Pregledni rad
THE CELEBRATION OF THE 80TH BIRTHDAY OF TOMÁŠ MASARYK IN CROATIA IN 1930
Marijan Lipovac
; Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
The 80th birthday of Tomáš Masaryk, the founder and the first president of Czechoslovakia, was celebrated during March 1930 not only in his country, but also in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. These two countries had close political, military, economical and cultural ties which were not disrupted even after the introduction of the personal dictatorship of the Yugoslav king Aleksandar Karađorđević in January 1929. Masaryk always supported the creation of the Yugoslav state, but he rejected king Aleksandar’s dictatorship and for that reason refused to visit Yugoslavia. For this reason the official celebration of his birthday in Yugoslavia was conducted with restraint and the main emphasis was given to the Yugoslav-Czehoslovakian alliance and brotherhood, while Masaryk’s role was downplayed.
Masaryk had a certain reputation in Croatia as a former deputy in the Imperial Council (Reichsrat), and as a person who was a kind of spiritual father to many Croatian politicians and intellectuals. Celebrations of his birthday were held in all Croatian towns, he was made a honorary member of the Yugoslav Academy of Science and Arts in Zagreb (already in 1921 he received a honorary doctoral degree of the Zagreb University) and a street in the centre of Zagreb was named after him. Celebration of his birthday in Croatia was used to emphesize Masaryk’s support for democracy and humanism, and to present his ideas, philosophy and scientific work. After the introduction of king Aleksandar’s dictatorship the possibility for a free expression of political ideas was almost impossible and the celebration of Masaryk’s birthday was used also to express dissatisfaction with the dictatorship. Croatian newspapers used the opportunity to celebrate Masaryk, but also to give a subtle critique of the existing political situation.
Ključne riječi
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk; Czehoslovakia; Kingdom of Yugoslavia; Czech-Croat relations; Yugoslav Academy of Science and Arts
Hrčak ID:
101950
URI
Datum izdavanja:
20.10.2003.
Posjeta: 1.283 *