Izvorni znanstveni članak
The Critique of Totalitarianism in the Journal Hrvatska prosvjeta (1914–1940)
Vladimir Lončarević
; Filozofski fakultet Družbe Isusove, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
The journal Hrvatska prosvjeta, successor of the literary journal Prosvjeta (1892–1913), was launched in 1914 as a bulletin of the Kolo hrvatskih književnika [The Circle of Croatian Writers], a literary society founded in 1913 with an aim to gather and help Catholic writers and promote literary production inspired by Catholic ideas.
The journal was issued until 1940, under the editorship of Petar Grgec (1914), Dr Ferdo Rožić (1914–1919) and Dr Ljubomir Maraković (1919–1940). Besides poetry, short prose, literary and theatre criticism, translations of foreign writers, the journal also published articles on a variety of historical, cultural, social, philosophical and political issues.
From 1934 onwards the journal regularly devoted part of its contents to the current political issues, knowledgeably addressed by Konstantin Rimarić Volinski, Dr Marije Matulić, Dr Emilio Pallua and Dr Ivan Degrel. Among the abundantly covered themes, this article focuses on the attitudes the mentioned authors had on National Socialism.
The first article on this topic, entitled “Nacionalsocijalizam” [National Socialism], was authored by Volinski in 1934, the same topic later being tackled by Matulić, Pallua and Degrel.
Marije Matulić, at the same time chief editor of the Catholic daily Hrvatska straža, during 1936 and 1937 published several political articles related to the issue of National Socialism and fascism: “Borba za Rajnu” [The struggle for the Rhine], “Borba Lava i Vučice” [The struggle between Lion and She-Volf], “Evropski obračuni” [European conflicts], “Sukob blokova” [The conflict of blocks], “Kiklop usred Europe” [A Cyclop midst Europe], “Dvije evropske osovine” [Two European axes], “Anglia docet,” and “Mussolinijevi zahtjevi” [Mussolini’s demands]. In these texts he lucidly announced that Poland would be the first victim of National Socialism, and that Britain and not France would show greatest resistance to Germany. Some of the critical objections he directed against liberalism, Freemasonry and communism, but just as clearly anticipated the chauvinistic and racist nature of fascism and Nazism as ideologies contrary to Christian humanism.
Between 1937 and 1940, Pallua wrote several articles on the ‘German issue’: “Anschluss i nova vanjskopolitička situacija” [Anschluss and the new situation in foreign policy], “Sudetski problem i organizacija mira u Evropi” [The Sudet issue and organisation of peace in Europe), “Nova evropska situacija nakon sporazuma u Münchenu” [New European situation after the Munich treaty), “Rasizam i Vatikan” [Racism and Vatican], “Crkva i rat” [Church and war], and “Nordijski rat” [Nordic war], taking into account the historical genesis and development of National Socialism, and analysing the political, military, cultural, economic and religious power relations.
In doing so, he shows his inclination towards Western democracies despite numerous objections against their unfair treatment of the Church.
Starting with the article "Njemačka – svjetski problem" [Germany – world issue] (1939), Ivan Degrel infused his political commentaries on the ‘German issue’ with philosophical objections, siding with those who ‘detected’ the influence of Hegel and Nietzsche on the formation of pan-Germanism and National Socialism.
Although the criticism of the much-debated National Socialism rested not only on philosophical argumentation – and when it did, it was not in the pure forms of philosophical discourse but permeated with concepts and approaches from political economy and political history, that is, in conformity with the nature of a cultural journal and journalistic discourse – there is no doubt that the Catholic intellectuals gathered around Hrvatska prosvjeta, guided by the documents of the Teachings of the Catholic Church, mainly the papal encyclicals from Pius IX to Pius XI, along with the contemporary achievements of the neoscholastic and personalistic Catholic thought, were determined to question totalitarian political philosophies and systems from the philosophical standpoint, and agree on the opinion that the ideas of National Socialism were incompatible with the Christian world view.
Ključne riječi
Hrvatska prosvjeta; communism; National Socialism; totalitarianism; Christian humanism; Konstantin Rimarić Volinski; Marije Matulić; Emilio Pallua; Ivan Degrel
Hrčak ID:
136570
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.2.2015.
Posjeta: 2.839 *