Ante Čuvalo

Our Declaration - A 1916 declaration by Croatian and Slovene Priests in America

A Declaration by Croatian and Slovene Priests in America from 1916

Among various resolutions and declarations of the Croatians in America a very significant one was issued in 1916 by a group of Croatian and Slovene priests. However, the document was ignored for decades because it was „politically incorrect.“ Even historians who were collecting and publishing documents dealing with the founding of the First Yugoslavia (or the Kingdom of SHS, as it was called until 1929) have ignored this and similar documents because such documents opposed the unification of the Serbs and Croats into a single country.

Most of the Croatians in Croatia and those outside the homeland have never heard of the 1916 Declaration (or similar) documents. For that reason we are bringing the Declaration to light in order to draw attention to the fact that many Croatians at that time (before the end of World War I) understood well and were clearly stating the dangers that were awaiting Croatia and the Croatians if a Yugoslav state were created.

Historical decisions and events cannot be changed, but we can and must learn from history, especially when it comes to the important decisions made on behalf of the Croatian people and Croatia.

Some excerpts from “Our Declaration”

“Through the centuries we have fought and stood firm for our rights, rights which we will continue to value and honor, and which we ourselves must and will ultimately accomplish. Those who doubt the abilities of people to free themselves, thereby deny existence to them. Peoples who gain their freedom at the hands of others soon become their subordinates.”

We do not wish to become Serbs, or Yugoslavs, nor Serbo-Croatians, but we will remain Croatians, brothers to all remaining Slavs; however, each in his own house, in his own land, and within the scope of his own rights. From the time our forefathers settled in our present homeland, we have evolved and we have created our own history in this manner.

A free and united Croatia will order its international and political relationships, and will enter into agreements and laws according to the principle which states: “regnum regno non praescribit leges”—“One nation does not prescribe laws to another.”

Nasa izjava 1916 - Izjava skupine hrvatskih i slovenskih svećenika u Americi

IZJAVA SKUPINE HRVATSKIH I SLOVENSKIH SVEĆENIKA U AMERICI IZ GOD. 1916.

Među rezolucijama i izjavama Hrvata u Americi veoma je značajna, ali zadugo „politički nekorektna“, izjava skupine hrvatskih i slovenskih svećenika iz god. 1916. Oni koji su prikupljali dokumente o stvaranju prve Jugoslavije (odnosno kraljevine SHS) redovito su ignorirali postojanje ove (i sličnih) izjava, jer je bila antijugoslavenska.

Iza „Naše Izjave“ slijedi komentar „K Našoj Izjavi“ kojega je također vrijedno pročitati da bi se sagledalo političke prilike među Hrvatima tog sudbonosnog vremena, a to nam može i treba poslužiti kao ogledalo u prosuđivanju hrvatske povijesti zadnjih skoro stotinu godina.

Većina Hrvata u domovini (a i u iseljeništvu) nije nikad ni čula za ove i slične dokumente iz povijesti Hrvata u svijetu, pa ih ovdje donosimo na uvid da bi ukazali na činjenicu da su već tad mnogi Hrvati dobro razumjeli i ukazivali na opasnost koja čeka Hrvatsku i Hrvate ako se ujedine sa Srbima.

Povijesne odluke i događji se ne mogu promijeniti, ali se može i treba od povijesti učiti, posebice kad se rad o sudbini hrvatskog naroda i države.

Iz „Naše Izjave“

[Hrvatski] „narod ne traži osloboditelja niti ih očekuje izvana, nego iz samoga sebe, jer vjeruje u sebe da imade jakosti i samopouzdanja u radu i ustrajnosti u borbi za slobodu, koju vodi kroz stoljeća, koju će cijeniti i štovati, jer će ju sam izvojštiti. Oni, koji dvoje o sposobnosti naroda, da bi se sam oslobodio, niječu njegov opstanak. Narodi, kojima drugi dadu slobodu, postaju njihovi malodobnici.“

„Mi ne idemo ni u Srbe, ni u Jugoslavne, ni u Srbo-Hrvate, nego ostajemo Hrvati, braća ostalim Slavenima, ali svaki u svojoj kući, i na svojoj zemlji i u opsegu svojih prava, jer smo se tako razvijali i povijest svoju stvarali od početka naseljenja pradjedova naših u sadanju domovinu našu.“

„Slobodna i ujedinjena Hrvatska u uredjivanju svojih medjunarodnih pravnih i političkih odnošaja ugovarati će i sklapati će ugovore i zakone po načlu: „regnum regno non praescribit leges“. Država državi ne propisuje zakona.“

Iz „K Našoj Izjavi“

„Naši jugoslavenski leaderi htjeli bi nas uvjeriti, al dakako samo praznim riječima, da su se Srbi preko noći promijenuli. Takovo psiholožko čudo se ne dogadja preko noći.“

„Mi vam se zahvaljujemo na srpskim i talijanskim osloboditeljima uz tu cijenu. Mi hoćemo „Hrvatsku Hrvatima“!“

„Srbi su, dosljedno svojemu šovinizmu i nijekanju Hrvatstva, na sve moguće načine i svagdje radili proti Hrvatstvu. U Hrvatskoj, Bosni i Hercegovini kano i u Dalmaciji bili su uvjek glavno orudje proti svakom hrvatskom pokretu u rukama protuhrvatskih vlada.“

„Srbska beogradska propaganda je tako daleko zavela pravoslavne živalj u hrvatskim zemljama, da je ovaj svaki čas bio spreman na masacre svega, što se zove hrvatsko.“

„Koliko ima danas pravoslavnih u hrvatskim zemljama, koji nisu pripravni svaki čas izdati Srbiji svoju hrvatsku domovinu?“

„Vi ste se odrekli samostalnosti svoje domovine, prava na samostalnu eksistenciju i prelazite u vašu ludu „Jugoslaviju“ u kojoj će Hrvatska izgledati onako, kako smo vam rekli u „Izjavi“ i u ovim člancima. Entente vaša spasiteljica pozvala i Talijane na račun naših hrvatskih zemalja, a vi to, hoćeš, nećeš odobravate i morate joj ljubiti ruke.“

„Mi se u „Izjavi“ pozivljemo na sva naša prava historična i narodnosna; dočim si vi svega toga odrčete. Vi ste pravi matricidae —majko-ubojice. Vi ćete i opet graknuti, kako će u Jugoslaviji biti spas i sloboda za sve jednaka; al ste sami uvjereni, da će Jugoslavija za Hrvate izgledati onako, kako smo vam ovdje rekli, jer vi dobro poznate što hoće Srbi i Talijani — ti vaši ortaci — od naše domovine.“

„Neće Srbi da čuju o savezu slobodne, samostalne i cjelokupne Hrvatske sa Srbijom, jer bi to značilo raditi proti njihovoj zavetnnoj misli, koja nepoznaje ni Hrvatske ni Hrvata.“

Memorandum of the Croatian National Council of North America (1933)

- Memorandum of the Croatian National Council of North America (1932).
- Declaration of the All-Croatian Congress (October 1931)
- Message of the Croatian priests to the Croatian people in the United States of America (December 1931)
- Resolution adopted at the 3rd Convention of the H.B.Z./Croatian Fraternal Union (June 1932)
- Affidavit of officers of the Croatian national Council of North America (September 1933)

“Americans of Croatian descent, and Croats residing in the United States and Canada, as well as all the other groups of the Croatian race now living outside the boundaries of Croatia (in South America, Belgium, France, Germany, etc.) have repeatedly and nearly unanimously expressed a decided preference, over all the other suggested solutions of the Croatian question, FOR THE REESTABLISHMENT OF CROATIA AS A COMPLETELY FREE, COMPLETELY SOVEREIGN, AND COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT NATION….” (Memorandum of the Croatian National Council of North America, 1932)

Constitution of the Neutral Peasant Republic of Croatia

as discussed by the 4th sitting of the republican majority of Croatia under the rule of the Ban (head of the government) on the 5th and 6th day of March, 1921, accepted by the 5th sitting of the said republican majority of representatives on the 9th day of April 1921, and promulgated in the sitting [...]

Letters of Protests

American intellectuals organized by Roger N. Baldwin, Chairman of the International Committee for Political Prisoners, sent the following letter to the Yugoslav representative in Washington on November 24, 1933.      Dr. Leonide Pitamic,      Minister of Yugoslavia,      Washington, D.C.      Sir:      For some years past dispatches in the American and foreign press have indicated that political prisoners in [...]

Recollections of Stalin’s Labor Camps

Stjepan Sego       Stjepan Sego (1913-1990), a Croat from Herzegovina, was captured by the Soviet troops in Hungary in 1948 and was taken to the Soviet Union where he spent eight years in labor camps. Thanks to Khrushchev’s destalinization policy, he was freed in 1956, came to the United States, and lived in Chicago till [...]

Speech of Stjepan Radic Addressed to the Members of the National Council During a Night Session on November 23-24, 1918

During a Night Session on November 23-24, 1918
Translated by Sam Condic. Published in American Croatian Review. Year V, No. 3 and 4, December 1998, pp. 36-40.
Listen to an audio version of this speech.
Also see this related article about Radic
Gentlemen!
As you can see, there is neither an audience in the gallery, nor is there a stenographer [...]