Dragisa Stojadinovic’s Open letter regarding Miroslav Krleza’s “Serbian themes”

Abstract

This article examines the reaction of Dragisa Stojadinovic to the feuilleton ?Serbian themes? done by the writer Miroslav Krleza. Krleza?s feuilleton was being published in newspaper Politika during April, May and June of 1963. It consisted of fragments from his earlier writings organized in thematic units and concerning different topics from Serbian history. Dragisa Stojadinovic, former soldier, chief of Cinematographic section of Serbian army on Salonica front during the First World War and politician in interwar Yugoslavia, responded to Krleza?s feuilleton by writting an Open letter to the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (Zagreb), the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Belgrade) and the Matica Srpska (Novi Sad). Stojadinovic?s Open letter was sent on June 28th, 1963. It focused on scrutinizing Krleza?s article Pasic about the Salonika trial published in Politika on June 9th. Both informations stated by Krleza and criticism put forward by Stojadinovic are analyzed in the light of contemporary historiographical knowledge. Different interpretations presented by Krleza and Stojadinovic have their roots in opposed views on causes and results of Salonika trial. Stojadinovic defended the legitimacy of trial started by his father-in-law Ljuba Jovanovic Patak, he was involved in its organisation and later accused of witness tampering. Krleza saw trial in the light of ?counter-revolutionary? Yugoslav unification in 1918 and as an act of ?political and judicial murder?. Article also contains original documents from National Library of Serbia.