The Archival Query in Zagreb

The Archival Query in Zagreb (16-22.02.2020)

In February I carried out research in Zagreb as part of the project “Millennium. Celebrating the anniversary of the baptism of Eastern and Central Europe – comparative analysis”. The subject of my research is the Yugoslav case and, more specifically, the analysis of the Croatian celebrations. Initially they were planned for the 1940s; the preparations began in the 1930s, but they had to be abandoned due to the outbreak of World War II. Finally, between 1975 and 1984 a number of events were organized to celebrate the ‘Thirteen Centuries of Christianity among the Croats’.

During my research stay in Zagreb, I carried out queries  in the Croatian State Archives (Hrvatski Državni Arhiv), the National and University Library in Zagreb (Nacionalna i sveučilišna knjižnica u Zagrebu), as well as in the archive of the magazine Glas Koncila (see: photographs 3, 4). In all these places I was able to find many relevant materials from the 1970s and 1980s. The Croatian State Archives have also many sources regarding the state-church relationship during the time of Yugoslavia (see: photographs 1, 2).     

I also found valuable materials in the archive of the magazine Glas Koncila, a Catholic journal, published in Zagreb since 1962. This magazine played a key role in the post-conciliar discussions in Croatia. What is more, it meticulously described the preparations for the celebrations as well as their course. In the National and University Library in Zagreb, which has a significant collection of literature on the subject, I researched the archival issues of the AKSA. Aktualnosti Kršćanske sadašnjosti – the newsletter of the Croatian Catholic news agency (see: photograph 5).

However, another archival query in Zagreb will be necessary, first and foremost because there is a need to conduct research in the Archives of Croatian Radio-television (Hrvatska radiotelevizija, HRT) and to find film materials from the period of interest.

A. D.