New articles published in Journal for Contemporary History – Branko Ostajmer, “The Teachers of Banal Croatia in the Turmoil of the Great War”
The Journal of Contemporary History, vol. 49, nos. 2 and 3 (2017) published several articles derived from oral presentations at the Fifth Congress of Croatian Historians (Zadar, Croatia, 5-8 Octiber 2016), session “History of Education and Schooling”. The session was organized by the project “From Proto-Modernisation to Modernisation of Croatia’s School System” and moderated by dr. sc. Vlasta Švoger,
Following articles were published by the Journal of Contemporary History:
Vanni D’Alessio ; Faculty of Philosphy and Social Sciences, Rijeka, “Education Policy and the National Question in Socialist Yugoslavia: Italian Language Schools in Istria and Rijeka”, ČSP 49 (2017) 2, 219-240.
The article in Croatian available at: https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php…
Abstract
The article addresses the questions of national politics towards minorities in plurilingual areas and also discusses the issues of national belonging, determinacy, and indifference in state transition. Concretely, it analyzes the integration of the Italian-speaking population in Yugoslav Croatia after World War II in the case of schooling in the Italian language. The Upper Adriatic is one of those Central European mixed areas in which the central and local government bodies of the 20th century post-Habsburg successor states intensively tried to obfuscate transnational practices and belongings. Unlike Fascist Italy, the Yugoslav Republic of Croatia granted minority schooling to its citizens, leaving to the Istrian and Rijeka families the possibility of choosing between Italian and Croatian as the language of education for their children. This choice was still possible after the huge exodus of people who opted for Italian citizenship after World War II but, during the political tensions with Italy in the early 1950s, the government of socialist Croatia reduced the degree of this freedom by trying to limit access to these schools only to declared Italians and by abolishing many elementary and all Italian-language technical and professional high schools, consequently persuading many families to prefer the Croatian language schools. On the other hand, choosing a school in the language of the titular nation was also a deliberately strategic and integrative choice made by families, even by those who were mixed or spoke the local Venetian dialect on an everyday basis at home and in other areas of socialization. This article discusses instances, strategies, and policies of local and central authorities, and of members and institutions of the Italian minority, towards assimilation, dissimilation, and isolation of the Italian-speaking group.raljevske velike gimnazije iz 1912. godine
Sergej Filipović, “The 1912 Royal high School Pupils’ Strike”, ČSP 49 (2017) 2, 243-255
Abstract:
This paper examines the strike of the pupils of the Royal High School (Kraljevska Velika Gimnazija) in Osijek in 1912 based on archival sources and contemporary press articles. It analyses the reasons behind the strike, describes its course and the consequences for its participants as well as public opinion about it, and then draws certain conclusions. The mentioned strike is placed in the historical context of the events in Croatia, first of all the crisis that erupted after Slavko Cuvaj was appointed as ban (viceroy) of Croatia and dissolved the Croatian Parliament, which triggered a protest among the students at the University of Zagreb. After a clash between the students and the police, the youth of Sarajevo joined the protests out of solidarity. One of the youths, Salih Šahinagić, was wounded, but a rumour circulated that he had died, which turned out untrue, but not before it caused a reaction among high school pupils throughout Croatia, including in Osijek. The Royal High School is used as an example of what the pupils’ strike of 1912 looked like on the local level. First, on 24 February 1912, the pupils of Osijek, having heard of Šahinagić’s wounding, held demonstrations that consisted of moving through the city in procession, singing patriotic songs, and chanting anti-Hungarian paroles. A few days later, when news came that their colleague from Sarajevo had died, the pupils of Osijek decided not to go to school, and went on strike on 28 February 1912. They once again walked through the city, sang patriotic songs, and chanted anti-Hungarian paroles, but this time there was also a mi-
nor clash with the City Police Forces. The strike ended the very next day. In March, the strike of high school youths spread from Sušak, through Zagreb, and into other parts of Croatia, since there were fears that the pupils who participated in previous demonstrations would be expelled from their schools. There is little data regarding this strike in Osijek, but it is likely that it lasted only one day, after which the pupils agreed at an assembly that they’d return to school. The public supported the pupils during the strike. The only pupil
who was seriously punished for participating in the strike was Mato Mijatović, who was expelled from school. The other pupils were severely reprimanded. The pupils’ strike showed that the new generation of youths was ready to fight for their beliefs, and that the process of their radicalisation was continuing. It would culminate with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.
The article in Croatian available at: https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=275587
Branko Ostajmer, Croatian Institute of History, “The Teachers of Banal Croatia in the Turmoil of the Great War”, ČSP 49 (2017) 3, 555-569
The article in Croatian available at: https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php…
Abstract:
Very little has been written about the participation of Croatian teachers in World War I thus far, even when the general lack of research on this period of Croatian history is taken into account. There are many reasons for this, and one of them is certainly the fact that Croatian teachers invested their lives and other efforts and sacrifices in the side that lost the war, and which also represented a negation of the Yugoslav state created in 1918. Based on archival sources, literature, and newspapers, this article seeks to examine the role of teachers in the Kingdoms of Croatia and Slavonia during World War I, with special emphasis on the fate of teachers on the front and the various forms of persecution suffered by those teachers who actively expressed anti-state views or were seen as politically unreliable.
Sonja Gaćina Škalamera, Croatian School Museum, “The Teachers’ Cooperative (1865 – 1891) The Oldest Teachers’ Association in Croatia”, ČSP 49 (2017) 3, 571-582
The article in Croatian available at: https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php…
Abstract:
The teachers of the Kingdoms of Croatia and Slavonia began to act in an organised manner by establishing professional associations modelled after similar teachers’ associations abroad. The first and oldest teachers’ association was the Teachers’ Cooperative, established in 1865. Four years later, the Teachers’ Community (later National School) was founded, and an association that is still active today – the Croatian Pedagogical-Literary Assembly – was established in 1871. The Union of Croatian Teachers’ Associations, founded in 1885, brought together and coordinated the work of the regional and city teachers’ societies. Leading teachers’ associations established by the end of the 19th century included the Croatian Savings and Assistance Cooperative and the Croatian Savings, Death Grants, and Assistance Cooperative. According to their goals, manner of operation, and organisation, a part of these associations were professional associations dedicated to protecting teachers’ rights, their professional training, and their active participation in the creation of education policy, while others were humanitarian organisations organised on the principle of solidarity and as credit and savings cooperatives. Most of the archival material regarding the mentioned teachers’ associations is kept in the Archival Collection of the Croatian School Museum.
The first Croatian teachers’ association, the Teachers’ Cooperative, was established at the founding assembly in Zagreb on 10 and 11 June 1865. Its basic purpose was to provide support for raising the orphans of teachers, and to assist their families. The Cooperative used the German Pestalozzi-Verein teacher support associations as a role model. The teachers Ivan Filipović and Vjenceslav Mařik initiated the Cooperative’s establishment. Funds for assisting the children and families of deceased members were raised, in addition to membership fees, through voluntary contributions and the organisation of various events – lotteries, raffles, charity events, etc. The largest donation during the first ten years of the Cooperative’s existence was made by Archbishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer. Half of the collected monetary contributions were used for the necessary disbursements, while the other half were added to the principal, with interest also being used for disbursements. In 1889, the Cooperative invested the principal in the construction of the Croatian Teachers’ Home. The chairmen of the Teachers’ Cooperative were: Ivan Filipović, Ivan Šah, Ferdo Vuksanović, Josip Posavec, Ljudevit Modec, Antun Irgolić, Tomislav Ivkanec, Stjepan Basariček, Đuro Kuten, and Mijo Vrbanec. After 25 years of its existence, in 1891, the decision was made to dissolve the Teachers’ Cooperative, while its funds were transferred to the newly established Teachers’ Association Foundation, aimed towards supporting orphaned teachers’ children and building the Teachers’ Boarding School. The Steering Committee of the Teachers’ Asso-ciation was active during the next two years, and turned its assets over to the
Union of Croatian Teachers’ Associations. The Teachers’ Boarding School was built in Zagreb in 1899.
The Teachers’ Cooperative was the first to show the power of organised teacher actions, and its members initiated the founding of other teachers’ associations in Croatia, earning it the nickname The Mother of Teachers’ Associations.
