SKD Prosvjeta
The Serbian Cultural Society "Prosvjeta" (abbreviated: SKD "Prosvjeta" or Serbian Cyrillic: СКД "Просвјета") in Zagreb, Croatia is an independent, non-governmental cultural and scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting culture of and among Serbs in Croatia. Its primary aim is preservation and development of national identity of Serbs in Croatia.
Formation | 1944 |
---|---|
Type | non-governmental organization |
Headquarters | Zagreb |
Membership | 2,200 |
Official language | Serbian |
President | Čedomir Višnjić |
Budget | 1,800,000 € |
Website | skd-prosvjeta |
The association was established on 18 November 1944 under the auspices of the State Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia in the period of World War II in Yugoslavia when Serb community was faced with the Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia. Its work was interrupted in 1971 when together with Matica hrvatska it was forbidden under the accusations of promotion of nationalism after which it remained closed until 1993. Contemporary association defines its guiding principles to be multiculturalism and interculturalism, as well as cultural awareness among diverse groups of citizens. In accordance with its understanding of national identity of Serbs in Croatia, Prosvjeta approaches its cultural activities while keeping in mind that Serb culture is a part of Croatian culture and a part of the Serb people's culture as a whole.
History
Establishment
Prosvjeta was established on 18 November 1944 in the period of World War II in Yugoslavia in the town of Glina.[1] First president of the association was professor Dane Medaković from Zagreb.[1] It was established as one among few new Serb institutions, first of which was Serb MP's club of the State Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia.[1] As the expectation of the Allied and Yugoslav Partisans victory in war grew, Communist Party of Yugoslavia wanted to satisfy requests by Prečani Serbs population in the future Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia who were the primary target of quisling Ustaše Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia.[1] Prečani Serbs initially constituted a significant majority, and towards the end of the war large segment of the entire Partisan forces, while in 1945 they also constituted 43% of membership of the Communist Party of Croatia.[1] Primary task of the new organization in the initial period was to fight illiteracy in rural areas.[1] Other ambitious plans included intention to establishm the future Museum of Serbs of Croatia, central library, student dormitory as well as to develop cooperation with Croatian Writers' Association, Croatian Painters' Association, Music Association and Association for Cultural Cooperation with Soviet Union.[1]
Maspok period and 1971 closure
During the Croatian Spring (Maspok), a political conflict that took place from 1967 to 1971 in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, SKD Prosvjeta came to the forefront of Croatian Serb nationalist discourse.[2] A plan put forward by SKH reformists to revise elementary and middle school literature and history curricula so 75 percent of the coverage would be on Croatian topics[3] drew complaints from SKD Prosvjeta, which argued that the plan was a threat to Serb cultural rights. SKD Prosvjeta also objected to the SKH's attempts to reinterpret the wartime Partisan struggle as a liberation of Croatian nationality within the Yugoslav framework.[4] By 1971, SKD Prosvjeta demanded that the Serbian language and Cyrillic script be officially used in Croatia alongside the Croatian language and Latin script, as well as legislative safeguards guaranteeing the national equality of Serbs.[2] SKD Prosvjeta rejected the federal model advocated by the ZAVNOH and the SKH, arguing that nationalism was no longer needed in Yugoslavia. Furthermore, SKD Prosvjeta denounced the work of Matica hrvatska and asserted that the Serbs of Croatia would preserve their national identity by relying on Serbia's help regardless of the borders of the republics.[5]
Finally, SKD Prosvjeta's Rade Bulat demanded the establishment of an autonomous province for the Croatian Serbs, and there were calls to grant autonomy for Dalmatia as well.[5] The SKH central committee declared that no region of Croatia could make any legitimate claim to autonomy of any kind and labeled calls for regional Dalmatian autonomy as treason to the Croatian nation.[6] Such responses were in line with the SKH's objective of national homogenisation. To that end, the SKH blocked the option of declaring one's ethnic identity as regional in the 1971 census.[3] In 1971, after Maspok, organization work was suspended together with work of Matica hrvatska.[7] Initiative for reactivation of Prosvjeta work came in 1990, and it was implemented in 1993.[7]
Central Library of Serbs of Croatia
Central Library of Serbs of Croatia | |
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Središnja knjižnica Srba u Hrvatskoj Централна библиотека Срба у Хрватској | |
Location | Zagreb, Croatia |
Established | 26 January 1996[8] |
Collection | |
Items collected | Serbian literature, Cyrillic alphabet literature, Croatian literature, Western literature, 20th-century Marxist philosophy |
Size | 23,000 books and publications [9] |
Access and use | |
Access requirements | Open to general public (for use of material outside the library membership required) |
Other information | |
Director | Velimir Sekulić |
Employees | 2 |
Website | Централна библиотека Срба у Хрватској |
In 1996 the Central Library of Serbs of Croatia was established. This library operates as a central national library of Serbs of Croatia (one of 10 central ethnic community libraries in Croatia) financed by Ministry of Culture .[10] Its task is to obtain, process and disseminate Serbian library materials and to inform the public.[11]
Library history
Prosvjeta began its first library activities during World War II in Yugoslavia within Yugoslav Partisans. On January 4, 1948 Prosvjeta established its first central library in Zagreb as a capital of People's Republic of Croatia. At that time the library possessed 40,000 books and publications. In 1953 a decision was made to close the library. Its stock was deposited in Museum of Serbs of Croatia, National and University Library in Zagreb and Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts.[9]
During the period of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia until the beginning of the Breakup of Yugoslavia there were no initiatives for special libraries for Serbs of Croatia since general libraries had an adequate number of titles from Serbian literature.[12] In the years before, during and after the Croatian War of Independence inter-ethnic relations in Croatia were significantly disrupted. This, among other things, resulted in the mass removal and destruction of literature that conflicting sides considered inappropriate or subversive.
In 1995 Prosvjeta as its main annual priority declared the establishment of the library,[8] which was opened the day before Saint Sava day, on 26. January 1996.[8] In its initial stock the library had 6,200 books, most of those from city libraries.[8] The initial idea of the Government Office for Minorities was to place the central library for Serbs of Croatia in the village of Gomirje where Gomirje Monastery was placed but since Prosvjeta took the initiative the library was finally placed in Zagreb.[8] In the following years the library took about 15,000 Serbian literature titles from city libraries in Zagreb and Zagreb County.[8] In this way, titles from that area were protected from recycling. Some of the titles were also sent to local committees and institutions like Gymnasium Vukovar.[8]
Activities
Drama Studio "EHO"
Drama Studio "EHO" was founded in 2002 and today operates under the supervision of actress Svetlana Patafta.[13][14]
Ensemble of Folk Dances Vukovar
Subcommittees
Prosvjeta has sub-committees in the following settlements in Croatia
County | Local Subcommittees |
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Bjelovar-Bilogora |
|
Brod-Posavina |
|
Istria |
|
Karlovac |
|
Lika-Senj |
|
Osijek-Baranja |
|
Požega-Slavonia |
|
Primorje-Gorski Kotar |
|
Šibenik-Knin |
|
Sisak-Moslavina |
|
Split-Dalmatia |
|
Virovitica-Podravina |
|
Vukovar-Syrmia |
|
Zagreb |
See also
Sources
- Irvine, Jill (2007). "The Croatian Spring and the Dissolution of Yugoslavia". In Cohen, Lenard J.; Dragović-Soso, Jasna (eds.). State Collapse in South-Eastern Europe: New Perspectives on Yugoslavia's Disintegration. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press. pp. 149–178. ISBN 978-1-55753-460-6.
- Ramet, Sabrina P. (2006). The Three Yugoslavias: State-building and Legitimation, 1918–2005. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34656-8.
References
- Šarić, Tatjana (18 December 2014). "Srpsko kulturno društvo "Prosvjeta" u socijalizmu – prilog uz sedamdesetu godišnjicu osnutka" (PDF). Arhivski vjesnik. Croatian State Archives. 57 (1): 307–331. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
- Ramet 2006, pp. 242–243.
- Irvine 2007, p. 157.
- Irvine 2007, p. 166.
- Irvine 2007, p. 167.
- Ramet 2006, p. 234.
- "Srpsko kulturno društvo Prosvjeta". Serb National Council. Archived from the original on 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
- Формирање српске библиотеке у Загребу, Novosti, issue 298, 2 May 2005, Zagreb
- Prosvjeta. "O biblioteci=". Retrieved 19 August 2014.
- Ministry of Culture. "KULTURNE DJELATNOSTI > Knjižnična djelatnost > Središnje knjižnice nacionalnih manjina". Retrieved 19 August 2014.
- Prosvjeta. "Biblioteka". Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Knjigocid-uništavanje knjiga u Hrvatskoj 1990-ih, Ante Lešaja, Profil and Serb National Council, Zagreb, 2012, pages 322, ISBN 978-953-313-086-6
- Prosvjeta. "Dramski studio EHO". Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "Svetlana Patafta". Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "Izdavačko poduzeće". Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" DARUVAR". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" MOSLAVINA GAREŠNICA". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" OKUČANI-RAJIĆ". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD \"PROSVJETA\" BUJŠTINA". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" DONJE DUBRAVE". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" KARLOVAC". Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" KRNJAK". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" OGULIN". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" VOJNIĆ". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" KORENICA". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" UDBINA". Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" VRHOVINE". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" BELI MANASTIR". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" BIJELO BRDO". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" DALJ". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" DARDA". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" JAGODNJAK". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" KNEŽEVI VINOGRADI". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" OSIJEK". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" ZAPADNA SLAVONIJA". Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" GOMIRJE". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" SRPSKE MORAVICE". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" RIJEKA". Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" VRBOVSKO". Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" BISKUPIJA". Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" KISTANJE". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" KNIN". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" DVOR". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" GLINA". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" MALI GRADAC". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" PETRINJA". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" SISAK". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" VRGINMOST". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" SPLIT". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" VIROVITICA". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" BOBOTA". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" BOROVO". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" BRŠADIN". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" MARKUŠICA". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" MIRKOVCI". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" NEGOSLAVCI". Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" OSTROVO". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" PAČETIN". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" TRPINJA". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" VERA". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" VUKOVAR". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Prosvjeta. "PODODBOR SKD "PROSVJETA" ZAGREB". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2013.