THIS IS NOT OUR JOŽE! Tito secretly sent money to his brother through General Kapičić, but neither his brother nor his sister was later certain who he was!

Josip Broz Tito, the undisputed and powerful ruler of the former SFRY, secretly helped certain members of his family. He sent money to his brother in Hungary through the famous General Jovo Kapičić, and the brother was puzzled by who was sending him so much money, while Tito’s sister Ana said: "This is not my Jože!"

“On one occasion, I was sitting at Obilićev venac in Belgrade with the famous diplomat Slobodan Milić. Sloba showed me a book by General Jovo Kapičić and proudly pointed out that he had also received a dedication from the author. Kapičić then gave me a copy of the book as well, which I carefully read that same day. In one chapter, he described how he brought a suitcase full of canned goods to Tito’s brother, who lived in Hungary. I told him that the book was excellent, but also that he had written something contrary to the true state of affairs” says Šarac, adding::

“Kapičić asked me: ‘What do you mean?’ I told him: ‘You say you carried a suitcase full of canned goods to Tito’s brother?’ He replied: ‘Yes, and what is wrong with that?’ I said: ‘It is not the suitcase that is the issue, but rather the fact that instead of canned goods, you were carrying hundred-dollar bills!’ At that moment, the general was struck silent, just as Draža Mihailović had been when Kapičić personally transferred him from Bosnia to Belgrade after his capture in 1945. General Đoko Jovanić personally confirmed the story to me about Tito’s secret financial support to his family.

“Afterwards, I asked General Kapičić whether he remembered that Tito’s brother in Budapest, when he brought him the suitcase with the ‘canned goods’, said: ‘I didn’t know he was such an important man if he is sending me so much money.’ On hearing this revelation of mine, Kapičić froze, just like the prisoners on Goli Otok used to freeze when he interrogated them. He only managed to mutter through his teeth: ‘You are a dangerous man, Milan!’ He told me he had read my article in Politika and had seen my photograph wearing a hat, and said: ‘You look like a great man of this world; if Tito had seen you looking like that, he would have taken you instead of Ranković!’ “
Our interlocutor, Milan Šarac, reveals that he has another story connecting him to Jovo Kapičić, which Kapičić told him when he was an ambassador in one of the European countries:

“Jovo was summoned urgently to Belgrade for consultations. On that occasion, Tito telephoned him: ‘Kapo, before you head back, stop by my place.’ “

Kapičić described the encounter to me:

“I went to Tito’s place, and he handed me a large, sealed envelope. ‘There is some money inside; stop by my brother’s family in Kumrovec and give it to them. They are struggling; this will help a little.’

“I went to Kumrovec, asked for the Broz family house. I entered the house, and the people welcomed me warmly. However, when I told them that ‘I was an ambassador passing through’ and that their Joža had sent them some money, my words created a strange reaction and atmosphere. They seemed embarrassed; nothing was clear to them. They remained silent, as if they wanted to say: ‘Which Joža of ours?’ I felt very uncomfortable and, under the pretext that I was in a hurry, I left, and they silently saw me off. I had certainly expected a different reaction...”

A call from Užička Street

Šarac further reveals that in June 1977, Tito suddenly ordered that his elder sister Ana be brought to him from Kumrovec.

“The intelligence service located Ana Broz, who was eight years older than Tito. After seven or eight days, Ana arrived at the President’s residence in Užička Street, where her younger brother hosted a lunch for her. There were about ten guests at the lunch. Tito spoke briefly with Ana, who said little. She was visibly confused. Before lunch began, a woman from the protocol team took Ana aside. She asked Ana how she was living, where her husband and grandchildren were, and how much her pension was,” says Šarac, adding:
“However, Ana whispered to her about Tito: ‘I do not know him; yes, a lot of time has passed, but this is not my Jože!’ It remains a mystery why Tito wanted to see his sister at that particular time and after so many years...”

Tito’s parents, Franjo and Marija, had fifteen children, many of whom died in childhood. It is assumed that the brother mentioned in this story was Martin Broz (1884–1964), who lived in Hungary and worked as a railway employee.

Milan Šarac, screenwriter and director: Chronicler of an era

Milan Šarac, screenwriter and director, has published several books of aphorisms and fiction, such as Sinless Thoughts, but his main creative field is film and theatre.

He also worked with Mira Trailović at Atelje 212, made a film about her called Memories of Mira Trailović, then a film about Mira Stupica, another about Zoran Radmilović, a TV series about Đorđe Marjanović, a film about Dejan Medaković, and several others about people who marked that era, as well as the film My Father Prince Pavle with Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević.