA) from 1981 to 1999, and volunteered her services at the outbreak of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. Her new project is about inter-ethnic marriages entered into during the war.

~ I don't think this is our Seka.

Probably not. Tito owned his own private resort islands, Brijuni. The family would spend their summers there not in Skradin.

Brijuni - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"In 1945 after World War II the Brijuni became part of Yugoslavia and President Marshal Josip Broz Tito made the Brijuni Islands his personal State Summer Residence. Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik designed a pavilion for Tito. Almost 100 foreign heads of state visited Tito on his islands, along with film stars including Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Sophia Loren, Carlo Ponti, and Gina Lollobrigida. Tito died in 1980, and by 1983 the islands were declared a National Park of Yugoslavia."

 

[SideKick]

Still reading this case. Its very interesting, wish I had more time. Have you tried posting to this forum
http://benkovackoguvno.yuku.com/
about Seka? I believe most of the posters on that forum are Serbians who used to live in Benkovac county Croatia but left during the war. Its not too far from Skradin.

~ I had a peek and can't understand a word! Haha... Truecrime, are you able to read the forum?

 

[SarahR]

Not sure if its been mentioned but 'Mr George' is how someone from Poland would refer to an older man as a mark of respect. I work with many Polish people and they all speak to men old enough to be their dad i suppose is the best way i can explain it, this way. I call my boss Sandy. they all call him Mr Sandy. Not very important i know but just incase it helps

 

[truecrimejunkie]

~ I had a peek and can't understand a word! Haha... Truecrime, are you able to read the forum?

I havent spoken the language in years. I am not from the former Yugoslavia i just lived there for a while. I was looking for a Skradin forum when I found the one for Benkovac which is not too far from Skradin. From what I can read the posts are mainly Serbs who used to live in the area posting about old memories, photos or looking for old friends. It may be a good forum to post about the search for Seka.

BTW, The Travel Channel, No Reseravations with Anthony Bourdain was just in Skradin last week, If you want to see how beautiful the area is:
http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/anthony-bourdain/episodes/croatiancoast

 

[Firefly75]

Not sure if its been mentioned but 'Mr George' is how someone from Poland would refer to an older man as a mark of respect. I work with many Polish people and they all speak to men old enough to be their dad i suppose is the best way i can explain it, this way. I call my boss Sandy. they all call him Mr Sandy. Not very important i know but just incase it helps

This is a very valid point. The same goes for (the former) Yugoslavia - you prefix a person's name with a title to show respect, difference in age or social status, or to indicate that you don't know them well enough to just use their first name (which you would do if they were family or a close enough friend). If you know the person in a medical context, you would always use Dr. in front of their name, again to show respect. Could be something to do with the culture of Slavonic countries, perhaps?

Edit: I've just remembered that in certain types of context (e.g. at school or in a political situation), you'd refer to the person as 'comrade'. I guess this must be very strange to the people from 'the West'.


Edit 2: I notice she addresses him as "Dear George" on the postcard, which I would take to indicate that she knew the man well enough to drop the formality?

Also, she mentions a brother. (As far as I can remember, SB's father had at least one son, but I am still of the opinion that SB is not the person we are after.)

Edit 3: SB does not have a brother. She's got two half-brothers and one half-sister. (http://www.vreme.com/cms/view.php?id=863733) Hope this helps a little.

 

[Firefly75]

Looking at the postcard, what gets me is that she didn't seem to know his surname.

Annasmom, is there any indication elsewhere that she did? Or is this the only communication between them in your possession?

 

[Annasmom]

Looking at the postcard, what gets me is that she didn't seem to know his surname.

Annasmom, is there any indication elsewhere that she did? Or is this the only communication between them in your possession?

I am attaching everything I have on Seka. I doubt she really knew his surname, but that's just a guess.