STUDIA CROATICA
Year XIII – January –
June 1972 – Vol. 44-45
Economic Rebellion or National Rebellion?
The economic and political model of the
(non)democratic self-management society
From the Yugoslav economy
Soon: 100,000 Soviets in the Adriatic Sea
The crisis of the Yugoslav state
Solidarity of Croats in Chile with the
national movement in Croatia
For Croats and Justice
Documents
Preserving Hope
Christ sanctified patriotism
The Lenten letter of the Archbishop of Zagreb
(1972)
"False rhetoric of the Archbishop of
Zagreb"
Chronicle, news, and commentary
Vinko Nikolic - His 60th birthday
Echoes of the special edition of "Studia
Croatica"
An opinion on "Studia Croatica"
Micro-news
Crisis erupts in Croatia
Book review
Dr. Dominik Mandic: Croatia and Serbia, two
stars, a struggle naroda
Hrvatski Latinisti (Croatian authors who wrote
in Latin)
Miroslav Vanino: Isusovci i Hrvatski narod
Faust Vrancic: Dictionarium quinque
nobilissimarum Europae linguarum, Latinae, Italicae, Germanicae, Dalmatiae et
Ungariae cum privilegiis
Franjo Nevistic: Temelji Demokracije -Kriza i
obnova
Smail Balic: German-language archaeological
and historical writings on Bosnia and Herzegovina, from the beginning of the
19th century to 1918.
Journal of Croatian Studies, XI-XII, 1970-71
Vlatko Dabac: Technical Dictionary. Part I:
German - Croatian-Serbian
Vladimir Markotic: Archeology in Eastern
Europe
Economic rebellion or national rebellion?
Franjo Nevistic
An Attempt at an Interpretation of the Croatian
Student Rebellion and Tito's Coup d'État in Response (&)
How can we situate the well-known rebellion of
Croatian university students, which took place at the end of last year and
represented a serious crisis for communist Yugoslavia, within the ideological
and practical framework of the current world?
Placing it correctly would ensure its
understanding, an essential prerequisite for garnering sympathy and solidarity
with its protagonists and the cause that inspires their state of rebellion.
It goes without saying that the ultimate aim of
this article is precisely this: to make us understand the attitude of those
young people who, for years, have endured hardships, sacrifices, and
persecution, and whose patience, as a culmination, erupted in November-December
1971 in a general strike, boldly exposing themselves to the cruel repression of
an enemy regime.
We are perfectly aware of the difficulties we face
in this endeavor. They are of a multifaceted nature: intellectual, moral, or
political; driven by vested interests, world peace and security, the
established order, and so on.[1]
Nevertheless, we trust that our words will fall on
fertile ground, suitable for the seed of truth we wish to sow to germinate. And
that, moreover, it will bring forth, sooner or later, a desirable and, above
all, just harvest.
The first thing we want to achieve is that our
readers do not understand this endeavor as vulgar propaganda, as a passionate
polemic that, instead of illuminating the truth, actually obscures it.
Propaganda, yes, but in a higher, authentic sense, aimed at informing human
minds open to the truth. We therefore vehemently reject that stance of
propaganda that involves the "cynical disregard for the ordering of
consciences to the truth...".[2]
While we openly acknowledge the political-national
character of this endeavor, we do not want our "political concern to
threaten to distort the discussions, all the analyses"[3] that are of
profound interest to us here. With emphasis and serene solemnity, we underscore
the seriousness with which we undertake this task. Our national policy here
consists of serving the politics of truth. Guizot said in his time that bad
politics corrupts justice and that justice is good politics, and we can say the
same regarding the relationship between truth and politics.
To approach this goal, which we yearn for with the
most authentic human fervor, we turn first and foremost to the "silent
majority" of the entire world, without any distinction based on
geographical location or racial difference. There we believe we will find that
original ordering of the human mind toward truth in its purest state, stripped
of all the prejudices that truly obscure and blind. Here, in this arena, we
believe, the genuine knowledge and conditions for true historical progress are
maturing and being forged—progress that we conceive as a constant ascent toward
ever clearer perspectives and horizons. towards an increasingly perfect
interpersonal coexistence, legally and ethically.
Political figures, statesmen—in short, the most
visible and, so to speak, official protagonists of history—have
"their" reasons and operate under the pressure of those reasons,
which are neither always nor necessarily in accordance with those of the
"silent majority," more readily open to the universal.
With this general prologue, we delve into our task:
interpreting the Croatian student rebellion and its subsequent repression by
Tito's regime.
The Phenomenon of Rebellion in General
Indeed, student strikes, rebellions, unrest, and
violence are an almost universal phenomenon in the world today, both within the
sphere of the free world and that of the socialist world. This fact seriously
worries all those—politicians or educators—who are concerned with the
intellectual, scientific, philosophical, religious, or moral formation of
contemporary youth. They want to penetrate to the very root of the phenomenon
of "evil."
Those who believe, for example, that Marxism is
outdated and the revolutionary dynamism of its left wing is exhausted, call the
phenomenon the New Left. Discontent with the existing order, it accepts as its
immediate and primary objective the destruction of current societies—especially
"capitalist" ones—because they are societies of oppression.
Preoccupied with this immediate goal, it fails to develop an accurate and
positive vision for the future. Cardinal Daniélou, for example, sees in the
disobedient bearded rebels a kind of soothsayer, a prophet of a new and unknown
era. Marcuse, in turn, interpreting the phenomenon, considers himself to be in
possession of the truth and to have correctly predicted what he intends. The
New Left, according to him, aspires to a society without repression, where
human labor would be reduced to a minimum and the enjoyment of material and
cultural well-being would be promoted to the maximum; that freedom is possible
in the realm of necessity, an opinion contrary to that of Marx.
It is not our purpose to examine whether this
"project" of a positive program in the face of a generally negative
attitude, supposedly devised by rebellious youth, is a utopia or not, whether
it is a new and more subtle form of the communist struggle against
"consumer society" or not. However, it is essential to bear in mind
the significant differences within the phenomenon, not only in its external
manifestation in the US and Europe, as Marcuse points out, but also in its very
expression on European soil. Behind this phenomenon, despite all apparent
similarities, lie other conditions that shape the motives and characterize the
differences in discontent in the present and the aspirations for the future.
These differences are so profound that they allow us to speak—while referring
to the same phenomenon—of distinct things, irreducible to a single entity.
Consequently, to understand the Croatian student
rebellion, we believe it is indispensable to consider these differences, which
prevent us from placing the Croatian case within the broader phenomenon of
rebellion promoted by the New Left. At least not with regard to the latter,
which can be confined to the orbit of the Western world. The specific
conditions of the national, political, social, and economic environment in
which university students in Croatia live do not allow for such a solution. It
would overlook the essential and, consequently, focus on what is specifically
different.
Croatia, in reality, is under a totalitarian
communist regime, where private ownership of the means of production has been
eliminated and, according to Marxist doctrine, so too has the main source of
oppression and exploitation. Moreover, Croatia is, de facto, occupied, despite
the ideological and propagandistic disguise used to conceal this fact.[4] This
is not the case in any other country in the Western world, where the "new
left" is supposedly carrying out its activities. Consequently, it would be
simply false to place the Croatian student rebellion within this general
phenomenon, as it manifests itself in the Western world, considered as the
orbit of representative democracy and pluralistic society.
What we have just stated is not an opinion
arbitrarily invented by us. One of the protagonists and interpreters of the
Croatian student movement says in this regard: "Not long ago, European
universities were shaken by a resounding NO from a completely new and original
student movement, with more varied tendencies and motives. Our students also
made it known that they wished to be an active factor and not a passive object
of bureaucratic manipulation, which can be considered a profound experience for
each of the immediate witnesses of the days of June 1968.
But, by an unexpected paradox and without most
students realizing it, their discontent with the existing order was
perfidiously manipulated against the forces in our country that were rightly
advocating radical changes in the social, economic, and cultural spheres. In
the end, it became clear that the bombshell of the student rebellion, in order
not to destroy the strongholds of the bureaucracy, centralism, and hegemony,
had to serve as a smokescreen behind which the conspiracy of those who longed
for a 'tough on crime' policy was brewing. Without any consideration for the
intentions, desires, and..." The hopes of most participants in the events
of the June movement were dashed, and the conservative forces, incidentally,
were of the opinion that their moment had arrived to revert our socialist
development to its initial, anti-democratic, Stalinist positions.[5]
The Problem of Oppression, Exploitation, and
Justice
However, there is something deeper and more
universal that mediates between all the possible or existing differences that
characterize the discontent of university students anywhere in the world. This
"something" transcends all differences of class, nation, or
continent. It is the knowledge and feeling of justice, matured through very
concrete, verifiable, and palpable facts. It is political or social oppression
and economic exploitation. Here we agree with the much-debated Marcuse. When he
was asked, in a public discussion, about the justifications for student
rebellion and violence today, there was an attempt to prevent him from
providing a possible and adequate answer. Bearing in mind the established
order, such justifications could not be found in the past, nor in the future.
"Meta-historical human tradition"—that is, the invocation of
religious and philosophical values and ideas—"eternal,"
as Cicero and the Scholastic philosophers would say—and "the Romantic
reminiscence of natural law," of the same philosophical origin, would
already be outdated, impossible. As for the future and its supposed right to a
new anthropology with a radical change in the nature of humankind and its
needs, this would be a utopian, illusory idea. Civilization, then, would be on
the side of the established order and its legality. Positive law would
represent a taboo, a sacred and untouchable value.
But Mr. Marcuse, quite rightly, did not give up.
Despite our disagreement with him on many aspects of the problem that concerns
us, in general, his response to the opponents seems entirely correct to us. The
justification for rebellion in general, and for student rebellion in
particular, lies in the feeling and the knowledge of justice. This is certainly
not a matter of merely subjective feelings and knowledge, the fruit of
theoretical analyses and understandings of justice, characteristic of the great
past of philosophy and natural law, which led to the most absurd, relative, and
contradictory conclusions, but rather of empirical facts, evident, accessible,
and recognizable by all, generating both the feeling and the knowledge of
justice. “When we claim the right of men to peace, the right for humanity to
abolish exploitation and oppression, we are not talking about the special
interests of a group determined by it, but rather about a general interest whose
universality is demonstrable. That is why today, more than ever, we can and
must consider the right to resistance as something greater than a relative
right.”[6]
Re-establishing and thus accepting a kind of
immanentist natural law that dispenses with the entire eternal
religious-metaphysical idea, but feeling the need for a right superior to
positive law, almost absolute, Marcuse adds: "I wanted to say a few words
about the right to resistance, because I discover with astonishment that no one
is deeply aware of the fact that precisely the recognition of this right (civil
disobedience) at the given opportunity constitutes one of the oldest and most
sacred elements of Western civilization. The idea that there is a right
superior to positive law is as old as this civilization itself...(*) The
established order holds the legal monopoly on force, positive law even having
the obligation to use violence to defend itself. By opposing it, a higher right
is recognized and practiced. Testimony is offered that the duty to resist is
the engine of the historical development of freedom, the exercise of the right
and the duty of disobedience, as a force, being potentially legitimate and
liberating. Without this "The right to resistance, we would still be at
the level of primitive barbarism today."[7]
Now, we must take a decisive step to accomplish our
task. Leaving aside the other cases, we will limit ourselves to the Croatian
student rebellion. We must see if it contains the necessary elements that
authorize us to appeal to that higher, universal right, without the danger of
getting lost in subjectivist theories and assessments. Rebellion, says Camus,
is one of the essential dimensions of man, of his history. Here we must
discover our values if we want to maintain contact with reality.
"It is possible to find the rule of conduct by turning away from the
sacred and its values. This is the question that rebellion is posing to
us."[8]
The Croatian Case
I believe Marcuse "discovered" these
values. Without denying the sacred, it is highly advisable to accept his
empirical position. If we thus find these values in the Croatian
case, we can readily invoke that higher law without fear of being labeled
subjectivists, assuring ourselves of the support of a universal, almost
absolute, value. In a "given opportunity," says Marcuse, we can
invoke the law superior to positive law, find the norm of conduct, disregarding
"the sacred and its absolute values," says Camus (**).
Is there, then, a "given opportunity" in
the case of the Croatian university students' rebellion? Are there higher,
universal, or, if you will, absolute values violated in this
case?
Truths, it is said, are in most cases very simple
and therefore also clear. Let us, then, examine the most elementary and
essential ones in our case.
The current Yugoslav Constitution recognizes the
multinational character of communist Yugoslavia. The recognized peoples/nations
are: Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, Montenegrins, and Serbs. This is a
fundamental and guiding fact that we must bear in mind in subsequent analyses.
Indeed, by acknowledging this truth, the
aforementioned Constitution immediately distorts the reality it seeks to embody
in a legal and political framework. Article 1 (Chapter I, General Provisions)
states: “The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is a federal state of
peoples voluntarily united…” This expression “voluntarily united” is a very
bold assertion, completely divorced from the truth. As we have already seen,
the Communist Party of Yugoslavia was the protagonist of the struggle for the
restoration of Yugoslavia, destroyed in 1941. The national and state idea of
the Serbian people was contained in the program of that Party.[9] But if this
is so, how could the national and state idea of the Croatian
people also have been present? Could this people have had any interest in the
restoration of Yugoslavia? Indeed, the Croats never recognized Yugoslavia as
their nation-state. During the monarchical period of that multinational
community, proclaimed in 1918 and legally established in 1921 (its first Constitution)
without the participation of the legitimate representatives of the Croatian
people***, it immediately became a pseudo-democratic and hegemonic state.
To avoid citing lengthy texts and authors, it
suffices to reproduce what it says The Serbian monarchist Desimir Tosic wrote:
"The Crown's attitude was clearly in favor of the Serbs, discreetly until
1929, and after that year the Crown set the political objectives (the content)
and appointed the men who were to carry them out... Be that as it may, the
regime did everything possible to create the impression among the Serbian
people that a personal regime better served their interests and that, by
strengthening the State, it better defended vital Serbian interests." As
for those on the Croatian side who participated in that "Crown"
regime, Tosic quite rightly calls them "servile and careerist elements of
the monarchical regime" [10].
The aforementioned communist Yugoslav Constitution,
referring to monarchical Yugoslavia, states that "the working people...
have abolished the old class system based on exploitation, political
oppression, and national inequality..."
If the Crown, as the aforementioned Serbian
monarchist acknowledges, was the principal factor in that regime and did
everything possible to promote Serbian interests—even though oppression and
exploitation may have been general from a Marxist perspective—then the
oppression mentioned in the communist Constitution, along with economic
exploitation and national inequality, fell primarily on the Croatian people.
Furthermore, if the Croatian people rebelled in 1941
"plebiscitarily," as Cardinal Stepinac, "image of the Eternal
Father," affirmed, and at the end of the last great war Croatia had some
300,000 young men under arms, the most significant local force opposing the
advance of communism and the restoration of Yugoslavia, who can rightly speak
of the "free will" of the Croatian people regarding the formation of
communist Yugoslavia?
After the revolutionary plebiscite of 1941, when
the Croatian people proclaimed their separation from Serbia and renewed
Croatia's independence, which had lasted from 1626 to 1918 and was confirmed by
the daily bloody plebiscite until 1945, when Tito and his communists massacred
the Croatian army at Bleiburg, it is necessary to disregard the most basic
honesty of the human mind to speak of the free will of the Croatian people in
the formation of the communist Yugoslav state. What kind of people would the
Croatians be if they had voluntarily accepted as their own the state of the
executioners of their youth, their intellectuals, their politicians, and their
most prominent ecclesiastical dignitaries? What kind of will could
simultaneously sustain two completely contradictory plebiscites?
The truth is that Tito, with his closest
collaborators, advised by the masters of international communist propaganda,
had proclaimed, during the war, the future federalization of the country,
promising each of its peoples their own republic, national equality, and the
end of economic, cultural, political, and national oppression.
But when the war ended, with the extermination of
the Croatian army, all the promises of a better future became empty words. On
this subject, with the most objective and impartial testimonies, we could write
entire volumes. For the sake of brevity, we will limit ourselves to mentioning
only a few.(****)
Undeniable Testimonies
Dr. Antonio Ciliga, one of the most prominent
Croatian communists between 1918 and 1924, former editor of "Borba,"
the official newspaper of the Yugoslav Communist Party at that time (still
published in Yugoslavia), former professor at the Communist University of
Leningrad, and author of several books well-known in circles specializing in
matters of world communism, says: "Convinced of participating in the
general struggle for the liberation of the working people of the world and for
the freedom and equality of all peoples, we Croatian communists were merely a
plaything in the hands of Soviet imperialism..." After highlighting the
inconsistency of Soviet policy regarding monarchical Yugoslavia, sometimes
defending its existence and other times suggesting its destruction according to
its own interests, Ciliga recounts how the Serbian communists, in accordance
with this Soviet game, were able to take better advantage than the Croatian
communists in the national conflict existing between the two factions within
the Party.
With Tito's rise to the position of General
Secretary, the Serbian position was greatly facilitated. Tito pretended to be a
Croat, "but in reality, he was a degenerate, a renegade, and a traitor to
the Croatian people and their national cause." Even then, Tito, Rankovic
(the infamous former head of the secret police until 1966 - note n.) and Rade
Koncar (a Serbian communist militant from Croatia) had their own plans, which
diverged from Stalin's policies. According to Ciliga, Stalin wanted to
establish diplomatic relations with the Croatian state, proclaimed that year,
in 1941.
The letter in which he instructed the Party to
"take a positive stance toward the Croatian state" was kept secret by
the three leaders mentioned. However, when a group of Croatian communists
learned of their existence and demanded compliance with Stalin's instructions,
Tito, Rankovic, and Koncar tipped off the Ustaše and their police, through
their own infiltrated agents, that the "dangerous" communists
interned in Kerestinac were planning an escape. They also informed the Gestapo.
Thus, this group of Croatian communists, who had opposed the Tito-Rankovic
party's policies since 1936, were liquidated by the Gestapo and the Ustaše
police as they attempted to flee. When the Zagreb-based Party Central Committee
accused Koncar of this betrayal of the prisoners in Kerestinac (a medieval
fortress in the town of the same name near Zagreb—Note n.), the Committee
itself was denounced, then raided by the Ustaše police, and subsequently
liquidated…
By thus ridding itself of a good portion of the
defenders of Croatian interests, the party, in reality, revealed its Great
Serbian program. That is why, as we have seen, the Serb Tošić rightly says
that the Party contained in its program the Serbian national and state idea.
Bearing all this in mind, Ciliga concludes: “Due to several errors by
Pavelić… due to Stalin’s selfish and complicated international policy and
the skillful Great Serbian maneuvering of the Tito-Ranković Party leaders,
the Croatian people found themselves at the end of the war in a truly enslaved
and unjust state” [11].
A Croatian communist, recently "purged"
by Tito, testified at Section X of the Committee, held on January 15, 16, and
17, 1970, that the mere mention of the word "Croatian" during that
period provoked panic within the ranks of the ruling Great Serbians. The
Serbian Cvijetin Mijatovic, former president of the Central Committee of the
Communist League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, declared that "truly, after
1945, it wasn't easy being a Croat."
The excellent German journalist and publicist, J.
G. Reissmüller, states in this regard: "What remained was a latent
oppression of the Croats. They were equal under the law; their country, like
Serbia or Slovenia, obtained the status of a republic within the Yugoslav
Federation. Their national symbols, their language, their history, and their
culture were all officially protected. But these rights largely existed only on
paper." A rigorously centralist policy by the (Party-State) leadership
effectively reduced federalism to a secondary issue. Furthermore, it became
clear that centralism in Yugoslavia always ends in Serbian hegemony... All of
this resulted primarily in harm to Croatia. Such inequality was incompatible
with the Party's principles... The damage to Croatia was a fact, one that no
one spoke of even though everyone knew it... The consequences were decisive.
Croats suffered discrimination in the highest echelons of Party and State
politics. In the army, the police force, and the diplomatic service, Croats
found it extremely difficult to gain a foothold.
Even in Croatia, Rankovic filled key positions with
Serbs... The Croatian language had to be called "Croatian-Serbian"...
Croatian historiography stagnated—to this day there is no new general overview
of Croatian history... —"Along with this process came an economic policy
that drained Croatia and Slovenia for the benefit of other underdeveloped
republics: capital could only be obtained from Croatia and Slovenia, sometimes
without any economic consideration, for projects such as factories, dams, and
transportation infrastructure, and similar representative constructions in the
south of the Republic. The Croatian party leadership bowed to this policy for
two decades. Only in 1966 did it manage, together with the Macedonian
leadership, to overthrow Rankovic. From that moment on, one can
observe—naturally always under the control of the Central Committee—the
progress of the Croatians. For the Croatian Party, this was not about obtaining
preeminence in the Federation." Taking into consideration the
constellation of forces, that party could not, did not want to, and does not
want to. Its aim is, rather, to eliminate the consequences of the Central's
previous policy and prevent its repetition."[12]
The Attempt at Reform and the Character of the
Rebellion
The new Constitution, amended during 1971, was
supposed to eliminate these consequences and prevent their repetition. But this
was not possible. The "forward march" of the Croats, as Reissmüller
puts it, controlled by the Central, that is, by the state and partisan
bureaucratic apparatus in Belgrade where the largest and most disproportionate
number of posts and key positions are in Serbian hands, was halted. Seeing the
possibility of losing some of their privileges, clearly unjust, these bodies,
instruments of Greater Serbian policy, continued the previous policy. Croatia's
impoverishment became increasingly pronounced. The mass emigration of workers,
and particularly of skilled labor, doubly threatens Croatia.
Its domestic industry will not be able to replace
the departing workforce (retirements, death, etc.) with new skilled personnel,
which will inevitably impact their performance and lead to stagnation.
Furthermore, of the approximately 650,000 workers abroad, almost 60% are
Croatian. The negative consequences are numerous. First, the destruction of
families and the irreversible and rapid decline of the population in Croatia.
The remittances from this working class end up in the coffers of Belgrade. The
Serbian capital manipulates them at will, but always to the detriment of the
Croatian people.
It is precisely here that the direct action of
Croatian university students emerged. With the characteristic impetuosity of
youth, the students declared a general strike. This event alarmed not only the
country's public opinion but also that of the entire world. Tito's prestige,
his "definitive solution" to the national question in Yugoslavia, and
his "special path to communism" suffered a severe blow. Everything
collapsed like a house of cards.
Among the many interpretations of that reaction by
Croatian youth, some voices attempted to downplay, to discredit and devalue
this movement by reducing it to purely material motives. "In Europe,"
says L'Europeo on February 6, 1972, "they proclaimed your strike the
'Croatian dollar strike.' It is the first time that the youth of a country have
fought against the central government for economic reasons. 'Aren't you afraid
that this, your attitude, might make you unpopular...?' Aldo Santini,
correspondent for that newspaper, asked a group of students."
A possible misinterpretation of the event was the
main reason for the title we have given this work.
Was it really an economic rebellion or a national
one? Were its motives materialistic, opportunistic, or highly ethical?
Let us listen, then, to what the leaders of that
youth rebellion had to say. The president of the Zagreb Student League, Drazen
Budisa, upon declaring the strike, said, among other things: "Croatian
university students, with their general strike at the University, are not only
destroying the already shaky legality in our country, but above all, they are
ceasing to recognize as reasonable, justified, moral, and conducive to
achieving the objective, the dishonest game that has been played for far too
long with this people and this University, a game we can no longer endure calmly
and patiently.
Our decision demands the minimum of human dignity
that we, the students, despite the degradation of moral values in
our socio-political environment, have managed to salvage... Nothing significant
can happen with resolutions and programs alone if real and radical action is
not subsequently taken. It is no longer acceptable to simply lament the
conditions of the crisis. The time has come for us to free ourselves from what
has become customary—judging radicalism solely on the radicalism of its words.
The political leadership of Croatia, whose radical demands have been evaded for
years, is..." "Now attacking the strike at the University." But
"if our communist leaders wish to remain so, they must not argue with our
movement over differences in political tactics. If they wish to have the
people's trust, they must, in turn, have the people's trust..."
In the same issue of Studentski List (The Student
Gazette) of November 23, 1971, an article, after describing the case of the
Nikola Tesla factory, one of the largest in Croatia, severely damaged by the
influx of foreign equipment, continues: "I hope this is the only case! We
could list countless examples, many more than we could and should imagine: with
our foreign currency, butter is being bought abroad, thus destroying our dairy
industry. With our money, factories are being built that, because they are
exempt from the public taxes imposed on our own, penetrate our markets, fueled
by our money, and threaten our industry.
Do you want to know something more drastic?"
Belgrade's publishing houses obtain loans (from the "common fund"
that ours can only dream of). These loans allow them to produce large print
runs. These, in turn, lower the price of the book, which, being inexpensive,
sells in large quantities. As is easy to understand, large sales lead to large
profits, and with these profits, they obtain even more loans.
This subsidized publishing activity not only harms
our publishing houses but—even worse—causes many cheap (and often low-quality)
translations to fall into the hands of Croatian men. This wouldn't be so
detrimental if it reached an educated man, an adult aware of linguistic
differences, but what happens if this man (and this is the case in most
instances) is a student or a high school pupil? What language will he speak?
Here, consequently, we have a brutal and inconsiderate denationalization. The
Croatian people are becoming denationalized thanks to their own capital being
handed over to the federal treasury..."
To differentiate the current movement from that of
1968 in Yugoslavia, which was guided and controlled by official policy, it is
necessary to know, at least, some excerpts from texts on the subject: "Let
us state from the outset, the current movement has no similarity to that of
1968, except for the enthusiasm, drive, and ardent desire to change the
structures of society." Contrary, then, to what was intended at that
time—to interest Croatian students in something foreign, in a
"metanational metaphysics"—national interests are now being defended:
"Because the people who for a thousand years filled the pot of others...
and whose current exodus is deeply unsettling; because someone, before long,
might speak of a 'former people,' for such a people, the national foundation
(of the struggle and political activity, note n.) is an imperative."
Faced with the children of Zagorje (northern
outskirts of the Croatian capital, our note) and those of Herzegovina, whose
parents are knocking on the doors of businessmen from all over the world;
seeing the abandoned fields and homes... all our metaphysics and
super-metaphysics fall into the void. What meaning can the accusations against
the men of those regions possibly have here? Their children abandoned to chance
and the "ganga" (a type of folk song in that province) of their
parents, sung in sorrow about Mother Croatia (still), are for me a sign of
trying to save them, not a hateful alarm bell against some supposed diabolical
chauvinism. The sorrow of the unfortunate souls who became so in our
monopolistic society can lend human weight to every political stance, and
especially to our student conduct. Herein lies the crux of our disagreements,
and to compromise on this would be to betray it.” (From the speech by D.
Budisa, delivered in February 1971 at the University of Zagreb).
“The path of knowledge and maturation led our
intellectual youth, from 1968 onward, through an intuition of the essential
reasons for our current difficulties, and they understood that the shortest path
to the world is the path to oneself.” How can one sympathize with Vietnam when
one witnesses the tragedies of thousands upon thousands of Croatian families,
torn apart and divided between parents doing hard labor in a distant part of
Europe and their children, growing up in their homeland and finishing school
without any hope of ever earning a living, only to have to follow in their
parents' footsteps in that search for bread abroad, forever leaving their
beautiful and potentially rich homeland behind?
The rector of the Croatian University, Dr. Ivan
Supek, an eminent figure in natural sciences—physics and nuclear physics—adds:
“Although I was one of the founders of the 'Citizens of the World' movement, I
have always been wary of those internationalists who easily detach themselves
from national existence and tradition, just as I am of those who exalt their
homeland above all else… The universal is rooted in the land of each one of us,
and by delving into its depths, we arrive at an understanding and respect for
all that is universal.” human." (All quotes from the edition: Renaissance
of Croatian Students, Zagreb 1971).
Here again are the words of the students
themselves. Aldo Santini, in his aforementioned article in L'Europeo,
summarizes his opinion: "Of course, we extol the economic banner, but
behind it lie many other things. The Croatian people know this well. It is a
fact that Tito's socialism never worked well. It is also a fact that Croatia
fed other republics. It is an indisputable truth that Serbia constantly
trampled on our rights and that its opaque bureaucracy paralyzed our full
development. It is a fact that Belgrade failed to resolve monetary issues for a
quarter of a century. The famous Yugoslav self-management, invented by Tito
after the break with Moscow, had to mask an ideological vacuum and open a path
between two blocs, Russian and American. But this third path remained purely
theoretical... Words and nothing but words. The state... retained 60-70% of our
profits and invested them in the inefficient factories of the southern
republics. Croatia contributes 30% of the national income and receives only 10%
from the state. Herein lies the meaning of..." Our struggle. We have said:
Enough of the exploitation of Croatia! We Croatians are the hardest workers,
the highest earners, our republic has the strongest tourism industry, and
yet... we bear the brunt of it. Belgrade takes our dollars and pays us with
humiliation, hatred, and terror... We have reached a logical conclusion based
on the so-called self-management of two decades...". Marc Valle, in Combat
on January 31, 1972, says, among other things: "No, it is by no means a
coincidence that Zagreb is rebelling and not Belgrade. Because in Croatia we
are witnessing the development, practically overnight, of a true national
liberation movement. Here, it is not only the Party fighting against the
dictatorship; here is a nation, humiliated for more than half a century, that
desires, at all costs, to restore its dignity."
Marc Valle, in Combat on January 31, 1972, says,
among other things: "No, it is by no means a coincidence that Zagreb is
rebelling and not Belgrade. Because in Croatia we are witnessing the
development, practically overnight, of a true national liberation movement.
Here, it is not only the Party fighting against the dictatorship; here is a
nation, humiliated for more than half a century, that wishes, at any cost, to
restore its dignity."
The German newspaper Die Welt (in an article by
Walter Günzel), commenting on the phenomenon, says: "As one of the keys to
understanding this drama... the statement of a statistics specialist can be
useful. Croatia had a deficit of 398 billion dinars in its foreign trade during
the first ten months of 1971, while Serbia's deficit is ten times larger: 3.434
billion dinars. Every Croatian I spoke to, whether a Party member or not, be
they a waiter or a salesman in art shops, spoke indignantly about the fact that
in Croatia people are working hard and that the highest quality goods are
destined for export, so that 'those Serbs' who produce less... can make truly
fantastic profits for themselves and keep the foreign exchange settlement money
for themselves.
The man drove me in his Fiat to the airfield and
told me during the trip: 'Along the Adriatic coast, the Serbs bought almost All
the land suitable for building is bought up right in front of us, and they
build hotels for tourists: multi-story hotels; you know how they operate. Once
the building is finished, everything necessary, even the last kilo of meat, preserves,
wines, and spirits, arrives from Serbia, while we are left with nothing but
jobs as porters. The foreign currency thus earned goes to Belgrade. When we buy
your marks there, for example, we pay 10 dinars for one, and although we have
to keep quiet about it reluctantly, knowing that the official exchange rate is
50% cheaper!
"If that man is venting his 'nationalism' in
those words, it's because he was suddenly seized by an uncontrollable
'chauvinism.' Often lifting his hands from the steering wheel and crossing them
over his chest, he would say: 'A Congolese person can say what they are, a
Burmese person too, a Lotharingian, a Walloon, an Irishman can boast of their
nationality, but when we say we are Croats, that's very wrong. We should be
Yugoslavs. But why not Croats?'..." It would appear to be an economic
struggle, but it isn't. It is a national rebellion in defense of their
indisputable rights and values. It must be remembered that the Croatian people
live in a Marxist state. Here, the economy is paramount. Everything else is
merely structural. Reconquering the economic rights of a people would mean the
essence of their existence. That is why there is so much emphasis on economic
problems. The people breathe that Marxist atmosphere. This situation, coupled
with the international political landscape, also preoccupied with the status
quo in that part of the world, did not encourage framing the problem in terms
of full self-determination.
Recovering the fruits of one's own labor—primum
vivere deinde philosophari—in order to live and develop one's own national
identity, was the immediate objective of that struggle, whose protagonists were
young university students. "To have or not to have, that is the
question... To have or not to have: this must be somehow linked to the atoms of
our being, influencing the quantity of their mass, the nature of their tension,
the direction of their movement and the tendency of their association, acting
from there in the direction of our consciousness to determine its practical
attitude toward reality," says Kresimir Brant in the article "The
Current State of the Economy," referring to the general state of the
economy of that country, in the journal Kritika, Zagreb, June 2, 1969.
In addition to thus reaffirming the importance of
economics in the Marxist sense, the author also raises the problem of justice
in its deepest human—empirical-psychological—origins. If true man is homo
ludens and not homo laborans, and if, on the other hand, it is true that
"you will earn your bread by the sweat of your brow," which, in
Marxist terms, means living in the "realm of necessity," but with the
unquenchable desire to soar to the heights of freedom without need, that is,
toward the ideal of the man who plays and does not work—homo ludens et non
laborans—could there be clearer and more flagrant examples of the violation of
justice when another deprives us of the fruits of our own labor, with which we
make extreme efforts to achieve the state of homo ludens, that is, to overcome
the realm of necessity and ensure the possibility of a higher life of culture
and civilization? Croatian money to the Serbs, and Croatian children en masse
into emigration!
“Let us begin,” says R. Ruyer, “with the simple
principle that if someone else spends our own money in our place, we can no
longer spend it ourselves, regardless of how the other person appropriated
it.”[13]
This is the true case of the national conflict
between Croats and Serbs during the era of “people’s democracies” and
“self-management” socialism. As for the “manner of appropriation” of Croatian
money, we have already said enough. The extermination of the Croatian army—its
defensive and biological potential—and the liquidation of Croatian
independence—its supreme political and national value, in a word—all occurred
under conditions of total political oppression. Marcuse himself, if he is
consistent with himself and his principles, will recognize the situation, “the
given opportunity,” when all the conditions are met to demand of humanity the
abolition of that political oppression and economic exploitation. We have a
classic case of conflict between two rights: positive law and
"natural" law, between "institutionalized violence" and the
violence of a higher right, "the most sacred of Western
civilization."
If Marcuse recognizes the New Left's right to
rebellion in American society, which, he says, functions well and only resorts
to terror in extreme cases, what, consequently, can be said of the Croatian
case, where there is clear national discrimination, political oppression, and
economic exploitation, with terror as a constant threat?
Tito's Stalinist Response
Tito responded in accordance with the
"style" of the "democratic centralism" policy. Thousands of
students were injured, arrested, expelled from the University, and interned in
concentration camps, while their leaders are being prepared for a spectacular
trial, following the resignation of so many judges, whom Tito accused of being
"obliging to the law like a drunkard to a wall." The students' fate
also befell the Croatian intellectual elite. With a stroke of the pen, Tito,
this Balkan "democrat," removed 10 national deputies; the leaders of
the Croatian Party were expelled; thousands of civil servants were forced to
resign if they hadn't already done so voluntarily! The families of those
arrested have been left without financial resources, one of the inhumane
measures employed by "democratic centralism" to pressure those deprived
of their freedom, discourage them, humiliate them, and drive them to the brink
of despair.
How does Tito's regime justify this procedure? We
respond with the words of an indisputable authority: "The system of
recognition is more or less as follows: anyone who disagrees with the Central
Committee or the Secretary of the Communist Party behaves as an enemy of
communism... Anyone in opposition weakens the Central Committee and,
consequently, the proletariat. Anyone who acts in this way behaves as an enemy,
that is, as a traitor... To make it clearer: there is no difference between
behaving as an enemy and being an enemy; just imagine that Zinoviev, Kamenev,
Bukharin, or Trotsky were in contact with the Gestapo. This brings us to the
end point. We have started from the political significance of a certain
behavior, but, since the acts that would symbolize this behavior do not exist,
they are invented to confirm the meaning attributed to the oppositional
attitude. In his speech, Mr. Khrushchev said almost the same thing I am
explaining to you. Here are his words: 'Stalin was initially the creator of the
notion of "the enemy of the people."'" This term made it
possible to use the most cruel repression against anyone who disagreed with
Stalin, without questioning how this occurred.[14]
If we substitute Stalin's name with the name of the
"anti-Stalinist" Tito, and instead of Zinoviev, Kamenev, etc., we use
Savka Dabcevic-Kucar, Tripalo, Pirker, Tudjman, Gotovac, or de Budisa,
Paradzik, or Cicak, we will have the most fitting answer. They are accused of
being counter-revolutionaries, "chauvinists," of "rotten
liberalism," and of having contact with the "fascist" and
counter-revolutionary émigré community. To fabricate evidence, a network of agents
was woven around a (now deceased) Croatian political exile in Germany and led
to believe in "Soviet aid" and the support of Croatian communists,
opponents of Tito's and Belgrade's "democratic centralism."
Believing, mistakenly, that he had laid a sufficient foundation, Tito, along with
his Serbian generals, carried out a coup d'état on December 10, 1971. Now, six
months later, the trials are beginning.
To "reinforce" its value, let us hear
what another authority on the matter has to say: "What was the composition
of the 17th Congress of the Communist Party? It is known that 80% of its voters
had joined the Party during the years of conspiracy preceding the revolution
and during the civil war, that is, before 1921; from the point of view of
social origin, the delegates to the Congress were primarily workers (60% of the
voters). For this reason, it was inconceivable that a Congress composed in this
way would elect a Central Committee whose majority would prove to be an enemy
of the Party. The sole reason why 70% of the candidates elected at the 17th
Congress were denounced as enemies of the Party and the people was that honest
communists were slandered, that the accusations against them were false, and
that revolutionary legality was undermined.
The same fate befell not only the members of the
Central Committee but also the majority of the delegates to the Congress.
(1966)" Of the delegates with voting or speaking rights, 1,108 people,
that is, more than half, were arrested on charges of counter-revolutionary
crimes [15]. Sensing the atmosphere of Belgrade's "democratic
centralism," D. Budisa formulated the following question as early as
February 1971, almost a year before his arrest: "Is there anything easier
than discrediting one's adversary politically and morally before the community
than artificially distancing him from the political principles of this society?
Is there anyone for whom it would be easier to do so than those who, from their
official position in the structure of that society, and by that very fact, have
the 'right' to determine what the true political attitude is according to their
own judgment?"
All this worn-out ideology is found again in the
case that concerns us. That is why we find the opinion of those who consider
"the special Yugoslav path to communism" to be over perfectly
accurate. The liberalizing humanitarian elements have disappeared, and
re-Stalinization is advancing rapidly.
However, the phenomenon is not so simple. The
persecutions currently unleashed in Croatia have a very complex background.
Along with the fingers of Belgrade's "democratic centralism," those
of Moscow are also visible. Moscow and Belgrade have an interest in
annihilating "liberalism" in Croatia. Each on its own. Without
visibly damaging the international status quo, the two "enemies" have
achieved their objective: the process of disintegration of the monolith has
been halted. The unsettled accounts between the two capitals will be settled
later. Moscow, with the reinstatement of real Stalinism in Belgrade, has won
the first round. The official and formal anti-Stalinism still prevalent in
Belgrade will end in accordance with the outcome of many international factors
entangled around that country.
The forces behind the current course are
sympathetic to the pro-Soviet solution. They are in a better position to also
shed formal anti-Stalinism. With Moscow's approval and from a position of
power, Belgrade will do so. It is not, therefore, Croatia, nor its recently
"purged" communists, nor the Croatian people who could call on the
Russians for help, as Mr. Salvador De Madariaga mistakenly believes, and thus
facilitate Moscow taking "a giant step towards the Mediterranean" and
the conquest of the European continent (****). It is the Serbian forces that
have already done so. It depends solely on circumstances for this to become
clear even to the most obstinate optimists. Croatia is not—it never has
been—the source of the danger to the free world. The epicenter of that danger
is in Belgrade.
At the beginning of this article, we emphasized the
desire to reveal the truth of the case and to ask for the understanding and
sympathy of the "silent majority" of the world. This is why we are
not addressing ourselves, first and foremost, to statesmen, politicians, and
rulers. However, so that this voice does not become a cry in the wilderness and
so that it may somehow benefit our suffering brothers and sisters, we are
addressing the International Commission of Jurists. In deploring the violence
in Ireland, the Commission stated publicly: "The Commission has never accepted
the theory that matters relating to serious allegations of human rights
violations are solely within the jurisdiction of the country concerned and has
long demanded the establishment of an appropriate international mechanism for
the investigation of such matters, whether through the United Nations or
through regional organizations."
Is there, then, a possibility of a statement or
intervention by this honorable Commission in the Croatian case?
Can we make a similar suggestion to Vatican
diplomacy? In our opinion, she should have no other objective than to act as a
diplomat of moral principles and values. "We have been able to
measure," says the World Synod of Bishops, held at the end of last year,
"the immensity of the injustice that weaves around the people of this
earth a web of domination, oppression, and exploitation that stifles freedoms
and prevents the vast majority of humanity from participating in the creation
and enjoyment of a humanized universe for the fulfillment of all... The Church
has the right and the duty to proclaim justice (on a social, national, and
international scale) and to denounce concrete situations of injustice when
fundamental rights and the very salvation of humankind demand it." (In
"La Opinión," Buenos Aires, December 17, 1971, p. 4).
We believe that what has been stated can convince
everyone that in this case of the Croatian rebellion, there is a "given
opportunity" to invoke a right superior to positive law. The Croats live
in a state they have never recognized as their own, under a regime of clear
national, political, and cultural oppression, and in harsh conditions of
economic exploitation. These are indisputable, clear facts, accessible to any
reasonable human mind. There is no need to resort to fashionable legal, political,
or philosophical theories.
Studia Croatica feels it is serving humanity with
an authentic interpretation of the Croatian university students' rebellion and
its national motivations, placing it within the terms we have just transcribed
and explained. But what can be expected? Is there also the necessary courage
behind these solemn words?
The economic-political model of the (non)democratic
self-management society
Tihomil Radja
Both in its theory and application, the concept and
practice of self-management are far from precise and well-developed, so that
the entire system is nebulous and in its infancy. Socialist thinkers throughout
history have rarely addressed this problem, and bourgeois theorists even less
so. According to research, it appears that the Russian philosopher and critic
Alexander I. Herzen (1812-1870), influenced by Proudhon and Bakunin, dealt with
self-management most extensively. In contrast, Marx, and especially Engels and
Lenin, strongly repudiated Herzen and his ideas concerning self-management.[16]
Among Yugoslav authors, the first to refer to
self-management was Boris Kindric at the Fifth Congress of the Communist Party
of Yugoslavia, and later in a theoretical work entitled From the Utopian
Socialists to Workers' Councils.[17] The title itself is characteristic, as it
stems from the so-called utopian socialists and not from the
"scientific" socialism of Marx, Engels, and others. In general,
Yugoslav literature on self-management always resorted to the slogan
"factories to the workers," which Marx supposedly emphasized in the
Communist Manifesto as early as 1848. But since slogans alone cannot produce or
sustain life, it was necessary to find the theoretical justification and
practical solutions for economic life within the framework of self-management.
Several attempts were made in this regard in communist Yugoslavia. In the
empirical field, the studies published by M. Korac and J. Zupanov,
collaborators of the Zagreb Economic Institute, are the most important.[18]
Among the theoretical works, those of Sime
Djodan[19] and Eduardo Kardelj[20] stand out, although the latter's work is
more political than scientific-analytical in nature.
In contrast, some North American economists,
particularly Jaros Vanek[21], approached the problem of worker self-management
with a more scientific rigor from an economic perspective.
On the other hand, the concrete application and
historical experience of self-management in industrial society (e.g., certain
"communautés de travail" like "Boimondo" near Valence in
France) are very few and far between, or often negative, as the history of
consumer and other forms of production cooperatives demonstrates. Thinking
about these problems, I am always reminded of the phrase by the French
economist Charles Gide, a great theorist and enthusiastic promoter of the
cooperative movement: "It's like a procession, at the head there's music
and at the tail the firemen march!" Consequently, in the theoretical
approach to cooperativism (and also in self-management) we find much
enthusiasm, but in practice only disappointments.
It is therefore essential to study the history of
global cooperativism, and especially Croatian cooperativism (zadrugarstvo), to
understand the possibilities and limitations of self-management in Croatia's
future. As a preliminary observation, it should be noted here that both
consumer and producer cooperatives in the West often transformed, to a greater
or lesser degree, into the capitalist system of production and distribution of
goods.
Similar lessons can be learned from the application
of worker participation in capitalist enterprises, the best example being the
experience of the Volkswagen industrial complex in Germany, where the majority
of workers very quickly sold the shares the company had given them. Regarding
Western and other experiences in self-management and, in general, in worker
participation in any form, the results vary according to the country, the level
of industrialization, the prevailing mentality, and so on. If I'm not mistaken,
France and Germany are leading the way in this respect, as in those countries
workers' committees enjoy extensive rights, from the power to review the financial
operations of companies to the administration of all social services, which
obliges employers to take care of the human and social aspects in common work
and not look exclusively at the profit of their companies.
It is important to emphasize that while in free
countries worker participation operates under conditions of freedom, both in
cooperatives and in other forms of worker co-management, numerous failures,
slow evolution, and even setbacks are observed. Certainly, the blame cannot be
placed on "the capitalist environment" nor on the underlying
"capitalist" mentality in each individual, but rather, first and
foremost, on the mentality of the worker, who above all seeks job security and
the best remuneration, not the risk inherent in any enterprise within a market
economy. Furthermore, serious administrative problems arise, since numerous and
overly large management bodies cannot successfully lead a company.
Finally, and certainly not without ample reason,
several unions do not look favorably upon different forms of participation in
the ownership and management of companies. Viewed broadly, the problem of
self-management affects sociology, politics, economics, business management
techniques, the theory and function of the state, economic theory, and even morality
and philosophy. Therefore, the problem of self-management is highly complex and
cannot be resolved with slogans or the constant changes to economic management
regulations, as occurred in communist Yugoslavia.
The "Yugoslav" Experiment
Let us now examine what happened in communist
Yugoslavia with the much-touted self-management. Implemented in the early
1950s, it stemmed more from the communist leaders' need to appear "more
Catholic than the Pope" in the conflict with Stalin than from the concrete
needs of the national economy at that time. Moreover, by introducing, even if
only formally, so-called workers' self-management, the Yugoslav communists in
those years were radically destroying family farms, handicrafts, and cottage
industries, which have been and continue to be a better model of
self-management than anything achieved by the Yugoslav communists to date.[22]
As I already mentioned, the theoretical basis for
self-management was lacking and could not be developed within the framework of
a narrow Marxist ideology, except for a few marginal comments in the writings
of Marx and other theorists. Instead, they were caught in a sharp contradiction
between the concept of a Stalinist-type planned economy and the reality of an
economic enterprise and its pressing needs.
In contrast to a private company, whose fundamental
function is the production and sale of manufactured goods to ensure its
existence and progress, as well as work and sustenance for its staff, the
Yugoslav-type "self-managed" enterprise remained an integral part of
a comprehensive plan that also governed other businesses. This system could be
none other than a centrally planned economy, since it was initially conceived
as an instrument for creating a new society and later became the organizational
framework for economic and social life.
Trapped in this contradiction, from which they have
yet to extricate themselves, other centrally planned structures emerged in
place of the previous centralist plan, such as banks, export agencies, and so
on. Even today, a "self-managed" enterprise depends on these centers
of power, as is the case in Moscow's satellite states. This can be summarized
as follows: The main objective is for enterprises to comply with the will of
the ruling powers and serve their interests, even if they are managed
irrationally, economically, and ultimately to the detriment of workers'
interests.
That would be the main and fundamental point in the
current Yugoslav experiment. It is undeniable that there were also successes
and positive results in this whole process, but what I have just said is the
common thread running through it. Hence the other failures of Yugoslav
communism in all areas of public life. In short:
-They promised a society without class differences,
and now there are more than before.
-They promised unprecedented economic progress, and
what they achieved could have been accomplished with less sacrifice and
suffering by the most incapable "bourgeois" government.
-They promised social justice and equality, yet now
we see more injustice and inequality than ever before.
-They claimed to have solved the national question,
and they are incapable of granting Croatia the degree of freedom and autonomy
it enjoyed in the final years of the dictatorial monarchy.
-They boasted of self-management, and the workers
live at the lowest level of the European proletariat. Such is the negative
balance sheet of Yugoslav communism, in which all the slogans about workers'
self-management cannot be substituted, since it is a monopoly of different
structures and centers of power that subordinate everything to their own
interests. The essential remains, and contingencies are governed by the old
French adage: "Plus ca change, plus c'est la même chose" (The more
something changes, the more it stays the same).
Thus, after the catastrophic failures of the rigid
and bureaucratic management of the economy until the early 1950s, from then
until 1965 the so-called "commune" replaced the direct planned
bureaucracy and became the conveyor belt of the will of the ruling class of the
communist party in the economic sphere. During this period, everything was
subject to communal control: the tariff and operational system, the production
program, the "base" policy, the application of laws in enterprises,
the distribution of profits, the management of credit, etc. After 1965, that
is, with the introduction of the (economic) Reform in place of the commune
(which in the meantime was acquiring the attributes of the classic bourgeois
municipality), new banking and financial structures emerged, acting as
intermediaries between businesses and the governing structures.
This new structure—analyzed with lucidity and
insight by Hrvoje Sisic in his book *Clean Accounts*, highlighting its
pernicious control over the Croatian economy—is transforming into something
that could be defined not as self-management but as financial socialism, the
dangers of which Austrian socialists had long warned when referring to
"Finanzsozialismus." To better illustrate this relatively new situation,
I will mention just one fact. While in 1966 businesses handed over 32% of their
remaining profits to banks after paying all their obligations, that percentage
had risen to 50% by 1969 and continues to increase.
In such a situation, it's easy to imagine the
potential conflicts between companies and the bank on the one hand, and
companies and their workers on the other. For this reason, and others,
especially those of an organizational nature, self-management is concentrated
in small businesses, becoming a refuge for the weak and powerless in the face
of democracy—workers, students, intellectuals, peasants, and other vulnerable
individuals within a society dominated by unfettered neocapitalism and
"financial socialism," where the law of the strongest and the ruling
structure reign supreme.
On the other hand, the prospects for such
"self-management" are far from promising. At a recent event at the
Faculty of Economics in Zagreb, leader Jakov Sirotkovic openly acknowledged
that self-management was degenerating into group capitalism, while Eduardo
Kardelj (a Yugoslav communist theorist and one of the leading figures) at the
Congress of Self-Management Leaders held in Sarajevo, offered only a vague
glimpse of a new society, promising a vague vision of the future. In contrast
to the ruling organizations, Croatian students, like intellectuals and other
social classes, support the idea of self-management and its
immediate implementation, not only for tactical reasons as a defense against
the governing centers but also as a model for organizing future Croatian
society.
The ruling structures—that is, the circles that,
around 1965, brought banks and finance, foreign and domestic trade, etc., under
their control and influence—are in fact sabotaging self-management. From these
centers of economic and financial power come the most insistent demands for
free competition, the free movement of capital, and the need for the most
capable to prevail, etc., in the sense of the fundamental attributes of
classical capitalism, which, in fact, no longer exists in the West.
This is precisely what constitutes the reactionary
nature of the social, economic, and political ideas and actions of the ruling
structures. Croatian students, intellectuals, and other social classes rightly
reject a return to capitalism and see in the current situation a historic
opportunity to organize the future Croatian society in accordance with
progressive ideas, thereby aligning Croatia with the most advanced nations,
with the forerunners of the social model that would be implemented in the next
century. There is no doubt that these aspirations have a strong utopian
element, but the essential point is that the Croatian elites are among the most
progressive in the world, giving Croatian national and social aspirations a
vanguard character.
Therefore, the issue of self-management must be
addressed seriously, because considering the national composition of Yugoslavia
and Serbia's dwarfed imperialism, the self-management system, at this stage,
constitutes the shield and defense of individual and national interests,
granting greater autonomy to each republic. Furthermore, the overall process of
the Croatian postwar economy indicates that future economic changes will place
greater emphasis on the management and functioning of the economic system than
on the issue of ownership.
An identical trend is observed in capitalist
countries, where today it is more important whether managers behave like
owners, regardless of who the actual owner is. In present-day Croatia, this
problem is resurfacing, as current formulas and the concept of "social
ownership" are meaningless and automatically create working and management
conditions in which no one is held accountable for failures and losses. In
general, such irresponsibility reigns in the Croatian economy that it is a
miracle the losses haven't been greater.
Therefore, the issue of self-management must be
projected into the future not through the lens of the current situation, but
rather through what will remain of it. I will limit myself here to certain
functional and typological aspects of self-management in Croatia. From a
functional point of view, the following problems arise:
1st - If profit is the driving force of a
capitalist enterprise, a self-managed enterprise will strive to achieve higher
profits, and this drive will be its driving force. To put it bluntly,
capitalism maximizes profit, and self-management maximizes benefit. For
consumers, this means a tendency for prices to increase in both cases,
especially if a company is a monopoly. In both cases, the problem arises of how
to obtain the resources for new investments, especially for technological
upgrades. Modern capitalism resolves these problems as best it can, and a
self-managed enterprise will surely proceed in a similar manner.
Secondly, the problem of information flow within
the complex structure of a modern industrial enterprise also arises. While, for
example, in a small industrial establishment each worker will easily understand
the technical and commercial aspects of the business, this is not the case in
large companies. Therefore, a group of technocratic managers necessarily
emerges in a self-managed enterprise, a group that can easily clash with the
working class. Consequently, the economic and technical expertise of these
managers becomes economic and political power. For this reason, I believe that
labor unions will be just as necessary in a self-managed society as they are in
current capitalist society.
3rd - In the strict socialist sense,
self-management does not constitute the most important social framework for
workers, since the monogamous family is still traditional, while the worker
will aspire to maximize his family's income and spend as much time as possible
within the family and as little time as possible in the company.
4th - If we imagine self-management within an
economic sector—let's say the footwear industry—there could be one or several
companies. If there is only one large company, then it's a monopoly, and the
consequences will be negative for the consumer, whether the company is
capitalist or self-managed. In both cases, the consumer will demand state
intervention. If there are several companies with lower productive capacity,
differentiation becomes necessary, and ultimately, the best companies will
absorb the weakest.
Here, the problem arises not only of how to manage
a self-managed company but also how to regulate the relationship between a
"good" self-managed company and a "bad" one. I know there
are several technical solutions, but the fundamental problem remains: will the
"good" companies share the profits with the "bad" ones? Of
course, to prevent differentiation in the process, the State could prohibit the
closure of "loss-making" companies and the creation of large
companies, which boils down to the good companies paying for the bad ones, and
ultimately, it's the consumer who pays the price, etc.
For all these objective reasons, and many others
not mentioned, leading Croatian economists recommend addressing the issue of
self-management with pragmatic approaches, tailored to the specific needs of
the Croatian economy, and less from a purely technical and ideological
perspective. Marcos Veselica (*), speaking at the aforementioned commemorative
event at the Faculty of Economic Sciences, stated, among other things: "First
and foremost, it is necessary to explain, both theoretically and practically,
what the modern Croatian economy is and the productive, social, and economic
logic under which it is developing." This approach will demonstrate, among
other things, that the problem of self-management will manifest itself
differently in agriculture than in industry.
Furthermore, within agriculture, this problem will
be addressed in one way on individual peasant farms and in a different way on
large agricultural complexes. Given this, I fail to see how self-management can
resolve the complex relationship between agricultural consortiums and
individual peasant holdings, both of which are vital to the Croatian economy.
Furthermore, the issue of self-management will
manifest itself differently in large and small industries. The issue of
ownership will also arise in parallel. The problem of ownership and private
enterprise will emerge primarily in the craft, tourism, small retail, and
various service sectors, which are based more or less on family labor.
The foregoing leads me to the following
conclusions:
1. Self-management, in its essence, is a conception
of social relations; the Croatian people interpret and accept it as such, and
therefore its application is not possible under conditions of an
"anti-democratic environment," as is the case in present-day Croatia.
The proof of this is that today in Croatia, as I emphasized above,
self-management is the theory and practice of the weak and the vulnerable.
2. As a democratic system, self-management
presupposes democratic rules of the game at all levels and sectors of social
life.
3. By its very democratic nature, self-management
must necessarily be tolerant and accept other economic forms: capitalism,
small-scale ownership, state capitalism, etc. The fundamental point is that
each of these economic forms must be treated equally with regard to state taxes
and levies. Tolerance is not only an attribute of the democratic process but is
also inherent in the principle of peaceful coexistence and political pluralism.
4. In future changes and restructurings of the
Croatian economy, the self-management sector will have a better and broader
starting point than other forms of economic activity. It will even be stronger
than the state sector, since the state typically manages unprofitable
establishments. Therefore, self-management will have the duty to demonstrate
and prove its viability in free and equal competition with other economic
systems.
As a final thought on this summary, I believe that discussions about the
future restructuring of the Croatian economy should not cloud our vision,
preventing us from seeing the forest because of a single tree. The forest is
the Croatian national economy, which we must pull out of the tremendous
quagmire in which it finds itself, and provide work and sustenance for all
Croatians, and first and foremost for the hundreds of thousands of young people
who, for several years now, have been working in Western Europe, contributing
their best energies to the prosperity of other nations, while the Croatian
economy lies in ruins. (**)
(Translated from Croatian by Branko Kadic)
About the Yugoslav economy
Tihomil Radja
Instead of Convertibility, a New Devaluation of the
Dinar
Despite the approaching peak tourist season,
Western banks (Frankfurt, Zurich, Trieste) continue to buy Yugoslav dinars at
an exchange rate of 15-16 German pfenings (cents) per new dinar, clearly
indicating that the average real exchange rate is 16% lower than the official
rate.
The domestic exchange rate of the dinar is even
lower, a fact also acknowledged by Vjesnik (April 19, 1972), who advocated for
"the permanent defense of the real value" of the Yugoslav currency.
Furthermore, it is now public knowledge that the Federal Executive Committee
(central government) officially announced on December 27, 1971, that the dinar
would be devalued again once a real decline of 12% occurred (Ekonomska
Politika, January 19, 1972). Based on this information, it is reasonably
expected in specialized circles that the dinar will undergo a further
devaluation of 15 to 20%.
Naturally, Belgrade is trying to avoid another
devaluation at all costs, which would be the third in the last 15 months. To
obtain the necessary foreign currency and thus temporarily postpone the
inevitable devaluation, Belgrade is intensifying its tourism promotion in the
West, trying to convince our workers abroad and other exiles to continue
sending more currency back home. On Belgrade's orders, the current satellite
government in Zagreb is also carrying out similar propaganda (VUS, April 19,
1972, Special Supplement for the Foreign Community).
No one opposes sending currency back home, but they
do oppose it under the current economic and political conditions. Whether and
when the current political and economic situation can improve depends on
several factors. First and foremost, we must wait and see what the new law on
financial activity with foreign countries will be like, and especially what the
regulations concerning the dinar's exchange rate will be. The current satellite
government in Zagreb has proposed minimal conditions for this purpose, such
that the Croatian voice in these matters, "by mutual agreement and
interrepublican agreement," is the weakest. The Slovenes, on the other
hand, categorically state their demands to Belgrade, largely coinciding with
Croatian interests in this highly sensitive financial sector. Consequently, if
the Zagreb government upholds the Slovenes' demands and everything is accepted,
it will benefit those who, obliged to support their families, must send
remittances back home.
This would be the first condition, but not the most
important: ensuring the full convertibility of the dinar to Western currencies,
that is, guaranteeing its free exchange with marks, dollars, francs, etc., both
domestically and abroad, and at a fixed exchange rate, unlike the current
situation where Western banks buy it at a price far below the official rate and
Yugoslav banks sell it at a price far above the official rate.
However, it is difficult to believe that the
Belgrade regime—run by generals and police—could accept and fulfill these
essential conditions for normal financial activity. Indeed, this regime has its
various reasons for not doing so. First, if the generals and the UDBA
(police-party apparatus) accept laws governing normal financial activity, they
would no longer be able to manipulate the economic process by using illegal
acts of the federal bureaucracy. Regarding this, Mr. Ivan Atelsek, the former
director of the large Slovenian company "Gorenje," recently stated:
"It is a flawed system of measures, where an official can decide the fate
of a company, or even an entire sector of the economy, with the stroke of a
pen. One can send dozens of letters, but the federal administration never
replies, even though production depends on this reply" (VUS, April 19,
1972).
Second: if the generals and the UDBA accept the
convertibility of the dinar, then the Minister of War, General N. Ljubicic,
would no longer be able to pressure the SIV (federal government) and the
National Bank of Yugoslavia to continue issuing banknotes without measure or
control, because convertibility requires the acceptance of a certain degree of
monetary discipline.
This real manipulation is most clearly illustrated
by the fact that the federal bureaucracy had been increasing the money supply
by 25% annually in recent years, primarily to cover military, police, and other
funds, officially referred to as the "Federal Extrabudgetary
Balance."
The third and most important of these reasons is
that the convertibility of the dinar would necessarily strengthen economic (and
therefore political) relations with the Western world. The top military and
police chiefs—those who truly hold power in Belgrade—do not want these strong
relations with the West under any circumstances. Logically, these are even less
desired by Belgrade's friends and protectors in Moscow."
Soon: 100,000 Soviets in the Adriatic Sea
Following Brezhnev's visit to Belgrade last
September, Soviet-Yugoslav relations have been developing rapidly. Last
December, Soviet Deputy Prime Minister N. I. Bakhbakov returned to Belgrade
where, together with Yugoslav Minister of Economy J. Sirotkovic, he formed a
joint commission for mutual cooperation between the two countries. This
commission can be seen as a revival of the former Soviet-Yugoslav joint
ventures of the pre-1948 period, before the conflict between Stalin and Tito.
Alongside numerous Yugoslav delegations, Federal
Secretary of Economic Affairs B. Dimitrijevic also visited Moscow last March,
holding talks on cooperation between Soviet and Yugoslav heavy industry.
Finally, an agreement was signed (April 3, 1972), among other activities of the
joint committee, concerning the exchange of goods worth $4 billion during the
period 1971-1975.
In this way, the Soviet Union became the main customer of Yugoslav
foreign trade: approximately 20% of Yugoslavia's foreign trade would now be
with Russia.
It is interesting to note that the previous trade
between Russia and Yugoslavia was valued at $2.7 million. Last December,
Bakhbakov demanded an increase of more than $600 million, and in the recent
negotiations in Moscow, he added another $700 million. The total trade volume
now reaches the impressive figure of $4 billion. Furthermore, several
additional loans from the Soviets, as well as direct investments in the
Yugoslav economy, are planned. In this area, no definitive consensus has yet
been reached, with the exception of the loan for the aluminum industry (US$120
million) and the financing of railway works on the Belgrade-Bar line.
The agreements concerning Soviet investments were
scheduled for last March but have been postponed until next fall. According to
some interpretations, the postponement was due to the fact that many (Yugoslav)
companies do not want Soviet investments, citing many and varied excuses. This
would be the case, for example, with INA in Zagreb (gasoline) and ISKRA
(Slovenia). The same reason, again according to the aforementioned opinion,
motivated the resignation of 20 directors of various Slovenian companies.
The recent Soviet-Yugoslav protocol also foresees
the intensification of tourism, with an estimated influx of 100,000 Soviet
tourists to Yugoslavia expected this year.
Naturally, all this is causing concern among
democratic circles both at home and abroad, because it is clear that relations
between Moscow and Belgrade are strengthening after the fall of the Croatian
(communist) leaders in December 1971.
(The two articles translated from the newspaper
Nova Hrvatska (New Croatia), London, May 1972, pp. 15 and 19, signed by T. R.)
Translation: F. N.
The crisis of the Yugoslav state
Below is a transcription in Spanish of the opinion
of a Slovenian who personally observed the events when the crisis erupted in
Yugoslavia in November-December of last year. This opinion, in the form of a
report, was published in the Slovenian newspaper in Buenos Aires, "Smer v
Slovensko Drzavo" (Towards the Slovenian State), No. 43/72, whose editor
is Dr. Tine Duh:
The attack on Croatia was prepared by Tito.
What happened in Zagreb, in Croatia, and (in
Yugoslavia as a whole) I believe was directed towards a two-stage coup d'état.
The first stage consisted of Tito surprising
everyone—without consulting any of the political leaders beforehand, at least
those he assumed would not give their consent—with the plan to create the Presidency
of the State. He thus created an independent body, unaccountable to anyone, not
even to Parliament. In this way, he could personally decide according to his
whims. The objective was absolute power, not Tito's concern for his succession,
as some commentators have explained. The Presidency constitutes a collective
body, while Tito, as president, retains all power, which was clearly revealed
at that time.
He had previously done the same with the party by
creating the Presidency of the Executive Cabinet. Thanks to this body, the
State is identical at its apex to the Party. It is very likely that these
changes were suggested to Tito, and according to general opinion, by the
clique, he lost ground in the open process of liberalization, especially after the
elimination of Rankovic (the notorious head of the police terrorist apparatus
after the war, until 1966). The Belgrade "Carsija" (clique) and the
army provided support.
Who makes up this clique is the question of the
moment. This is believed to be the vortex, the central and highest point of
Grand Serbism, whose current representative is the Minister of Defense, General
Ljubicic, along with a group of the most senior generals and former officials
of the UDBA (secret police), of Grand Serb orientation, led by Rankovic himself
in their desire to recover lost ground.
They maneuvered cautiously, step by step, until
they gained sufficient influence. Above all, they conquered key positions in
the army. These two groups—though we speak of two, in reality, it is a single
entity—have been joined by the group of old Stalinists, who before and during
the war until 1947 constituted the weakest point of Stalinism, men imbued with
Stalin's ideas regarding the violent resolution of problems, implementing
administrative decisions, and so on. One of them—and the worst—is Tito.
In Yugoslavia, only dictatorship is possible.
Tito observed with displeasure the recent
"noises" in the state he had conceived and organized in 1945, a
completely centralized state modeled on the Soviet Union, despite the formal
existence of the "republics." Tito tolerated Rankovic's elimination,
but never wholeheartedly endorsed it. What decisively influenced his ambivalent
attitude was the fact that Rankovic had also placed microphones in his private
rooms. Tito saw that Rankovic's elimination served not so much his own purposes
as those of the people plotting against him. These were the progressives within
the Party who were now eliminated—the Croatian leaders, some Slovenes and
Macedonians (Crvenkovski), and perhaps Kardelj, who coveted the inheritance of
power and did not entirely agree with Rankovic. It is possible that he was
afraid that something similar to what happened to Boris Krajgher (Slovenian)
would happen to him.
This version was told to me by a non-Slovenian
member of the Party. He said that Krajgher was appointed to the premiership,
but that the Belgrade "carsija" (a derogatory term for the ruling
elite) and the army didn't trust him, considering him their common adversary.
It's well known that he wanted to consistently implement the economic reforms
(1965) and, due to his energetic character, break the power of the
"carsija" and the Great Serbian military clique. He demonstrated this
earlier by refusing to visit the "Yugoslav Army" exhibition in
Ljubljana because all the inscriptions and signs were in Serbian. Shortly
before taking office, he and his son were accidentally killed in a car crash
near Belgrade, while traveling from Slovenia. Kardelj's role in the coup is
still unknown, but it's believed that Ljubicic didn't consult him.
Tito personally prohibited the legal proceedings
against Rankovic, a measure requested by some members of Parliament. He also
suspended the entire publicity campaign against him, so much so that Rankovic
was no longer mentioned, at least not in the daily press.
The sabotage of the Great Serbian clique
These groups, which were conquering and securing
key positions in the Party and in Belgrade, truly obstructed the fundamental
project of constitutional reforms. These reforms were reduced to mere
outlines—once again, just formalities and declarations—so they could once again
begin to manipulate Tito, soon to be eighty—he will be 80 in May—and who is
truly old in every sense. I had the opportunity to see him on television before
Christmas. On that occasion, he delivered a very combative speech in a small
town in Bosnia on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the
First Proletarian Brigade.
He threatened, his voice senile and his knees
unsteady, swaying behind the oratory desk and pounding impotently with his fist
on the table, repeating each word three times, and evidently slipping back into
his Kajkavian dialect (from the region of his native village). Some believe he
is very weak and under the influence of his wife, a Serb, possibly a tool of
the Great Serbs. In any case, it is a fact that Tito became, as never before,
the instrument of Great Serb policy.
Reason for the coup d'état
The reason for the unfolding of events in Croatia
was the opposition of the Serbian minority—actually the Vlachs, who were welcomed
and protected by the Croats on their own soil during the wars against the Turks
and who, later, under the influence of the Serbian Orthodox Church, proclaimed
themselves Serbs—to the introduction of the Croatian language in schools and
public life in general. The language should no longer be called Serbo-Croatian
or Croatian-Serbian, but simply Croatian, while school textbooks should be
"Croatianized," based on the current spoken language of Croatia and
its historical national literature. History textbooks should place the emphasis
primarily on Croatian history to prevent disproportionate Serbian influence in
Croatia.
It should be noted that the Vlachs constitute a
minority in Croatia, less than 15%, and yet in Zagreb, almost all secondary
school principals are Serbs, as are 60% of the police force, as well as the
directors of economic enterprises and the presidents of trade unions.
At the end of last summer, the Croats wanted to
implement this reform. But the Vlachs opposed it, that is, they withdrew from
the reform committees. The Serbs dominate the organizations of former communist
fighters because these were mostly recruited in Serbian-majority regions. The
trade unions, as we have already mentioned, are also in the hands of Serbs and
former members of the secret police (UDBA). From there they launched their
initial attacks, eliminating prominent representatives of the national
(Croatian) orientation, such as Veselica and the vice-president of the trade
unions, Saric. They then focused their attacks on veterans' organizations. For
example, in the Sibenik district (in coastal Croatia, note n.), the Serbs
prepared armed opposition against the government in Zagreb. Finally, General
Ljubicic, in his capacity as Minister of National Defense, began to exert pressure—the
whole thing was well-timed—convincing Tito to intervene personally.
After the match, the Serbian army...
Well-informed sources confirmed to me that General
Ljubicic holds the decisive power and that he would take matters into his own
hands if anything happens to Tito today or tomorrow.
Realistically speaking, in Yugoslavia, nothing can
be expected other than a military-communist dictatorship—clearly
Stalinist-oriented—once Tito's era ends, because any other alternative would
mean the disintegration of Yugoslavia.
According to the information I was able to obtain,
General Ljubicic will reestablish a strongman government with pliable men,
easily manipulated by him. This government will bring the worst that the people
of Yugoslavia can expect. Indeed, the Serbs don't care much for democracy and
freedom because they are interested in their hegemony. The secret police (UDBA)
will regain its former power, if it hasn't already.
In Croatia and Slovenia, many newspapers and
magazines have been banned, all the leaders of Croatian university
organizations and many students have been arrested. In short, terror hangs over
Croatia. People are afraid to speak out loud because a single word spoken with
good intentions could be interpreted as criticism of what is happening.
Furthermore, people are afraid that a Serbian
fanatic might stab or shoot them. People tell me that they could even lose
their lives on television if someone dared to defend Dr. Dabcevic-Kucar, for
example. The session of the Croatian Communist Party's Central Committee, in
which she submitted her resignation, was broadcast on television. Such was the
psychosis in Croatia at that time.
What, consequently, is the mood of the people in
Slovenia? I must admit that most, especially the educated segment, immediately
realized what was happening when the UDBA's Great Serbian propaganda machine
set things up to get Slovenes to enlist in the persecution of Croats. Their
main argument was that the Croatian leadership of the Party had allied itself
with the Russians and had planned to hand Rijeka over to the Hungarians. Every
Serb living in Slovenia spread this propaganda.
The Democratization of the Yugoslav Regime Is a
Myth
Today, there is no doubt among the public, both in
Yugoslavia and internationally, that the slogans about democracy in Yugoslavia
are simply a myth. Indeed, communist states, like the Soviet Union, have more
decisively abandoned Stalinist methods since Stalin's death than Yugoslavia.
In Soviet Russia, many trials and convictions were
reviewed in the post-Stalinist period, while in Yugoslavia, until now, there
has not been a single one, with the exception of the last month, when charges
were dropped or some of its supporters were released (L. Mrzel, who has since
died, V. Kopac, and a few others). The true nature of Tito's regime and how
easily it relapses into old "administrative" methods can now be seen
in his "decapitation" of the Croatian party leadership. In my
opinion, the dictator, an old man of almost 80, committed a grave political
error with this action.
The Humiliation of the Croatian People
Tito has humiliated and punished the Croatian
people in an absolutely undeserved way and demonstrated that the Yugoslav
regime in Croatia is, in reality, an occupation regime. Indeed, when the
Russians occupied Czechoslovakia, they behaved with more consideration and did
not arrest the students, nor did they eliminate all of their leaders.
I doubt that this oppression will stifle the
liberation and progressive movement in Croatia; rather, it will build enormous
political tension that will easily erupt in bloody rebellions and a settling of
scores with the Serbs. All of this, of course, plays right into the hands of
the Ustaše, serving as proof that nothing can be achieved from Belgrade with an
internal, legal, and democratic opposition.
And the Slovenes?
I have the impression that we Slovenes are
paralyzed by these events, without organizing a single meeting or assembly to
deliberate on what we should do. It seems we're going to wait passively until
the Serbs and Croats resolve their conflict before we push our own frying pan
into the fire.
What good is it if we Slovenes now have a large
number of isolated groups scattered across every continent, when we should have
a strong global liberation movement? I don't see clearly what prevents us from
coming together and giving impetus to a broader movement. Isn't it perhaps that
our personal qualities prevent us from recognizing the importance of others? Or
is it that we nurture the hope of playing an individual role in Slovenian
liberation? Or, finally, perhaps, is it the persistence of our own political
ideology or worldview?
We have already paid bitterly twice for Yugoslavia,
and yet we dream of a third time, according to the old adage, in the name of
linguistic affinity, fraternity, unity, a common economy or common market,
defense, and so on, even though we have already experienced all of this
firsthand. I have the firm impression that we, as a people, have had our
backbone broken and that we walk with a limp. I don't see clearly when this
happened—perhaps back in the Middle Ages, perhaps during the intoxication of
Pan-Slavism, or in 1918, or perhaps after the massacres of 1945. Whatever the
reason, it is a fact that we behave as if we were mentally impaired and that we
don't know what we are doing or enjoying in our own humiliation.
University Youth
I must admit that I was truly surprised when I was
told how heroically the leaders of the Croatian university youth behaved during
the well-known events. In every meeting, they emphasized that they knew full
well what kind of fate awaited them and that they were prepared for anything in
defense of the honor, pride, and rights of the Croatian people.
Slovenian university students, on the other hand,
behaved inexpressively and actually sided with Belgrade, convinced that their
stance was "progressive" and that the struggle for national rights
was "reactionary," "counter-revolutionary," and
"anti-socialist." Some say the regime was fortunate to have made a
large part of Slovenian youth nationally unaware, Yugoslav- or internationally
oriented, and extremely opportunistic. That segment of the youth with a
religious conscience, even though they feel Slovenian, is not interested in
political problems, but only in the internal issues of the Catholic Church and
its social role, etc.
Given all this, we cannot say that they lack the
necessary information and education, because foreign literature circulates
abundantly in Slovenia, readily available to anyone with an interest.
The Corrupting Regime
We on the outside were wrong to underestimate the
regime's propaganda machine. If the Germans were what they were in the period
of 1934-1945, it was due to the regime's Hitlerian propaganda.
In Slovenia, especially after 1945, the older
generation resisted, hoping for a swift change; they were opportunistic,
choosing the lesser evil, fearing a return to Stalinism, while the younger
generation, for the most part, succumbed to the regime's ideology. Not to become
communists, but rather they were imbued with the idea that everything national
was retrograde, and everything of the regime was progressive. Sometimes I think
Jurcec (a Slovenian journalist, publicist, and writer in Argentina, editor of
the well-written bi-weekly "Sij Slovenske Slobode" - note obs.) is
wrong when he says that the Slovenian people are the same as they were in 1935
or 1944. No, they are different, a changed people (even individually). I feel
that Slovenians here in Europe are alien, foreign. They are cold, calculating
about material possessions, even Balkan in their way of speaking.
Are we Slovenians abroad to blame?
Clearly, it is our fault because we offer them no
alternative, selfishly playing at being "leaders" without caring
about the people of our homeland, and without ideas, looking only at ourselves.
In my opinion, we, as a people, are disintegrating precisely because of this,
because we haven't developed our national and state identity. We are the first
generation of Slovenians abroad who could easily develop it. And what are we
doing? Each person cultivates their own little idea, fighting with everyone,
refusing to collaborate with others, offering only their own version. All of
this seems childish. We are immature both politically and as human beings. I
believe that today there isn't a single Slovenian prepared to risk even 24
hours of police arrest.
Believe me, I'm not accusing Slovenians as such,
because in the last war we proved our courage and sacrifice, but rather I'm
accusing the regime. The rot has invaded the entire state, especially our
people, who were politically the most innocent and inexperienced, and therefore
the least resilient. Everything tells us that the rot of the regime is
spreading to the people, and that rotten regimes are like a cancer in the body
of the people. It's clear that they can liquidate these peoples, disintegrate
them, and drain them of their strength and faith in themselves, whether forever
or for a time.
Action and sacrifices are necessary.
You might say I'm pessimistic, but that's not
entirely accurate. On the contrary, I am convinced that a solution exists, but
to achieve it, we must all contribute. First and foremost, we need to unite
abroad, abandon the game of parties and movements, and draft a "magna
carta" for Slovenian politics in the future, with a few but clear points.
I think we are lagging behind, and it is my feeling
that we are approaching a new national catastrophe if we do not prepare in
time. Who will take charge of the affairs of the people if we don't? Those few
in the homeland who feel concern about this are isolated; they don't even dare
to speak about the matter, much less organize. Some honest members of the Party
are blocked, shackled by their collaboration within the party apparatus, which
could render them useless at any moment, as happened in Croatia. That is why it
falls to us. I am convinced that from here a healthy, life-giving force will
begin to emerge, just as, conversely, the moral decay is now flowing from the
center of Belgrade and Ljubljana.
(Translated from Slovenian by F. Nevistic)
Solidarity of Croatians in Chile with the national
movement in Croatia
Events Recorded by the Chilean Press in 1903 on the
Occasion of the 73rd Anniversary of Franz Joseph I of Habsburg
Prvislav Weissenberger
A Panoramic View from the "Center of the
World"
Chile, a country of "local geography"
[23], offers, in several aspects, valuable material for the study of
international relations.
In what follows, special attention is paid to the
press as a source of information. Due to the disproportionate extent of the
national territory along the Pacific, the Chilean press, which has a
distinguished tradition among that of the American subcontinent [24], is
precisely where one finds an answer to the challenge of the isolation complexes
created by the distance from the centers of economic development and cultural
advancement. To paraphrase the declaration of the visionary Chilean economist
Manuel de Salas, made on the eve of Independence,[25] that "by opening our
ports to trade with all nations, we can consider ourselves located at the
center of the world," the same criterion could be applied to the Chilean
press: by connecting with sources of communication—in a more advanced era,
primarily through international cables—we will be well informed of all global
events, even if located in the farthest corner of the earth.
The Chilean press meticulously recorded the main
international events of 1903. Relations with the Republic of Argentina, after
His Britannic Majesty's successful arbitration in the border dispute (Beagle
Channel), entered a phase of fruitful mutual collaboration and naturally
occupied first place in public interest, culminating in the celebrations of the
inauguration of the Christ the Redeemer statue on the highest peak of the
Andean pass (March 1904). Following in importance are the still-unresolved
issues with the other two neighbors: Bolivia (a definitive peace treaty) and
Peru (the future of Tacna and Arica). The traditional friendship with Brazil,
which, along with Argentina, forms the core of integration in various fields,
frequently dominates newspaper columns (ABC States). Tensions within the United
States over the Isthmus of Panama, as well as the situations in Venezuela,
Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, concern public opinion, which is interested in
upholding the principle of solidarity among the American states.
According to the press, the plight of the
persecuted Boers greatly affects Chileans, who view with great sympathy the
plans for a possible colonization of the south of the country by such valuable
individuals who could well compensate for the lack of selective immigration.
The unrest in the Far East, where the advance of
Russian shipbuilding clashed with growing Japanese misgivings, soon to erupt
into armed conflict, was directly linked to public debates about the
advisability of selling two Chilean battleships, still under construction in
British shipyards, to Japan. Following the agreement with Argentina regarding
the reciprocal reduction of naval armaments, the recent acquisitions could be
dispensed with, allowing the funds from the sale to be used for urgent public
works projects.
The death of the elderly and aristocratic Pope Leo
XIII and the election of the new Pontiff, Pius X, of humble origins, provided
the press with ample opportunity for commentary, including on Church-State
relations. But it was above all an unusual incident that resonated even abroad:
the funeral oration in the Metropolitan Temple of Santiago by a loquacious
priest, who did not hesitate to launch invectives against the great European
powers, thus provoking understandable protests from the resident diplomatic
corps.
Chilean Interest in the Balkans
The unrest in the Balkans, a nerve center
("the powder keg") where the interests of the great European powers
intersected, was taking on the character of a prelude to a world conflict. The
publicity surrounding the Balkan events aroused great interest among Chileans
in general, but especially in the nitrate-producing region, where, moreover,
there were pockets of Croatian immigrants.[26] The Christian uprising against
the Turkish yoke in Macedonia was already revealing cracks in the system
created for the Balkans at the Congress of Berlin (1878).
Bulgaria supported the claims of its citizens in
Macedonia; Serbia could not remain indifferent to what was happening in that
melting pot of races, even more so after the regicide in Belgrade on June 11,
1903, which brought an end to the Obrenovic dynasty, labeled as
pro-Austrophile. The bloody events in Serbia, due to the horror of the
procedures, had shocked the entire civilized world. The sudden rise of
conspiratorial military circles—whose influence was evident under the new
Karageorgevich dynasty—with their Russophile leanings, aroused considerable
concern in Chile, perhaps more than one might suppose given its distance from
the scene of these events.
Austria-Hungary, the "monarchy on a temporary
basis," periodically forced to extend the 1867 Agreement, entered a
critical phase in 1903, in view of the tenacious resistance of the Hungarian
opposition to the extension of the conscription law and the budget for common
expenses (army and navy, foreign relations, and joint finances). The
Independence Party (Kossuth or the Party of 1848), supported by other
opposition groups, demanded the Magyarization of the army recruited in Hungary
as a precondition for approving the Hungarian conscription quota, already quite
low given the essential need to increase armaments in line with the other
powers.[27]
The Magyar threat touched upon the foundations of
the Austro-Hungarian Agreement (Ausgleich) of 1867, by which the Habsburg
Empire consented to the partition of the Danubian Monarchy into two states in
order to preserve the unity of the army and foreign policy, two pillars of
support for the dynasty in its desire to avoid diminishing its own prestige or
that of the Monarchy in the European arena.
The corollary to the struggle between Austria and
Hungary is presented by Croatia (*), which, for its part, waged fierce
opposition to the policies of the Hungarian government, which abused its
position of power in open contravention of the explicit stipulations of the
Hungarian-Croatian Agreement (Nagodba) of 1868. Demonstrations in Croatia and
Dalmatia against Hungary, repressed with excessive violence, reached alarming
proportions. When Croatian deputies from Dalmatia and Istria, in an act of
national solidarity, appealed to the Emperor in Vienna for intervention, and
did not find the desired support from the monarch, they turned to world public
opinion in a fervent appeal.[28] This measure, taken in a moment of
desperation, had its effect and would resonate in the long term, contributing to
the realization of Croatian policy and its distancing from the Habsburg
dynasty.
The Reaction of the Croats in Chile
The Croats in Chile, mostly Austrian subjects from
Dalmatia and Istria, and a smaller group from the Croatian Littoral south of
Rijeka, who together constitute almost the entirety of the
"Austro-Hungarians" in Chile[29], reacted spontaneously and
vigorously in favor of their oppressed homeland, their aspirations supported
with evident benevolence by most of the Chilean press.
Therefore, the memorable date of August 18, 1903,
the 73rd anniversary of the birth of His Majesty Franz Joseph I, offers,
through the Chilean press, clear evidence of the unbridled Croatian reaction.
Since there was no press censorship in Chile, both the official diplomatic
policy and the outpouring of sincere feelings of the Croatians, in an act of
solidarity with their distant homeland, found their appropriate expression in
the press and contributed to clarifying the events of that crucial year.}
Given that more than a century has passed since the
Hungarian-Croatian Agreement (1868), the consequences of its distorted
application can be described as disastrous from a historical perspective. At
the same time, considering what happened in Chile—where, perhaps more than anywhere
else abroad due to a confluence of several favorable factors—the strong
reaction of Croatian immigrants influenced even Croatian-Dalmatian politicians.
These politicians, encouraged by their compatriots in distant lands, would
later take the initiative to redirect national demands, aiming for complete
independence from Vienna and Budapest.
Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Chile
and Austria
In 1903, diplomatic relations were established
between Chile and Austria-Hungary.[30] The first Minister Plenipotentiary and
Envoy Extraordinary of Austria-Hungary, Count Leonardo Starzenski, accredited
to the Chilean government and residing permanently in Santiago, presented his
credentials to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Chile, Germán
Riesco (1901-1906), on March 16, 1903. In his address on that occasion, Count
Starzenski emphasized that "the keen interest with which the Emperor and
King, my august sovereign, follows the development and constant progress
manifested in the Republic of Chile, has determined His Majesty to establish an
Imperial and Royal Legation with this residence."[31]
This is, of course, not a conventional statement,
since Chile experienced undeniable progress in the decades after incorporating
the provinces of Antofagasta and Tarapacá into its sovereignty (1879),
managing, based on increasing production, to control the international nitrate
market. The population rose from 2,527,041 in 1885 to 3,249,279 in 1907 [32],
and at the same time, the number of foreigners in Chile grew from 87,077 to
134,524, demonstrating the attraction that the booming Chilean economy exerted
abroad. [33] The province of Antofagasta (departments of Antofagasta,
Tocapilla, and Taltal), where the largest number of "Austrians" in
the North were recorded [34], had a total of 16,549 inhabitants in 1885. The
population rose in the following decade to 21,678, before experiencing a rapid
increase, reaching 69,978 inhabitants in 1907. The population of the city of
Antofagasta rose from 7,588 in 1885 to 32,496 in 1907.
The province of Tarapacá (departments of Tarapacá
and Pisagua) had 45,086 inhabitants in 1885, 89,751 in 1895, and 110,036 in
1907, which gives an idea of the development of this province (Iquique, the
capital of Tarapacá, had 40,171 inhabitants in 1907).
The population of the Territory of Magallanes, in
the far south, although it had progressed in the previous decade, reached only
the modest figure of 2,085 inhabitants in 1885, but rose to 5,170 in 1895, and
according to the census 12 years later, this number more than tripled to 17,330
in 1907.
Immigrants from Austria-Hungary in 1885 represented
less than one-tenth of the German population in Chile, that is, 674 (6,808
Germans, 4,114 Italians), but by 10 years later, in 1895, they numbered 1,550
(7,560 Germans, 7,797 Italians), and according to the 1907 census, they had
risen to 3,813.
In 1907, the province of Antofagasta had a total of
890 Austrians (766 men and 124 women), while the province of Tarapacá had 415
(355 men and 49 women).
Among the total urban population of the Territory
of Magallanes In Punta Arenas, out of a population of 12,199 in 1907, there
were 4,354 foreigners, of whom 1,217 were Austrians (817 men and 400 women),
making them the largest group of foreigners, followed by 846 Spaniards, 610
British, 317 Italians, 271 Germans, etc. Among the rural population, there were
544 Austrians (467 men and 77 women), bringing the total to 1,761 Austrians out
of 6,499 foreigners in the Magallanes Territory. Among the rural population,
Austrians were almost as numerous as British (574) and Spanish (551).
In Valparaíso and Santiago, the most populated
provinces, data for 1907 record 218 and 207 subjects of the Danubian Monarchy,
respectively, and it is likely that this increase occurred after 1900-1903, since,
according to news reports from 1900, the first Austro-Hungarian Mutual Aid
Society in Valparaíso was formed by 38 Austro-Hungarian gentlemen, mostly with
Croatian surnames.[35]
In the capital, Santiago, when the Austro-Hungarian
community gathered at the train station to welcome the Minister, Count
Starzenski, the following gentlemen were mentioned in the newspapers: Rodolfo
von Braun, Catone Nicoreanu, Rosenfeld, Wahlrath, Schmoelzer, Isakiewicz, etc.,
but not one with a Croatian surname appeared among them, so it is likely that
the community in the capital was quite small at that time.[36]
In the provinces of Valdivia and Llanquihue,
agricultural and forestry regions primarily dedicated to German colonization,
the 1907 Census includes 75 Austro-Hungarians (57 men and 18 women) and 62 (28
men and 34 women), respectively. However, diplomatic reports, to the extent
that they are accessible, never mention these Austro-Germans from Silesia, who,
along with groups of Germans from the Reich, were attracted to Chile through
Chilean immigration agents in Hamburg as part of a repeated colonization plan
in the southern regions during the years 1871-1872. They traveled without
passports or with a collective passport, and, being German citizens, sought
assistance from the consular offices of the German Reich when necessary.
A lasting trace of these Austrians is found in the
name of the village of Neu Braunau, as they came from Braunau and its
surroundings (perhaps even beyond the border), in Austrian Silesia, which
should not be confused with Braunau in Upper Austria, the birthplace of Adolf
Hitler.
The inauguration of the Austrian Legation residence
– 73rd birthday of Emperor Franz Joseph
The first Austrian-Hungarian Minister accredited to
Chile had the same assignment for Bolivia and Peru, but due to several
epidemics in the Pacific ports (bubonic plague, smallpox, etc.) and the
quarantines applied in each case, he had to postpone his trip north until
October, thus not having the opportunity to establish personal contact
beforehand with the Austrian communities in Antofagasta, Iquique, and Taltal.
His activity, therefore, was limited to the gradual organization of the
diplomatic and consular service, thereby fulfilling the repeated requests of
the communities. In accordance with diplomatic custom, the national holiday,
the 73rd anniversary of the Emperor and King's birth, offered a fitting
opportunity to publicly inaugurate the Legation residence, hosting a reception
for authorities, the Diplomatic Corps, and members of the public.
The afternoon newspaper, Las Últimas Noticias of El
Mercurio, in its social column, announced on August 12, 1903, that "on the
occasion of the anniversary of the birth of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria
on the 18th of this month, the Envoy Extraordinary of that country to ours,
Count Starzenski, and his distinguished wife (**), will receive the Diplomatic
Corps and their numerous associates at a grand reception that evening. The
celebration will be a ball, and distinguished personalities from our political
and social circles will be in attendance."
These news items and those of the following days on
the same subject are communicated by telegram to the editorial offices of
newspapers in the provinces, and appear, in summary, in the newspapers of
Valparaíso, Punta Arenas, Antofagasta, Iquique and even in Taltal.
The same evening paper, on August 17, corrected the
previous report, emphasizing "that the reception for the Messrs.
Starzenski will not be entirely what we call a ball, but rather what the
English call an at-home reception," and the following day the news
appeared: "A grand banquet will take place tonight at the Austro-Hungarian
Legation," announcing the guests, among them His Excellency the President
of the Republic and the Ministers of the Interior and Foreign Affairs.
The newspaper with the largest circulation in the
entire country, El Mercurio of Santiago, published, on August 18, an editorial
entitled "The Birth of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary - Memories of His
Life," which offers an example of a well-documented report, as well as a
sound judgment, unmistakable characteristics of that journalistic writing style
throughout the decades.[37] It is likely that the following article was
preceded by an interview with the Austro-Hungarian diplomat, who was keen for
his compatriots to understand the importance of the national holiday. The
account reflects a conciliatory spirit, aiming to familiarize the reader, as
much as possible, with the "Austrian idea" rooted primarily in the
dynasty. In Count Starzenski's subsequent statements, as well as in the
officially sanctioned news items that would appear in the North, there is an
affinity with the commemorative editorial:
"His Majesty Franz Joseph I, Emperor of
Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, whose birthday is celebrated today, was
born on August 18, 1830, and is the eldest son of Archduke Franz Karl, second
son of Emperor Franz I. His mother was Archduchess Sophie, daughter of
Maximilian I, King of Bavaria.
"In 1835, Emperor Ferdinand ascended the
throne, a man who was neither physically nor morally capable of fulfilling that
role." In 1848, Ferdinand abdicated, and the throne passed to his brother,
Franz Charles, who renounced it in favor of his son, Franz Joseph. Ferdinand
lived for many more years and died in 1875.
"The early years of Franz Joseph's reign were
marked by the disturbances common to almost all European states at that time.
The unrest in Hungary, partly provoked by the vigorous policies of the Prince
of Schwarzenberg, presented serious difficulties for the young monarch.
"In 1853, a Hungarian named Libény attempted
to assassinate the Emperor and seriously wounded him with a dagger."
Subsequently, Franz Joseph's reign has been more
successful, and it can be said of him that he is one of the few constitutional
monarchs who have retained effective authority and real influence. He has held
in his hands not only the appointment of ministers but also the direction of
policy. He possesses great business acumen, extraordinary energy, and clarity
of understanding.
"Although respectful of the parliamentary
system, he has never ceased to be the true director of his countries'
international, financial, and administrative policy.
"The war with Prussia in 1866, so disastrous
for Austria, was known to have been resisted by the Emperor as far as his
country's honor allowed.
"To his talent is owed the position that
Austria occupies today in the European balance of power, allied with Germany
and Italy.
"In his private life, Franz Joseph has been
the victim of terrible tragedies.
"His brother Maximilian, hero of the imperial
adventure in Mexico, was executed by firing squad in Querétaro.
His eldest son, Archduke Rudolf, was caught up in
the horrific Mayerling tragedy. To this day, it remains a mystery how Prince
Rudolf and the beautiful Baroness Vetzchera, whom he loved, died."
"The illustrious Empress Elisabeth, a woman of
exceptional talent and beauty, was miserably murdered in Geneva by an
anarchist.
"The widow of Archduke Rudolf, Stephanie,
married Count Lonyaj in 1900, sacrificing her rank and position, much to the
displeasure of the elderly Emperor.
"Another member of the family, Archduke Joseph
Salvator, fled the Austrian court in 1887 and, under the name John Orth, took
command of a sailing ship. His fate remains unknown. The most widely accepted
theory in Vienna is that he was shipwrecked off Cape Horn on a voyage from
Buenos Aires to Valparaíso in 1896.
""In the midst of these misfortunes, the
illustrious old man has managed to maintain his composure and continue to
govern his people wisely. He is today one of the most beloved sovereigns among
his subjects; In Austria and Hungary, his virtues and talent are recognized.
"Franz Joseph turns 73 today. He is the oldest
European monarch after the King of Denmark. He has a vigorous constitution and
leads a methodical and active life, which allows the Austro-Hungarian Empire to
hope that his reign will continue for many more years.
"In celebrating the anniversary of his birth,
we offer our most fervent wishes for the Emperor's personal happiness and the
prosperity of the peoples that comprise his Empire.
"For the first time, Franz Joseph is
represented in Chile by an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary;
and his choice of such a distinguished diplomat as Count Starzenski for this
post proves his desire to establish a solid foundation for the friendly
relations between the powerful Empire and our Republic."
" Santiago's oldest newspaper, El Ferrocarril,
founded in 1855, included in its daily notes the "Name Day of a
Sovereign," briefly presenting biographical information about Franz Joseph
and highlighting that "his reign, now 55 years long, is one of the longest
in history." In the "social life" section, it noted, more
precisely than the others, that "at 9:30 p.m. a gathering will take place
at the Legation, to which the Diplomatic Corps and the Minister's associates
have been invited."
The Railway, with its excellent network of
correspondents in the provinces, beat other newspapers in the capital to the
punch by publishing, on the 18th, a telegram from Iquique, sent on the 17th.
The news, no doubt, must have caused the first unpleasant surprise for the
Austro-Hungarian Minister, as it revealed nothing less than that "Croatian
merchants will close tomorrow, displaying the following sign: 'Out of patriotic
mourning,' in protest against Franz Joseph's attitude in Croatian
affairs."
The surprise must have been no less for the
attentive readers of The Railway, who were following the latest chapters of the
eventful story of "Maria Theresa in Hungary" by the Count of Locmaria
(translated by The Railway) on the literary page, as it extolled the Croatian
troops who distinguished themselves by their valor and loyalty to the throne.
It was the Croatian Sabor (Parliament) that, in 1712, prior to and
independently of Hungary, accepted the Pragmatic Sanction, advocated by the
last male Habsburg, father of Maria Theresa, which established the succession
to the throne in the event of the extinction of the male line, thus ensuring
his daughter's inheritance.[38]
The radical newspaper, La Lei, founded in 1894, as
well as the mouthpiece of the conservative party, El Diario Ilustrado, carried
no news on August 18 regarding Franz Joseph's name day. These partisan
newspapers focused their attention on the Cabinet's resignation, presented the
previous afternoon.
El Diario Ilustrado, por su parte, parece haberse percatado de The
omission, since the following day, the 19th, after inserting the photographs of
the six resigning ministers on the front page, "The Departing
Ministry" [39], published a recent portrait of Franz Joseph I, in the
flamboyant attire of a Hungarian magnate, highlighting in the brief text, in
addition to the Christian virtues of the honoree, the sad family history of the
Habsburgs, which aroused both the interest and the compassion of the Chilean
public:
"Impossible to know! Perhaps some future
historian will manage to uncover the cause in some antiquated tome. Our
children will learn it from us."
"It's impossible to know! Perhaps some future
historian will manage to find the cause in some antiquated tome. Our children
will learn it from us." "The Austrian community celebrated yesterday
the birthday of its Emperor, who was born on August 18, 1830, and who, despite
his age, is one of the kings who promises the longest life. Throughout his
life, tragic events have tested his resignation and Christian piety. His
brother was the unfortunate Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico; his wife, Isabel, was
vilely murdered in September 1898.[40]
"Franz Joseph is distinguished by the nobility
of his character and his charity. Numerous stories are told about him, as
edifying for the kindness they inspire as for the courage and magnanimity that
they reveal."
He is the sovereign who carries with him the love
and respect of his people.
"We greet his representative in Chile, Mr.
Starzenski."
Regarding the commemorative events, the extensive
report in El Mercurio on August 19th offers all the details in accordance with
protocol and the tastes of the time. These details are of considerable
interest, given that it was the first official reception and because of the
contrast with the atmosphere in which the subjects of the Dual Monarchy, for
the most part, commemorated the same date.
"The celebrations at the Austro-Hungarian
Legation commemorating the 73rd anniversary of the birth of His Majesty Franz
Joseph took place yesterday as we had announced and with the most brilliant
success."
"The festivities at the Austro-Hungarian
Legation commemorating the 73rd anniversary of the birth of His Majesty Franz
Joseph were held yesterday as we had announced and with the most brilliant
success." "In the afternoon, the Minister received a visit from the
Belgian Chargé d'Affaires, Mr. J. van der Heyden, and his secretary, along with
most of the Austrian subjects and the entire Hungarian community residing in
Santiago.
"That evening, the banquet we announced in
yesterday's afternoon edition took place.
"The elegant dining room of the house occupied
by the Counts of Starzenski was superbly adorned with the most beautiful
flowers of the season. Crystal vases and rich silver pieces displayed a
profusion of white and purple violets. Above the large wooden fireplace at the
head of the room, hung a portrait of Emperor and King Franz Joseph.
"In addition to the hosts, the following
people were seated at the table:"
"His Excellency the President of the Republic,
Mr. Germán Riesco and his wife, Mr. Rafael Sotomayor and his wife, Mr. Máximo
del Campo [41] and his wife, Mr. Agustín Baeza E. and his wife, Mr. Manuel
Recabarren [42] and his wife, His Excellency Pietro Monti, Dean of the
Diplomatic Corps and Secretary; General José Manuel Ortúzar, General Jorge
Boonen Rivera; Count Trauttmansdorff, Secretary of the Legation [43] and Mr.
Rodolfo von Braun. [44]
"After dessert, Count Starzenski offered a
warm remembrance of his Sovereign, inviting those present to drink to his
health.
After the banquet, the halls began to fill with a
distinguished gathering who had come to greet the Austrian Minister and his
wife.
"The various rooms presented a most beautiful
appearance, decorated with enormous bouquets of violets and rushes arranged in
artistic planters. The rich furnishings, the works of art, and the overall
layout of the halls, arranged with the utmost taste, were striking. We must
make special mention of the valuable collection of old stone and wood
engravings owned by the Starzenski family, which is perhaps unique of its kind
in Chile.
"Although it was not strictly a ball, but a
reception in the customary European style, some couples took advantage of the
waltzes played by a splendid orchestra during the intermissions of some concert
pieces.
""The ladies' attire was exquisite. Many
of the dresses clearly bore the mark of great Parisian designers. The hand of
Doucet, Paquia, and Redfern had been present."
"It was after 2 a.m. when the guests were
taking their leave of the hosts, delighted by the refined and tasteful manners
of the party held by our diplomatic and official circles."[45]
Disturbances in Croatia and Antofagasta
On the same day, in the afternoon edition of the
newspaper Las Últimas Noticias, published by El Mercurio, a telegram appeared
under the headline "Hostile Demonstrations in Croatia." The telegram,
sent from Vienna on the same date, stated:
"The celebration of the anniversary of the
birth of Emperor and King Franz Joseph, held yesterday, has caused great
disturbances in Croatia.
"Numerous protest meetings were organized;
these gatherings ended in veritable popular riots.
"There were clashes between the demonstrators
in several locations.
"The authorities were unable to prevent these
disturbances.
"These clashes resulted in five deaths and
twenty injuries."
The
following day, August 20, that newspaper published a telegram from Antofagasta,
"Disagreements between Austrians and Slavs," sent on the 19th, which
briefly reported what had happened in the northern port: "Yesterday, the
provincial governor, on orders from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, ordered
the lowering of the Slavic flag, which was flying at half-mast and draped in
mourning at the building occupied by the Slavic community. It had been raised
as a sign of protest against the events in Croatia.
"This action by the authorities has caused
some unrest in Slavic circles and led to some disputes between Juan Balarin, an
Austrian, and Mateo Vlahovic, a Slav; the former wounded the latter with a
revolver bullet.
"It is believed that the disagreement between
Austrians and Slavs will not have any major consequences in this city."
On August 20, all the Santiago newspapers reported
that "the Minister of Austria-Hungary, Count Starzenski, visited the
Minister of Foreign Affairs yesterday to thank him for the visit made the day
before yesterday on behalf of the Supreme Government by the Undersecretary of
Foreign Affairs and the aide-de-camp of His Excellency on the occasion of the
birthday of His Majesty Franz Joseph I."
The Illustrated Daily, referring to the visit,
informed us that "while arrangements are being made to organize a new
Ministry, the outgoing Ministers continue to attend their offices and sign the
daily dispatches of their respective departments." The diplomatic visit
was perhaps due to the state of emergency created by the events in Antofagasta,
which, in the case of the young Vlahovic, would have a tragic outcome that
would be silenced in the country's press, with the exception of Antofagasta.
The Croatians in Valparaíso closed their
businesses.
In Valparaíso, the main port and center In the
commercial and financial district of Chile, where the resident Austro-Hungarian
community had its mutual aid society since 1900, the local press merely
informed its readers on August 18th that there would be a celebration at the
Austro-Hungarian Legation, located "on Miraflores Street at the northwest
corner of Huérfanos Street." El Mercurio de Valparaíso was surprising in
its brevity, making no mention of the respective immigrants and concluding its
commemorative chronicle in an official tone: "On this joyous day for
Austria-Hungary, fulfilling the pleasant duty of sending respectful greetings
to His Majesty King Franz Joseph I, and warmest regards to the First Envoy
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of those countries in Chile, His
Excellency Count Starzénski."
The following day, the 19th, a telegram from
Antofagasta appeared in El Mercurio de Valparaíso, under the title "The
Merchants "Croats," which states: "Croatian merchants in this
square closed their businesses today in protest against the recent events in
Croatia and the attitude taken towards them by Emperor Franz Joseph."
The Buenos Aires newspaper does not carry any
further news from Antofagasta in the following days, probably due to lack of space,
as the farewell celebrations in honor of the Minister of the Argentine
Republic, Mr. José Antonio Terry, who was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs
in the neighboring country, as well as the ministerial crisis, completely
absorbed the pages at that time.
Croats in the Northern Regions of Chile
The already suggested synchronic picture of events
in Antofagasta, Iquique, and Croatia, with victims occurring on the same day as
Franz Joseph's name day, requires a brief explanation regarding the special place
occupied by the Croatian community in the northern regions of Chile: the main
center of their activity is the city of Antofagasta, whose importance is
further highlighted by its connection with the interior and, across the Andes,
with another equally important community. The province of Oruro in Bolivia was
prosperous.
The province of Antofagasta is the most barren in
Chile, but it is rich in copper, silver, and borax minerals, and at that time,
the exploitation of saltpeter was particularly prominent, greatly boosting
industry and commerce. The Antofagasta-Oruro railway, built in 1889, spanning
922 kilometers, 441 of which are in Chilean territory, contributed to
Antofagasta also becoming the port for trade with southern Bolivia, where years
of remarkable prosperity were also recorded:
"In the period beginning in 1900, decisive
events occurred for the Bolivian economy. The possibilities opened up by the
construction of the first railway for the development of mining entered their
phase of realization. From that year onward, tin became the foundation of the
Bolivian economy, having replaced silver." The figures for its exports,
which in 1895 had been 3,749 tons, rose, in 1901, to 21,816 tons."[46]
For Croatian immigrants, Antofagasta is not only
the center of economic activity but also the heart of the national solidarity
movement with their homeland. This can be explained by several reasons. It is a
compact community, largely composed of immigrants from the islands of
Brač, Hvar, and Vis, opposite Split, the most important city in Dalmatia
and the center of the Croatian national movement, under the leadership of its
mayor, Dr. Ante Trumbic, a member of the Dalmatian Diet in Zadar and the
Parliament in Vienna. The inhabitants of those island towns and villages, which
were more like small cities with their reading circles, enjoyed a relatively
high level of culture compared to the inland Dalmatian coastal towns. This is
reflected among the Croatian immigrants in this region, where they occupy a
comfortable middle-class social position. In the department of Antofagasta,
according to the Seventh General Census of 1891, classified by profession,
among the 172 Austro-Hungarians, there were 111 merchants and 41 private
employees (in addition: 4 bricklayers, 2 blacksmiths, 2 engineers, 4 mechanics,
1 miner, 1 painter, etc.). This explains the reaction of this group, since the
middle class everywhere was the mainstay of the national and progressive
movement, and in the specific case of Chile, the immigrants held in mind the
ideals they believed they saw realized in Chile (government accountability to
Parliament, freedom of the press, possibilities for social advancement based on
merit, etc.), which coincided with the program of the Croatian Party of Law,
whose line they faithfully followed.
Another event of great importance is the appearance
in Antofagasta of a Croatian-language newspaper, Sloboda (Freedom), on March
19, 1902, as the organ of the Slavic community in Antofagasta. It was, at the
same time, the only newspaper of its kind in Latin America.[47]
"This newspaper is the first to see the light
of day," the editor states in his first article, written in Spanish,
"in this hospitable land, and as is evident from the title and the figure
featured prominently[48], it is the embodiment, in this case, of the freedom
that we Slavs desire."
"Its motto would be to achieve independence,
for which the Chileans fought in 1810, a great task that should appeal to all
those who have not renounced their true prerogatives as human beings."
"Its motto would be to obtain independence,
for which the Chileans fought in 1810, a great task that will surely appeal to
all those who have not renounced their true prerogatives as human beings."
In the final paragraphs, the inaugural message reiterates the missionary feat:
"And to serve the interests of our beloved homeland, of individuals and of
the community residing here, Sloboda is born, a humble sentinel who hopes never
to tire in the post he has voluntarily chosen."
At the end, in vibrant tones, Sloboda extends a
bridge to the land of the forefathers: "From here, from this remote corner
of the world, where the arts, science, commerce, and industry have found ample
room for their development; from here, where human rights have found an immense
sphere of action; from here, where there are no privileged castes nor odious
distinctions, Sloboda, the voice of the Slavs, sends to the homeland the
expressions of our feelings and the voice of trust and longing, which will be
like a beneficent dew upon the hearts of our brothers and sisters in our native
land."
Among the newspapers of Antofagasta, the afternoon
daily, El Comercio, founded in 1897, seems the most sympathetic to the Croatian
cause—not only because it devoted more space to it than might be expected,
given the exotic nature of the topic being discussed in a Chilean environment
with a strong cosmopolitan bent—but also because of its willingness to engage
in numerous debates in defense of the somewhat doctrinaire stance of the
Croatians.
On the eve of the anniversary, El Comercio
published in full on its editorial page the decision made at the assembly of
the Croatian Committee[49] on Sunday, August 16, 1903, as well as the speeches
delivered, two significant events that can be considered a genuine expression
of the sentiments that motivated the majority of Croatians in Chile.
Because of the specific conditions, the moment and
the way in which these declarations were formulated, they offer the researcher
of the Croatian national movement abroad a point of reference that facilitates
understanding the subsequent attitude towards the changes that Croatian policy
will undergo, at the initiative of the Dalmatian Croats, and which will result
in the Rijeka Resolution, on October 3, 1905, when Croatian policy breaks free
from its isolation and channels the course towards a "South Slavic" -
Balkan solution.
Under the headline: The Slavs - Their Meeting
Yesterday - Patriotic Agreements, the report from El Comercio continues:
For several days, local newspapers had been
publishing an announcement calling for a meeting of all Slavs residing in this
port.
"The meeting took place yesterday with a large
attendance of Slavs and some other people expressly invited.
"Mr. Juan Karstulovic, editor and owner of Sloboda,
in Croatian, declared the assembly formed, and introduced the Croatian
Committee, composed of Messrs. Esteban Bartucevic, Juan Ivanovic, Fernando
Kevesic, Cosme Giustinianovic, and himself, who formed the presiding committee.
He informed those present that the purpose of the meeting was to indicate and
determine how to express mourning for those who died in Croatia, victims of the
tyranny of the executioner Governor Carlos Khuen-Héderváry, Ban of Croatia,
Slavonia, and Dalmatia. "He proposed to the attendees the election of Mr.
E. Bartucevic as president of the assembly, which was unanimously accepted.
"Mr. Cosme Giustinianovic proposed Mr. Juan
Karstulovic as secretary, which was also unanimously approved.
"President Bartucevic stated the purpose of
the meeting, deploring what had happened in the homeland due to the
Austro-Hungarian government, and declared the meeting open, granting the floor.
Mr. Kevesic requested the floor and, in a brilliant speech, which we honor in
our columns today, masterfully and with ardent patriotic love painted a vivid
picture of the current situation in the Croatian provinces.
"We refer our readers to this fine speech,
which we reproduce below." "Then Mr. Karstulovic took the floor,
speaking in Croatian, explaining the dire conditions in which Croatia finds
itself under the despotic rule of Austria-Hungary. He briefly described the
history of the Croatian kingdom, which politically existed since 903, when the
Croatian nation created a king of its own blood, named Tomislav. The Croatian
kingdom lasted 200 years and ended with the death of the last Croatian king,
Peter Švacic, in 1102. From then on, the Croatians were dominated by the
Hungarians and Austrians.
According to the 1102 treaty between Hungary and
Croatia, the latter was to recognize the Hungarian king, Koloman, as the
Croatian king, but would remain free and independent in its own administration
and finances, only obligated to help pay common expenses, and in case of war,
to come to the aid of its ally, Hungary."
The treaty was renewed and approved in 1868, but
the Hungarian government has never respected it, instead treating the Croatian
kingdom as its absolute dominion.
It ruined it economically and politically, using
all kinds of barbarities, which the Croatian nation could no longer tolerate,
seeing its rights and the treaties of 1102-1868 trampled upon."
"It ruined it economically and politically,
using all kinds of barbarities, which the Croatian nation could no longer
tolerate, seeing its rights and the treaties of 1102-1868 trampled upon."
"In April of this year, he rose up against the tyrannical governor
Khuen-Héderváry, a blind follower of the Hungarian government and the Croatian
king, because millions were being stolen from Croatia and they dared to display
Hungarian emblems on Croatian soil.[50]
"Dear Count Pejacsevich: At the suggestion of
my Hungarian Minister President, I hereby appoint you Ban of the Kingdoms of
Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia." Below the king's signature appears the
signature of Dragutin grof Khuen-Héderváry; cf. Antun Radic, op. cit., Vol. V,
p. 188.
It is possible that the Croatian societies in
Antofagasta or Iquique, upon receiving the manifesto of the Dalmatian and
Istrian deputies addressed to world public opinion and the respective
commentaries that appeared in the European press—such as, for example, the
article in La Sera of Milan—may have They had decided beforehand to concentrate
their protests against Franz Joseph on his birthday, but afterwards avoided
referring to the changes that had temporarily occurred in order not to weaken
their arguments, which were based on the recent bloody events.
It must also be taken into consideration that the
Croatians in Chile had reason to believe that the king, by entrusting the government
of Hungary to an individual held responsible for Croatia's misfortunes over the
past 20 years, since 1883, and reiterating his confidence in him, was aligning
himself with the policies of the former ban. They saw this as a bad omen for
Croatia's future under the Crown of Saint Stephen.
"The government, or rather the blindly
obedient Ban, spilled so much blood to sustain the criminal abuses perpetrated
by the Hungarian government, which was the reason for this meeting."
"The government, or rather the blindly
obedient Ban, spilled so much blood to sustain the criminal abuses perpetrated
by the Hungarian government, and that was the reason for this meeting."
Mr. Karstulovic concluded, to warm applause, as had Mr. Kevesic, by proposing
to the assembly the following protest:
"Whereas the provinces of Croatia and
Slavonia, which form part of the Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia,
are in a deplorable economic, commercial, and financial state due to abuses of
law and of social and humanitarian principles;
"Whereas the crime committed by the Governor
of Croatia, Ban of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia, by causing bloodshed,
imprisoning men, children, ladies, and young women, newspaper editors, and
priests, ordering gendarmes, police, and regular troops to fire on the crowd,
and also hanging two fathers whose wives were driven mad with grief;
"Considering that this tyrannical measure largely provoked revolution in
said provinces, and all this with the approval of the tyrannical
Austro-Hungarian Government, it expresses its sentiment of protest as follows:
"1. - Protest against the Government of
Hungary for not having respected the treaty of 1102 between the Croatian and
Hungarian kingdoms, confirmed in 1868;
"2. - Protest against the Hungarian Government
for having sought the impoverishment of Croatia and Slavonia, usurping millions
of crowns by investing these funds in favor of the Hungarian kingdom;
"3. - Protest against the Hungarian Government
for having published a map in which the existence of said two Croatian
provinces is not shown, instead including them as part of Hungarian
territory;"
"4. - Protest against the Government and Ban
of Croatia for not having permitted, through illegal means, abuses, and force,
the formation of popular assemblies, whose sole purpose would be to defend,
through protests, the sacred rights of the nation, to demand that the laws be
observed and not abused;
"5. - Protest against the Hungarian Government
for being responsible for the colossal Croatian emigration, as the poor worker
cannot find his sustenance in his homeland, once so rich and prosperous;
"6. - Protest against the Government of
Austria-Hungary, which authorized and approved the orders issued by the dutiful
executioner Ban of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia, for the militia, police,
and gendarmes to use weapons so cruelly, killing and wounding innocents, as
well as for having unjustly and barbarically used the gallows;
"7. - Protest against the Government of
Austria-Hungary for the abusive and forced introduction of the Hungarian and
German languages in the Croatian and Slavic provinces;
8. - Protest against the Austro-Hungarian
Government for the abuse of violating private letters and homes, and for
suspending the delivery of private telegrams and telegrams of national
interest;
9. - Protest against the Government of
Austria-Hungary for failing to respect freedom of the press;
10. - Protest against the Government of
Austria-Hungary for the violations of rights in the elections for deputies and
municipal officials, forcing state officials to vote for candidates who would
be blind instruments of the government, to the serious detriment of the nation;
"11. - Protest against the Minister-President
of Austria, Koerber, for having cooperated in preventing the Emperor of Austria
and King of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia from receiving in audience the
deputies who had unanimously traveled to Vienna to implore his mediation to
prevent the shedding of so much blood of a people so loyal and staunch
defenders of the House of Habsburg, and to ensure that the law is respected by
the aforementioned Emperor.
"After the preceding resolutions were approved
by acclamation, Messrs. Cosme Giustinianovic, Francisco Petrinovic (**), and
the representative of this newspaper addressed the assembly.
Then, President Bartucevic urged his compatriots to
contribute an offering to aid the widows and children of the victims of the
tyrannical Emperor of Austria's deeds.
Furthermore, it was agreed to close all Croatian
offices and businesses tomorrow and to fly the flag at half-mast at the Slavic
society for eight days.
"As the meeting adjourned, there were frenzied
cheers for the distant homeland and its independence.
"As republicans and children of a free
people," El Comercio commented at the end of its report on the Croatian
assembly, "we cannot help but wholeheartedly applaud the attitude of the
industrious and distinguished Slavic community."
The Speech of F. Kevesic
From the lengthy speech of Mr. Fernando Kevesic,
published in El Comercio, it is appropriate to highlight a few sections that
complement the previous statements:
"Those of us who have lived in this land for
many years have learned to enjoy the broadest freedom that any European nation
can grant or has ever granted: a free press, freedom of thought without
hindrance, and we owe no one forced genuflections, except those that courtesy
compels us to make.
"In our land, the press must remain silent
about everything that is inconvenient for the government; criticism of its
actions is not permitted; freedom of thought is unknown, for woe to him who
dares to express himself in terms that are not laudatory of the actions of his
rulers; Our steps are spied on; in short, we are not even masters of our own
land, not even to look upon it, without the will and permission of our
"benevolent" authorities, who, fortunately, have granted us voluntary
ostracism."
Turning to the economic problems, those that have
provoked discontent due to the governments' neglect in investing in Croatian
lands, the speaker emphasizes them:
"We know full well, compatriots, that to our
Christian and protective Austro-Hungarian government we owe only the miseries
suffered by our families in the Slavic provinces. The inhabitants of these
provinces are not subjects; they are vassals, they are its slaves." The
Austro-Hungarian government has never invested even 2% of the taxes it has
collected in its provinces, and millions of those taxes have gone to the Court
to increase the luxury and idleness of so many princes and dukes who live only
off the sweat, blood, and tears of the Slavs, and to corrupt the consciences of
many with our own money.
"I cannot understand how the Slavs have been
able to endure this tyrannical yoke of Austria-Hungary, and I cannot explain
how, knowing their courage, they have not imitated our neighbors, the
Montenegrins, Serbs,[51] and Bulgarians. I cannot understand how the Slavs can
accept honorary positions in the Austro-Hungarian government, unless we must
acknowledge their utter ignorance, their foolish ambition to occupy positions
they should be far from."[52]
"Gentlemen: We Slavs of Austria-Hungary make
up more than half the population of that decrepit monarchy, and the Austrians
and Hungarians know full well that it is not in their interest to grant us a
share in the government to which we are entitled by virtue of our numbers and
our strength. They know us as well as we know them, and this is largely why any
idea we have of gaining advantages or preventing absurd impositions is
obstructed and silenced from the outset. But they must learn very well that, in
this century, intellectual progress advances alongside material progress, and
that what was possible twenty years ago is impossible today.
We are great in number, great in our resolve, great
in our patriotism, just as our miseries are also great." United we will be
strong and respected, and I trust that the unity I see today will endure and
encourage us to continue on the path we have chosen: faced with ignorance, if
we are not to be free, let death come a thousand times, for it is preferable.”
At the end of his speech, Kevelic shouted in
Croatian:
“Zivio hrvatski narod!” (Long live the Croatian
nation!)”.
El Comercio concludes with a list of attendees,
totaling 45.
In its August 18th chronicle, under the title
"Birthday," El Comercio reports:
"On the occasion of today's birthday of the
Emperor of Austria-Hungary, the consulates and the intendancy have kept their
respective flags flying."
Following this, another news item appears, under
the title "Businesses Closed":
"Respecting the agreement reached by the
majority of the members of the Slavic community, merchants of that nationality
have kept their doors closed today as a sign of protest against the Austrian
government for the murders and abuses committed on its orders among the
Croatian people."
A sign has been placed on the doors of those
establishments that reads:
"Mourning for the victims of Croatia"
Diplomatic conflict over the Croatian flag
The following day, August 19, El Comercio published
on page 3, under the title "Public Comments," a clarification of the
events that had occurred:
"Lack of space prevented us yesterday from
reporting on an event that has been the topic of all conversations and which
has generally been discussed with bitterness.
We will relate the facts exactly as we have
obtained them, and we guarantee their veracity.
Following the meeting held last Sunday by almost
the entire Slavic community, in which it was agreed to raise the flag of the
mutual aid and charity society established in this port as a protest against
the abuses and barbarities committed by the Austrian authorities against their
compatriots, the Austrian vice-consul, Mr. Jorge Sabioncello, sent a note to
the provincial governor requesting that he order the flag to be lowered, since,
in his opinion, it constituted a true act of contempt for the government he
represented."
"The mayor, once again demonstrating the
prudence and good judgment he has employed since assuming his delicate post,
replied to the note stating that it was not possible, as it concerned a company
with legal standing in the country and whose emblem or flag had nothing to do
with the Austrian one.
"Mr. Sabioncello then approached the Austrian
minister accredited to the Chilean government, who, in turn, went to our
Foreign Ministry to request the immediate removal of that black flag.
"And the fallen minister, the resigning
minister, obtained the coveted order from his colleague, the head of the
cabinet!
"It arrived at dusk, and the mayor had to enforce
it." "It was around 5 p.m. when a police squad, following the highest
authority in the province—the government representative—ordered the lowering of
the flag of a legally constituted institution in the country.
No fewer than two hundred people witnessed this
scene, which speaks volumes about a nation as republican and free as Chile.
And it must be added that the flag was not lowered
by any Slavic person—no one would have lent themselves to such a task—but by an
officer obeying superior orders.
And here these comments end. Does the government
have the right to raid a private home without the consent or a court order?
Where are individual rights? Why did the governor lend himself to playing such
a disgraceful role, instead of sending the police prefect or someone else to
represent him? Why was there a show of force that the situation did not
warrant?" "These are the points that have prompted the most bitter
protests from all who witnessed this scene.
"In no civilized country, in no free country,
is there an example of an event like the one we are describing.
"We want to believe that this was caused by
the misrule that exists in the country and also by a lack of understanding of
how things are done in the north.
"Here, the Slavic community comprises more
than four hundred members, and fewer than ten have humbled themselves before
the Austro-Hungarian throne. Therefore, it is the entire Slavic community that
has been wounded in its dearest affections, in its most intimate
feelings."
And it must be said that the Slavic community has
the most interests in this port and enjoys the most widespread support due to
its deep-rooted love for Chile, a country where they consider themselves truly
free, a country that has offered them open hospitality and where, until now,
they have had only words of praise.
But these sons of Dalmatia, Croatia, and Istria
will not lose their affection for the country that shelters them because of the
ineptitude of a minister who has completely disregarded Chilean laws and
trampled on the fundamental charter of the State."
Certainly, the Slavs can count on the sympathies
and affection of all the free people of this country, whose motto is
Liberty, equality, and fraternity.
And finally, let our censure be directed at those
who, being children of a people who can be free, prefer to see them shackled
and hanging by an ominous chain."
On the same page, among "Submissions,"
under the title "Antofagasta under Siege," appears a clarification
from the member of the Croatian Committee, Mr. Cosme Giustinianovic,
questioning the legality of the action taken by the Chilean authorities,
arguing, among other things, "I must say that the Provincial Governor,
upon arriving personally, accompanied by a detachment of the public order
guard, to lower the flag of the Slavic Society, agreed to represent His
Excellency the President of the Republic of Chile in this act, whose leader is
not authorized to perform such an act of his own volition; because that is what
the corresponding power is for, and as I have said, judicial and not executive,
which is at work in the present case."
The morning newspaper, El Industrial de
Antofagasta, founded in 1880, reported in its chronicle of August 18th that
"today being the 73rd anniversary of the birth of Emperor Franz Joseph of
Austria-Hungary, the Intendancy and the consulates accredited in this city have
kept their respective flags flying. In commemorating such an auspicious date
for Austria-Hungary, we extend our greetings to its representative here, Mr.
Jorge Sabioncello, and through him, to the Austrian community residing in this
city."
"Given the tension that reigned in the Slavic
community in Antofagasta, the article that appears in the same chronicle, under
the title "Sovereigns and Heads of State Assassinated," is strange:
"Regarding the double regicide in Serbia, a
country inhabited by savages, according to their actions and instincts, we find
in the newspaper The Berlin Echo the following list of sovereigns and heads of
state assassinated over the last one hundred years...
"The total number assassinated, according to
the attached table, amounts to ten kings, two empresses, one queen, and eight
presidents of the republic.
"At the end of its report, The Industrial
asks: "And after the last Serbian king, what other sovereigns or
presidents will fall under the treacherous dagger of the assassin?"
The Industrial, on August 19, dedicates a short
article to the "Birth of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary,"
highlighting that "under his rule, the war that we could call civil continued
(1848), although it had a national character because Hungary "He invoked
his constitution and liberties."
"The Hungarians held out with admirable
heroism, and despite Russia's support for Austria, they achieved memorable
victories, until, weakened in many battles, they had to submit, albeit
reluctantly, due to the unexpected capitulation of the dictator Görgey at
Vilagos."
"To Franz Joseph I are owed fundamental
institutions of the empire, the union of Austria and Hungary, and the current
Constitution of 1861.[53]
Several young people from the colony had a splendid
luncheon yesterday, in commemoration of the birth of their august emperor,
Franz Joseph I. There was great enthusiasm. Mr. Jorge Garafulic spoke, offering
a toast to the emperor's happiness and to the consul, Mr. Jorge Sabioncello.
"Mr. Antonio Sabioncello responded to Mr.
Luksic, thanking him and congratulating him on the prosperity and
aggrandizement of the mother country.
All the guests left the demonstration
pleased."
The imperial and royal vice-consul, Mr.
Sabioncello,[54] a wealthy merchant with far-reaching businesses throughout the
region, including Bolivia, was determined, making his first foray into the
honorary position, to counter the protests of his compatriots through demonstrations
of dynastic loyalty, giving them due publicity. Thus, among the insertions in
El Industrial, on August 19, appears a list of Austrian subjects, preceded by
the following heading:
"The undersigned, members of the Austrian
community, residing in this port, come to pay, through these lines and via our
worthy representative, Consul Mr. Jorge Sabioncello, our most sincere greetings
to the mother country, on the occasion of the birthday of His Majesty Franz
Joseph, our august emperor."[55]
In the same issue of the newspaper, the editorial
"The Slavic Society Incident" deemed it necessary to clarify the
official procedure, since "the intervention of the administrative
authority to lower the Slavic flag has prompted various comments.
Many maintain that this intervention is
illegitimate because it infringes upon the freedom enjoyed by the inhabitants
of Chile—a democratic republic—whether citizens or foreigners.
It is important to establish the facts in their
proper context in order to draw just and appropriate conclusions." The
Democratic Spirit of the Chilean Press
Next, the columnist, guided by reasons of state,
although in a somewhat polemical tone (in contrast to the viewpoint held by El
Comercio), adopts a rather prudent stance, even showing understanding for the
Croatian national cause:
"But first, we wish to state for the record
that we are guided by no hostile or antipathetic intent toward the large Slavic
community in this port. We fully understand that wounded patriotism may
manifest itself violently, even far from the homeland, when the cries of
mourning from an oppressed people reach the ends of the earth: it is an impulse
of the soul that no frame can restrain.
"Given Chile's close diplomatic ties with the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, it could not ignore the claim filed by its
representative in Santiago; Therefore, the provincial governor, in obedience to
orders issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave the order to lower the
Slavic flag, without this implying any hostility towards the Slavic people of
Antofagasta.
"There was, therefore, an inescapable duty to
fulfill, to save the country itself from future complications with a friendly
government. The Slavic community, which professes such affection for our land,
where many have built homes for their children along with good fortune, would
not be willing, through haste or inexperience, to plunge the country that
lovingly shelters them into the perils of a diplomatic dispute for which they
would not be responsible, but the country itself.
"As republicans," the editorial
concludes, "we regard with marked sympathy the aspirations of the Slavic
community for democratic government and are deeply moved by their expressions
of patriotism, wounded by unfortunate events that have occurred in the Slavic
region, but we hope that these expressions, in an appropriate manner, will not
compromise the name of Chile." [56]
"As republicans," the editorial
concludes, "we regard with marked sympathy the aspirations of the Slavic
community for democratic government and are inspired by their expressions of
patriotism, wounded by unfortunate events that have occurred in the Slavic
region, but we wish that these expressions, in an appropriate manner, will not
compromise the name of Chile." The conflict within the Croatian community
degenerates into violence.
Due to the festive, albeit agitated, nature of the
emperor and king's birthday celebration in Antofagasta, the prevailing
excitement lasted well into the night. The memorable day would finally
culminate in "A Bloody Event" when groups of young people from both
sides came into contact; The Industrial newspaper was the first to report it in
its August 19th chronicle:
"Last night, a serious incident occurred in a
brothel, which could very well cost the life of an honest worker of Austrian
nationality.
"The incident was caused by alcohol and
appears to have been accidental, but to avoid going into details, we are
publishing below the report submitted to the court regarding the matter:
"I hereby inform Your Honor that last night at
11 p.m., a disturbance occurred in the brothel of Carmen Pérez, 14 de Febrero
92, during which Mateo Vlajovich was wounded in the abdomen with a revolver,
apparently seriously.
"The following people were present: Francisco
Franulich, Juan Duvich, Antonio Lucksich, Antonio Ivanovich, Lorenzo
Glasinovich, Juan and Jorge Garafulich, and Juan Balarin.
"As
soon as the fact was known, Juan de Balarin was arrested, whom I place at the
disposal of Your Honor, by the sub-inspector Mr. Rafael Villar and the agent
Manuel Garin on the indications of the women of said house who say that they
saw Balarin get into a fight with Esteban Bersalovich and shoot him with a
bullet, which missed, giving it to Vlajovich who was a short distance from the
place of the event.
When questioned at the guardhouse by the prefect in
the presence of the undersigned and Sub-Inspector Valdés, Balarin categorically
denied being the perpetrator.
The wounded man was taken to the city hospital for
treatment.
The women of said house—Rosa Araya, Isabel Campos,
Blanca González, Petronilla Villanueva, and the lady of the house—have been
summoned to appear before Your Honor today at the appointed time."
Approved by J. del C. Muñoz Ismael Valenzuela
"The wounded man," the report adds,
"is gravely ill in the hospital and is not expected to survive, since, as
the report states, the bullet penetrated his abdomen, causing internal bleeding
that is extremely dangerous."
The
newspaper El Comercio, in the afternoon of the same day, recounts: "The
scenes of bloodshed," offering a somewhat different version, and in the
subsequent outcome of the case, it shows itself, as in the flag incident, to be
biased towards the Croatian cause:
"The scene of the incident was the bar and
brothel owned by a woman named Carmen Pérez on 14 de Febrero Street.
"At 11 o'clock last night, several Slavic merchants
from the area were gathered there, joking and conversing.
"Among them, they began to discuss the current
topic for the Slavic residents here, namely the birthday of the Austrian
sovereign and the protest held as a sign of mourning for the events in Croatia.
Esteban Versalovic and Juan Balarin had begun a
very heated argument. Tempers flared unpleasantly, and it seems that in the
midst of the fervor to which the argument had reached, Balarin threatened his
opponent with a revolver.
Tempers were running high, and the commotion must
have been considerable. Whether by accident or not, Balarin's gun discharged,
wounding one of the Slavs present, Don Mateo Vlahovic, in the abdomen.
The unfortunate wounded man fell to the ground.
There was a great uproar, and the women turned the house upside down like a
henhouse, shouting in despair. Amid the chaos, the large, independent lady of
the house decided it was necessary to call the police.
"When the police arrived at Pérez's house,
they had the wounded man taken to the hospital and arrested the unfortunate
Balarin."
Following this account, El Comercio published the
aforementioned report to the court.
In the same issue, El Comercio published a telegram
received from Iquique, reporting that "the Slavic community of that city
took down and destroyed the Austrian flags that had been raised at the
Austro-Hungarian fire station and at the club."[57]
El Industrial, always well-informed, was quick to
report, on August 21, "The End of a Bloody Drama":
The public is aware of the serious incident that
took place on Tuesday the 18th of this week at a brothel, in which two
honorable young men from the Austrian community were victims.
"The one who was shot was named Mateo Vlahovic
and was receiving treatment at the Hospital; he died today at 4 a.m. as a
result of the wound he received that night."
The deceased was 26 years old and the brother of
Jorge Vlahovic, a well-known merchant in this town.
This event has brought grief to a family and led to
a trial for the alleged perpetrator of the shooting that took Vlahovic's life.
The deceased's funeral will take place tomorrow
after a mass at the parish church.
The mayor has graciously provided the Slavic
community with the Esmeralda band to accompany Vlahovic to the cemetery."
"Regretting this tragic event, we send our
condolences to the family of the deceased."
El Comercio, on the same day, is more concise in
its account of the "fatal outcome" of the "bloody scene that
unfolded" in which "the young Slavic man, Mateo Vlahovic, was the
victim. We send our condolences to the family of the deceased and to the Slavic
community."
However, El Comercio then published the telegrams
from the Croatian Committee, which culminated the bitterness that had arisen in
the community as a result of the events of August 18:
"The following telegrams have been sent to the
individuals mentioned, and we are requested to publish their contents:
"Editors of El Mercurio, La Ley, and El Ferrocarril, Santiago. Today, at 3:00 AM, Mateo Vlahovic died, having been
shot the night before last by Juan Balarin, an Austrian employed by the
Antofagasta police investigation unit." These are the fruits of the
Consulate and Minister Starzenski's actions.
"Croatian Committee"
"Telegraphic circular to the Slavic community:
The Austro-Hungarians are ably imitating the murderous police in Croatia.
"The investigator, Juan Balarin, a paid
informant, is the murderer of Mateo Vlahovic, the first victim killed in the
distant lands of the Motherland, this morning at three o'clock.
"Join us in mourning. Please inform your
compatriots."
"Croatian Committee"
"Minister of Austria, Santiago.
"The murder of Mateo Vlahovic, who died today,
is on your conscience. You are responsible. May your arrival be cursed if these
are to be its fruits.
Croatian Committee."
Despite its sympathy for the Croats, El Comercio
did not deem it appropriate to endorse the Croatian Committee's insulting
stance in its entirety and therefore expressed its reservations:
"The aforementioned telegrams are the responsibility
of the Slavic Committee, and we published them only as a courtesy to that
community, since we cannot endorse the statements made therein against the
representative of a friendly country."
For obvious reasons, none of the aforementioned
telegrams were published in the capital's press nor were they reported in other
provincial newspapers.
El Comercio devoted considerable space to the
"Funeral" on August 22nd, including in its report the funeral oration
delivered by the well-known speaker, Mr. Kevesic, who eulogized "our
unfortunate compatriot and friend, Mr. Mateo Vlahovic, killed by a bullet fired
by an assassin mercenary."
Turning to the deceased's curriculum vitae, the
interpretation of "civic duties" might seem somewhat odd:
"Born and raised in a poor but honest home, he
was instilled by his parents and at school with the true civic duties that
correspond to a man in life, and thus, rather than be forced to serve in the
army of a despotic and savage government, he preferred to leave his native land
to adopt this Chile as his second homeland."
"In his closing remarks, the orator invoked
patriotic fervor, swearing an oath 'before your lifeless body, in the name of
your comrades in the ideals you championed in life, that even if the same fate
awaits us as yours, we will face it head-on, and as long as we have a single
atom of life left, we will fight as men, not as murderers, for the independence
and freedom of our common homeland.'"
The Industrial newspaper also recorded, in its
chronicle of August 22, that "this morning the remains of Mateo Vlahovic
were laid to rest, tragically killed by a bullet that was not meant for him, it
is said.
The procession, which was large, was made up of the
entire Slavic community. The hearse had been adorned with flowers and
wreaths."
"The funeral procession was composed of many
members of the Slavic community. The hearse had been decorated with flowers and
wreaths." Following the news report, El Industrial, consistent with its
established stance, felt it necessary to set the record straight and stated:
"Yesterday, a local newspaper reported that
the young Austrian, Juan Balarin, the alleged or probable perpetrator of Mateo
Vlahovic's murder, was a police officer. We are authorized by the Chief of
Police, Mr. Muñoz, to declare that this Balarin does not belong to the
investigative section nor to the security police of this city.
We make this statement at the request of the Chief
of Police and for whatever may come to light, thus setting the record
straight."
With the tragic outcome of the 18th, interest in
Croatian affairs, expressed through the press, did not cease. In the following
days, on August 24th, El Comercio published an excerpt from a letter by the
eminent Italian professor Luigi Pavia, published in La Sera of Milan on June
15th and reproduced in El Tarapacá. Iquique, August 18, under the headline
"For the Croatians and Justice."
Given the Chilean character, prone to viewing
things from a humorous perspective, it's no surprise that a shrewd local
merchant, owner of the "La Primavera" store and one of the few
committed Austrians (a Croatian native of the Dalmatian coast), took advantage
of the prevailing mood to give maximum publicity to his end-of-season sale. An
unusually large advertisement, 25 x 15 cm, appeared in El Comercio from
September 2 until the end of the month, under the headline "War between
Austria and Croatia... at La Primavera." On the day of the sale, the
advertisement appeared in a prominent location, below the telegrams from abroad!
The Voice of the Croatians in the Province of
Tarapacá
Telegrams arriving from Iquique, published in the
press of the capital and the provinces, reveal that there were also protests by
Croatian merchants in the province of Tarapacá against Franz Joseph on his
birthday.
The social structure of the colony in this province
did not differ much from that of neighboring Antofagasta, although it did not
form such a homogeneous group in terms of its origins. In this province, there
were clusters of immigrants from the district of Dubrovnik (even before the War
of the Pacific) and other districts from Dalmatia, Istria, and the Croatian
coast. According to the 1895 census, there were 444 Austro-Hungarians in the
province of Tarapacá (417 Germans, 854 Italians, 1,151 English), of whom 423
were men and 21 were women.[58] In the department of Tarapacá (Iquique),
according to statistics by profession, there were 89 merchants and 37 private
employees, among a total of 184 Austro-Hungarian professionals, which gives an
approximate idea of the importance of the respective colony.[59]
In the morning newspaper, El Nacional of Iquique,
founded in 1889, an article appeared on the editorial page on August 18th,
commemorating the date. After some biographical information, the following commentary,
likely inspired by the official source (the consulate), reads:
"Franz Joseph is a conciliatory monarch par
excellence, who, thanks to the love his subjects profess for him, is able to
maintain, almost artificially, one might say, the unity of his vast and
powerful empire, a mixture of many races, languages, customs, and religions.
With his prestige as a sovereign and as an
honorable and conciliatory man, he has always been able to prevail over all the
partisan or national antagonisms that constantly agitate public opinion in his
vast domains, and thus, he is not only the object of the greatest sympathy and
expressions of respect and affection from his people, but his existence is also
necessary for the peace and cohesion of Austria-Hungary."
"With his prestige as a sovereign and as an
honorable and conciliatory man, he has always been able to overcome all the
antagonisms of party or nationality that constantly agitate public opinion in
his vast domains, and in this way, he is not only the object of the greatest
sympathy and expressions of respect and affection from his people, but his
existence is also necessary for the peace and cohesion of
Austria-Hungary." "Today, on the occasion of his birthday
celebrations, the Austro-Hungarian consul, Mr. J. L. Masseur, will host a
banquet for forty guests at the Union Club. For our part, we gladly extend our
warmest greetings to the Austro-Hungarian community and its esteemed consul on
this day."[60]
"The other morning newspaper, El Tarapacá of
Iquique, also on the editorial page, but among "inserts," published
the following article under the title "Mourning":
"The Slavs of Austria residing in this port
have agreed to keep their businesses closed today, as a sign of patriotic
mourning for the unjust executions of their compatriots, committed by Austrian
troops.
"We would have preferred to dedicate this day
to national rejoicing for the birthday of our king, rather than wear mourning
remembering bloody events that awaken in the heart of every good patriot only
hatred and vengeance. A heterogeneous nation such as the Austro-Hungarian
monarchy cannot exist, because each of its constituent parts demands equality
of laws and does not permit supremacy."
"We would have preferred to dedicate this day
to national rejoicing for the birthday of our king, rather than wear mourning
clothes remembering bloody events that awaken in the heart of every good
patriot only hatred and vengeance. A heterogeneous nation such as the
Austro-Hungarian monarchy cannot exist, because each of its constituent parts
demands equality of laws and does not permit supremacy." "In the
recent bloody events in the Kingdom of Croatia against the despotic Hungarian
government, it has been seen that the Emperor of Austria treated the matter
with great bias, seemingly approving of the massacres. He denied an audience to
the representatives of the people who went to Vienna to request his
intervention to put an end to the abuses committed by the Hungarian government
in Croatia, openly contravening Article 30 of the Constitution, which deals
with the administrative autonomy of the Kingdom of Croatia. (***)
"There is no need to repeat what history says
about the Croats and Dalmatians; suffice it to say that they have often
defended the Habsburg dynasty and the integrity of the empire with their blood.
Today, this dynasty repays their loyalty by ordering the execution, hanging,
and imprisonment of the descendants of so many heroes like Subic-Zrinski,
Jelacic, and others." And the leading families of Zagreb, the capital of
Croatia, are imprisoned, all for the crime of refusing the ignominious yoke
with which the Hungarians seek to subjugate them, taking away even their
language, making Croatia a mere Hungarian province.
"His Majesty Emperor Franz Joseph I, before
dying, wished that his soldiers would stain the streets of Zagreb and other
cities of Croatia and Dalmatia with the innocent blood of their noble
defenders.
"The Croats, whom the Popes of Rome called
'Antemurale Christianitatis' for their courage and resistance against the
Turkish invasions, will now also know how to defend their race and their
traditions, despising those who denigrate them because they want to be
free."Odbor (Comité)
Iquique, August 18, 1903.
Luigi Pavia: For the Croats and Justice
Following among "insertions," is an
article by the Italian professor Luigi Pavia, which appeared in the Milanese
newspaper La Sera on June 15, and is reproduced here under the title "For
the Croats and Justice." It echoes the appeal to world public opinion
launched in Vienna by the deputies of Dalmatia and Istria, after they were
denied an audience with the emperor. Professor Pavia's article must have caused
surprise even in Italy, as the editorial staff of La Sera itself added a note,
which reads: "We publish this article out of a duty of impartiality.
Certainly, we would have preferred it to be
favorable to the friendly nation, rather than to Croatia, which has caused us
so much suffering ($), but above friendships and sympathies stands
justice." "How sympathetic the struggle for Hungarian independence seemed
to the frustrated world, so severely is the tyrannical conduct of these same
Magyars judged, those who, after having shed torrents of blood for their
freedom and that of others, now forget that freedom is not the privilege of the
few, but a right of all."
The National, in its chronicle of the following
day, carries a lengthy report on the banquet at the Union Club, not neglecting
to mention the attendees and the sumptuous menu. In total, there were 32 guests
who attended the banquet, although 40 covers had been provided. Among them, not
one had a Slavic surname. The honorary consul, Mr. Masseur, at the time of the
traditional champagne, spoke of the public and private virtues that adorned his
sovereign. "At the age of 18, Franz Joseph bid farewell to youth and happiness
to dedicate himself entirely to the duties of his high office of
responsibility, and during the 55 years of his reign, he has never ceased to
give an example of complete dedication to these duties, nor to endure
undeserved misfortunes.
"Sovereign of 18 different states, it has
taken all the skill and prestige of a good and virtuous man to prevent them
from breaking their union, so necessary for their common aggrandizement; head
of a most noble family, he has seen his days embittered by the murder of his
wife, the suicide of his heir, and the tragic deaths of several close
relatives. But neither the difficulties of his position nor the blows to his
heart have prevented him from continuing to dedicate himself paternally to
cultivating the happiness and well-being of all his subjects, who annually
celebrate his birthday with a true national holiday, as a just tribute to his
merits and as a significant demonstration of the national unity he represents.
'For this reason,' he added, 'I felt that several
of his compatriots had not joined this year in the celebration of the Emperor
and King's birthday, for whom I asked his friends for a toast.'" The
Tarapacá newspaper, for its part, also records the sumptuous banquet in its
chronicle, but not In the same section, it is forgotten to mention what
happened within the colony "for the anniversary":
"The Austrian subjects residing in the
province, most of whom are Slavic, hermetically sealed the doors of their
businesses yesterday, placing a sign that read: Closed for patriotic mourning. The
same thing was done in all the towns of the pampa and in Pisagua."
The flag was raised at the premises of Fire Station
No. 5 and the Austro-Hungarian Mutual Aid Society; however, the Slavic
community, assembled for this purpose, protested and agreed to lower the flags,
which they did.
"As is known, yesterday was the anniversary of
the birth of His Majesty Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and Hungary, who has
been the object of this counter-demonstration by his subjects in the province,
as a consequence of the bloody events that have recently taken place in
Croatia, the explanation of which can be found in the articles published
yesterday in this newspaper's inserts section."
In the department of Taltal, province of
Antofagasta, among a total of 2,477 foreigners, there were, according to the
1907 Census, 143 Austro-Hungarians (315 Germans, 173 Italians). The afternoon
news and business daily La Voz del Taltal published in its chronicle, on the
18th In August, under the title "Slavic Meeting," following a
commentary that appeared in El Industrial on the eve of the meeting of the
Slavic Benevolent Society in Antofagasta, "to discuss matters concerning
their homeland," a few paragraphs refer to the Taltal community:
"The Slavs residing in Taltal, like those in
Antofagasta, have also been concerned these last few days about the tragic
events that have recently occurred in Croatia, where more than twenty of their
compatriots have been horribly shot and hanged, and hundreds imprisoned, including
lawyers, doctors, women, and children.
"On this occasion, since today is the birthday
of the Emperor of Austria, none of the Slavs residing in Taltal have raised the
flag of that nation, as they customarily do on this date.
The unanimous sentiment of the Slavic community in
Taltal is, therefore, well justified and worthy of that brave and generous
people."
" The Situation in Southern Chile
The Austro-Hungarian colony in the Magallanes
Territory had grown rapidly between the censuses of 1895 and 1907, since in
1885, out of a total of 2,085 inhabitants, there were only 9
"Austro-Hungarians". This sudden boom was due to the gold mines,
whose exploitation began in 1892. A Romanian immigrant (not Austrian), the
engineer Julio Pepper[61], gathered a group of Croatians, originally from
Dalmatia, in Buenos Aires, for his gold mining company in Tierra del Fuego,
from where they came to the Chilean Magallanes region. The subsequent wave of
immigration was largely due to the influx of sailors, laborers, and artisans
through the ports of the Río de la Plata. After the gold rush disappointment, a
good number of gold seekers dispersed, but others remained, adapting to the
harsh conditions of the environment, both in terms of climate and natural
resources. Punta Arenas was becoming an important center as a station for
supplying coal, provisions, meat, and water, and the first shipyards were being
organized for repairing ships damaged in the treacherous Strait of Magellan.
Work was plentiful, and a natural selection took
place, so these groups of immigrants at the southern tip of the continent took
on the character of colonizers, as evidenced by the fairly balanced proportion
between the two sexes, unlike the Croatians in the north, who could be
described more as entrepreneurs, somewhat fluctuating according to the
opportunities of the moment. The Magellan colony, in terms of its social
structure, also differed from the northern one, as, with rare exceptions, it
remained within modest limits. It is enough to compare the advertisements in
the newspapers of the two extremes to realize at first glance this fact at that
time.[62]
The first social organization, following the
example of other ethnic groups, was the Austrian Mutual Aid Society, whose
foundations date back to 1896, with 76 members initially. In addition to Slavs,
Italians and Germans were represented on its board. On December 16, 1900, a
group of immigrants from Dalmatia and the Croatian Littoral formed the Croatian
Benevolent Society, which later took the initiative to establish other
patriotic institutions: the Croatian Reading Room (Hrvatska Citaonica), the
Volunteer Fire Company, a Music and Theater Center, etc.[63]
"Their descendants number approximately five
thousand; they were born under the southern sky and are Chilean."
There were some skirmishes between the two
benevolent societies, as occasionally reported in the local press, but never
any serious conflicts. In 1903, when the community numbered around 1,500
members, it appears that the Austrian Society had more members than the
Croatian Society and also possessed greater capital.[64]
Thus, the fact that the community did not form a
homogeneous group and the different social structure would explain why the
reaction of the Croatians to the events in the mother country did not reach the
proportions seen in Antofagasta and Iquique on the occasion of Franz Joseph's
birthday. However, the Croatians of Punta Arenas, according to the local
newspaper, El Magallanes, dated June 30, 1903, had met to consider the regrettable
events that had occurred in Croatia in the last days of May. As a sign of
mourning and in homage to the innocent victims of the revolution against the
Hungarian tyranny of the Khuen-Héderváry government, the Croatian Benevolent
Society flew its flag at half-mast. A commission of men and women was appointed
to make disbursements to aid the widows and orphans who had died in the
movement. They raised 1,304 pesos, which yielded a promissory note for 88
pounds sterling, payable to the Croatian deputy in the Parliament of Vienna,
Jorge Biankini, who was tasked with distributing the funds. An additional 675
pesos were collected among the Croatian community in El Porvenir.
On August 18, El Magallanes published a notice in
Croatian, addressed to the resident community, signed by Hrvat (Croatian). It
requested, in accordance with telegraphic instructions received from
Antofagasta, solidarity with all their brethren in Chile by abstaining from the
September 18th celebrations as a sign of protest against the government of
Franz Joseph (in Croatian: Protiv vlade Onoga, meaning Franz Joseph, to avoid
penalties for lèse-majesté).
Another Punta Arenas newspaper, El Comercio, had
already published a telegram from Santiago on August 15th, announcing that
"the Austrian minister in this capital, Count Starzenski, is distributing
numerous invitations among the city's high society for a reception and ball at
his stately mansion on Huérfanos Street, celebrating the 73rd anniversary of
Emperor Franz Joseph's birth. This celebration," the telegram concludes,
"promises to be a landmark event in Santiago's social history."
In its August 19th chronicle, El Comercio reports
that, "Celebrating a Birthday": "Mr. Pedro Perusich, a member of
the Dalmatian community, celebrated the birthday of Franz Joseph I last night
at his private residence, surrounded by numerous compatriots.
The house was beautifully illuminated, and the
coats of arms of Austria and Chile were displayed outside.
There was a banquet and dancing, during which there
was great merriment, with patriotic toasts being offered."
The next day, El Comercio publishes a telegram from
Santiago, announcing: "The Austrian Minister Count Starzénski has been
very visited by the authorities, on the occasion of the birth of Francisco
José."
Two weeks would pass before the news about
"Divergences between Austrians and Slavs" appeared in El Comercio, on
September 2, preceded by a comment from the editorial staff:
"We read in a newspaper in the North the
following telegram from Antofagasta.
"We must record that, despite their political
divisions, the Austrians and Slavs of Punta Arenas have shown great moderation
and culture
"Antofagasta, August 20. On Tuesday (August
18), the mayor of the province by order of the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
ordered the lowering of the Slavic flag that was flying at half-mast and in
mourning on the building occupied by the society of this community. It had been
raised in that way as a sign of protest against the events in Croatia.
"This measure of authority brought some
agitation to Slavic circles and gave rise to some disputes between them and
some Austrians. Last night, after a dispute between Juan Balarin, an Austrian,
and Mateo Vlahovic, a Slav, the former wounded the latter with a revolver bullet.
"It is believed that the divergence between
Austrians and Slavs will not have any major consequences in this
city."[65]
Partial confrontation of the opinion of the Chilean
press with that of the Austrian diplomat
After this background, recorded by the Chilean
press, it would have been of great benefit to compare them with the reports on
the matter that Count Starzénski sent to his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count
Agenor von Goluchowski. It is unfortunate that precisely the documents
referring to those days are missing from the Vienna archives. Fortunately,
there is a report that tells about his trip to Bolivia and Peru, passing
through the ports of Taltal, Antofagasta, and Iquique, and that can, in part,
fill the sensitive gap in the history of the activity of the first
representative of Austria-Hungary in Chile.
We also have the chronicles of the local
newspapers, which provide data regarding the diplomat's first contact with the
respective colonies.
His first stop was made by Count Starzénski in
Taltal.
In its chronicle, on October 14, 1903, La Voz de
Taltal published, under the title "The Minister of Austria-Hungary"
the following lines:
"On the Imperial steamer, which arrived
yesterday afternoon at this port, the Minister of Austria-Hungary, Count Leonardo
de Starzénski, was passing through to the north, accompanied by his worthy
secretary, Count Trauttmansdorff.
"The members of the distinguished Croatian
colony of this port being aware of the Minister's past, hastened to appoint a
committee composed of Messrs. Pedro Marinkovic, Juan Radeljak and Antonio
Katalinic to go on board to greet Mr. Starzénski, representative of their
Croatian king Francis Joseph I on behalf of the colony and the Croatian Club.
"On board the Imperial, Mr. Radeljak welcomed
him and invited him to go ashore to see the port of Taltal and the members of
the colony, to which the Minister agreed, for which purpose the captain's barge
was made available to him.
"On land, Mr. Starzénski and his honorable
secretary were the object of the most affectionate manifestations of the colony
both in the Croatian Club and in the Taltal Club. He was also taken to visit
the Arturo Prat establishment.
"After other demonstrations, the illustrious
visitors were accompanied on board by a large number of Croatians from this
port.[66]
Nowhere is there any mention of the ideas of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the presumed heir to the throne, who advocated a firm
hand against Hungarian claims, making known his sympathies for the Croats and
other nationalities marginalized under Hungary. Perhaps the attitude of the
Croats in Taltal, as reflected in the previous account, can be related to the
adherence of a group of Croats to the "trialism" plans attributed at
that time to Franz Joseph's nephew. Cf. Rudolf Kiszling, Erzherzog Franz
Ferdinand, Verlag Roehlau, Graz-Koeln, 1953, p. 84 ff.
Count Starzenski's address to the Croats of
Antofagasta, as well as his report of November 30th, after having visited the
Croatian colonies in Chile, Bolivia, and Peru, could perhaps be interpreted as
indicating his interest in bringing the national fervor of the colonies to the
attention of the Archduke's office at the Belvedere.
"Mr. Starzenski," the chronicle
concludes, "is Minister accredited to the governments of Chile, Bolivia, and
Peru, residing in Santiago."
Attempts to calm tempers, but...
After the incidents on the occasion of the Emperor
and King's birthday, Count Starzenski's contact with the Antofagasta community
takes on great importance regarding his mission in Chile, and it is worthwhile
to compare what appears in the chronicle with the report sent by the visiting
diplomat. El Comercio welcomes the "Distinguished Guest" on October
14. After the formal greetings from the Vice-Consul, Mr. Sabioncello, the
diplomats went to the Hotel de France et d'Engleterre, etc., and the following
day the same newspaper fills almost the entire page with the
"Demonstration" they received, also publishing the text of Count
Starzenski's speech, "addressed to a distinguished group from the Slavic
community who approached him."
After the customary greetings, the Minister of
Austria-Hungary addressed the demonstrators with a speech that was met with
unanimous approval and applause.
"Gentlemen:
"You have come to this chamber to greet the
representative of His Majesty, our August Emperor and King.
"Your presence has pleased me all the more
because I have been able to confirm on this occasion that the disheartening
demonstrations that took place here on August 18 can only be attributed to
fleeting outbursts of emotion.
Meanwhile, you will have come to realize that the
behavior of a portion of our community on His Majesty's August birthday has
profoundly damaged Croatian reputation and deeply offended the sacred
sentiments of the majority of the Croatian nation.
Our countrymen, both within and outside the monarchy,
know and experience, as do all other peoples united under the benevolent
scepter of Habsburg, that His Majesty has dedicated his 54 years of rule solely
and exclusively to the well-being and satisfaction of his people.
With true paternal love and dedication, His Majesty
keeps all the peoples of his monarchy united under his affection, and none less
so the gallant and valiant Croatians.
This is why, every August 18th, all His Majesty's
subjects gather with unanimous enthusiasm, vying with one another to
demonstrate their gratitude and express their affection and veneration for
their benevolent Monarch." "It is all the more painful for all of us
if that very same day has been desecrated by unworthy demonstrations."
Our community in Chile has thus far distinguished
itself through its honest and productive work.
From humble beginnings, it has flourished to a
point of importance.
"This comforting success, a consequence of the
harmony and sense of legality we have enjoyed to date, is due to the fact that
our efforts in work and production have not been paralyzed by pointless
political agitations.
"If you, gentlemen, do not intend to forever
relinquish the fruits of this success, then stay out of politics and leave it
to the care of those called to it.
"The Croatian people have their worthy and
expert representatives in the Diet and Congress, and it is their sole
responsibility to defend and safeguard the interests of the people.
"The handling of political matters by
inexperienced individuals and street demonstrations have never led to a useful
end; on the contrary, they have repeatedly caused catastrophes and incalculable
misfortunes."
Let us then, gentlemen, cover these events with the
veil of oblivion, and henceforth the only motto of our colony in Chile shall
be: Work!
Work for your own well-being, to build the
happiness of your families, and in honor of your beloved and distant homeland.
"If you wholeheartedly accept this advice in
good faith, the colony will be in the future what it has been until now: A model
colony."[67]
The conciliatory speech of the Austro-Polish
diplomat, a career consular officer, reveals the voice of his master, Count
Agenor von Goluchowski, who was accustomed to seasoning his talks with economic
arguments,[68] but as for the well-intentioned advice to abstain from politics,
he did not sufficiently consider the mentality of those loyal followers of the
Croatian Party of Law. It is not surprising, then, that their immediate
reaction, rejecting "the veil of oblivion," takes forms that go
beyond the public attacks, still not forgotten, of two months ago.
El Comercio, on October 16, published on its
editorial page, albeit among "insertions," a lengthy article,
"Necessary Clarification," signed by "The Slavs of
Antofagasta."
The article begins by offering an explanation,
stating that "many people, both national and foreign, have approached us
to ask about the reason for the glacial reception that the Slavs of Antofagasta
gave to Count Leonardo de Starzénski; many have also seen in this indifference
of the Slavs a serious lack of culture toward a diplomat." The
explanations continue, and the topics already discussed at the assembly
convened by the Croatian Committee on the eve of Franz Joseph's birthday are
repeated.
This first part of the clarification ends by posing
the question to the visiting diplomat: "Or was Mr. Starzenski unaware that
in Austria and China, in Croatia and Chile, and everywhere in the world, when
an entire people rises up against its oppressors, it does so in defense of its
dearest interests, its ideals, in the interest of its homeland? Do Slavic
emigrants, most of whom have left because they do not want to serve in the army
of a despot, not have the right to share in the joy and prosperity of their
homeland, as well as the miseries and misfortunes that afflict it?"
Turning to another matter, the clarification
emphasizes:
"So that everyone may be convinced that this
clarification is not the voice or opinion of any part of the colony, but of the
whole, since the seven who appear in the reception cannot be considered an
appreciable entity among the five hundred Slavs who comprise it, let the
impartial public take note of the names that appear in the reception and see
that they are all anonymous in the community.[69]
"When Mr. Starzenski arrived in Antofagasta,
he probably believed the unreliable reports sent to him in Santiago by the
consul, and consequently assumed that many Slavs would come to welcome
him."
Referring to the Minister's statements, "we
have two points to note:
"1st - Mr. Starzenski acknowledges that those
he was speaking to were Croatians, therefore they were not Austrians.
"2nd - The good reputation of the Croats has
not been damaged in the slightest; on the contrary, it has been strengthened;
for he who is not a good citizen is a bad father, a bad son, a bad husband, and
he who knows how to defend his political rights and his independence is worthy
of the respect and admiration of the whole world. This is what the Croats did,
and it is logical that the Austrians, the Magyarsones, the sellouts, do not
like this firm character, which is causing, and will cause, this antiquated and
decrepit monarchy to crumble.
"The protests of the patriots are dignified;
they reveal culture and civic virtue; flattery, on the other hand, dwells only
in souls poor in spirit and intelligence, in the lowest social class: in the
servile.
"It is certainly true that in Chile the Slavic
community has distinguished itself through its honest and productive work, and
what Mr. Starzenski should bear in mind is that it owes nothing to that
patriarchal Austro-Hungarian government, and that it has progressed and lived
in perfect harmony without the need for puppet ministers, puppet consuls, and
even more ignorant individuals.
"The Slavs residing in Chile, now and in the
past, have always been concerned with matters concerning their provinces, and
if they raise their voices more loudly today, it is to make the government
understand that Slavs from the most remote regions of the globe are closely following
the setbacks of their compatriots.
"Every Slav must and has the obligation to be
involved in and debate the politics that concern them, and whoever does not is
unworthy of being called such, because that is to ignore the most basic human
rights, which is to seek the government that best suits the community."
"During those times of renewed tension in the
colony, Antofagasta's other newspaper, El Industrial, could not remain
indifferent. On October 19th, under the significant headline "How long,
Slavic gentlemen!", it published a commentary from a Chilean, and rather
pro-government, perspective.
"We have chosen to look on," says the
columnist, who signs with the abbreviated name [70] P. K. Dor., "with
indifference at the dissensions that exist within the Austrian community in
this port.
"Understanding the immense moral influence
that newspaper articles have on the public spirit, we Chileans must not remain
indifferent to the attacks that, under the pretext of squabbles among members
of the community, those who carry its drum in Antofagasta within the subversive
element are making against our authorities and ourselves."
Returning to the previous events, the columnist
finds no excuse, for, "on August 18, the day of Emperor Franz Joseph, the
subversive element of the Slavic community had the audacity to raise the Slavic
flag at half-mast with a black crepe in the center of the city, at the very
moment when the country's public buildings were raising the national flag in a
sign of jubilation and respectful salute to the friendly nation; at the very
moment when His Excellency the President of the Republic of Chile, representing
our sovereignty, raised his champagne glass, greeting the Austro-Hungarian
nation, in the person of its representative, with affection, respect, and
sincerity.
"And to this lack of judgment was added the
audacity of censuring our highest authority for having the discretion to lower
that flag, which, placed under such circumstances, signified a gross insult to
our sovereignty and to the friendly relations that bind us to that great
nation."
Not content with merely defending the official
viewpoint, the columnist believes he can generalize it: "Those gentlemen
should bear in mind that all Chileans, without exception here, have applauded
the conduct of the authorities, just as we have openly condemned your decision
to raise the noble Slavic flag in mourning on the very day when all Chileans
were saluting the friendly nation that has brought to our homeland such a fine
colonizing element as yourselves."
Assuming that the events are due to the influence
of a few, the columnist concludes his philippic by saying: "And do not
hide your passions behind anonymity; passions only drive a few within the large
Slavic community, thus establishing the responsibilities of those who harbor
them."
The skirmishes through the press continue in
Antofagasta and even in Iquique, where Count Starzenski, returning from his
mission, made a stopover. He was honored with a lavish banquet by Consul
Masseur at the Union Club. Among the guests, the Austrians with Slavic surnames
were once again conspicuously absent.[71]
Count Starzenski's Report
Upon returning to Santiago, Count Starzenski
hastened to send his Minister of Foreign Affairs the report concerning
"Our Colonies in Chile, Peru, and Bolivia," No. XXI-a-d, dated
November 30, 1903. This report partially supplements the previous information
and offers his impressions and suggestions regarding the colonies he visited:
"During my recent trip to Bolivia and Peru
along the northern coast of Chile, I had the opportunity to make contact with
our colonies established there and to examine their conditions in greater
detail.
"On my way to La Paz, I visited the three most
important Croatian colonies: Taltal, Antofagasta, and Oruro.
"In Taltal, where our ship anchored for a full
day, a delegation from the community came aboard to greet me and then
accompanied me ashore. There, I was welcomed at the new local club, in the
presence of almost all its members, with a loyal and patriotic address, and
celebrated with genuine enthusiasm.
This community is composed exclusively of Dalmatian
Croats and comprises about 60 families, approximately 120 people; all are
merchants and entrepreneurs, and enjoy a comfortable life. The community's loyal
attitude deserves even greater recognition, since here too, the leaders
conspiring for a Greater Croatia in Antofagasta had tried to provoke our
countrymen into demonstratively abstaining from any welcome on the occasion of
my passage through that port.
"In Antofagasta, where tempers were still
running high after the events recounted in my respectful report No. 9B of
September 7th, I had to be prepared for an extremely cold reception. There, the
ringleaders of the conspiracy had done nothing less than terrorize our
community and had resorted to every means to discourage any reception. To
counter this and have the opportunity to address the community with a few
serious words of warning, I took care to make it known, through Consul
Sabioncello, that I would receive any members of the community who wished to
see me and would attend to their every need and complaint.
Even so, at the appointed time, only eight
Croatians had gathered, although the number of countrymen residing there
reaches some 400 souls." "My purpose, however, had been achieved,
since I was able to address those who were present with the speech that I
respectfully attach. To ensure that it also came to the attention of other
members of the community, I arranged for its publication in the newspapers.
Because I continued my journey to Oruro and La Paz the following day, I had no
further opportunity in that place to ascertain the immediate effect of the
words of warning addressed to the community."
The instigating newspaper Sloboda, with its violent
language, and a "sentence" from a Croatian agitator, published in the
Spanish newspaper Comercio, had addressed my speech and attempted to excuse the
events of August 18th, which I had condemned, by alleging the supposed
oppression of the Croatian ethnic group under the Monarchy. However, the vast
majority of the colony seems to have taken my admonitions to heart. I had the
satisfaction, therefore, on the return voyage, upon reaching Antofagasta, of
receiving a message of support and loyalty bearing 107 signatures. Consul
Sabioncello also informed me that another 100 Croatians were willing to sign
it, but due to lack of time, were unable to do so promptly. The consul added
that a clear tranquility prevailed in the colony and that there was little
reason to fear a repeat of the regrettable incidents.
"I have instructed Mr. Sabioncello, and later
also Consul Masseur in Iquique, to strictly monitor the principal conspirators
and instigators of the movement, and to deny them any protection should they
fail to change their course. I am to be sent a list with the names of these
individuals, and, if possible, with precise details of their personal
characteristics. I will promptly forward these lists to His Excellency for the
possible information of the country's authorities. I have authorized the
aforementioned consuls to publicize these directives, which should frighten the
conspirators and, conversely, encourage the well-intentioned but undecided
members.
Following my journey from Antofagasta, I received
the most beautiful welcome from the community in Oruro." Messrs. Santiago
Franicevic and Santiago Sabioncello had taken care to ensure that the attempts,
also initiated in Antofagasta, to sabotage a festive welcome from the colony
would have precisely the opposite effect. Not a single member of the colony was
absent from the reception. A grand banquet was also organized in my honor and
that of Count Trauttmansdorff, which took place in a lively atmosphere, and in
which the feelings of loyalty and patriotic enthusiasm of this, the finest
among our Croatian colonies on the western coast of South America, were
expressed in numerous toasts.
The Austro-Hungarian colony in Bolivia is
concentrated almost exclusively in the mining district of Oruro and numbers
around 150 people. The diligence, perseverance, and temperance of these people
must be considered nothing less than admirable, once one has come to know these
desolate regions, where within a radius of hundreds of kilometers not a single
tree, shrub, or even a blade of grass grows.
"The regions of Taltal, Antofagasta, and
Iquique certainly suffer from the same lack of vegetation, but here, at least,
the eye is partially rewarded with the sight of the sea.
"On the journey from La Paz to Lima, we passed
through Arequipa, where only two or three Austrians live, who give Consul
Herrschmann little to do.
In Lima, we received a warm welcome from the small
Croatian community, and a beautiful banquet was organized in our honor, which
was both dignified and commendable. I have already taken the liberty of
informing His Excellency about the current manager of the Imperial and Royal
Consulate General, Vice-Consul Jutus, in my most respectful report No. XX,
dated November 13th in Lima.
On the return voyage from Lima to Valparaíso, we
also stopped in Iquique, home to the largest Croatian community in the
North—numbering around 600—and where demonstrations similar to those in
Antofagasta had taken place on August 18th. Meanwhile, here too, fortunately,
the excitement had subsided, and I was greeted by a delegation from the
community at the Austrian Volunteer Firefighters Society with a festive and
heartfelt address. I was also presented with a diploma by which I was
unanimously named an honorary member of the respective organization.
"The prudent attitude of Consul Masseur has
contributed greatly to calming tempers. The turbulent elements, those who sow
hatred and discord in our colony, are unfortunately also numerous, as in
Antofagasta. But I have firm confidence that in all our colonies in Chile good
spirits will prevail in the future and that there is no need to fear a
repetition of the regrettable events of August 18 last."[72]
The Austro-Hungarian diplomat's prediction came
true, as the Croatian demonstrations of August 18, 1903, in Chile were not
repeated until the outbreak of the First World War.
The well-known Croatian organizations, although
they had, in the meantime, evolved in their political and national program,
reflecting the prevailing conditions in the mother country, would assume an
important role in the struggle for the definitive emancipation of the Croatian
lands from Vienna and Budapest, providing moral and material support to the
Yugoslav Committee, founded in Paris in 1915, under the leadership of the
prominent Dalmatian-Croatian politician, Dr. Ante Trumbic, and the
world-renowned sculptor Ivan Mestrovic.[73]
[73] The imperial and royal advisors at
Ballhausplatz,[74] upon receiving the reports from the Austro-Hungarian
Minister in Chile and comparing them with the information they already
possessed,[75] must have realized the importance of the reaction of the groups
of "select emigrants." Contrary to what the Chileans, preoccupied
with maintaining good relations with the "powerful empire," had imagined
through the rather pro-government press, the behavior of the Croatians had not
harmed them.
In studying these relations, one cannot shake the
impression that the imperial and royal diplomats were determined to develop
them as much as possible, perhaps with the underlying purpose of refuting
Gladstone's memorable words (1880): "There is not a single spot on the
whole map where you could put your finger and say: Here Austria did something
good."[76]
Under this approach, the good intentions that motivated the competent
factors to promote mutual interests in the relations between Austria-Hungary
and Chile, until the war in 1914 brought them to an end, are probably more
understandable.[77]
For the Croatians and for justice
Luigi Pavia
"El Tarapacá" Iquique, August 18, 1903
(Excerpt from the letter of the eminent Italian
professor Luigi Pavia, published in La Sera of Milan on June 15, 1903).
"The current unrest in Croatia against Hungary
stems from the great discontent, almost hatred, that Magyar rule has aroused in
that province. These subversive agitations are now manifesting themselves here
and there like flames heralding a great conflagration, which will undoubtedly
erupt violently and generally as soon as a favorable opportunity arises.
The Serbs, ancient and fierce antagonists of the
Croats for reasons of religious rite, fraternize with them in demonstrations
hostile to the Magyars, while the neighboring Slovenes, not subject to them,
take the side of the oppressed brethren. Yes, oppressed: for considering the
changes in the political conditions of peoples and systems of government, the
Magyar regime that weighs upon the Croats is worse than that which weighed upon
Lombardy and Veneto. Therefore, this highly national cause, even if Croatian,
should concern all those who have love of country and national sentiment.
"The one who writes these lines certainly has
nothing in common with Croatia; He is a true Milanese; but he prefers to
address matters objectively, with complete independence from traditional
prejudices, and consequently, he is prepared to declare himself against Croatia
and in favor of Hungary should the situations of the two peoples be reversed.
All the more so because, as he has been able to personally verify by being
present at the events and speaking with authoritative figures, Croatia is not
what it once was; in the last 40 years, Croatia has made enormous progress,
from literature to the development of its national sentiment; its economy is
only hampered by the taxes imposed by Hungary.
And if the Croatian people still retain some
shortcomings of newly independent nations in relation to our civil system, they
possess all the healthy energies characteristic of them, which await only the
dawn of freedom to fully develop. It must not be forgotten that the Slavs, of
whom the Croats are a genuine branch, are destined for a great future in
Europe, due to the strength of their physical vigor and intellectual
renaissance.
"In Italy, there is generally no accurate
knowledge of Croatia and its people, nor of the conditions under which it is
subject to Hungary: because of the events of 1848, Hungary is considered among
us as a chivalrous nation and as a living antagonist of Austria in its national
political relations. But things are not so.
"Unfortunate Croatia, even though it is an
autonomous kingdom, with its own viceroy, its own parliament, its own
administration of internal affairs, justice, worship, and public education,
shares with Hungary finances and public works, and with Austria, respectively,
foreign affairs, war, and the navy.
"What is most painful for Croatia is its
inability, against all rights, to directly manage its finances, and that
Hungary exploits the money of the Croatians for its own benefit. Croatia's land
would be rich were it not for two conditions that prevent this: the lack of
freedom and the indolence of the population, the latter perhaps a consequence
of the former. What is truly infuriating is the cruel irony with which the
Hungarian government treats Croatia: 'We manage your money,' says Hungary,
'because you don't know how.'
Dr. Frank, a courageous member of the Croatian
parliament, wrote last year in his Nuntium to the Hungarian parliament, without
anyone being able to contradict him: 'We give everything to Hungary and receive
nothing; Hungary takes everything from us and gives us nothing.'
And if this were not enough, two other serious
facts (ignored abroad) serve to explain the hatred of the Hungarian government
and the animosity against its representative, Ban Khuen Hederváry, who has governed
Croatia for a quarter of a century."
Luigi Pavia
"El Tarapacá" Iquique, August 18, 1903
(Excerpt from the letter of the eminent Italian
professor Luigi Pavia, published in La Sera of Milan on June 15, 1903).
"The current unrest in Croatia against Hungary
stems from the great discontent, almost hatred, that Magyar rule has aroused in
that province. These subversive agitations are now manifesting themselves here
and there like flames heralding a great conflagration, which will undoubtedly
erupt violently and generally as soon as a favorable opportunity arises.
The Serbs, ancient and fierce antagonists of the
Croats for reasons of religious rite, fraternize with them in demonstrations
hostile to the Magyars, while the neighboring Slovenes, not subject to them,
take the side of the oppressed brethren. Yes, oppressed: for considering the
changes in the political conditions of peoples and systems of government, the
Magyar regime that weighs upon the Croats is worse than that which weighed upon
Lombardy and Veneto. Therefore, this highly national cause, even if Croatian,
should concern all those who have love of country and national sentiment.
"The one who writes these lines certainly has
nothing in common with Croatia; He is a true Milanese; but he prefers to
address matters objectively, with complete independence from traditional
prejudices, and consequently, he is prepared to declare himself against Croatia
and in favor of Hungary should the situations of the two peoples be reversed.
All the more so because, as he has been able to personally verify by being
present at the events and speaking with authoritative figures, Croatia is not
what it once was; in the last 40 years, Croatia has made enormous progress,
from literature to the development of its national sentiment; its economy is
only hampered by the taxes imposed by Hungary.
And if the Croatian people still retain some
shortcomings of newly independent nations in relation to our civil system, they
possess all the healthy energies characteristic of them, which await only the
dawn of freedom to fully develop. It must not be forgotten that the Slavs, of
whom the Croats are a genuine branch, are destined for a great future in
Europe, due to the strength of their physical vigor and intellectual
renaissance.
"In Italy, there is generally no accurate
knowledge of Croatia and its people, nor of the conditions under which it is
subject to Hungary: because of the events of 1848, Hungary is considered among
us as a chivalrous nation and as a living antagonist of Austria in its national
political relations. But things are not so.
"Unfortunate Croatia, even though it is an
autonomous kingdom, with its own viceroy, its own parliament, its own
administration of internal affairs, justice, worship, and public education, shares
with Hungary finances and public works, and with Austria, respectively, foreign
affairs, war, and the navy.
"What is most painful for Croatia is its
inability, against all rights, to directly manage its finances, and that
Hungary exploits the money of the Croatians for its own benefit. Croatia's land
would be rich were it not for two conditions that prevent this: the lack of
freedom and the indolence of the population, the latter perhaps a consequence
of the former. What is truly infuriating is the cruel irony with which the
Hungarian government treats Croatia: 'We manage your money,' says Hungary,
'because you don't know how.'
Dr. Frank, a courageous member of the Croatian
parliament, wrote last year in his Nuntium to the Hungarian parliament, without
anyone being able to contradict him: 'We give everything to Hungary and receive
nothing; Hungary takes everything from us and gives us nothing.'
And if this were not enough, two other serious
facts (ignored abroad) serve to explain the hatred of the Hungarian government
and the animosity against its representative, Ban Khuen Hederváry, who has
governed Croatia for a quarter of a century."
Documents
Preserving Hope
"Our only sin is: loving Croatia."
Hrvatski Tjednik (Croatian Weekly) was the publication of "Matica
Hrvatska," the oldest Croatian cultural organization. After a long period
of silence imposed on the Croatian people by the communist Great Serbian regime
in 1945, Croatian intellectuals—both communist and non-communist—grouped in this
institution began publishing the newspaper in early 1971. With the
extraordinary creative fervor of a people harshly and for a long time
oppressed, the newspaper achieved enormous cultural and literary success. Its
pages reflected national concerns of all kinds: economic, cultural, historical,
linguistic-literary, scientific, philosophical, and so on.
Furthermore, despite the obstacles placed in its
way by the communist authorities in Belgrade, the number of subscribers grew
rapidly, reaching a circulation of over 140,000 copies in just a few months.
But Tito's "liberal" regime imposed its suppression, which also
affected a whole series of Croatian publications in the first months of this
year. Matica Hrvatska was raided by the police, and its editorial board was forced
to resign, as was the entire editorial staff under pressure from the Belgrade
authorities.
In the text transcribed below, the dismissed
editorial staff, in the last issue that was banned—December 1971—sends a
message to the Croatian people and the world. Its dramatic nature is
extraordinary. A people and their intellectuals believe in the highest ideals,
while reality denies them even the right to enjoy a region of the earth called
Croatia, a place where they can live freely and in harmony with the rest of the
world. Without losing hope, the words of the editors forced to resign express
the deepest bitterness of their people in the following terms:
"There is nothing more we can say. Further
arguments on our part would only increase the existing misunderstanding or give
rise to another misinterpretation. Faced with this irrational situation, we are
powerless. The winds of history have confused the words! The same words have
many different meanings, and moreover, we cannot decide. We know what we are
talking about, but we do not know what others hear: there is no way to reduce
all these words to a single meaning, to bring them close enough to prevent
further misunderstandings.
"The evidence was of no use to us, nor was
triviality: someone was constantly distorting our plans. Our arguments and
clarifications were also of no help: there was always someone who explained
their content or objective in reverse. There are no ideas so simple or desires
so basic that they cannot become subversive simply because we defend
them!"
"The only right we could feel secure in was
the right to the ultimate questions (of the meaning of life). The universe was
given to us for meditation, free from any kind of misunderstanding. We could
freely admire the greatness of others and, in contrast, treat ourselves like
masochists!
"The entire realm of the unreal was left to us
for our use and our encounters with friends. We had obtained those rights that
ask nothing of anyone! Croatian idealism could be unleashed to the point of
suicide, to its very evaporation.
But the infinite is too cold for the body. In its
purity, there, man is condemned to despair. The earth is not only the place of
our origin: it is the matter of our entire life, its measure, the only space in
which we truly exist."
"The entire domain of the unreal was left to
us for our use and our encounters with friends. We had obtained those rights
that ask nothing of anyone! Croatian idealism could be unleashed to the point
of suicide, to its very evaporation.
But the infinite is too cold for the body. In its
purity, there, man is condemned to despair. The earth is not only the place of
our origin: it is the matter of our entire life, its measure, the only space in
which we truly exist." "No matter how wondrous the spectacles of the
sky that gazes down upon us, we are concerned only with the region so dear to
us and the rights we have to it. That region is Croatia. In it and with it
begins the history of our heart and soul: the first lessons of the earth and
the world. For as soon as one glimpses the sky, one simultaneously shares in
the universal! All attempts to deny it, to eliminate it, are futile: for all
each of us could do is disfigure the infinite within ourselves! That is why we
have always imagined our homeland in dreams and utopias with everyone: as a
matter of concern to the entire world!
We repeated this in our programs, we examined it in
our critical texts. We did nothing but examine, simply scrutinize simple
facts."
"The misunderstandings that arose were not in
our questions, nor in the material we were dealing with. They were a
consequence of a stance that considered us solely and exclusively as guilty!
That is why there was no dialogue, why our monologue was torn to shreds,
shrouded in interpretations that now accuse us.
"The only sin we discover in ourselves is
loving Croatia. Because it is only Croatia that does not encompass the same
interests on every point. Everything else—from freedom to self-management and
the progress of socialism—we each accept equally, if we are to believe anyone's
words! Without Croatia, there would have been no misunderstandings. Our error,
according to all the accusations leveled against us, begins with regard to
Croatia.
"But we know that we were seeking something
new, that we were defending reasons that we unreservedly considered to be the
same for others: in our community and in the world. 'The Spirit blows where it
wills,' says Sacred Scripture.
"For us, this is a metaphor in which our
conviction is strengthened by knowing that we are working for the future of
all." "But the loftier an idea, the more lies it provokes! Thus,
months and months of malice and distortion of our positions are ultimately
proving more convincing and effective than all our statements, all our
arguments: our work has been condemned from the highest levels of our federal
community.
Nevertheless, we know no other way to defend those
programs that we consider novel and progressive for society as a whole and for
our homeland: freedom and justice, in a socialism of self-management. For this
reason, we have submitted our resignations to the editorial board of our
newspaper. Upon accepting them, the Executive Committee of Matica Hrvatska
decided to continue publishing it with a different editorial team."
"Nevertheless, we know no other way to defend
those programs that we consider novel and progressive for society as a whole
and for our homeland: freedom and justice, in a socialism of self-management.
For this reason, we have submitted our resignations to the editorial board of
our newspaper. Upon accepting them, the Executive Committee of Matica Hrvatska
decided to continue publishing it with a different editorial team."
"In separating from Hrvatski Tjednik (The Croatian Weekly), we do not
abandon the hope that united us. We are convinced that this hope is common to
all of us who consider the future of our country and the world as an era of
freedom and justice, the only era that can guarantee the meaning of human
dreams, of our history: from our first contact with matter to our last gaze
upon the light of the sky.
"For death does not silence all the dead, nor
does silence extinguish all hope!"
Zagreb, December 11, 1971. Translated by: F. N.
Christ sanctified patriotism
Christmas Message from the Archbishop of Zagreb,
Msgr. Dr. F. Kuharic, to the Faithful of the Croatian People
Shortly after Tito's coup d'état in December 1971,
in a very tense atmosphere, Msgr. Kuharic addressed his people in the following
terms: “As Archbishop of Zagreb, I address in this, my Christmas message, the
faithful of my archdiocese and all the faithful of the Croatian people. God so
loved the world that the eternal Son of the Father became man. From the depths
of the unfathomable mystery, He comes to us in the hands of the Virgin Mother.
God comes to be our brother in small joys and great sufferings. He shares with
us in our poverty, sufferings, and death, guiding us toward the Resurrection.
Through Christ, with Him, and in Him, humanity becomes the supreme value of the
visible world; Human freedom is elevated, guarantees are offered to humankind,
and we are guided to choose justice and truth.
Jesus Christ was born into a modest, poor family.
This fact reveals the dignity of the human family. The family is the cradle of
fidelity, love, magnanimous acceptance of life, and the strength that protects.
But the family is not an isolated community. It is
immersed in the larger community called the people. Jesus Christ is also a son
of his people. He also sanctified patriotism. By imitating Christ, each person
is a member of their family and their people, a contributor to and heir of
national consciousness and history, and a participant in its present. Human
beings are bound to their people by a shared destiny, a common concern, a
shared love, and a shared suffering and hope. Jesus Christ wept for the fate of
the city of his people. The people also have their reason for being and their
dignity. All the rights with which each person is born are also the rights of
their people. Everyone under the sun must have the right to their place and
their homeland, to life and liberty, to their bread and their language, to
guaranteed security and respect. This is the foundation of peace among nations.
Christ liberates and sanctifies humanity for the
life that will reach its fullness in Eternity, but He also guarantees the most
complete fulfillment here on earth.
Christmas is the manifestation of God's love and
human dignity.
Christmas is deeply rooted in the heart of the
Croatian people. From generation to generation, we celebrate Christmas as the
joyful festival of hope. Our Christmas carols express the faith that sustained
our ancestors through centuries of suffering. That is why, despite our troubled
history, we enjoy a Christmas so rich in song.
But Christmas is not only Revelation; it is also an
invitation to a life of dignity. The love offered to all invites each person to
live their dignity. This dignity is realized by accepting the Word of God with
all its implications. And what else can I convey in this Christmas message to
the parishioners of my town but the desire to live united, in complete harmony,
in our own fidelity? With sorrowful hearts, but faithful to the truth in the
great community of the Catholic Church, doing good, living with dignity.
Let us live family dignity! May each of our
families be healthy, strong, and full of faith. Such a family is the refuge of
the people, the guarantee of their future. The fruitful and faithful family
transmits the history of the faithful people from generation to generation.
Let us live up to the dignity of our national and
social community! Each in their place, each with their responsibility,
respecting others and demanding our respect in return.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New
Year 1972. To all, especially to those who cannot celebrate with their
families!
Zagreb, 1971
Franjo Kuharic, Archbishop of Zagreb
An excerpt from
the "dialogue" between Christians and Marxists:
The Lenten letter of the Archbishop of Zagreb (year
1972)
"Man does not live by bread alone, but by
every word that comes from the mouth of God."
"Beloved parishioners, brothers and sisters:
"In light of the words of Jesus that we have
just heard in the Gospel for the first week of Lent, let us try, during this
week, to reflect with the Holy Spirit on humanity, its life, its destiny, and
its relationship with God.
"It is an undeniable fact that humanity stands
before itself and its life, facing its greatest problem. It would deny itself
if it did not question itself and if its destiny did not trouble it.
"Humanity inevitably seeks the truth about
itself. What is humanity, really? What is the meaning of life? Does humanity,
in all times, have the same essence and the same meaning?" The Conciliar
Constitution "Gaudium et Spes" poses the question: "But what is
man? Human beings have said many different and contradictory things and
opinions about themselves, sometimes exalting themselves so much that they
consider themselves the absolute measure, and at other times humbling
themselves to the point of despair, feeling anguished and confused. The Church
feels these difficulties deeply" (Gaudium et Spes, No. 12).
"It is certain that the life of man is built
upon the answers to these great questions. The fabric of his destiny cannot be
separated from the answer he discovers about himself. Thus we arrive at
Hamlet's question: to be or not to be, that is the question."
"The answers have their own logic of life. The
history of human thought bears witness that man has always sought the answer to
the meaning of everything and of himself. The interpretations were multiple.
Despite this multiplicity of philosophical systems, their opinions can be
reduced to two opposing groups with specific nuances." A group of thinkers
considers humankind an accidental product of the evolution of matter, denying
it any spiritual reality. This view—regardless of the era it belongs
to—confines humanity exclusively and hopelessly within the limits of time and
earth; it recognizes as legitimate to question the meaning of human life only
within those limits.
“Another group—which also includes natural
religions—affirms, or at least senses, that humanity is not merely the product
of chance; it did not emerge from chaos only to vanish into it. These thinkers
seek the source and origin of humanity in the will and existence of the
Absolute Being who created everything and guides humanity's path toward
Eternity. We do not wish to delve here into the representations and ideas that
accompany their reflections.
“The Church gives us its answer, building its
conviction and faith not only on human thought, but, first and foremost, on
Revelation, on the great Mystery of Jesus Christ: ‘Taught,’ says the Council,
‘by divine revelation, it is able to give the answer that reflects humanity’s
true position and thus understands its weakness and, at the same time,
recognizes its dignity and vocation’ (G. and S. No. 12).”
“The Church gives us its answer, building its
conviction and faith not only on human thought, but primarily on Revelation, on
the great Mystery of Jesus Christ: ‘Taught,’ says the Council, ‘by divine
revelation, it is able to give the answer that reflects humanity’s true
position and thus understands its weakness and, at the same time, recognizes
its dignity and vocation’” (G. and S. No. 12). "We believe that only God
can give us a complete and true answer. For this very reason, the truth about
humanity is linked to the truth about God. God's existence is as crucial to us
as our own.
If God does not exist, then many questions become
superfluous... But it is certain that human reason is open to the Infinite and
Absolute. Through great effort, it has always sought ultimate truth and has not
allowed itself to be confined, we might say, to the solitary cell of the visible
world. If God does not exist, these efforts are superfluous. If God does not
exist, then the only truth about humanity is this: it arose accidentally from
chaos and to chaos it returns. Under these conditions, humanity decides for
itself whether or not to recognize something as the meaning of its life.
Following this line of thought, by the sheer force of logic, it must ultimately
recognize that everything is: Meaningless! Despite the existence of something
within humanity that opposes meaninglessness, in the end, human destiny ends in
meaninglessness." In this assumption, there is no other hope or foundation
for life.
"Can humanity reconcile itself with such a
position? It is an undeniable fact that humanity cherished, and continues to
cherish, a higher hope!"
II
"Faith reveals to us, with divine assurance,
the ultimate enigma of man. Supported by this faith, 'man is not truly
mistaken,' says the Council, 'when he considers himself superior to material
elements and irreducible to a mere particle of nature or an anonymous element
of human society.' Within his own life, man truly transcends all things: into
these depths man enters when he returns to his heart, where God awaits him, who
searches the heart, and where man, in God's presence alone, decides his destiny.
Therefore, recognizing within himself the spiritual
and immortal soul, he does not feel himself a victim of a false imagination,
'but, on the contrary, attains the very profound truth of things' (G. et S. No.
14). For us, the faithful, the existence of God is a fundamental and absolute
truth. God exists and is Absolute Holiness; He is Justice and Love. He is the
Creator of all that is visible and invisible. In creating man, He had
intentions worthy of God. These same intentions grant The foundation of human
dignity, becoming the meaning of human existence and life.
"Faith teaches us that humanity's ultimate
destiny is eternal joy in a loving community with God, in community with the
great family of blessed angels and humans. 'In his own image God created
humankind' so that he might share his life and make us partakers of his
eternity. This is God's offer and invitation."
"Faith teaches us that humanity's ultimate
destiny is eternal joy in a loving community with God, in a community with the
great family of blessed angels and humans. 'In his own image God created
humankind,' so that he might share his life with us and make us partakers of
his eternity. This is God's offer and invitation." “Believing in the
immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body—and for this we have
the guarantee in the word of God, which with its certainty surpasses all human
philosophies—we believe in the immutable truth about humanity. This truth is so
great and moving that, unfortunately, it seems improbable to many. That is why
they reject it. However, this meaning stems from the very logic of God’s love.
If this is so, and we believe it to be so, then
Jesus’ answer to the Tempter is true: ‘Man does not live by bread alone’ (Mt.
4:3).
“Human hope cannot be fulfilled by bread alone. The
meaning of human life cannot be material. Human destiny cannot end in
nothingness.”
“From what has been said, it immediately follows
that human dignity rests upon divine dignity. Human life is situated on an
absolute foundation. Eternity is its meaning.”
“Because of this hope of eternity, faith was
rejected by some thinkers as if it were opium.” Christians are accused of
neglecting humanity's problems on earth. For the sake of earthly life, they
say, one must renounce the hope of eternity.
"On the contrary," we reply, "it is
also impossible to build the earthly life of man in its entirety without this
hope and its ultimate meaning. Why? Because it is possible to build life in its
truth for the good of man only on the truth about man. This truth, in turn, is
confirmed by the truth about God. In this way, the truth about God and man
becomes the foundation for the life of the individual, the family, the people,
and humanity. On this truth rest all human relationships with permanent certainty.
In it they find their justification and their demands; it excludes selfishness
and the right of the strongest from all human relationships; thanks to it,
human freedom has its true meaning; this truth harmonizes right with
obligation. The great fraternity receives its meaning and finds its foundation
in the great Fatherhood of God.
"Providing only the material conditions of
bodily life does not in itself create conditions for human happiness." If
someone desires the happiness of man, he must take him in his entirety, in his
corporeal-spiritual reality and, finally, in his orientation towards the
eternal.
"It is a fact that contemporary civilization,
with all the means it places at humanity's disposal, does not fill its heart
with happiness. It does not solve its great questions; it does not free it from
anguish. Electronic devices cannot replace what can and should be accomplished
in the human heart. The human heart cannot find peace without truth, goodness,
justice, love, and grace.
"Man does not live by bread alone."
"Precisely because of our faith and our
eternal hope, we cannot be indifferent to the destiny of humanity, the family,
our people, and all humankind.
"The Church, precisely because of its faith in
God and the meaning of human existence, encourages and appreciates honest human
efforts to make the earth a blessed dwelling place for humanity, as far as
possible, given the condition of the earth, time, and humanity itself."
"The faithful are invited by their faith to
build a world in which there will be no injustice, hatred, or violence of man
against man. Christians feel obliged in conscience to fulfill their duty in
such a way that, with love, they help humanity and promote the common good.
Eternal hope not only does not impede this, but on the contrary, compels
effective love.
"The Church, by virtue of her religious
conviction, is committed to the inalienable rights and dignity of the human
person, which—in the words of the Council—'surpass all things, being universal
and inviolable. Consequently, everything necessary for a truly human life must
be made accessible to humankind: food, clothing, the right to information, work
in accordance with a right conscience, the right to protection in the sphere of
private life, and the necessary freedom in the religious sphere.'" (G. et
S. No. 26).
"That is why the faithful can never reconcile
themselves to the idea that man believes himself diminished by his faith and
his conscience. We cannot deny ourselves, nor our inalienable right to live as
we are in complete freedom and peace.
"The Council, in several documents based on
Church doctrine concerning man, also emphasizes the right to education. The
child is born of his parents as a human person. Before and after birth, he
possesses full human dignity. He is a fruit of the love of God and of his
parents. Parents are primarily responsible for the education of their children
according to the precepts of their faith. This is their sacred right and their
sacred obligation. Education belongs to the parents."
"Believing parents feel deeply wounded in
their conscience if someone imposes on their children a conviction contrary to
their faith, thus robbing them of their souls. Believing parents can never
accept the idea that schools instill atheism in their children as a worldview.
Such a course of action is contrary to the right to human freedom.
"For us, science and materialism do not have
identical limits. Science must remain open to the infinite and to reality, to
the totality of reality that encompasses both visible and invisible things. To
close off science's perspectives on the infinite is to clip its wings.
Materialism, in turn, is a particular philosophy that does not recognize any
transcendent reality and that can be scientifically justifiable like all other
philosophies. In the field of science, the evidence of truth rests solely on
self-evident arguments. Materialism, as a philosophy, cannot have self-evident
arguments against the existence of God, nor against the immortality of the
human soul. What it does is simply deny these possibilities a priori."
"The same applies to political programs and
social systems. They can only partially address the spheres of human life—which
are never exempt from ethical norms—and can only be justified to the extent
that their successes enable a dignified life for each individual and for the
entire community. The only judge in this regard can be the reality of life. But
political programs and social systems constantly overstep their bounds by
attempting to impose themselves as worldviews. This is not their role. Here we are
dealing with another sphere. Politics is not religion.
The obligation of political power is to ensure, in
society—whatever system it may be—the protection of the legal space of freedom
for each person so that they may, in full freedom and honesty, collaborate with
others and live their lives in cooperation for the common good. It is the duty
of every authority to organize the conditions of political life, ensuring work
for all, bread for all, and security for all. It must bear the duty of
protecting life and human dignity. For the common good, work, professional
specialization, and The honesty of each individual. Man is obligated to give
all of this to the community.
Under no circumstances may those who hold public
office impose philosophical convictions and worldviews on citizens through
instruments of power. Likewise, from the perspective of the integral truth
about man, we consider that access to certain services and professions cannot
be conditioned on the profession of a particular philosophy. Neither belief nor
non-belief can be imposed by force. The conciliar decree "Declaration on
Human Freedom" addresses this matter in particular.
"Our eternal hope compels us, the faithful, to
love our people. We are deeply moved by their migratory displacements, and we
are filled with concern by their moral, economic, familial, and social
problems, so painfully present in the life of the Croatian people."
"From the perspective of our faith, we
understand that just relations with other peoples are necessary, but also
possible only on the condition that they can be carried out with justice, in
freedom, and with respect for legitimate rights and authentic obligations. That
is to say, faith and eternal hope do not distance us from concrete life but,
rather, include us in it with the force of the objective principles of justice,
honesty, and love. Faith in God and the dignity of humankind incorporate us
into life.
III
"So, man does not live by bread alone. What
else does he need to live with dignity? Jesus' answer to the Tempter continues,
and he says: 'Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes
from the mouth of God.'
"Man, therefore, cannot live his truth without
a relationship with God. He cannot live as if God did not exist. For a complete
human life, the word of God is necessary.
"This word means much and contains much."
Everything necessary for the salvation of man... Having explained the meaning
of baptism in the life of the Church, the archbishop continues: "The more
man's awareness of God's greatness, holiness, justice, and love weakens, the
more his understanding of the tragedy of sin and its evil also weakens. Today,
the idea that everything is permissible for man if he considers it useful and
pleasing is increasingly accepted, even by some Christians. Modern men are
increasingly rejecting the enduring value of moral principles, which would have
their lasting force and their obligation to consciences."
While some principles may exist, they are generally
agreed upon by humankind, but there is no transcendent judge or sanction. Even
Christians excuse themselves: "That's how everyone lives, that's how
everyone acts, so what's left for us?" As if evil could be transformed
into good by the will of the majority! With this view, we enter into moral chaos
where there is no difference between good and evil, where everything is left to
subjective dispositions, opinions, and human passions. This relativism and
subjectivism open the door to the forces of evil that can destroy humanity. For
this very reason, they are irreconcilable with the truth about God and
humanity.
“Jesus did not send the apostles to instruct people
to live as others live… but rather said, ‘Teach them to observe all things that
I have commanded you’ (Matt. 28:20).
“Truth compels us to reject all blackmail in the
name of God’s principles. Sin remains sin, always evil and a misfortune for
humankind. It is an evil with many faces and masks. It seduces the vulnerable,
violates the purity of the innocent, destroys families, dishonors the sanctity
of marriage, exploits the weakest, persecutes the innocent, condemns the
righteous, and oppresses the poor. Sin is constantly opposed to truth. As the
prophet Jeremiah cried out, ‘Lies and not truth rule the land… One is deceiving
another; they are not speaking the truth, for their tongues are sharpened to
lies’ (Jer. 9:2, 4).” "They are led astray by their depraved hearts"
(Jeremiah 9:13).
Sin is the father of all despair and the mother of
all injustice. It is a serious problem throughout history. In this 20th
century, our century, which has proclaimed as its goal the liberation of man
from God, this theme regains a special force. Perhaps the wars, concentration
camps, torture, millions of dead and maimed are not the fruit of sin. Man
became a blasphemer against God and his own executioner... Sin makes human life
irreparably thwarted.
But God is also speaking to our generation:
"Your wickedness will condemn you, and your apostasy will cry out against
you. Acknowledge and understand how evil and bitter it is that you have
forsaken the Lord your God and have not feared me" (Jeremiah 2:19). He
also speaks to us through the prophet Ezekiel: "Turn and repent of all
your transgressions... Cast away from you all your transgressions that you have
committed, and form yourselves a new heart and a new spirit... Repent and
live" (Ezekiel 18:31-32).
"Your wickedness will condemn you, and your
unfaithfulness will cry out against you. You will know how evil and bitter it
is that you have forsaken the Lord your God and have not feared me"
(Jeremiah 2:19)." "Conversion is not merely a superficial refinement.
It penetrates to the very core of a person and profoundly changes their life.
The power of God is present within it. It is the attitude of the Holy Spirit in
the human conscience. Conversion is the light in human thoughts, the love of
Pentecost in the human heart, the strength of Pentecost in a person's decision
to be a friend of God in all their thoughts, words, and deeds. The change takes
place within, in the depths of conscience. Evil thoughts beget evil deeds. Only
good and pure thoughts can bear the fruit of good works..."
Continuing on the topic of human conversion,
Monsignor Kuharic adds: "Conversion, therefore, is not a finished act. It
is a process within a person so that every day they may be a person of God.
Conversion is not possible without divine grace. Our conversion must be
constantly nourished by prayer. Without humble, sincere, and deeply lived
prayer, the Christian life is impossible; divine strength is given to us in
the..." Sacraments.
"By underestimating sin, we also began to
underestimate confession. But it is the divine remedy for our human weakness.
In it, Jesus Christ placed His divine mercy, but He also awaits our contrition,
sincerity, and serious resolve to return to God's path every day. To a cleansed
soul, the Eucharist is given as true food for eternal life. 'Man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God' (Matthew
14:14). We should not remain without these gifts during this Lent. Our Redeemer
Jesus Christ, through His suffering and resurrection, invites us to a spiritual
resurrection. This will be the joyful light of the Easter celebration. God
spoke to us again through the prophet: 'I have loved you with an everlasting
love; therefore, in my compassion, I have drawn you to myself' (Jeremiah
30:3)." "Behold, I will heal their wounds, and restore them to
health, and heal their diseases, and will grant them peace and faithfulness,
just as they have asked" (Jer. 32:6).
"United with the Mother of God and the
community of Saints in humble prayer, let us pray that it may be so. May the
blessing of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with you all and as the
foundation of the joy of the Resurrection.
Zagreb, November 27, 1972.
Franjo Kuharic, Archbishop of Zagreb
Translated by: F. N.
"False rhetoric from the Archbishop of
Zagreb"
"Vjesnik," the official communist
newspaper of the puppet government in Zagreb, mocks the Lenten Letter of the
Primate of Croatia
"In Franjo Kuharic's Lenten Letter, it is
difficult not to see an excessive leap beyond the norms of conduct agreed upon
in the Protocol between Yugoslavia and the Holy See.
"It could be said that the Archbishop of
Zagreb, in his Lenten Letter "Man Does Not Live by Bread Alone" (read
with great pomp in all the churches of the Diocese of Zagreb between March 12
and 19, 1972), is guided not only by divine words but also by the aphorisms of
the late Polish satirist J. Lee. There is a publication of his entitled:
'Perhaps God Wanted Me to Be an Atheist?'" Franjo Kuharic also sets things
up in his Letter when, in our opinion, he significantly and provocatively
oversteps the natural and agreed-upon limits of purely ecclesiastical and
confessional activity and influence.
It could be said that he understands his pastoral
duty in an expansive and offensive way, wishing to increase his authority over
the entirety of our system, especially over the highly complex area of
educating our younger generations. We could say that he is being
led astray by Lee: possibly, F. Kuharic supposes, God himself willed that a
workers', socialist, and self-managed state be formed here in our country,
precisely on the principles of the Marxist vision of social organization, but
F. Kuharic, the Archbishop of Zagreb, took it upon himself to modify that
Yugoslav projection of divine will on earth, or rather, to use his pastoral
staff to force even the stray Marxist sheep, atheists and neutrals, communists
and non-communists, into his archiepiscopal fold.
"It would seem, and it must be so, if we know
all that F. Kuharic said to his spiritual flock in his Lenten Letter. It is a
philosophical compilation about man and the meaning of his life, but at a
popular level and with a combative projection of the Church's secular desires,
which we believed—and this was our credulity—to have been consigned to history,
thanks especially to the documents of the Second Vatican Council. The Protocol
signed in 1966 between Yugoslavia and the Holy See also clearly states that
'the activity of Catholic priests, in the fulfillment of their duties, must be
carried out within ecclesiastical and religious limits and that, accordingly,
they must not abuse their religious and ecclesiastical functions to achieve objectives
that would truly have a political character.'"
"Let's see, then, what does the Archbishop of
Zagreb, F. Kuharic, want? If we strip his Lenten Letter of the aforementioned
philosophical simplification (intended) for the people, within which the archbishop
very quickly and easily resolves major problems, hypostatizing ecclesiastical
dissents and then, on that basis, condemning the modern world wholesale (as if
there hadn't been, for 2,000 years, 'wars, concentration camps, torture,
mutilations, desperate fruits of sin'—that is, as if the Church could have
prevented them and today cannot because of materialism and Marxism), if, I
repeat, we eliminate this philosophical concoction, which could not withstand a
slightly more systematic debate, then we discover the sword of the bellicose
archbishop beneath his pleasant pastoral canopy.
'We cannot be impartial in the face of the destiny
of man, the family, our people, and all of humanity,' he says." Kuharic,
precisely "because of our faith in the meaning of man and because of our
eternal hope." This is the starting point we can accept, even though it is
clear beforehand that the people, according to Kuharic, are defined by their
faith. "It follows from this that the parishioners can never reconcile
themselves with the idea that a man should be considered diminished because of
his convictions and faith," Kuharic fanned the flames, "as if
anything like that had ever been proclaimed in our society! But this
ideological and social tension serves only as a stepping stone for Kuharic to
reach his theme, namely, "the right to education." "Parents are
the first called upon and responsible for educating their children according to
the demands of their faith and conscience," but "believing parents
feel deeply wounded in their conscience if someone imposes on their child a
conviction contrary to their faith, thus robbing them of their children's
souls." This is already a sophism, but not without malice in its confused
and intriguing tone. First, no one denies parents the right to education as
they wish and desire, and second, it is a complete lie that the school
"imposes atheism on children as their worldview."
"In our schools, as soon as we understand the
subject, the development of society is explained scientifically in the
materialist, dialectical, and Marxist sense, while in philosophy classes, as
soon as we understand it, all other idealist, religious, non-Marxist, etc.,
conceptions are explained without preference or discrimination. Everyone has
freedom of orientation, which is evident if we know that churches remain open
and frequented and that certain young people are grouping themselves under
ecclesiastical patronage. Francisco Kuharic, therefore, pathetically and
contemptuously distorts the real state of affairs.
"It is true that he wants to say something,
but he is shrouding himself in the veil of his false rhetoric: 'The same
applies to political programs and social systems. They can only partially
encompass the sphere of human life...' but, 'they always overstep the bounds
when they impose themselves as worldviews. They cannot do that. This is another
sphere. Because politics is not religion.'"
"This is, therefore, a matter of politics, not
religion; we are talking about the political aspirations of the Church, that
is, the involvement of its ecclesiastical dignity in the socio-political
system. How so? Archbishop Franjo Kuharic of Zagreb wanted us to forget that
throughout the developed world, the Church is separate from the State. He
envisions the possibility of dialogue between Marxists and believers, without
knowing what to do with citizens who are neither Marxists, nor communists, nor
parishioners, and therefore have no one with whom to 'dialogue.' Franjo Kuharic
understands this as an opportunity to redefine the sphere of activity: to you
Marxists, the body of man; to us pastors, his soul.
Here, Franjo Kuharic is greatly mistaken, and it
surprises us that he is unaware that the modern Church renounced such
aspirations quite some time ago. Our schools offer scientific knowledge, but
leave room for free choice. However, political functions in our country are
determined by the social system!" We are a workers', socialist state,
organized on the principles of self-management socialism, which is our political
worldview.
This means that we deny the Church the right to
interfere in the political system, and when it, as F. Kuharic advocates,
penetrates the social structure, going beyond the boundaries of religious
matters, then it is truly becoming involved in politics. Our society is not
ideologically neutral; that much must be clear. The Church was too political an
organization to not know what it would do now, too, if it were to follow F.
Kuharic's ideas.
"One more thing: F. Kuharic speaks as if he
were triumphant because political programs and social systems 'can only
partially encompass the sphere of human life.' And what else? Marxism is not a
totalitarian philosophy, especially not our open and democratic version. Based
on our social and political practice, we are building a free society in which
politics is not, should not be, and cannot be 'faith.' It is the effective
practice of free human beings, aware of their innocence at birth, aware that
everything is in their hands. If Kuharic insists so much on the question of the
meaning of life, we too could say that we are painfully searching for it and
see it in the realization of ever more complete freedom.
'Freedom is a political issue. F. Kuharic wants man
to live in fear and humility, in 'the knowledge of the tragedy of sin and its
evil.'" That is why he wants our society to entrust him with the education
of our new generations, which is an eminently political and secular claim by
the Church. He wants to impose "philosophical convictions and worldviews"
on citizens, but on the other hand, he denies the same to "those who bear
public and social responsibility."
This, then, is Kuharic's futile struggle for power
in our system, where it is clearly proclaimed that the working class is in
power, led by the Communist League, and that the League, in this respect,
rejects cooperation with the Church. Within its limits, receiving men, women,
children, youth, and the elderly who freely choose their own path, the Church
can cultivate all its teachings, but it cannot—and this it has renounced,
something the Archbishop of Zagreb seems to forget—demand greater social
responsibility.
"Franjo Kuharic is clearly making demands that
discredit him as a member of the modern Church and in the spirit of good
relations between Yugoslavia and the Holy See. It is not clear to him that both
parishioners and non-parishioners have the same rights, but that the former,
performing a function paid for by the State (educators, teachers, etc.), cannot
abuse these functions to promote ideas contrary to the fundamental positions of
our system. This is not clear to F. Kuharic—which we regret—or he is taking
advantage of the situation.
He 'loves his people' pathetically, as if this
matter were solely his own. Thus we return to the point from which Kuharic began:
'We are moved by their emigration; we are deeply concerned about the many
moral, economic, familial, and social problems present in the lives of our
Croatian people.'" All that remains is to add "Bog i Hrvati" –
God and the Croats – to make Kuharic's intentions perfectly clear. (Bog i
Hrvati – God and the Croats is the motto of the Croatian Party of Right,
founded by Dr. Ante Starcevic, considered the Father of the Croatian nation and
a fearless fighter for Croatian independence. – Note from the website.) It's as
if being an archbishop were a prerequisite for being moved by all these
problems, and as if, in the past, when the Church held sway over the social,
moral, and political life of our country, especially over the education of
younger generations, such problems didn't exist.
(Note: The original text incorrectly states
"Bog i Hrvati" and "God and the Croats" appears to be a
separate, unrelated thought and has been omitted.) "The
Pharisaical-Samaritan conduct of the Archbishop of Zagreb is thus revealed, at
the beginning and end of his letter, as an excessive leap beyond the
agreed-upon norms for a prominent official of the Catholic Church in our
country. All the good that our society has done and built, with much effort and
goodwill, in the relations between Yugoslavia and the Holy See—and we all know
that these relations are developing to the satisfaction of both parties—the
Archbishop of Zagreb seems to want to call into question once again. If it is
true that man does not live by bread alone, neither does the modern Church—and
we believe it will not be governed in the future—according to the prescriptions
of F. Kuharic."
Translated by F.N.
The text of these two documents is transcribed from
the newspaper "Ognjiste" "El Hogar" Buenos Aires, No. 5
(49)/1972, whose director is Father Lino Pedisic, spiritual director of the
Croatian community in Argentina. The newspaper also publishes in the same issue
an extensive broadcast from Vatican Radio, Croatian section, defending the
Archbishop of Zagreb and criticizing the editorial staff of "Vjesnik"
for having acted outside the bounds of the norms agreed upon between the Holy
See and the Belgrade regime, to which it so insistently appeals.
The audacity of the communist newspaper serving
Belgrade—communist and Orthodox—and the Croatian local government, an absolute
satellite after the fall of the Croatian communist leaders who demonstrated
genuine concern for the problems of the Croatian people, is unprecedented. This
concern was the main reason for their "decapitation" by the
neo-Stalinists, led by the "liberal" Tito, and their Serbian
generals. It is evident, then, that ecclesiastical-Yugoslav-communist relations
leave much to be desired. A new conflict seems to be looming, the gravity of which,
with all its consequences, will once again fall upon the Croatian
ecclesiastical hierarchy and its people. This Croatian newspaper in Argentina
expresses similar concerns, allowing us to glimpse that its formulations are
not pure fabrication.
We acknowledge that goodwill is not always borne
out by future events, but it is also true that "Studia Croatica,"
from the signing of the Protocol until the re-establishment of diplomatic
relations between the Holy See and Belgrade, adopted a highly skeptical stance.
Let us hope that developments in this regard do not take a worse turn! The
attacks by "Vjesnik" are echoed by Belgrade newspapers, especially
"Nin," which they claim is an organ of the police-military apparatus.
This cannot be considered a good omen, even though we know full well that the
true interlocutor with Archbishop Kuharic is not in Zagreb but also in
Belgrade, in this "prologomenal dialogue."
Chronicle, news and commentary
Vinko Nikolic - His 60th birthday
Professor Vinko Nikolic is a rare figure among Croatian
emigrants. We might even call him a singular individual. It is seldom, then,
that such disparate talents as poet and organizer are combined in the same
person. Thanks to this unusual combination of talents, Nikolic, a tireless
worker, has already secured an enviable legacy for Croatia's cultural and
political history. His talents have not been buried and hidden away. Nor have
the hopes that his people place in each of their intellectuals been frustrated.
It is they who, in difficult times, light candles and illuminate paths of hope
and liberation.
Nikolic's life and creative activity began with the
most tragic period in Croatia's long history. In 1918, when Croatia became part
of monarchical Yugoslavia, the millennia-long continuity of its independent
statehood was interrupted. From that moment on—except for the period of
1941–1945, when the Croatian people waged a tremendous war against
international communism and the Yugoslav Communist Party—the situation in
Croatia has steadily worsened. With the restoration of communist Yugoslavia in
1945, the true Croatian ordeal began. Currently, Croatians are subjected to a
neo-Stalinist and Great Serbian regime whose totalitarian rigor rivals that of
its Stalinist model.
This tragedy, with its hecatombs of innocent lives,
is reflected in the life of the poet Nikolic. With bitterness in his heart,
Nikolic is literally wandering the world. But his bitterness is not the kind
that kills. In his patriotic and poetic heart, it acts as an inexhaustible
incentive, a factor that does not paralyze, but rather elevates to an
unprecedented power the natural dynamism of this endearing man of sixty.
Born in 1912 in the city of Šibenik, founded by the
Croatian King Krešimir over 900 years ago, Nikolic never forgot his hometown
and Krešimir's Croatia, which was fighting to regain its independence and
sovereignty. Nikolic was an excellent soldier in this struggle. After 20 years
working in Argentina, he moved to France. From there, he was expelled at the
insistence of the communist and Great Serbian regime in Belgrade, and the
police destroyed the graphic design materials for his magazine "Hrvatska
Revija" (The Croatian Magazine), which had been published in Argentina for
15 years without any class-based restrictions. Currently, after a true odyssey,
Nikolic continues to work in Europe.
His principal works: Four books of poetry published
in Croatia before 1945, and another four in exile. He has published two volumes
(Volume I, p. 407 and Volume II, p. 586) entitled Pred Vratima Domovine (Before
the Gate of the Homeland), containing his talks and conversations with the most
prominent figures in Croatian culture and politics in exile. There, along with
a highly interesting synthesis of others' opinions, are also original and insightful
observations by the author, constantly urging everyone to work for freedom.
Nikolic edits, as we have already mentioned, the best Croatian journal in the
national language, "Hrvatska Revija" – The Croatian Review.
It is a true reflection of the cultural and
political opinions of numerous Croatian intellectuals, both in exile and, more
recently, in the occupied homeland. Twenty-two years of his life represent a
source of pride for the national consciousness, responsibility, and culture of
Croatian intellectuals in a most tragic era. Not a single journal in Croatia
during the Yugoslav-Communist period survived for ten years, despite official
subsidies. Nikolic's "Croatian Review," now belonging to all of us,
has lived and thrived for over 22 years without any loss of vigor, despite all
the political, economic, and technical opposition. Its volumes will forever
remain a wonderful testament to the creative spirit of the Croatian people, and
especially of Nikolic. His great organizational talent was revealed here.
Furthermore, Nikolic established the Croatian Review's publishing house. To
date, it has published a whole series of historical, scientific, political, and
literary books. Among its authors is Dr. D. Mandic, currently the greatest
Croatian historian.
The Croatian-Latin American Institute of Culture
and the journal Studia Croatica, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of
their founding member and contributor Nikolic's birth, wish him continued
success in the future and congratulate him on his new achievements, hoping they
will add to the already rich legacy he has amassed for Croatian posterity, both
in exile and in his homeland, Croatia, which awaits the freedom for which we
fight shoulder to shoulder with him.
The S. C. Editorial Staff
Echoes of the special edition of "Studia
Croatica"
Croatia and the
Current Crisis in Yugoslavia
Freie Presse, a German daily in Buenos Aires, in its April 20, 1972
edition, under the heading "Das Buch" (The Books), referring to the
special edition of the magazine Studia Croatica, "Croatia and the Current
Crisis in Yugoslavia," published on the occasion of the current crisis in
communist Yugoslavia, stated the following:
"Studia Croatica," a Croatian newspaper in Spanish published
in Buenos Aires since 1960, published a 40-page booklet as a special edition,
entitled "Croatia and the Current Crisis in Yugoslavia," focusing on
the recent and serious crisis in Yugoslavia and clarifying the phenomenon that
has so greatly interested the world press.
The current
crisis, which has shaken the foundations of Tito's political community, must be
reduced to the unresolved national problem that communist Yugoslavia inherited
from the monarchy.
"Studia Croatica," a Croatian newspaper in Spanish published
in Buenos Aires since 1960, published a special 40-page booklet entitled
"Croatia and the Current Crisis in Yugoslavia," paying attention to
the recent and serious crisis in Yugoslavia and clarifying the phenomenon that
has so greatly interested the world press.
The current crisis, which has shaken the foundations of Tito's political
community, must be reduced to the unresolved national problem that communist
Yugoslavia inherited from the monarchy. The communists, who have been in power
in the country since 1945, continue, under different conditions, the same Great
Serbian policy of oppression and exploitation of other peoples in that
multinational country. Discontent and disillusionment have accumulated to such
an extent that even the Croatian communist leaders are demanding more freedom,
justice, and equality for their people, who are the most oppressed and
economically exploited.
The authors of the book invoke the right to self-determination for the
Croatian people as well as for the other peoples living there under similar
conditions. They also propose a practical solution: the separation of Croatia
and Serbia, just as Sweden and Norway separated in their time.
La Prensa of Buenos Aires, on April 3, 1972, published the following
note: "Studia Croatica—a special edition of the magazine Studia Croatica,
published in this capital, in Spanish, has been distributed with a pamphlet
entitled 'Croatia and the Recent Crisis in Yugoslavia.'"
The
publication, consisting of 40 pages of text, includes a historical-political
and socio-economic explanation of the aforementioned crisis and the full
transcription of the echoes and comments published on the subject by leading
newspapers in Europe and America."
An opinion on "Studia Croatica"
The leading newspaper in Córdoba, Los Principios,
in its January 16, 1972 edition, referred to Studia Croatica in the following
terms:
"With the characteristics of publications
dedicated to forging an accurate vision of a people, 'Studia Croatica,'
published in Buenos Aires, presents another of its editions. This one is of
particular interest, since it includes several articles that address current
issues related to Croatia and Argentina, as well as other significant matters.
Relations between the Vatican and Croatia provide F. Nevistic with a detailed
account of how diplomatic ties have been conducted over time, offering an
assessment based on numerous precedents. Sime Djodan addresses 'The Economic
Situation of Croatia,' providing a snapshot of the activity of that nation,
which the author believes is in urgent need of industrialization. Narciso
Binayán Carmona unearths information about the first Croatians in Argentina,
with a thoroughness worthy of his profession." The researcher's tireless
efforts remind us of Miguel de Aragoces, who, with a seafaring zeal, arrived on
the shores of the Río de la Plata in 1536 and was one of the first founders of
Buenos Aires. He then goes on to define the figure of a soldier, Andrea, and
then those of Nicolás Plantich and José Radik.
"The revolutionary Eugenio, Kvaternik" is
the title of an article by Branko Kadic, an active advocate for Croatia. Other
articles also highlight the pages of "Studia Croatica," which manage
to capture the reader's interest in a very significant way.
Micro-news
On December 18, 1971, the Latin American Croatian
Institute of Culture and the Argentine Croatian Cultural Club in Buenos Aires
held a press conference addressing the crisis that had erupted violently in
communist Yugoslavia. The president of the Institute refuted Belgrade's
official accusations against the Croatian communist leaders and the striking
students, labeling them "chauvinists, separatists, and
counter-revolutionaries." The goal, he argued, was a reform of the
community in the democratic spirit of equality among the peoples of that
federation, dismantling the centralism and Great Serbian hegemony that had
persisted, in various forms, for over half a century.
The current crisis in that country reveals the
impossibility of its continued existence, since the Croatian communists were
the last among that people to believe otherwise. After the disillusionment of
those who fought in the ranks of Tito's partisans to organize communist
Yugoslavia, it is clear that the only solution to that crisis, which threatens
world peace and security, is the right to self-determination of the oppressed
peoples there, especially the Croatian people. "La Prensa,"
"Freie Presse," "La Razón," and "Clarín" reported
extensively on the event, with the first two publishing photographs of the
speaker and his two companions. The text of the lecture was sent, in a separate
letter, to foreign diplomatic missions in Argentina.
The editorial board of Studia Croatica published a
40-page booklet last March, "Croatia and the Current Crisis in
Yugoslavia," providing a historical explanation of the current crisis in
Yugoslavia. It denounces Great Serbian hegemony as the main source of
discontent and extensively reproduces the opinions of leading international
newspapers that confirm the accuracy of the diagnosis presented in this
pamphlet. More than 2,000 copies were distributed and sent to cultural and
political institutions worldwide. The UNACTED delegations holding an
international meeting in Santiago, Chile, in April also received the
publication.
The Croatian-Latin American Institute of Culture,
taking advantage of the presence of the Secretary-General of the United Nations
in Buenos Aires, presented him with a Memorandum on the current situation in
Croatia, along with the pamphlet "Croatia and the Current Crisis in Yugoslavia."
It is hoped that Dr. Kurt Waldheim, a native of Austria and well-versed in the
national issues of the Danube basin, will, at the appropriate time, demonstrate
his understanding of the Croatian problem.
Mr. José Garo, a great friend of the Croatians and
former Argentine consul in monarchical Yugoslavia, died on May 9, 1972, in
Buenos Aires at the age of 86. A man of broad culture and knowledge, he
cultivated friendships with the Croatian community in Buenos Aires, frequenting
our institutions and even giving lectures. Our community mourns the death of
their sincere and excellent friend, and extends their deepest condolences to
his wife and family.
The Zagreb Soloists, a world-renowned musical
ensemble, true to its tradition, performed several times in Buenos Aires during
June 1972. The concerts were organized by the Teatro Colón and the Mozarteum.
The public and music critics alike received and appreciated the performance of
this Croatian ensemble with enthusiasm and superlative praise.
Dr. Branimir Jelic, a Croatian physician and
politician, died in West Berlin on May 30, 1972. He spent more than 40 years in
exile. A staunch enemy of monarchical Yugoslavia, Jelic was forced to leave his
homeland, where he carried out remarkable activism against the tyranny and
Great Serbian hegemony of King Alexander Karageorgevich. He traveled throughout
the Americas, organizing Croatian immigrants to contribute to the arduous
struggle for the liberation and emancipation of their oppressed homeland. In
Buenos Aires, he founded the Croatian Home Defense Association.
After the last war, which he spent in England, he
settled in Germany, where he pursued a political career characterized by his
personal dynamism and excessive individualism. Lately, faced with the complete
lack of understanding from the major Western powers regarding the pressing
Croatian problem and the just and natural aspiration of the Croatian people to
live in their free, independent, and democratic state, he attempted to engage
Soviet diplomatic circles in light of the growing discontent observed in
Croatia.
However, these tactical inquiries, whose main
objective was to elicit a positive reaction from Washington, are now being
used, due to the intrigues and distortions of Belgrade, as proof that the
struggle waged by the Croatian people to achieve greater political, national,
and economic freedom supposedly serves anti-democratic ends. A typical example
of the perpetrator accusing his victim.
"Siroko d'hivier" is the title of the
film that the Buenos Aires public had the opportunity to see during the month
of June. The Hungarian author Miklos Jancso and his artistic ensemble were met
with great critical acclaim. We Croatians who saw it, recognizing all this and
more—especially the spontaneous reflections on the meaning of the struggle for
a better, awakened human community—returned home with a certain degree of
disillusionment. The film's narrative is very weak, unclear, and barely touches
on the painful problem of political oppression in Croatia. Certain
details—naked and perverse women—are completely out of place within the context
of those revolutionaries, recruited primarily from among physically and morally
sound peasants.
Nevertheless, we must thank the latter for rising
to the challenge of the task they were given. Signum Temporis—the sign of our
times? We attended Cardinal Daniélou's first lecture, held in the Buenos Aires
Cathedral on April 2, 1972. The audience was almost entirely elderly. Despite
the speaker's renown—he was president of the International Theological
Commission in Rome—and his acknowledged interest in today's "bearded"
youth, their absence was almost total. Where is the Western world sailing if
its youth has no interest even in listening to such a distinguished authority
in the very heart of their society? Or are we truly a "post-Christian"
world?
Dr. Dinko Tomasic, former lecturer at the
University of Zagreb and current professor at Indiana University, USA, has
turned 70. The renowned sociologist is also a contributor to Studia Croatica.
While in monarchical Yugoslavia, Tomasic published several studies on village
life and Croatian peasants. In America, he published several books in English,
such as "Peasants" (1955), "The Impact of Russian Culture on
Soviet Communism," "National Communism and Soviet Strategy,"
etc. Innovative in many respects and original in his sociological analyses,
Tomasic is often either attacked by his adversaries or praised by his
supporters. Studia Croatica extends its congratulations to its excellent
contributor and scholar, who never fails to mention Croatia and the true
national problems of its people in his work.
Dr. Esteban Sakac, professor at the Pontifical
Oriental Institute in Rome, is celebrating his 80th birthday this year. The
unassuming Croatian Jesuit is considered one of the most dedicated researchers of
ancient Croatian history. The Iranian theory of Croatian national origins is
grateful to Dr. Sakac for its most compelling arguments. Studia Croatica thus
publicly expresses its congratulations to the renowned theologian and
historian.
Crisis erupts in Croatia
We transcribe from the book "Croatia and the
Current Crisis in Yugoslavia":
The general strike of some 35,000 Croatian
university students between November 23 and December 4, 1971, triggered a very
serious political crisis in communist Yugoslavia. "The most serious,"
some observers say, "since the 1948 break with Stalin." The crisis,
whose epicenter was in Croatia, surprised everyone. Tito, the country's highest
authority, accused the Croatian communist leaders of nationalism,
"chauvinism, separatism, and rotten liberalism." After a very harsh
critique, he forced them to resign. Against the students, he ordered the
immediate application of administrative measures—that is, police measures.
While tanks surrounded the Croatian capital, Zagreb, the police proceeded with
rigor, making mass arrests of students.
The Genesis of the Case
Indeed, Yugoslavia is a political creation of
relatively recent historical origin. It was formed on December 19, 1918.
Officially, it was called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. From the
outset, the existence of the Macedonian and Montenegrin peoples was ignored,
not to mention the very large Albanian, Hungarian, and German minorities.
Macedonia and Montenegro were tacitly "swallowed up" as integral parts—ethnically
and territorially—of the Serbian people. The three most important peoples—the
Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes—of the new community had never, for more than a
millennium, lived together. Their national histories—political, cultural, and
economic—ran separately and differently from one another: just as Western and
Eastern civilizations are different.
However, on the eve of the disintegration of the
Danubian monarchy and confronted with unjust Italian irredentism, some Croatian
and Slovenian idealists believed they could organize a multinational,
democratic political community where common interests would converge with the
protection of the particularities of each of their peoples. (It is worth noting
here that the Croats enjoyed greater legal and political autonomy under the
Habsburg monarchy than any other of its peoples except the Germans and
Hungarians.) In short, these peoples came together for the first time in 1918
in a common state, whose diplomatic designation, as we have said, revealed its
multinational character.
This fact, logically, involved a highly complex and
intricate set of national issues. In reality, this gave some the opportunity to
ignore historical realities and attempt to overcome the contrasts between such
different cultures: one with its religious and cultural epicenter in Rome and
Vienna (the Croats and Slovenes), and the other gravitating towards Byzantium
and Moscow (the Serbs). The latter, victors at the end of the First World War
thanks to the victories of their Western allies, effectively ignored from the
outset the multinational character of the new community, considering it merely
an expansion of Serbia. Serbian "voluntarism," therefore, and the
desire for domination became an insurmountable obstacle to the realization of
the democratic multinational community dreamed of and longed for, especially by
certain Croats. Belgrade, the seat of the new state, inaugurated a Greater
Serbian policy and regime, surrendering to the dream of transforming the other
peoples, especially the Croats, into one single Serbian nation. I
nstead of a democratic regime, protective of the
unique values of each of its peoples, it pursued a policy of forced
integration. This policy was known from the outset as unitarianism. To this
end, the Serbian dictator-king Alexander Karageorgevich renamed the community
Yugoslavia in 1929, thus providing the policy of unitarianism with a supposedly
legal and formal basis. But the official proclamation of Yugoslav nationality
did not translate into real-world results. People's lives had to be oriented
and subordinated exclusively to the interests of the Serbian nationality. The
dynasty, the national Orthodox Church, and the army formed the backbone of the
state. With these three elements, further supported by the police, administrative,
and diplomatic apparatus, the Serbs held absolute power. The envisioned
democratic community of ethnically and linguistically related peoples became
the hegemony and dictatorship of one of them: the Serb.
Book review
Dr Dominik Mandic: Hrvati i Srbi dva stara,
razlicita naroda
(The Croats and the Serbs, Two Ancient and
Different Peoples), in Croatian, Barcelona, Editions of the
"Croatian Review", p. 280, 1971.
There are few, if any, national historiographies
that from their inception have had a complete and comprehensive overview of the
historical development of their respective peoples. To achieve this requires
continuous and prolonged work, from one generation to the next. Later
historians must continue the research of their predecessors. The discovery,
sometimes, of a single new document, the more accurate interpretation of the
whole, the critique of previous ones, and the new combinations of the results
obtained in this way, constantly change the historical landscape of the lives
of the entities we usually call peoples, nations.
From this point of view, the task of historiography
is almost inexhaustible. Historical sources of knowledge are never complete. A
document unknown until yesterday can often, through its personal, local, or
date details, greatly correct the image of the past that was previously
considered definitive.
These are, therefore, the objective difficulties
that hinder precise knowledge, similar to those in other fields of human
knowledge and science.
But there is something else that opposes the human
attempt and effort to achieve the precision demanded by the problems that
confront humankind. We could call them subjective difficulties. And with this
expression, we would like to encompass much more. Not only the subjectivity of
the historians themselves—intellectual, moral, access to historical sources,
etc.—but also the general subjective attitude in a social or political
environment in which historians carry out their work. The interaction of these
two subjectivities perhaps finds a more fertile ground in the domain of
historiography, not to say historical science.
Indeed, many vested interests converge upon and
exert pressure on it. If written history provides scientific arguments for a
political conception, for one nation or another in their disputes over
territory, rights, or a work or figure of historical significance, it is
obvious that this subjectivism—which we might call "objective"—exerts
pressure on the subjectivism of the historian himself. Political interests
mobilize other interests of a national-political nature, driven by economic
advantages, social standing, and so on. Hence, consequently, pseudo-history,
the falsification of facts and research findings; interpretations that, by
virtue of the renowned historian's authority, are seemingly presented as
indisputable truths, even though reality is quite different.
This latter case is particularly prevalent in
Croatian historiography. Even the first systematic and scientific Croatian
historian, Jan Lucic (1604–1697), wrote within the atmosphere of subjectivism,
as we attempted to define above. He had to contend with the historical truth
derived from documents, which was not always agreeable to his Venetian
political masters, the political pressure exerted by Venice itself, and the
author's own national sentiment, as he was a subject of Venice at the time.
Thus, despite his great contributions to Croatian historiography, Lucic
undervalued direct Croatian sources, giving preference to foreign ones,
especially those of Constantine Porphyrogenitus. This seriously harmed not only
historical scholarship but also the political interests of his Croatian people.
Something similar also occurred with some other
prominent Croatian historians. Some wrote within the Austrian
"subjectivist" atmosphere, others within the Hungarian or, more
recently, the Yugoslav one (F. Racki, F. Sisic, etc.). Lately, as foreign
observers have also attested, the purported Yugoslav idea of
unity, in its monopolistic Greater Serbian interpretation, has
prevented the Croats from publishing even a single account of their history
after 1945, despite the pressing need and the discovery of many new sources and
previously unknown documents. In this era of "unity and fraternity,"
even the most illustrious historical figures are viewed with suspicion and thus
relegated to oblivion.
Were we not mindful of this painful truth, it would
be a true paradox that Croatian history is not only being written in exile, but
that its best works are appearing precisely abroad. The recent neo-Stalinist
coup in Belgrade (December 1971) fell like an unexpected frost upon the entire
life of the Croatian people, including their cultural life. "The Croatian
Spring," which a year ago promised a bountiful harvest for the country's
historiography, ended with the arrest of one of its most prominent historians
(F. Tudjman) and with the most rigorous censorship of all publishing, if indeed
anything is being published at all. Tito's "greatness" no longer leaves
room in books or public squares for such important figures as Jelacic or S.
Radic.
As if by Providence's design, Dr. Dominik Mandic,
one of the greatest Croatian historians, lives in exile (at 83 years old). He
dedicated the last 20 years of his life to the historiography of his people. A
whole series of works—monographs and systematic compendiums—are the fruit of
this intense activity of a historian by vocation. Bosnia-Herzegovina, the
Croatian Reds (eastern Herzegovina, Montenegro, and the Albanian part of the country)
constitute the primary interests of this, our eminent historian.
The critical re-evaluation of ancient historical
documents in the national language, the organization of the medieval Croatian
state and its borders, the baptism of the Croatian people and the restoration
of the Diocese of Split (the metropolitan church of Croatia), the first General
Diets (Sabor, Assemblies) and their importance in the life of the people, the
origin of the Orthodox and Vlachs in Croatian territories, etc., etc., are the
topics that Mandic clarifies with almost mathematical precision and a clarity
that shines naturally from all truths for one who knows how to discover and
communicate them.
His present work is a magnificent synthesis of the
results of a prolonged scientific and investigative endeavor. It is a new and
clear panoramic view of the history of the Croats. A scientific view, free from
all political pressure or opportunistic considerations. Moreover, it is a
Croatian history written in parallel with that of Serbia. Fourteen hundred
years of eventful life offer irrefutable testimony to the substantial, indeed
national, difference between the Croatian and Serbian peoples, between Croatia
and Serbia.
In the 280 pages of Dr. Mandic's work, in a
marvelous, condensed manner, and based on a wealth of highly important
documents in various languages, examined in the light of rigorous criticism, he
arrives at the following conclusion: "The Croats and the Serbs are two
ancient and distinct peoples due to their different ethnic origins and
development, their different state and historical lives, their different
cultures and mentalities, and their different national and state
consciousness."
Consequently, any attempt by one of the two peoples
to impose itself on the other in the name of purported national unity must
inevitably clash with reality and lead to conflicts and struggles with the most
horrific prospects. Their separation, in accordance with the principle of
national self-determination, would create one of the essential conditions for a
much better future, which both peoples deserve—victims in the past of invaders
and of merciless mutual struggles in the present.
The translation of this work by Dr. Mandic, or of
one of his systematic books on Bosnia-Herzegovina, seems to us one of the
primary tasks of Croatian activity in exile. Professor Nikolic deserves special
praise for the publication of the work and for its very elegant graphic
presentation.
Franjo Nevistic
Croatian Latinists (Croatian authors who wrote in
Latin)
Edited by Veljko Gortan and Vladimir Vratovic.
Zora, Matica Hrvatska; I-II pp. 742-1024, Zagreb 1969-1970.
The well-known collection Pet stoljeca hrvatske
knjizevnosti (Five Centuries of Croatian Literature), published jointly by
"Zora" and "Matica Hrvatska," now includes Croatian
Latinists. The first volume covers those who wrote during the Renaissance,
while the second includes Latinists who distinguished themselves from the 17th
century to the beginning of the 19th.
During the Croatian national revival, the so-called
Illyrian movement of the mid-19th century, there was great interest in Croatian
literature and cultural history, limited almost exclusively to vernacular
works. The well-known collection Stari pisci hrvatski (Early Croatian Writers)
was dedicated to those who wrote in Croatian; Scholars and literary critics
focused primarily on those who wrote in their native language, barely
mentioning others.
However, towards the end of the last century, a
certain interest emerged in authors who also wrote in Latin or solely in Latin.
After the Second World War, the Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb began
systematically publishing Croatian Latinists. The first volume contained the
dissertation that Vinko Pribojevic delivered in Hvar, his birthplace, in 1523,
on the origins and history of the Slavs (De origine successibusque Slavorum,
Venice, 1532; Zagreb 1951).
Later volumes included the poems (Elegiae et
epigrammata, Zagreb 1951) of Ianus Pannonius (Ivan Cesmicki), who performed at
the court of Matthias Corvinus, and the elegies of Juraj Sizgoric, from
Sibenik, who complained of the Turkish attacks against his countrymen (Elegiae
et carmina, Venice 1477; Zagreb 1966). (The last important Baroque poet, Ignjat
Djurdevic, was also published in the same collection (Poetici lusus varii,
Zagreb 1956). Sizgoric, Pannonius, and Djurdevic were translated by Nikola Sop,
whose versions stand out not only for their accuracy but also for the mastery
of a poet who captured the spirit of the original. Veljko Gortan translated
Pribojevic and Krcelic, whose Annuae (Zagreb 1901; 1952) constitute an
important source of information on the history of northern Croatia in the
mid-18th century.
Vitezica translated Catalogus testium veritatis
(Basel 1556; Zagreb 1960) by Vlacic (Flacius Ilyricus), in which this Istrian
reformer cites those who had previously opposed papal authority.
Now, the six cited authors are illustrated by
select extracts; Thirty-one writers are added, most of them translated for the
first time. In addition to Sop's poetic versions and the prose translations by
Gortan and Vratovic, there are the masterful versions by Professors Ivsic,
Torbarina, and Katicic. Tomislav Ladan, a versatile "humanist" (who
recently translated Ezra Pound's difficult Cantos into Croatian), proved to be
a profound scholar of Latin and Croatian poetry.
Marko Marulic of Split, considered the father of
Croatian literature and author of the epic poem Judith (1501), written in
"Croatian verse," was in his time better known for his numerous Latin
works, particularly his epic Davidias, recently discovered in Turin and
published in two successive editions (1954, 1957).
In this voluminous anthology of Croatian Latinists,
Marulic is preceded by his predecessors, Sizgoric. and Cesmicki, both from the
15th century; the former praised native folk poetry and described the
devastations and deportation of young people by the Turkish hordes, while
Cesmicki (Pannonius), who accompanied Matthias Corvinus on his military
campaigns, left us an eyewitness account of the Turkish conquest of Bosnia in
1463. Both poets knew Turkish military discipline and Western disunity; their
poems convey despair.
These Latin poets from northern Dalmatia and
Pannonia were more politically and nationally conscious than those of the
Republic of Dubrovnik, which enjoyed relative freedom. While Karlo Pucic
describes the irresistible beauty of Agnes (which tormented him more than
illness), Ilija Crijevic (the famous Aelius Lampridius Cervinus) evokes his
infatuation and disillusionment with the seductive but unfaithful Flavia.
Jaltov Bunic, on the other hand, was more cerebral than emotional, and in his
epic poems he first recounted Hercules' descent into Hell and then Christ
himself (1526, nine years before Girolamo Vida's Christias).
During the Baroque period, poets who wrote in
Croatian (Ivan Gundulic, Ivan Bunic, and Junije Palmotic) were considered
superior to those who continued writing in Latin, but at the end of the 17th
century, Ignjat Djurdevic emerged, leaving behind finely crafted verses in both
languages. He also deserves credit for being the first to compile historical
and bibliographical data on prominent Dubrovnik writers (Vitae Illustrium
Rhacusinorum). Saro Crijevic continued this work, and his Bibliotheca Ragusina
is the primary source for information on Dubrovnik writers who lived until the
mid-18th century.
Among the Croatian Latinists were several philosophers,
astronomers, and physicists. Franjo Petric (Patritius) vehemently opposed
Aristotle and Peripatetic scholastic philosophy, convinced that Plato's ideas
were closer to Christian doctrine (Nova de universis philosophia, Ferrara
1591). Benito Stay, sometimes called "the second Lucretius,"
expounded Descartes' philosophy ("Gallus homo nobis ea mente animoque
sagaci omnia pervidi") and Newton's cosmic theory in elegant verse. Rudjer
Boskovic was the most famous of the Croatian philosophers and physicists whose
theories on matter, space, and motion are valued by modern atomic science. His
seminal work (Philosophiae naturalis theoria, Vienna 1758) was published
several times and had two editions in English translation (J. M. Child, 1922
and 1966).
It is also worth mentioning some excellent Latin
translators: Marulic translated the first canto of Dante's Inferno; Brno
Dzamanjic translated the comic poem Radonja (VI. Mencetic) from Croatian and
only 32 lines of the fifth canto of Osman (Ivan Gundulic); Dzamanjic himself
became famous for his translation of Homer's Odyssey, while his teacher
Raimundo Kunic (Cunichius) is still renowned as the best Latin translator of
the Iliad (Rome, 1776). Although the editor Vratovic held Kunic's satirical
epigrams and love poems to Lyda in high esteem, it seems to me, as it does to
many literary historians, that Vittorio Alfieri was right to deplore such a
distinguished Latinist writing nonsense ("Che peccato di si bella latinitá
sprecata in tanti nienti").
From the time of the humanist Sizgoric, translator
of popular proverbs into Latin, until the end of the 18th century, during the
so-called pre-Romantic period, there were Latinists who showed great interest
in folk poetry. The most noteworthy was Djuro Feric (1739-1820), who in his
Epistle to Johannes Müller (Dubrovnik, 1798) included his translations of 37
folk poems, one of which ("Asan-Aginica") became world-famous thanks
to Alberto Fortis (Viaggio in Dalmazia, Venice, 1774). Feric left in manuscript
(preserved in Cavtat) Slavica poematia Latine reddita; it contains translations
of lyric and epic folk poems, as well as Kacic-Miosic's Plática amena (Razgovor
ugodni). Feric was an enthusiastic admirer and collector of folk poetry, which
he called "pure gold" (purum aurum) in an Epistle to Bajamonti, who
emphasized the similarity between folk poetry and Homer.
The editor Vratovic must have mentioned another
collector of folk poetry, the French consul Marc Bruére (Bruerovic), who
eagerly listened to and copied the poems of Bosnian peasants. Bruére was one of
the last Croatian poets to write in Latin.
Considering that few preliminary studies have been
published to date, and often inadequate ones, and that "there are few
monographs on authors and not many on their works" (II, 1019), the
anthology under review is pioneering and unique. For two months I spent my free
afternoons leafing through it, and I am still filled with admiration, respect,
and profound gratitude.
From the Introduction, in which Gortan and Vratovic
discuss "the basic aspects of Croatian Latinists," through the
scholarly and succinct presentation of each writer, to the final pages where
they list the sources of texts and translations, everything is done with the
utmost care, with logical exposition and sound judgment. Exhaustive indexes, in
Croatian and Latin, of all the people and places mentioned in the texts and
translations are included.
The editors sought to present the most significant
writers, then the most characteristic of their works, and finally, the fragments
that best reflect their literary qualities and fascinate the reader with their
unusual themes. They avoided monotony and offered us a polyphonic
orchestration. Their primary concern was to demonstrate that, continuously,
with obvious ebbs and flows, Croatians have produced a rich literature in both
their native language and Latin. Those who wrote only in Latin did not forget
their origins but often acted as champions of their national interests.
The printing of these two volumes is almost
flawless, and the illustrations are well executed.
I have learned that the Croatian translations will
be replaced by English ones, and the entire selection will soon be published
outside of Croatia (probably by Mouton Publishers in the Netherlands). If this
occurs, allow me to make the following suggestions: bibliographies for certain
authors, especially those best known in the West, should not be limited to
research conducted in Croatia; When citing sources, it should be indicated
where the manuscripts are kept or in which library the rare books are located,
to help those interested gain a more complete understanding of certain writers.
Brlek Rukopisi's valuable guide, *Knjiznice male brace u Dubrovniku* (Zagreb,
1952), is mentioned occasionally, but Juric's excellent manual (*Opera
scriptorum Latinorum natione Croatarum*, Zagreb, 1968) was not even cited in
bibliographies or in the "sources" section. These suggestions, of
course, are minor details in an otherwise magnificent work.
Bloomington, Indiana
Ante Kadic
(Translated from the English by B.K.)
Miroslav
Vanino: Isusovci i Hrvatski narod
(The Jesuits and the Croatian People), Volume I.
Their Work in the 16th Century. The College of Zagreb. Published by the
Philosophical and Theological Institute of the Society of Jesus in Zagreb,
1969, pp. XXXIX-541, with 60 illustrations outside the text.
This is the first volume of the major work of the
Croatian Jesuit Miroslav Vanino (1879-1965), a doctor of philosophy, theology,
and historical science, historian, professor of theology at the major seminary
in Sarajevo (1928-1945) and later at the Philosophical-Theological Institute of
Zagreb, founder and editor of several specialized journals (Zivot, 1919 in
Zagreb, Croatia Sacra, 1930 in Zagreb, Fontes et Studia, 1932 in Sarajevo),
scholar of Croatian ecclesiastical and cultural history, and corresponding
member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Zagreb.
Father Vanino did not have the good fortune to see
his most important work published during his lifetime, because in 1945 the
communists seized power in Croatia, making the printing of works related to
religious and ecclesiastical topics almost impossible. It is worth noting that
this volume was commissioned by his students in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia,
and was published in 1969 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding
of the first Croatian university.
It is important to remember that the Jesuit
Institute of Zagreb is the core of the Croatian university system. This
institute was approved in 1669 by the Austrian Emperor and King Leopold I of
Croatia, and granted the privileges of university institutes, as was customary
in Europe at that time. It was the Jesuit Philip Kausic, a native of
Burgenland, a Croatian colony in Austria, who obtained this approval and
privilege.
The Croatian people embraced the Catholic faith
thirteen centuries ago. Due to historical circumstances, a minority of the
Croatian people profess the Muslim faith, another Orthodox Christianity, some
adhere to other religions, with the vast majority remaining Catholic. Religious
orders in Croatia, as in other Christian countries, were an important religious
and cultural force. A very valuable and well-documented book on the
Benedictines in Croatia was published in that country not long ago. Documented
works also exist on the work of the Franciscans and other religious orders. The
Jesuits, from the founding of their society until its abolition in 1773, and
then its restoration in 1814, played an important role in the spiritual and
cultural history of Croatia.
Fathers Belic and Fucek summarized the origins and
structure of Vanino's work in the introduction (pp. XXIII-XXXIX), also
publishing a list of his known and unpublished sources as well as his
bibliography. Vanino wrote the history of the Society of Jesus in Croatia up to
1773, without clarifying the period of its renewal. The editors of this edition
redistributed the material, updated the linguistic forms, noted new discoveries
in the field, and added a detailed geographical map specifying the locations of
Jesuit institutions and their periods.
Furthermore, they included a comprehensive summary
in English at the end to make the work accessible to foreign scholars. It might
have been appropriate to add another summary in Latin, which is still used in
the Church and in scientific and historical circles, especially since almost
all of the author's source material is written in Latin. Latin was the official
language of Croatia until 1848. The variety and breadth of this style allow us
to provide a brief overview of its contents. The book consists of two parts:
the first deals with the Jesuits in Croatia in the 16th century (pp. 1-75), and
the second with the Jesuit college in Zagreb and its dependencies (pp. 77-508).
Even during St. Ignatius's lifetime, several
Croatians were part of his community (pp. 3-13), the best known being Thomas
Zdelarić, from the area around Zagreb, who entered the Society of Jesus in
1554, worked outside Croatia, and died in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 1572. Also
noteworthy is Bartholomew Sfondrati, born in Dubrovnik, who entered the Society
in Rome, served in Kotor and Loreto, accompanied the papal visitor through the
Croatian and neighboring regions under Ottoman rule, and died in Temisvår in
1583. Dubrovnik was the first free Croatian city where the Jesuits settled (pp.
14-31). Dubrovnik was the prosperous Croatian free city-state, maintaining
strong ties with Italy, Rome, and Spain.
Even during St. Ignatius's lifetime, its
authorities requested that his order establish a permanent presence in the
city. Indeed, Nicolás Bobadilla, a companion of St. Ignatius, after brief
missionary work in Pula and Zadar in 1559, served in Dubrovnik in 1560-1561.
The Jesuits returned to Dubrovnik several times, founding a residence there in
1604, which was suppressed shortly afterward in 1612. The Republic of Dubrovnik
protected Christians within the Ottoman Empire and endeavored to bring the
Jesuits to Constantinople (pp. 41-49), where a residence was founded in 1583.
Its leader was the Italian Giulio Mancinelli, in collaboration with the
Croatian Marin Temperica and the Frenchman Honorato Casa. Temperica recommended
to the Jesuit General the founding of a college in Dubrovnik for the education
of missionaries who would work among the Christians under the Ottoman Empire.
Temperica left Constantinople in 1585. Alexander Komulovic, a Croatian Vatican
diplomat, traveled as Apostolic Visitor to Albania, Serbia, and Bulgaria in
1584.
Between 1593 and 1598, Komulovic carried out
another important papal mission in Transylvania, Wallachia, Moldavia, and
Russia, attempting to convince their respective rulers of the urgent need for
an alliance against the Ottomans (pp. 50-75). The Jesuits also accompanied the
Apostolic Visitor Augustin Valier, Bishop of Verona, through Dalmatia, the
southern province of Croatia. The visitation concluded with the episcopal synod
of that province in Zadar, where it was resolved to found at least one Jesuit
college. This did not come to fruition, however, as Gregory XIII founded the
Illyrian (Croatian) College in Loreto in 1580, entrusting it to the Jesuits.
The second part of the work in question concerns
the history of the Jesuit college in Zagreb. As early as 1601, the municipality
of the Free Royal City of Zagreb wanted the Jesuits to found a secondary school
in the Croatian capital, which at that time, due to the incessant wars with the
Turkish invaders, was going through extremely difficult times. The first
Jesuits arrived in Zagreb on October 28, 1606 (p. 84), and the college was
inaugurated in 1607 (p. 88). The Jesuits found sincere friends not only in Bishop
Bratulic and Viceroy Draskovic, but also among Croatian nobles and members of
the Diet, which was vitally important given the Hungarian insistence on
hindering Jesuit activity in Croatia (p. 94). In 1614, the Congregation of
Mary, the first in Croatia, was founded in Zagreb. By 1615, the college already
had 400 students (p. 107).
The school was organized according to the Jesuit
system, the so-called "ratio studiorum" (p. 140), with modifications
and adaptations to the situation and needs prevailing in Croatia at the time. A
philosophical institute was also founded soon after, inaugurated in 1662, and
very active indeed, since its professor Francisco Jambrekovic published in
Vienna in 1669 the first Croatian philosophical manual - "Philosophia peripatetica"
- that is, at the same time that Emperor Leopold I recognized the Jesuit
institute of Zagreb's rights and privileges as a university (pp. 169-170). When
the Jesuits requested ratification of this imperial document, the Croatian Diet
did so unanimously (p. 171).
It was also necessary to expand the faculty of
theology, although certain disciplines had already been taught since 1633,
especially moral theology, ecclesiastical law, and canon law. Time and the
active cooperation of ecclesiastical and civil authorities made possible the
improvement and expansion of this school or academy, so that by the time the
order was suppressed, Zagreb boasted professors of both the Old and New
Testaments, Church history, rhetoric, Hebrew, and Greek. In addition to teaching
courses, the professors wrote texts and studies (pp. 201-224).
In 1628, the Jesuits founded the St. Joseph
Seminary in Zagreb for the education of poor students. Interestingly, alongside
the poor children, we also find descendants of noble families at this seminary
(pp. 227-258). The Jesuits' cultural and educational activities extended beyond
the school and religious sphere, as they founded the first school theater in
Croatia proper. During its two centuries of existence, this theater staged 400
plays, whose themes were drawn from Greco-Roman mythology, history, the Holy
Scriptures, the life of the Church and its saints, Croatian history and
contemporary life, the history of the Slavic peoples, and the Turkish
invasions. The performances were given in Latin and Croatian. The first took
place during the carnival celebrations of 1618 (pp. 261-288).
In 1614, the Jesuits organized the Congregation of
Mary, calling it "of the Annunciation of Mary," for the spiritual
education and consecration of youth through the adoration of the Mother of God,
following the Order's tradition in other countries. This congregation promoted
various charitable works: caring for the sick, teaching Christian doctrine,
pilgrimages to the shrine of the Virgin in Remete, near Zagreb, spiritual
exercises, and the fight against popular vices, superstitions, blasphemy,
alcoholism, and so on (pp. 289-308). When the philosophical academy was
inaugurated, the Congregation of Mary of the Assumption of the Virgin was
organized for younger students (pp. 309-314).
Faithful to their motto—Ad maiorem Dei gloriam—the
Jesuits, in addition to teaching, dedicated themselves to pastoral work in its
many facets, also striving to reconcile the two rival factions in Zagreb,
publishing books and collections of prayers and sermons (pp. 315-359).
To promote Christian love and fraternal
understanding, they founded the Congregation of Mary for the citizens in 1623.
At that time, popular rebellions against the nobility were frequent, hatred was
widespread, and the Congregation contributed to spreading true "Marian
fraternity" (pp. 360-369).
For the peasants, the Jesuits founded the
Confraternity of Saint Isidore the Farmer in 1625, which was transformed in
1672 into the Congregation of the same name that lasted until 1773 (pp.
370-389). For all social classes, the Confraternity of the Passion and Death of
the Savior was founded in 1653.
The parish of Stenjevac was granted to the Jesuits
in 1615 as a benefice, and remained so until 1653. The author then recounts the
construction of the college building in Zagreb, the academic church of Saint
Catherine, the Loreto Chapel, attached to the aforementioned church, and
finally, the church of Saint Francis Xavier in the beautiful outskirts of
Zagreb. Herein lies the zeal and constant efforts of the Jesuits, and the noble
and religious spirit of the Croatians. The Church of Saint Catherine was
destroyed and burned several times and rebuilt just as often, and today it
serves its purpose, while the Church of Saint Ignatius Xavier, after the order
was banned in 1773, came under the jurisdiction of the bishopric and in 1925
was entrusted to the Franciscans.
It is worth emphasizing here the care, sound
judgment, and refined taste of the editors, who were students of the author. We
hope that the second volume by this meritorious Croatian historian will be
published very soon. The one writing these lines cannot help but evoke with
gratitude and affection the memory of his eminent professor, Vanino, who
instilled in his students a love of historical truth, scientific accuracy, and
rigor and method in research.
Rome, 1972.
Ivan Tomas
Venetis, apud Nicolaum Morettum 1595, Reprinted
Zagreb 1971, p. 135.
"A true, undeniable, and effective way to
enrich the culture of a people lies in the arduous, noble, and sacrificial task
of disseminating the work of its great national figures." This guiding
principle of the Popular Culture Publishers of Lima, Peru, appears in their
second edition (1967) of Inca Garcilaso de la Vega's Royal Commentaries of the
Incas. The same idea must have inspired the members of the Institute for
Literary Studies in Zagreb, Croatia, when they conceived the series of reprints
of the Liber Croaticus and, as the first work in this series, published the
dictionary of the five most notable languages of educated Europe
at the time: Latin, Italian, German, Croatian, and Hungarian, by the Croatian
author and contemporary of Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Fausto Vrancic.
Vrancic was born in 1551 into a prominent patrician
family in Šibenik. His uncle, Antonio Vrancic (1504–1573), was Bishop of Pécuh,
Archbishop of Ostorgom, advisor to John Zápolya and Ferdinand I (rival kings
for the Hungarian-Croatian throne), and a cardinal at the time of his death.
After receiving his early education from his uncle, Fausto pursued higher
studies in Vienna, Venice, and Rome.
He wrote about machines, the Slavs and Sarmatians,
and the history of Dalmatia. In his work published in 1595, Maquinae novae, he
anticipated a number of new inventions. In 1606, he published in Rome, in
Croatian, The Lives of Some Select Virgins (Zivot nikoliko izabranih divic), in
which he also addressed problems of spelling. But the work that earned him
European renown is undoubtedly his Dictionary of the Five Most Notable European
Languages of His Time. He died in 1617 in Venice.
The Dictionary itself comprises 117 pages, each
with five columns, containing some 5,500 Latin words and their equivalents in
the other four languages, in their nominative and infinitive forms for variable
words. Thirty-nine Latin words lack a Croatian equivalent, either by error or
due to the author's lack of knowledge, as he left his Croatian homeland as a
child. Pages 118 to 122 contain the alphabetical list of some 300
"vocabula dalmatica quae Ungari sibi usurperunt," that is, the three
hundred words that the Hungarians usurped from the Croatian language.
However, his spelling—more advanced than that of
other contemporary Croatian writers—shows the evident influence of Hungarian
orthography. The special value and interest of this lexicographical work lies
in the fact that it provides a sample of the Croatian language and other
languages in their daily use at the time, by including, on pages 123 to 128,
the Decalogue in five languages under the title Institutio
christiana and the Creed, Our Father, and Hail Mary under the title Symbolum
apostolarum.
Fausto Vrancic's Dictionary is distinguished by
several characteristics and advantages. Unlike Latin, Italian, and German, for
which there were sufficient sources and precedents, the Dictionary for Croatian
and Hungarian is an independent and original work. Therefore, Vrancic's work is
the first dictionary of Croatian and other South Slavic languages in general,
as well as the first major Hungarian dictionary.
With the author's explicit permission and with
certain amendments, this work served as the basis for Loderecker's publication
in Prague in 1605 of the Dictionarium septem diversarum linguarum, videlicet,
Latine, Italice, Dalmatice, Bohemice, Polonice, Germanice et Ungarice, with a
preface by Fausto Vrancic of Sibenik himself. Thus, the Prague edition turns
out to be the second edition of Vrancic's Dictionary and is of particular
interest because—unlike the first edition—it explains that by the expression
"Dalmatian" he means "Croatian," that is, the Latin words
"Dalmata, Dalmatia, Dalmatice" are translated in their Croatian part
as "Hrvat, Harvatska zemlja, harvatski" (Croatian, Croatia, Croatian).
Actually, the current edition of the Dictionary, in
its Liber Croaticus version, is the fourth, preceded by the 1834 edition by
José Török in Pozum, which is the third.
The lexical text is preceded by eight pages of the
Latin text with the Dedication (Reverend Father Alfonso Carrillio), the Address
to the Reader (Author benigno lectori salutem) explaining its spelling in
various languages and the reason for the "Dalmatian"
language as representative of the Slavic languages, and finally, a laudatory
poem from which we deduce that the author of the Dictionary is Faustus
Verantius (Faust Vrancic), since the title page does not state this.
Pages 129 to 135 of this edition contain a general
commentary on the work by Professor Ljudevit Jonke, an authority on Croatian
linguistics, and a note from the technical editor regarding the original used
for this reproduction. A Croatian-Latin dictionary, compiled by Professor
Putanec and included as a separate supplement, makes its use possible even
today. The next volume of the Liber Croaticus is eagerly awaited.
Milan Blazekovic
Franjo Nevistic:
Temelji Demokracije -Kriza i obnova
(Foundations of Democracy - Its Crisis and
Rebirth), Rome 1971 (IRAL Editions, p. 274 - in Croatian).
This work, with its legal-philosophical and
legal-political content, represents a unique phenomenon in Croatian
publications in exile. We would search in vain for a work of this kind among
the books of Croatian origin published outside our homeland and listed in the
bibliography of Professor G. Prpic (The Croatian Publications After 1939 - A
Bibliography, by George J. Prpic, John Carroll University, Cleveland, Ohio,
1969). We are somewhat surprised by the information the author provides: he
began writing his Foundations of Democracy in 1945 in Austria and finished it
in Rome in 1946. From that point on, he says, the text remained almost
unchanged. Impressed by the European and global chaos immediately following
World War II, when there was so much talk of the triumph of democracy, the
author constantly pondered the question: "What is democracy?"
This question tormented him especially because
Bolshevism held a prominent position among the victors. Is democracy compatible
with a communist regime? What is meant by democracy, by a democratic regime, in
the West, and how do the Bolsheviks conceive of it? Is the coalition of Western
democracies with Bolshevism and their shared victory a guarantee of the triumph
of democracy, or is it an alarming sign of its weakness, even a mortal illness?
The economic and social conditions the author
encountered upon arriving in Argentina delayed the publication of the work.
Attracted to "practical politics" within the Croatian community in
this country, Nevistic devoted himself increasingly to journalism. He and
friends organized the newspaper Hrvatska (Croatia), only to leave it after two
and a half years. From that moment on, he wrote in-depth articles for the
Chicago-based Croatian weekly Danica for 20 years. This activity partially
diverted him from his primary interest, but without completely abandoning it.
Sporadic studies of the subject and observational experience, combined with his
fundamental orientation from the beginning, are reflected in the hundreds of
articles he published in the aforementioned weekly or in other Croatian
publications in exile.
His contributions to Studia Croatica also bear the
imprint of this interest and study. Collected into one or more books and
organized thematically, these articles would present an interesting analytical
overview of world events and of Croatia as an occupied country subjected to the
communist regime. Thus—in our opinion—we would have a unique document from a
member of our generation about the times in which we live, justifying the
author's words when he states—and this is one of the main reasons for
publishing this work—"relinquamus aliquid quo nos vixisse testemur"
(we must relinquish something we witness). Nevertheless, Nevistic leaves us
with the testament of his efforts to construct his own conception of life and,
from his perspective, to adopt positions and attitudes toward the multifaceted
reality that surrounds us.
The work is divided into four chapters (pp.
17-222), the Conclusion (pp. 223-239), and the Epilogue (pp. 241-261).
The first part addresses the problem of the origin
of democracy, its essence, and its institutions. The author calls this the
analytical section. Regarding the origin of democracy—leaving aside direct
Greek democracy—he considers that the Americans were the first to implement it,
while French and British philosophers prepared its socio-political climate.
However, Nevistic does not fail to emphasize that both democratic theory and
practice were inspired by the Christian principles of personal and social
freedom. Addressing the problem of the essence of democracy, the author
presents, analyzes, and critiques the Kelsenian conception.
The instincts for freedom and equality would be
like the natural psychological foundation that postulates a free, democratic
society. Kelsen, evidently, builds upon Freud's psychological conceptions.
Despite his opinion that Kelsen represents one of the most brilliant attempts
to scientifically and philosophically ground the democratic regime, the author
considers that within his conception, a reconciliation between the instinct for
freedom and equality on the one hand and the authority of society on the other
is not possible. The principle of representation, the majority, constitutional
guarantees, etc., do not satisfactorily eliminate the conflict between freedom
and authority.
The author concludes this first analytical part
with the assertion that most political and legal writers agree on defining the
essence of democracy, as well as on the fact that opinions regarding its
vitality for the future, its definitive overcoming, and its obsolescence are
almost all pessimistic.
In the second chapter (49-95) – Crisis of Democracy
– the author explains how this widespread pessimistic view arose, especially
after the First World War. Fascism in Italy and Bolshevism denied the value of
democratic principles and their practice, and their influence was mirrored by
the right or the left in almost every country in the world. These events
generalized the belief in a crisis of democracy, making it one of the serious
problems of legal and philosophical science. The causes of the crisis are
grouped into three categories: economic, social, and philosophical-political.
The author subjects each of these to a specific analysis.
The first two are examined in light of normal
economic and technological development, while the third is examined within the
context of scientific positivism, which, by denying the possibility of
metaphysics, culminates in dogmatic-Marxist materialism. Thus, remaining within
anthropocentrism and through analyses of man's instinctive life and his
spiritual life as a superstructure of the former (Freud), the climate was
created—that is, scientific positivism and anthropological immanentism—which
the author rejects as unacceptable, asserting that this factor is the most
fundamental to the current crisis of democracy. Its most visible manifestation
began in Russia in 1917, then in Italy in 1922, and in Germany in 1931, with
Soviet Russia and its satellites continuing the same course after the last
great war.
In the third part of his book (pp. 97-145), the
author attempts to answer the question of why opposition to democracy and
parliamentarianism, as conceived and implemented by liberal democracy in the
form of personal and administrative regimes, had to arise.
Omitting the judicial state, Nevistic analyzes the
parliamentary or legislative and administrative state. The ideology of the
liberal democratic state (parliamentary, legislative) rests on two pillars:
liberty and equality. However, its axiological system is one of absolute
relativism. Lacking any inherent, indisputable value, democracy, or the liberal
state model, allows all opinions to participate in the struggle for power and
to legally seize it without regard for their doctrine or subsequent mode and
form of government. Thus, fascism and nationalism came to power using legal
democratic institutions to later establish their anti-democratic and
dictatorial regimes, in the name of "their" truth and their
philosophy, a product of positivist and naturalist anthropology similar to that
of Marxism-communism.
Of all the adversaries of democracy, only
Bolshevism survived the Second World War. But is the Bolshevik regime also a
democracy, as its ideologues claim? According to our author, communism is not
and cannot be a democracy, because its instrument for seizing power is
violence, and it is through violence that it maintains power after having
conquered it.
Summarizing the doctrine of neo-communism,
Leninism, in both theory and practice, the author concludes that Marxist
currents (whether of Lenin or Kautsky) recognize "that the dictatorship of
the proletariat has nothing in common with democracy" and that Marxism
signifies the complete negation of human dignity and all freedoms (p. 141).
Therefore, he argues, it was impossible to speak of the triumph of democracy at
the end of the last war, because Bolshevism is not and cannot be democracy.
Nevertheless, it was consistently and insistently considered by many statesmen,
politicians, publicists, and journalists in the West as a progressive,
democratic system that strives for the humanization of human relations on an individual,
national, and international scale. Nevertheless, Nevistic acknowledges that the
strength of communism lies not so much in the merits of its system as in an
inexplicable current of opinion within a segment of the bourgeoisie, who
accepted this false propaganda in their media outlets as a truth based on
reason and the will of the people. Therefore, it seems accurate to say that the
bourgeois aristocracy was the most foolish that has ever existed. She seemed to
reconcile herself to the idea of capitulating to her
adversary" (p. 144).
The fourth chapter—"The Value of
Democracy" (pp. 147-222)—represents the most philosophical part of the
book, both in its content and the author's inclination. Through an analysis of
axiological philosophy, Nevistic attempts to answer the question of whether it
is possible to successfully oppose Bolshevism and, if so, how. Is there,
perhaps, the possibility of a synthesis of the current world, divided into two
enemy fronts?
The first part of this chapter is dedicated
"to the problem of value in general" (pp. 147-169). Starting with
human consciousness, where we find multiple elements of life's dynamics, the
author also ends up in conscience, because it is there that the power
resides—precisely our evaluative conscience that decides according to higher
values, often opposing instincts. Our truly axiological attitude begins with
the will.
But here, it is not the feeling of This value
(Reinniger) would lead us to absolute subjectivism and relativism. A firm,
rational criterion must be found. Starting from Kant's postulational theism,
which points to the existence of God, the supreme end and reward of the
immortal soul, the author states "that not only the demands of the will,
but also rational knowledge guarantees the existence of God, of the realm of
eternal values, toward which our entire being yearns with its elemental force
as a spiritual being," referring his readers to the works
"Foundations of the Knowledge of Reality" (Madrid 1966) and "Why
Do I Believe?" (Madrid 1969) by the Croatian philosopher Kvirin Vasilj.
According to our author, "only an act of will,
breaking the blind law of causality and establishing the law of freedom, the
law of free decision in light of the rational realization of the meaning of
existence, signifies true value" (p. 168). Because of subjectivism and
axiological relativism, the author says: "Axiological philosophy, which
does not offer us a measure for a scale of values, deprives itself of the
foundation of existence and the irreplaceable basis for a meaningful life. In
this way, it assumes a grave responsibility in private and public life.
Precisely by depriving it of what is essential, it directs it towards
insecurity, uncertainty, and chaos. It deprives it of the firmest pillar on
which the edifice of the human community can be safely built" (p. 196).
In the section "Freedom - The Value of
Democracy" (pp. 169-182), there is an overview of opinions (Kelsen, Laun,
Radbruch, etc.) that attempted to reconcile freedom and society, freedom and
the dogma of national sovereignty within axiological and noetic relativism,
with the aim of grounding and preserving democracy. Our author considers this
effort impossible because such a system does not recognize the value of freedom
itself. Only if freedom is grounded above all other social values
on an absolute foundation can one speak of the foundation of
freedom and democracy as the regime of freedom. From this foundation, the
democratic institutions (Constitution, political parties, parliament,
extra-parliamentary debates, freedom of conscience, speech, science, religious
faith, etc.) created and organized in the liberal era of the political life of
civilized nations derive their vital force (p. 181).
Against the "instinct for freedom," that
is, against the naturalistic conception of freedom held by relativist liberal
thinkers, in the following paragraphs—"Two Different Conceptions of
Freedom"—the author attempts to elucidate the spiritual conception of
human freedom, considering it the ultimate and irreplaceable foundation of
democracy. If society is the negation of freedom, and freedom, in turn, in its
naturalistic sense, is the negation of society, it is necessary to find a kind
of freedom that does not negate but rather affirms and strengthens society (p.
190).
This would be spiritual freedom, resting "on
the axiological unity, the spiritual homogeneity of human beings as members and
citizens of the political community" (p. 196). The principle of equality,
he adds, comes from the Christian truth about human freedom and equality.
Therefore, the author accepts Bergson's idea that Christianity laid the
foundations of democracy because "only Christian personalism provides the
guarantee for equality and freedom." Freedom, in this sense, means
decisions made in the light of reason, or rather, the adoption of an
axiological attitude in accordance with the meaning of life: ethical
rationalism. Therefore, one must project oneself rationally and with logical
necessity to the efficient cause of all that exists, adding: "Reason finds
in man a principle that breaks the chain of causality of nature and establishes
the law of spiritual freedom; that is, it finds decisions governed by sense and
meaning. We call this principle the spiritual and immortal soul.
It, in its creative and conscious quality,
discovers the visible world in its total contingency, in its unnecessary
existence" (p. 207). Since man also exists within this visible world, a
being capable of thinking, reasoning, and acting outside and against the
measures and criteria of instincts and the law of natural causality, this must
mean "that the efficient cause of the world and man's existence within it
is not only life but also of a spiritual, precisely personal nature."
Consequently, all human beings share the same
common nature—spiritual, free, and immortal—and their ultimate goal is
identical for everyone. Without achieving this goal, human life becomes
meaningless. It is evident, then, that we cannot achieve it by submitting
exclusively to the mere law of natural causality. The attainment of humanity's
spiritual goal is possible by accepting the law of freedom. Only through
freedom can we ensure the homogeneity of society, a prerequisite for a
democratic society, where the possibility of representation and authority
arises. From within this conception emerges the unwavering principle of
recognizing each person, in their capacity as a spiritual being, a certain independence
to think and make their own decisions. We thus find ourselves in the sacred
realm that society and the State must respect.
Examining the behaviour of various types of
ideologies and societies in relation to this impassable zone, the author opts
for a Christian conception that, with its relativist doctrine about political
relativism, that is, with the doctrine about the absolute character of the
meaning of life and the relative character of paths, methods and means for the
realization of well-being and social and political peace, offers the divided
and litigious parties the idea and foundation of conciliation "the
greatest measure of freedom, personal and social, but within general justice,
both coming from revealed 'absolutism', confirming the identity of the nature
and the final goal of all human beings" (p. 222).
In the Conclusion of the work, the author addresses
the problem of democracy in the future. He rejects the Marxist conception that
democracy is merely a "historical, specifically bourgeois, epoch that must
disappear" (p. 229). Nevertheless, he believes in the possibility of a
synthesis of the world, so dangerously divided today. Greater concessions to
justice within the sphere of Western liberalism and barely perceptible steps
toward freedom within the totalitarian world of the East can lead to a superior
democratic synthesis, provided that the truth about the common origin and
ultimate destiny of all humankind is accepted. To bolster his optimism,
Nevistic reminds us of Teilhard de Chardin's ideas regarding the immediate
development of the world (p. 239). The French philosopher states: "It
seems that humanity within us is approaching the critical point of
socialization" (p. 139).
Anticipating potential criticism for not having
considered the latest research and findings in political, social, and
philosophical science on the subject, the author, in addition to apologizing
for the essential and unchanging nature of the problem that is the subject of
his work, also analyzes two special cases in current socio-political practice
and theory. These are the "regime of the directors" and Leon Blum's
assessment of it, as well as Yugoslav "self-management" socialism. He
considers the latter, thus far, a colossal swindle.
The exploitation of man by man and of the people by
the people remains intact. In relations between peoples, Serbian hegemony
continues unchanged. According to the assessment of some prominent Yugoslav
observers, almost all the subjective and objective conditions for such a system
are lacking. If it were ever feasible to achieve the objective conditions
(industrialization and high-level production), the elite—the subjective
condition—would do everything possible to remain "the brain and the iron
fist" of society. The author emphasizes once again that without the
metaphysical foundation of freedom, there are no acceptable conditions for
regimes of liberty (p. 260).
One may agree or disagree with the author, and we
don't have space here to delve into the entire, admittedly very complex, issue
addressed in this book, but it is beyond doubt that a constant struggle is
necessary for the affirmation of freedom. A fortiori, this struggle takes place
in the democratic world, whose theories and practices very often move at
different paces, so much so that Churchill himself said: "Democracy is the
worst form of government imaginable, except for all the others that man has
tried."
Nevertheless, in fighting for freedom, one must
share Nevistic's moderate optimism. His book is dedicated to the young Croatians
of today, and we consider its publication at this particular moment somewhat
providential. The idea of freedom, even within the Eastern-style
socialist society of Croatia, suffered a severe blow at the end of 1971. From
this point forward, returning to "the foundations of democracy," it
becomes essential to undertake a renewed effort and sacrifice to reconquer
freedom and democracy in the Croatian homeland.
The work concludes with a list of the authors and
works used by the author (71 authors and 87 works). However, no specific work
by Laun is mentioned, although his ideas are cited and discussed. This
shortcoming is possibly due to the publisher "lRAL's" decision to
publish the book in a pocket-sized format. Economic considerations likely prevailed,
to the slight detriment of the reader. The reader may not always be able to
easily distinguish the origins of the ideas interwoven in the development of
the content of this Foundations of Democracy by our author.
Milan Blazekovic
Smail Balic: Archaeological and historical writings
in German about Bosnia and Herzegovina, from the beginning of the 19th century
to 1918.
(German-language archaeological and historical
writings on Bosnia and Herzegovina from the beginning of the 19th century to
1918.), offprint from "Southern Research," Volume XXX, 1971, R.
Oldenbourg, Munich, pp. 197-244.
With the Austro-Hungarian military occupation in
1878, these two Croatian provinces were opened not only to the influences of
modern European development but also to the scientific exploration and
investigation of the country and its population from every perspective. This
research resulted in a copious body of literature, in several European
languages, on the geography, history, culture, ethnography, etc., of these
provinces.
The bibliography of writings in German on Bosnia
and Herzegovina by the Croatian orientalist, Prof. Dr. Smail Balic's work
complements the historical bibliography prepared by Matija Lopac and published
in "Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja u Sarajevu" (Voice of the Sarajevo
Regional Museum) between 1953 and 1955, as well as the archaeological and
epigraphic bibliography published in the same journal in 1956 and 1957. These
bibliographies of German-language works have many deficiencies and gaps.
The 845 items recorded—books and articles published
in 68 journals and newspapers, which the author lists with their respective
abbreviations (199-202)—are grouped into three main divisions with their
respective subdivisions, namely:
I - Archaeology, Epigraphy, Numismatics (202-210)
with the subdivisions: Generalities, Prehistory, Roman Period, Middle Ages,
Contemporary Period.
II - History and Politics, including Diplomatics,
Paleography, and Heraldry (210-234) with its subdivisions: historical-political
and ecclesiastical newspapers and journals; compendiums; the Turkish period;
the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1878; Bosnia and Herzegovina under
Austro-Hungarian administration, 1878 - October 7, 1908; from the annexation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 7, 1908, until the outbreak of the First
World War; Bosnia and Herzegovina in the First World War and its unification
with Yugoslavia (!).
III - Churches and Religions (235-238).
Pages 238 to 243 continue the register of people,
while pages 243-244 cover the register of places, which greatly facilitates the
use of the bibliography. However, a reference to the location of each item
would have been very useful, whether it be in the Austrian National Library in
Vienna, the university libraries of Vienna, Graz, or Zagreb, or the National
Library or Regional Museum of Sarajevo.
While the author acknowledges that his bibliography
cannot be complete due to the large number of significant journals and
newspapers omitted, the omission, in Division II, Compendiums subdivision, of
L. v. Südland's (Dr. Ivo Pilar) work "Die Südslawische Frage und der
Weltkrieg"—published at the end of 1918—is inexplicable. Section Four of
this work deals with "Bosnia and the Formation of the Bosnian State"
(Bosnien und bosnische Staatsbildung) and spans approximately one hundred
pages.
It is true that the Serbian government, immediately
after the end of the First World War, had purchased almost the entire edition
of this work through its agents, and that for this reason, the work is probably
not found in the libraries mentioned above. However, a second edition of
Südland's voluminous book exists, published in Zagreb in 1944, and, in terms of
its content, it replaces the first edition, which met an unusual fate in the civilized
world.
Apart from this limitation, Professor Smail Balic's
bibliography is a valuable contribution to the study of Bosnian studies, and it
is hoped that it will find successors in the writings on Bosnia and Herzegovina
in other languages.
Milan Blazekovic
Journal of
Croatian Studies, XI-XII, 1970-71
Annual Review of the Croatian Academy of America,
Inc., New York, p. 208.
The Croatian Academy of the United States of
America, true to its purpose of serving as a link between the Croatian and American
nations, published its yearbook for the biennium 1970-71.
This volume, like the previous ones, contains
abundant material, political, historical, and literary studies, documents,
notes, and information of various kinds that merit a review, necessarily brief
for reasons of space.
Branko Peselj, currently an adjunct professor of
law at Georgetown University, USA, in his well-documented study entitled
"The 1939 Serbian-Croatian Compromise and American Foreign Policy,"
provides us with a comprehensive analysis of the origins, genesis, causes, and
scope of the Croatian-Serbian agreement, signed on the eve of the Second World
War, and its repercussions on Washington's diplomatic actions.
Following the failure of the Munich Agreement, the
European situation grew increasingly volatile, and the storm of war loomed.
Desiring a united Yugoslavia on their side, both the Allied and Axis powers
advised Regent Paul to seek a swift resolution to the Croatian question. The
new government, in its inaugural declaration (February 16, 1939), emphasized as
its primary objective the resolution of the Croatian question and, in doing so,
the consolidation of the Yugoslav multinational state.
After lengthy and arduous negotiations, a few days
before the outbreak of World War II, the agreement (Sporazum) was signed
regarding the establishment of Banovina Hrvatska, that is, the autonomy of
Croatia within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. This agreement also stipulated a
complete restructuring of the state and the creation of similar autonomous
units for Serbia, Slovenia, and eventually, for Bosnia and Vojvodina. This
agreement satisfied no one. The Croats felt betrayed, as the agreed-upon
autonomy was limited in its powers and extended over a small national
territory. The Croatian provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina remained separate,
while Boka Kotorska and Srijem were not included in the new
political-administrative unit.
The Greater Serbian clique, the army, and the
Serbian Orthodox Church, fearing for their privileges, sounded the alarm,
claiming that the Serbian nation and the heterogeneous state of Yugoslavia were
in mortal danger. At the request of Vladko Macek, the Croatian democratic
leader and president of the Croatian Peasant Party, Parliament was dissolved,
but the planned new elections were not held, nor was the state reorganization
carried out, due to the Second World War and the virulent and megalomaniacal
Serbian resistance.
For Macek, the creation of Banovina Hrvatska was
the beginning of the disintegration of a unitary Yugoslavia and the first step
toward full equality, genuine autonomy, and Croatia's freedom within the
multinational state community of the South Slavic peoples.
Peselj, Macek's close collaborator and advisor,
fully accomplished the dual purpose that guided his work: a) to summarize the
background and the political and constitutional nature of the Compromise; b) to
demonstrate, based on documents examined in the Archives of the State
Department in Washington, the interest and position of the United States regarding
said agreement and the multiple domestic and foreign policy problems involved
during its negotiation, after its conclusion, and its forced cancellation
following the military coup in Belgrade on March 27, 1941.
Referring in the first part of his study to the
foundations of the Serbian-Croatian dispute, Peselj enumerates the differences
that separate these two old European nations and the atrocious hegemony imposed
by Belgrade from the unilateral creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and
Slovenes in 1918, later renamed by decree of the dictatorial king, Alexander,
as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The Croats, of course, vigorously opposed
Serbia's hegemonic and dictatorial practices, wielding the following arguments:
1. The Croatian people and their lands were not
liberated by the Serbs at the end of World War I. The Croats were forcibly
incorporated into the new state, without being consulted on whether they wanted
union with Serbia and, if so, under what conditions.
2. Long before the formation of Yugoslavia,
throughout a millennium of its history, Croatia was a recognized national and
sovereign entity. Under the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1868, Croatia was able
to obtain a distinct constitutional status and considered itself, in accordance
with the right to national self-determination, equal to Serbia as a separate
and sovereign nation.
3. Should the Croatian people freely decide to
unite with Serbia, this union—the Croats maintained—should be organized on the
principles of full and guaranteed equality between both nations, both
countries, and their political and cultural centers, Zagreb and Belgrade. The
Serbs, however, remained defiant, rejecting these arguments and any compromise
with the Croats.
The violent death of the dictatorial king,
Alexander (Marseille, October 9, 1934), marked the end of the main protagonist
of pan-Serbian hegemony. The peasant party of Esteban Radic, treacherously
assassinated in the Belgrade Parliament in 1928, and subsequently led by Vladko
Macek, imprisoned for several years, won an overwhelming majority of the vote
in Croatia in successive elections. As the storm of war gathered over Europe,
and at the urging of the Western powers, Belgrade deemed it appropriate to
provisionally grant the Croats limited autonomy in administrative matters and
to form a government with the active participation of Croatian representatives.
Peselj then analyzes the content of the agreement
reached, its political, legal, and constitutional aspects. "Macek
considered," Peselj emphasizes, "that the concessions obtained with
the Compromise were the bare minimum, both in terms of Croatian territory and
the powers granted to the Zagreb government. He insisted that in the final
reorganization of Yugoslavia, Croatia's territory should be increased and the
jurisdiction of the Zagreb government expanded. What Croatia's potential status
as a free and sovereign state would be, Macek maintained, would depend, first
and foremost, on the form and scope of Yugoslavia's reconstruction as a
multinational state."
On the other hand, the Serbian ruling class, the
army, the Serbian Orthodox Church, and Serbian cultural circles and
institutions, fearful of losing their dominant position in all spheres,
considered the Compromise a provisional and temporary contingency, imposed by
the external situation, since for them Yugoslavia should remain an enlarged
Serbia. Therefore, the entire political and administrative structure, based on
the Serbian-Croatian Compromise, soon collapsed following the coup d'état of
March 27, 1941, orchestrated and carried out by a group of Serbian officers
with the full support of the circles mentioned above.
"The formal reason given for this coup,"
Peselj rightly points out, "was Yugoslavia's accession to the Tripartite
Pact, signed two days earlier in Vienna. The truth is that the coup was
directed not only against Prince Paul's foreign policy and the Macek-Cvetkovic
government's handling of foreign affairs, but equally, and perhaps even more
so, against Prince Paul's domestic policy, against him personally, and against
the Compromise of August 26, 1939, which was detested by Serbian political
circles. The Serbian members of the Simovic government were notorious opponents
of the new approach to the Serbian-Croatian settlement and vehemently objected
to the status achieved by Croatia."
Peselj then reports on "American diplomacy and
the Compromise." The American diplomatic service showed great interest in
Serbian-Croatian relations and the problems involved. Understanding that the
Serbian-Croatian conflict was not only the greatest obstacle to the
consideration of Yugoslavia, but also one of the potential causes of unrest in
southeastern Europe, American diplomats in Belgrade and in the capitals of
neighboring countries endeavored to keep the State Department informed of all
aspects and implications of this thorny issue.
From the end of 1938 until the collapse of
Yugoslavia in April 1941, more than 140 telegrams, dispatches, and reports were
sent by official representatives from Washington to their superior, notifying
him of the various phases of the Compromise negotiations, the problems that
arose after the agreement, and the difficulties caused by the abrupt breakdown
of the agreement. Peselj cites and refers to many confidential and secret documents.
In four appendices, the author transcribes the
following in English: 1) Dr. Vladko Macek's message to Franklin D. Roosevelt,
dated January 18, 1939, in Zagreb; 2) V. Macek's speech delivered at the
extraordinary session of the Croatian National Assembly in Zagreb on May 8,
1939; 3) The text of the Serbian-Croatian Compromise of August 20, 1939; 4) The
constitutional decree establishing Croatia's autonomy; 5) John James Meily's
report, American consul in Zagreb, to the Secretary of State on the establishment
of Croatian independence, dated June 13, 1941.
From Branko Peselj's objective and well-documented
study, the attentive reader will readily conclude that, given Yugoslavia's
heterogeneous, discordant, and antagonistic state conglomeration, consistently
ruled by dictatorial regimes, whether monarchical or communist, the peaceful
separation of Croatia and Serbia is advisable for the benefit of their
respective peoples and for peace and security in this European region. Sweden
and Norway offer an auspicious precedent, having separated and now living together
in peace and close cooperation.
The grave crisis that erupted last December in
Yugoslavia, the further consequences of which are unpredictable, indicates that
a peaceful settlement of the Serbian-Croatian conflict is urgent and cannot be
postponed. Under the communist guise of supposed "unity and
fraternity," what is at stake is colonial-style economic exploitation and
national oppression by Serbian imperialism, which in many respects coincides
with Soviet expansionist plans.
Cristóbal Spalatin, professor of modern languages
at Marquette University, Milwaukee, addresses the difficult and
pressing issue of "Language and Politics in Yugoslavia" in light of
the events that took place from March 1967 to March 1969. Given the morphological
and phonetic similarity between Croatian and Serbian, the argument—dear to
romantics, but unscientific and now outdated—that language constitutes the
basis of the affinity and unity of both peoples has been put forward for more
than a century.
The truth is that these are two distinct, albeit
related, languages, each with its own historical development and its own
literature, a fact underscored in the Declaration on the Name and Status of the
Croatian Literary Language, signed in March 1967 by the main Croatian cultural
and literary institutions. The author elaborates on this problem, lamenting its
unnecessary political implications. Recent events in Yugoslavia indicate,
however, that the imposition of the Serbian language will continue in all
sectors of public life, which in reality amounts to a premeditated cultural
genocide against the Croats.
Antun Nizeteo, a Croatian novelist and poet based
in the United States, presents a profound study on the influence and impact of
Walt Whitman's poetry in Croatia. He refers especially to the foremost Croatian
poet of the 20th century, Tin Ujevic (1891-1955), who wrote about Whitman's
work on several occasions and translated several of his poems into Croatian.
Nizeteo draws interesting parallels between the two lyric poets, highlighting their
affinities, similarities, and differences. He also reproduces several of
Whitman's poems in their original form and in Tin Ujevic's masterful Croatian
translation.
Louis A. Gebhard, professor of modern European
history, in his work entitled "The Croats, the Habsburg Monarchy, and the
Austro-Hungarian Navy," provides some interesting data on the national
composition of the crews of Austro-Hungarian warships and its political
repercussions. For example, in 1901, Croats comprised only 7% of the officer corps,
while sailors made up 36%. This disproportion was irritating, and Croatian
deputies in Vienna sought to improve the situation, since the naval bases and
arsenals of the Danubian Monarchy, of which Croatia was an associated kingdom,
were located on the eastern coast of the Adriatic, that is, in Croatia. At the
end of the First World War, the fleet of the dismembered Habsburg Empire was
not handed over to its natural and legitimate successors and heirs, but was
instead divided among the victorious powers. The flagship Viribus Unitis, under
the command of Admiral Janko Vukovic de Podkapelski, who was acting on orders
from the Zagreb authorities, was destroyed by Italian saboteurs, sinking with
its captain and 350 crew members.
This new volume makes a valuable contribution to
understanding Croatian issues, both past and present, and is clear evidence of
the constant efforts of the editors and contributors to this English-language
publication.
Branko Kadic
Technical Dictionary. Part I: German -
Croatian-Serbian
Zagreb 1969, p. XXX + 1103; Part II:
Croat-Serbian-German, Zagreb 1970, p. XXXIV + 1576.
In the quarterly journal for Slavic studies,
"Die Welt der Slaven" (The Slavic World), Year XVI, Vol. 2, pp.
217-218 (published by Otto Harrassovitz - Wiesbaden, West Germany), Branko
Franolic, from Paris, published a review of V. Dabac's "Technical
Dictionary." This review reveals that the dictionary contains 80,000
simple words and 30,000 compound words, totaling 110,000 technical terms, thus
truly representing a "thesaurus of technical languages." A long list
of 93 collaborators and advisors further attests to the solidity of Dabac's
work.
"If Dabac's Lexicon is an indispensable tool
for both technicians and translators, it is also extremely interesting for
linguists, as it allows them to take stock of the development of Croatian
technical and scientific terminology during the 20th century." This is how
Franolic concludes, after initially mentioning the first Croatian dictionary of
scientific terminology, B. Sulek's 1874 work in Croatian, German, and Italian
(p. XXVI + 1369), published in Zagreb.
M. B.
Vladimir Markotic: Archaeology in Eastern Europe
Offprint from "East European Quarterly",
Vol. IV, No. 3, pp. 343-356.
The purpose of this article by Professor V.
Markotic of the University of Calgary is to provide information on the
structure of archaeological institutions and their scientific publications in
Eastern Europe, specifically in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany,
Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia.
Unlike in North America, where archaeology is a
subdivision of anthropology, in Eastern Europe it constitutes an independent
discipline or, at most, one associated with history. The general trend in this
region continues to be to separate prehistory from ethnology and physical
anthropology and to relate it to historical archaeology. It was only at the
beginning of the 19th century, with the organization of the first museums, that
scientific work in archaeology began using modern methods.
Shortly thereafter, it was introduced as a subject
of study in universities, academies, and scientific associations. The author
provides a chronological table of the founding of the most notable
universities, museums, and academies, from 1348, when King Charles founded the
University of Prague, to 1957, the year of the founding of the University of
Tirana. Regarding Croatia, the table includes the founding of the University of
Zagreb in 1669 (reorganized in 1874), the National Museum of Zagreb in 1821, the
Split Museum in 1821, the Zadar Museum in 1830, the Zagreb Museum in 1846, the
Zagreb Academy in 1867, and the Sarajevo Museum in 1888. Archaeology is taught
in universities in Eastern Europe, yet research is primarily conducted through
scientific institutions and scholarly societies. The funding of most
excavations, however, appears to be the responsibility of national museums
rather than academies and other institutions. This trend seems to favor the
centralization of archaeological activities.
In this respect, Yugoslavia is an exception, the
author says, since there almost all archaeological activities are
decentralized. Therefore, the author describes these activities regionally,
maintaining the following alphabetical order: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,
Kosovo and Metohija, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, and Vojvodina.
Although very succinct, the reader interested in the subject will find in
Professor Markotic's article sufficient guidance on the institutions and
subsequent publications of Eastern European archaeology.
M. B.
[1] See, for example, Raymond Aron, Democracy and
Totalitarianism, Gallimard, Paris 1965, pp. 61-62. After recalling Weber's
definition of the state as "the monopoly on the legitimate use of
violence," the author adds: "Presenting the sovereign as chief of
police does not mean attacking his dignity and prestige. The police must enjoy
the respect of the citizenry because the police, as an institution,
legitimately hold the monopoly on the use of violence... Reserving the right to
employ violence to a special institution is a conquest of civilization."
[2] G. Marcel, Men Against the Human, Hachette
S.A., Buenos Aires, 1955, pp. 57-61.
[3] Item, Ibid., p. 34.
[4] Croatia was defeated in 1945 by forces allied
to international communism, led by Soviet Russia. The Communist Party of
Yugoslavia was its main instrument in the struggle against Croatian
independence and for the restoration of communist Yugoslavia within the same
borders as monarchical Yugoslavia, but the Communist Party of Yugoslavia,
according to the recognition of The Serbs themselves, it was a Serbian party,
the spokesperson for the national and state idea of the Serbian
people.
The tiny fraction of Croatian communists who were
members of it were considered "centrifugal" (See Nasa Rec - Our
World), a Serbian monthly magazine in London, issue 235, May 1972, the article:
"The Mass Croatian Movement" written by Desimir Tosic, where the
author says that "the national idea of the Serbs was
included, contained in the very state program of the Yugoslav Communist
Party," while the representatives of other "Yugoslav"
peoples—Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, and partially, Montenegrins—were members
there in opposition to monarchical Yugoslavia, but were permanently considered
"centrifugal." At the end of the last great war, the
"centrifugal" forces, that is, the Yugoslav Communist Party as an
instrument of the Serbian national and state idea, deemed it necessary to
exterminate the army Croatian, the staunchest guarantor of the Croatian
"centrifugal" tendency, that is, of the sovereignty of the Croatian
people, and to make the "centripetal" forces prevail, that is, those
that must accept Croatia's subjugation to Serbia and grant this brutal act the
character of a free expression of the Croatian will and a legal character to
the new authorities of Yugoslavia. Indeed, the Croatian army was
exterminated—M. Djilas himself demanded the extermination of the Croatian army
during the last war so that Yugoslavia could survive—in the well-known Tragedy
of Bleiburg. There, along with the army, the flower of Croatian intellectualism
also fell—that is, the biological potential, consciousness, and will of the
Croatian national community. Having thus "resolved" the
"centrifugal" problem, the Party, that is, Belgrade, inaugurated the
new policy, cynically called the policy of "unity and fraternity."
See also: Croatia and the current crisis of Yugoslavia, special edition of
Studia Croatica, Buenos Aires Aires, March 1972.
[5] V. Pavletic, Introduction to "Renaissance
of Croatian University Students" in Renaissance of Croatian University
Students, special publication of the Croatian journal Kritika, Zagreb 1971, p.
1.
* Evidently, Marcuse wants to remind us of the case
of Antigone, which is found in the early days of Western civilization. The same
idea, repeated so many times afterward, is found in A. Camus's *The Rebel*.
Knowledge and the feeling of justice form within us the idea of
universal solidarity, which the unfortunate French writer
formulated as follows: "Je me révolte, donc nous sommes" (I rebel,
therefore we exist). Pope John XXIII, when referring, on many occasions, to
positive law, does not hesitate to speak of "institutionalized
violence."
[7] Ibid., p. 49.
[8] Camus, *The Rebel*, Gallimard, Paris, 1951, pp.
35-36.
** Of course, absolute values of a
sacred nature are disregarded, but their imperative need is nonetheless felt,
and thus the problem of absolute values is reintroduced. Are
there or are there not absolute values? Are such values possible
within an immanentist-materialist conception of the world? Adopting Marcuse's
position, we remain within materialist immanentism. But his path, which leads
us to the vicinity of the absolute, is empirical, accessible to all. The final
interpretation of what we discover will depend on each individual's worldview.
If, within the materialist conception, we cannot speak of absolute values, we
could speak of relative and historical values with absolute
pretensions, recognized as such by specific generations of one or another historical
period. See, for example, Robert Reinninger, *Wertiphilosophie und Ethik*,
Vienna-Leipzig 1946, pp. 53-54.
[9] See above what the Serbian Tosic says, p. 5.
*** See: *Studia Croatica*, Vol. 28-31, 1968, *Half
a Century of Illegitimate Power*, pp. 3-15.
[10] Quoted from A. Kadic, "So that the
Croatian bells may also be heard," in Glas Kanadskih Srba (The Voice of
the Serbs in Canada), February 16, 1972.
We recommend to interested readers the special
edition by S. C. mentioned above: Croatia and the current crisis in Yugoslavia.
[11] Dr. A. Ciliga, "Let us develop and
implement a Croatian Confederal and General Front," in "Bilten
Hrvatske Demokratske Socijalne Akcije" - The Bulletin of Croatian Social
and Democratic Action, Year XI, No. 65, May 1972, Rome, where Dr. Ciliga lives
in political exile.
[12] J. G. Reissmüller, Jugoslawien Vielvölkerstaat
zwischen Ost und West (Yugoslavia, Plurinational State between East and West),
Düsseldorf-Koeln, 1971, pp. 61-62.
[13] Raymond Ruyer, Elogio de la Sociedad de consumidor
(In Praise of Consumer Society), Buenos Aires, 1970, pp. 11 and 19.
[14] R. Aron, Op. cit., p. 280, 1.
**** See: Salvador De Madariaga, Tito and Franco in "La
Prensa" of June 14, 1972, Buenos Aires.
[16] A. I. Herzen first published his reflections
on self-management in his work Vom Anderen Ufer, printed in Zurich in 1850;
then in the book Le peuple russe et le socialisme, published in Nice in 1851,
which in fact constitutes his correspondence with the French historian Jules
Michelet; then in the work Du dévelopement des idées révolutionnaires en
Russie, published the same year and dedicated to Bakunin. Finally, in Letter to
Garibaldi of 1863, written from Nice, Herzen returns to the idea of
self-management. Karl Marx harshly criticized his ideas in the first German
edition of Capital, as did Lenin at the Russian Communist Party Congress held
in Stockholm in 1906.
[17] Cf. Questions actuelles du socialisme,
Belgrade, January-February 1952.
[18] Samoupravljanje i drustvena moc
(Self-Management and Social Power), Nase teme, Zagreb, 1965.
[19] Especially Djodan Zakon vrijednosti trzista i
plana (The Law of Values and the Relationship between the Market
and the Plan), Matica Hrvatska, Zagreb, 1969.
[20] "La réforme, une phase nouvelle de
l'autogestion," Questions actuelles du socialisme, Belgrade, January-March
1967.
[21] "Decentralization under worker's
management: A theoretical appraisal," The American Economic Review,
December 1969.
[22] In this regard, the 23rd Amendment to the
Constitution does not allow individual peasants to organize production on their
minimally reduced fields.
* Marcos Veselica was arrested in December 1971. He
will be tried along with a group of Croatian intellectuals, accused of
chauvinism, nationalism, and separatism by the Tito regime. (Editor's note.)
** This work was written prior to the serious
crisis that erupted in Yugoslavia last December.
[23] Title of the well-known work by Benjamín
Subercaseaux, Chile o la loca geografía (Chile or the Crazy Geography).
Editorial Ercilla S.A., Santiago, Chile, 1940.
[24] The Chilean press appeared in the early years
of Chile's national government, somewhat later than in other Latin American
countries: Havana (1763), Buenos Aires (1801), Lima (1796), and Mexico City
(1731) had newspapers before Santiago, where the first issue of Aurora de Chile
came off the printing press (brought from North America and set up by North
American technicians) on February 13, 1812, "to provide popular education
in a secure manner and to transcribe with the utmost scruple the truth, which
alone determines the fate and credibility of governments" (1812-1955),
Santiago, Chile, 1956, pp. 47-49 and Raúl Silva Castro, Prensa y Periodismo en
Chile (1812-1956), Ediciones de la Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile, 1958,
p. 15 ff.
[25] Cf. Carlos Keller R., article "Chile in Latin American
Economic Thought," Fondo de Cultura Económica, Mexico, 1945, p. 172.
[26] In an editorial, "Japan and Russia - The
Specter of European War," the conservative newspaper El Diario Ilustrado,
Santiago, on October 26, 1903, after analyzing the potential connections of a
looming conflict in the Far East, concludes: "If a whole series of
assumptions were made, goodbye Chilean budgets! We'd run out of buyers for
saltpeter!" The Chilean budget at that time depended largely on tax
revenues from customs duties on the export of saltpeter and iodine. Chilean tax
revenues from copper exports play a similar role today.
[27] Austria-Hungary, the "military
monarchy," which ranked third in population in Europe after Russia and the
German Reich, lagged behind the great powers in its military expenditures:
one-quarter that of Russia and Germany, one-third that of France and England,
and even less than Italy. See A. J. P. Taylor, *The Habsburg Monarchy,
1809-1918*, Penguin Books Ltd., 1964, p. 247.
* See Oscar Jászi, *The Dissolution of the Habsburg
Monarchy*, The University of Chicago Press, 3rd ed., 1964, p. 348 and
"Croatia versus Hungary," pp. 366-375.
[29] The "Austro-Hungarians" in Bolivia
and Peru are also of the same origin, unlike those in the Atlantic
republics—Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina—where all the nationalities of the
Danubian Monarchy are represented. The statistics (immigration and population
census) do not differentiate between "Austro-Hungarians," although
they hold different passports: Austrian, Hungarian, and Croatian. Immigrants
from Croatia and Slavonia had passports issued in the name of His Majesty the
King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia, written in French
and Croatian; the passport was sewn with tricolor thread (red-white-blue),
corresponding to the colors of the Croatian national flag.
[30] Consular offices already existed—in Valparaíso
and Iquique—although no honorary Austro-Hungarian consulship was held by a
subject of the Danubian Monarchy.
[30] Consular offices already existed—in Valparaíso
and Iquique—although no honorary Austro-Hungarian consulship was held by a
subject of the Danubian Monarchy. [31] Cf. El Diario Ilustrado, Santiago, March
17, 1903. According to data from the Foreign Service Yearbook (Jahrbuch des
ausweartigen Dienstes, Wien 1914, Ausder k.k. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei), Count
Leonard Starzenski was born in 1857. A graduate of the Oriental Academy (a specialized
school for consular service that in 1898 was transformed into the Consular
Academy) in Vienna, he served in the consulates in Sofia (Bulgaria) and Jassy
(Romania), from 1882 to 1891; then in the Embassy in Constantinople and in the
Legation in The Hague, to assume a special task, in 1899, in the Embassy to the
Holy See. By Decree of December 6, 1902, he was appointed Minister
Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to the governments of Chile, Bolivia,
and Peru, with permanent residence in Santiago. He was relieved of this post in
1905, remaining on leave until 1911, when he retired, receiving "the
highest recognition for efficient services rendered with loyalty and
selflessness." He was also a reserve cavalry lieutenant.
[32] Cf. Census of the Republic of Chile. Taken on
November 28, 1907. Santiago, Chile. Sociedad Imprenta y Litografía, 1908, p. 77
ff.
[33] If we exclude foreigners from neighboring
countries—27,140 Peruvians, 21,968 Bolivians, and 6,956 Argentinians—the number
of foreigners, according to the 1907 Census, is still somewhat modest
(compared, for example, to the strong flow of immigration to Argentina): among
Europeans, Spaniards rank first with 18,755, followed by 13,023 Italians,
10,724 Germans, 9,845 British, 9,800 French, 3,813 Austro-Hungarians, etc.
[34] In small groups, they were present in this
region, as well as in Tarapacá (Iquique), even before the outbreak of the War
of the Pacific (1879).
[35] See news item in El Mercurio, Valparaíso,
November 3, 1900.
[36] See El Mercurio, Santiago, February 22, 1903.
** Princess Bivesco, belonging to the high nobility
of Romania; see the newspaper El Mercurio, Santiago, Chile, February 22, 1903,
article "The Minister of Austria-Hungary."
[37] El Mercurio de Valparaíso, belonging to the
same company, was founded in 1827, while the Santiago edition has been
published since 1900, also having an afternoon edition: Las Últimas Noticias de
El Mercurio.
[38] The story ends on August 23 with a happy
ending, as the efforts of that exceptional woman, the first on the throne of
the Austrians, married to Francis of Lorraine, the future Emperor of the Holy
Roman Empire (1745-1765), are finally happily fulfilled: "I swear not to
lay down my arms until after I have defeated my enemies and placed the crown on
my husband's head."
[40] It is not surprising that the Catholic
newspaper does not mention the Mayerling tragedy, since it was a suicide,
albeit shrouded in mystery.
[41] Ministers of the Interior and Foreign Affairs,
respectively.
[42] Undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
[43] Count Karl Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg, born in
1872, belonged, according to the Austrian-Hungarian Foreign Service Yearbook,
to the diplomatic corps since 1896; attached to the Embassy in Constantinople
from then on and secretary at the Embassy in London from 1899, he was
transferred to Chile in the same position in 1902. At the end of 1903, he was
sent from Santiago to the Embassy in St. Petersburg.
[44] Austrian engineer in the service of the
Chilean State Railways.
[45] A long list of attendees follows; among the
Austrians and Hungarians are the already well-known representatives of the
community: von Braun, Theodor Kantz, Nicoreanu, and Alois Flesch von Boos, who
would be appointed honorary consul general in Valparaíso and several times
Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. Nowhere is it mentioned that anyone with a
Croatian surname attended the reception.
[46] Víctor Paz Estenssoro, article
"Bolivia" in Latin American Economic Thought, op. cit., p. 54 and cf.
El Mercurio de Santiago, September 23, 1971, editorial page: History of the
Antofagasta-Bolivia Railway.
[47] Biweekly newspaper. The editor, Juan
Karstulovic, originally from the village of Nerezisce, Brač Island, imported
a modern printing press from the United States, founding the printing company
Dalmatian Printing Press. In 1904, he published The Slavic Almanac in Spanish;
cf. Matica - List iseljenika Hrvatske (Hive - Gazette of Croatian Emigrants),
Zagreb, Year XVIII, March 1967.
[48] Liberty is represented by the effigy of a
woman with a sword in her right hand, about to cut the chains. The motto Bog i
Hrvati (God and the Croats) above the title indicates that the editor
unconditionally shares the program of the Father of the Nation, Ante Starcevic
(1823-1896), founder of the Party of Law, in the struggle for Croatian
emancipation from Vienna and Budapest. In January 1903, the Party of Law merged
with the National Party to form the Croatian Party of Law, which would dominate
Dalmatian politics until the collapse of Austria. It was Starcevic, the
"Croatian Mazzini," who declared in the Croatian Sabor on June 26,
1861: "The Croatian nation has still preserved, despite all the calamities
it unjustly suffers at the hands of Austria, an invaluable asset: trust in God
and in its own hands. The Croatian nation believes, without anyone telling it,
that Providence has destined a bright future for it, a nation that has survived
three centuries of captivity under Austria, a nation that, with a Christian
spirit, has always sacrificed itself for others. The Croatian nation believes
that this future, this mission, will not be decided by Austria, but by God and
the Croatians." Cf. Antun Radic, Sabrana djela (Collected Works, 19 volumes),
Seljacka sloga Publishing House, Zagreb, 1937, Vol. V, pp. 138-139.
[49] In Antofagasta, two strong organizations of
the community already existed: The First Slavic Volunteer Fire Company in Latin
America was founded in Antofagasta on December 16, 1892, in response to the
fires and labor movements following the 1891 revolution; the Slavic Mutual Aid
Society was formed on April 11, 1894; see Lucas Bonacic Doric B., History of
the Yugoslavs in Magallanes - Their Life and Culture, 3 volumes, Punta Arenas,
1946, Vol. III, p. 31.
[50] In no statement sent to the Chilean press is
there any reference to Ban Khuen-Héderváry having, in the meantime, left his
post to assume the presidency of the Government in Hungary. The choice of his
successor fell upon a high-ranking administrative official, Count Dr. Ma. Teodoro
Pejacsevich, belonging to the Croatian nobility. In his handwritten letter,
written in Croatian, Franz Joseph notifies, dated July 1, 1903, from
Schoebrunn, the appointment to the new ban:
[51] There is no reference in the Chilean press to
the attitude of the Croatians toward the changes that occurred in Serbia after
the regicide of June 11, 1903, despite the abundance of telegrams announcing
the declarations of the new king, Pedro Karageorgevic, in favor of a
constitutional and democratic government. Serbian policy, embarking on an
anti-Austrian course, would soon highlight the counterproductive nature of
Khuen-Héderváry's regime in Croatia-Slavonia (1883-1903), as well as that of
Benjamin von Kallay, governor (1882-1903) in Bosnia-Herzegovina. These two
Magyar leaders favored the Serbian minority at the expense of the Croats'
interests, who were loyal to the Habsburgs, thereby creating an imbalance in
favor of the Serbs, whose "irredentism" would decisively contribute
to the collapse of the Danubian Monarchy. See, on von Kallay, the work that
deals in detail with the complex South Slavic problem, first published in 1917,
L. von Suedland, Die suedslawische Frage und der Weltkrieg II. Auflage, Verlag
"Matica Hrvatska" Zagreb 1944, p. 510ff. and on Khuen-Hérderváry, the
aforementioned work by G. Yászi, The Dissolution of the Habsburg Monarchy, 3rd
ed. 1964, The University of Chicago Press, p. 370.
[52] Direct allusion to the Austrian-Hungarian
vice-consul in Antofagasta, to whom Kevesic himself would address an open
letter days later, urging him to resign his post for the sake of harmony among
the resident community; cf. El Comercio, Antofagasta, August 24, 1903.
[53] The commemorative article was likely inspired
by liberal sources, highlighting the Hungarian struggle and disregarding the
Hungarian-Croatian Agreement of 1868, against whose distortion the Croatian
protests in Antofagasta were taking place.
[54] Originally from the town of Nerezisce, the
same town as the editor of the newspaper Sloboda, Mr. Kartulovic.
[53] The commemorative article was likely inspired
by liberal sources, emphasizing the Hungarian struggle and disregarding the
Hungarian-Croatian Agreement of 1868, against whose distortion the Croatians in
Antofagasta were protesting. [55] Marcos Sore, one of the oldest residents of
the colony, who heads the list, was forced to publish a
"clarification" in the same newspaper on August 20: "Perhaps my
signature appears at the top of that congratulatory message by mistake. An
enemy of any issue that tends to create divisions among my countrymen, I
declare once and for all that I have not taken, nor will I take, any part in
the dissension that unfortunately exists, in any way whatsoever." This
leaves the impression that several names of loyal "Austrians" appear
only to save face and do not express a spontaneous endorsement from the
signatories. See El Industrial, August 21 and 22, where, among
"submissions," a debate continues between "several
signatories" and Mr. Sore, whose submission includes a brief history of
the social conditions of the Antofagasta colony.
"I am against any issue that tends to create
divisions among my countrymen," I declare once and for all that I have not
taken, nor will I take, any part in the dissension that unfortunately exists.
[56] El Comercio, in its article "The Tuesday Incident" of the same
day, takes a conciliatory stance, publishing the telegram the intendant
received on the matter and concluding: "The government, in ordering the
lowering of the Slavic society's flag, believed it to be Austrian. With this
clarification, further comment is unnecessary."
[57] El Industrial, for its part, published the
telegram from Iquique on August 18, which had already been reported in the
capital's press. "Croatian merchants will close their businesses tomorrow,
displaying the following sign: 'Out of Mourning.' This demonstration is a sign
of protest against the attitude of the Emperor of Austria, Franz Joseph, in the
affairs of Croatia."
[58] Cf. Seventh General Census of the Population
of Chile. Taken on November 28, 1895. Central Statistics Office, Santiago,
Chile, Vol. I, 1900, p. 45.
[59] Ibid., p. 64.
[60] It is telling that the large Croatian trading houses in Iquique did
not publish their advertisements in this issue of El Nacional; such, for
example, as the important company Hermanos Mitrovic, the sole agents for Chile
and Peru for Campbell Oil Engine petroleum engines; also the sole agents for
the province of Tarapacá for portable railways, caliche wagons, etc., from
German factories. This is a way of expressing their protest, showing solidarity
with the majority of the community.
*** See the study by Dr. Milan Blazekovic, "The Centenary of the
Hungarian-Croatian Compromise," in Studia Croatica, Buenos Aires, 1969,
vol. 32-33, pp. 98-157.
$ This refers to the atrocities committed in 1848 in northern Italy by
Austrian units composed of Vlach elements from Croatia—today Serbs, sworn
enemies of Croatia.
[61] See Boleslao Lewin, Popper - A Patagonian Conqueror, Editorial
Candelabro, Buenos Aires, 1967, p. 101 ff. Popper's Diary; also p. 58 ff.,
where Popper mentions his "army" of eight robust Dalmatians. See
also: Armand Braun Méndez, Southern Chronicles, Paris, 1961, Ed. Gallimard, pp.
265 ff. and 269 ff.
[62] Three decades later, Claudio Chamaro Ch., a great connoisseur of
the southern tip of Chile, in his work Under the Southern Sky, Santiago, Chile,
1936, p. 433, highlights the contribution of the Croatian settlers to the rise
of the respective region: "We are pleased to say that the sons of
Yugoslavia, who number about 2,150 in the Magallanes Territory, constitute a
flourishing colony, one of the first in the region, due to the activities they
carry out and their progressive work." Its members feel great affection
for those southern regions, where they have settled to fight and to conquer.
[63] Cf. Lucas Bonacic-Doric B., op. cit., Vol. III, p. 32.
[64] Cf. Lucas Bonacic-Doric, op. cit., Vol. III, p. 57.
[65] The news had appeared in Las Últimas Noticias of El Mercurio, on
August 20, in Santiago. The closure of the businesses of the Croatian merchants
in Antofagasta and Iquique is not recorded in the newspapers of Punta Arenas.
[66] The astute writing of the chronicle is undoubtedly due to some
member of the Croatian Club, since there is no reference to
"Austrians" or "Slavs" for the resident colony nor any
other titles for His Majesty Franz Joseph I, apart from "Croatian
king."
[67] The corresponding text in German, unpublished, is found among the
documents of the Haus-Hof-und Staatsarchiv in Vienna.
[68] Cf. Richard Charmatz, Geschichte der auswaertigen Politik
Oesterrichs im 19 Jahrhundert, Verlag von B. G. Teubner, Leipzig und Berlin,
1914, p. 124.
[69] However, among the seven are Marcos Sore, commander of the Fire
Department, Antonio Rumora, owner of the "La Primavera" store, and
Juan Balarin, of infamous memory.
[70] Perhaps a pseudonym. Sinner?
[71] Cf. El Tarapacá, Iquique, November 21 and 22, 1903; and El
Nacional, Iquique, November 21 and 22, 1903.
[72] Translation of the original German text; unpublished document:
Haus-Hof-und Staatsarchiv in Vienna.
[73] Cf. Leo Valiani, La dissoluzione
dell'Austria Ungheria, Casa editrice Il Saggiatore, Milano 1966, p. 200 ff.;
Ivan Mestrovic, Uspomene na ljude i dogadjaje, Editorial Revista Croata, Buenos
Aires, 1961, pp. 52-55.
[74] Headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria-Hungary
in Vienna.
[75] See: Anales de la Facultad de
Filosofía y Ciencias de Educación, 1967, Pontificia Universidad Católica de
Chile, Santiago, Chile, 1967, my article: Relaciones entre Austria-Hungría y
Chile, Año 1900, pp. 140-145.
[76] Cf. the citation in A. J. P. Taylor, op. cit., p. 180.
[77] The author refers to an article of his forthcoming: Presencia
Dynamics of Austria-Hungary in the Pacific, 1912-1914 (Editor's Note).