 | |
 Prosvjeta headquarters in Zagreb | |
| Formation | 1944 |
|---|---|
| Type | non-governmental organization |
| Headquarters | Zagreb |
| Membership | 2,200 |
Official language | Serbian |
President | Nikola Vukobratović[1] |
| Budget | 1,800,000 € |
| Website | skd-prosvjeta |
TheSerbian Cultural Society "Prosvjeta" (abbreviated:SKD "Prosvjeta" orSerbian Cyrillic:СКД "Просвјета") inZagreb, Croatia, is an independent, non-governmental cultural and scientific organization for promoting culture of and amongSerbs in Croatia.
The association was established duringWorld War II in Yugoslavia on 18 November 1944 under the auspices of theState Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia, during thegenocide of Serbs in the Nazi puppet state of Croatia. In 1971 together withMatica hrvatska, it was forbidden on the grounds of promotion ofnationalism and remained closed until 1993.
Prosvjeta was established on 18 November 1944 in the period ofWorld War II in Yugoslavia in the town ofGlina.[2] First president of the association was professorDane Medaković from Zagreb.[2] It was established as one among few new Serb institutions, first of which was Serb MP's club of theState Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia.[2] As the expectation of theAllied andYugoslav Partisans victory in war grew,Communist Party of Yugoslavia wanted to satisfy requests byPrečani Serbs population in the futureFederal People's Republic of Yugoslavia who were the primary target of quislingUstašeGenocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia.[2] 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 theCommunist Party of Croatia.[2] Primary task of the new organization in the initial period was to fight illiteracy in rural areas.[2] Other ambitious plans included intention to establishm the futureMuseum of Serbs of Croatia, central library, student dormitory as well as to develop cooperation withCroatian Writers' Association, Croatian Painters' Association, Music Association and Association for Cultural Cooperation withSoviet Union.[2]
During theCroatian 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.[3] A plan put forward by SKH reformists to revise elementary and middle school literature and historycurricula so 75 percent of the coverage would be on Croatian topics[4] 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.[5] By 1971, SKD Prosvjeta demanded that the Serbian language and Cyrillic script be officially used in Croatia alongside the Croatian language andLatin script, as well as legislative safeguards guaranteeing the national equality of Serbs.[3] 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 ofMatica hrvatska and asserted that the Serbs of Croatia would preserve their national identity by relying onSerbia's help regardless of the borders of the republics.[6]
Finally, SKD Prosvjeta'sRade Bulat demanded the establishment of an autonomous province for the Croatian Serbs, and there were calls to grant autonomy forDalmatia as well.[6] 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.[7] 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.[4] In 1971, after Maspok, organization work was suspended together with work of Matica hrvatska.[8] Initiative for reactivation of Prosvjeta work came in 1990, and it was implemented in 1993.[8]
| Central Library of Serbs of Croatia | |
|---|---|
| Središnja knjižnica Srba u Hrvatskoj Централна библиотека Срба у Хрватској | |
 | |
| Location | Zagreb,Croatia |
| Established | 26 January 1996 (1996-01-26)[9] |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Serbian literature,Cyrillic alphabet literature,Croatian literature,Western literature,20th-century Marxist philosophy |
| Size | 23,000 books and publications[10] |
| 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[usurped] |
In 1996 theCentral Library of Serbs of Croatia was established. This library operates as a central national library ofSerbs of Croatia (one of 10 central ethnic community libraries in Croatia) financed byMinistry of Culture .[11] Its task is to obtain, process and disseminate Serbian library materials and to inform the public.[12]
Prosvjeta began its first library activities duringWorld War II in Yugoslavia withinYugoslav Partisans. On January 4, 1948 Prosvjeta established its first central library in Zagreb as a capital ofPeople'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 inMuseum of Serbs of Croatia,National and University Library in Zagreb andYugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts.[10]
During the period of theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia until the beginning of theBreakup of Yugoslavia there were no initiatives for special libraries for Serbs of Croatia since general libraries had an adequate number of titles fromSerbian literature.[13] In the years before, during and after theCroatian 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,[9] which was opened the day beforeSaint Sava day, on 26. January 1996.[9] In its initial stock the library had 6,200 books, most of those from city libraries.[9] The initial idea of the Government Office for Minorities was to place the central library for Serbs of Croatia in the village ofGomirje whereGomirje Monastery was placed but since Prosvjeta took the initiative the library was finally placed in Zagreb.[9] In the following years the library took about 15,000Serbian literature titles from city libraries in Zagreb andZagreb County.[9] In this way, titles from that area were protected from recycling. Some of the titles were also sent to local committees and institutions likeGymnasium Vukovar.[9]
Drama Studio "EHO" was founded in 2002 and today operates under the supervision of actressSvetlana Patafta.[14][15]
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Prosvjeta Publishing House has two bookstores inZagreb, one of them atPetar Preradović Square.[16]
Prosvjeta has sub-committees in the following settlements in Croatia
| International | |
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| National | |
