Rittig, Svetozar

Church Activities

Born on April 6, 1873 in Brod-on-Sava (now Slavonski Brod, Republic of Croatia). He studied theology in the seminaries and colleges of Sarajev, Jacob, Vienna and Rome. He graduated from the theological faculty of the University of Zagreb . In 1895 he was ordained a priest. He worked as a secretary for the Croatian Bishop Josip Juraj Strosmeier , whose political ideas he became interested in. He later taught at church schools in Jacob and the University of Zagreb church history. He published the Catholic Newspaper in Zagreb; in 1902, he received a Doctor of Science degree in Vienna.

In 1915, Rittig was appointed head of the Central Zagreb жupa: he served first in the Church of the Holy Beach, and then in the church of St. Mark. He actively helped the Croatian Catholic Church: artists and intellectuals held meetings in his Zagreb house. Father Svetozar was engaged in charity work: with the help of Ivan Mestrovich and Jozo Klyakovich, he managed to restore and decorate St. Mark's Church on the square of the same name in Zagreb .

In recognition of his merits, he was appointed papal secretary-chamberlain and rector of the Church of St. Helena in Podborie. He retired in 1954.

Scientific activity

Rittig became the author of many works on the history of the Roman Catholic Church and the history of Croatia. The basis of his research was Croatian church history: Rittig wrote a work entitled “Slavic history and law in church services with a special look at Croatia, part I: 863-1248” ( Croatian Povijest i pravo slovenštine u crkvenom bogoslužju, s osobitim obzirom na , I. sveska od 863 - 1248 ), which was published in Zagreb in 1910. In Zagreb, he founded the Academy of the Old Slavonic Language, which in 1952 was transformed into the Old Slavonic Institute : he headed it until his death. From 1961 to 1997, this institute was named after Svetozar Rittig.

In 1947, Svetozar Rittig was elected to the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts .

Political Activities

Through conversations with Josip Juraj Strosmeier, Rittig became involved in politics. From the very beginning, he advocated the formation of a federal state of the southern Slavs and defended this idea until his death. In 1905, he joined the Law Party, which was a member of the Croatian-Serbian coalition . Consisted in Croatian Sabor from Jacob from 1908 to 1918. In 1917 he left for Switzerland, where he established contacts with the emigrant Yugoslav Committee . After returning to his homeland in 1918, he joined the People's Council of the CXC .

After the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Rittig joined the Croatian community . From 1919 to 1920 - a member of the Provisional People's Representation. In 1919, on behalf of all the Catholic bishops of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, he drew up a memorandum for the pope with an appeal to recognize the newly created state and personally transferred it to Benedict XV . From 1917 to 1932 - a member of the Zagreb city government.

In Yugoslav politics, Father Svetozar was known as a supporter of a radical solution to social problems. After the establishment of the dictatorship on January 6, Rittig, as a true defender of the Yugoslavism, began to call for reconciliation between the Serbs and Croats, as well as to compromise with the ruling royal family: in Belgrade, he became the head of the so-called “worship” delegation to King Alexander I.

On November 28, 1929, he criticized the Ustasha movement and personally Ante Pavelic in Zagreb , whom he accused of serving the Italian and Hungarian politicians. In his speech, Svetozar Rittig repeatedly repeated the same phrase: “We do not want a stranger, but we will not give up our own!” ( Croatian Ne tražimo tuđe, ali ne dajemo ni svoje! ) ^[2] , which was reduced to the simple “Alien is not if we want, we won’t give ours ! ”( Horv. Tuđe nećemo - svoje ne damo ). Later, this phrase was repeatedly repeated by Josip Broz Tito , especially in his speech on the island of Vis in 1944.

The last bloody events and terrible discoveries awakened the conscience and soul of each of our citizens, and centuries-old enemies of the Croatian people rub their hands in pleasure and hunt for our territories - for our Croatian, our state lands [...]

Lord! The city of Zagreb became great due to the fact that it is the bearer and apostle of Yugoslav thought as a popular belief and confession of all of us, whose three names were divided into several states. We know that there are clouds above our land, but here we openly say that for us, the Croats, there is no other promised land except Yugoslavia. No, because the fulfillment of all our desires and our aspirations is possible only in Yugoslavia, since it covers all our lands in which Croats live. Therefore, the so-called "works" of Dr. Pavelich , General Sarkotich and it is still unknown how the people called, as well as their comrades-in-arms, do not derive from the genius of the Croatian people, do not proceed from its cultural traditions and political interests, but only from the diplomatic service and politics. [...] Is it not a crime to play with the fate of Dalmatia, in which Croatian state thought was born? [...] No, Lord, Croatia without Dalmatia! There is no Yugoslavia without Dalmatia! We respect the great Italian culture. We consisted and continue to have narrow ties with the Italian people, which we desire further, because we are a peace-loving nation and do not want someone else's, but we will not give up our own!

Original text (Croatian)

Posljednji krvavi događaji i strahovita otkrića uzbuđuju savjest i dušu svakog našeg građanina, a vjekovni neprijatelji hrvatskog naroda trljaju zadovoljno svoje ruke i všritori naviři navi ravi najrni (...)

Gospodo! Grad Zagreb je postao velik po tome, što je on nosilac i apostol ove jugoslavenske misli, kao narodnog vjerovanja i ispovijedi svih nas, koji smo sa tri imena bili razdvojeni u nekoliko država. Mi znamo da nad našom zemljom ima oblaka, ali otvoreno ovdje kažemo, da za nas Hrvate druge obećane zemlje nema nego Jugoslavija. Nema je, jer rješenje svih naših želja i svih naših težnja jedino je moguće u Jugoslaviji, jer ona obuhvaća čitav naš teritorij u kome žive Hrvati. Zato sav onaj rad dr. Pavelića, generala Sarkotića i ne znam kako se sve tko od njih zove, kao i njihovih drugova, ne izvire iz genija hrvatskog naroda, ne izvire iz njegove kulturne tradicije i politižkih interesa, nego iz ko ko ko ko politko (...) Zar nije zločin igrati se sudbinom Dalmacije, u kojoj se rodila hrvatska državna misao? (...) Nema, gospodo, Hrvatske bez Dalmacije! Nema ni Jugoslavije bez Dalmacije! Mi poštujemo veliku talijansku kluturu. Mo smo s talijanskim narodom stajali i stojimo u uskim vezama, želimo to i dalje, jer smo narod miroljubiv i ne tražimo tuđe, ali ne dajemo ni svoje!

In 1934, King Alexander I was assassinated in Marseilles. Svetozar Rittig was the fourth to sign his letter calling for the establishment of internal order in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, addressed to Crown Prince Paul . Bishops Antun Bauer (Zagreb), Aloysie Stepinac and Bonefatic (Split) left their signatures. More than 40 people from Croatia put their signatures. The authors of the idea of ​​the letter are Ivan Meshtrovich and Vladko Machek ^[3] . Since 1936, Svetozar Rittig dealt with the issues of the acceptance by the Jews, who fled from Germany of the Nazis, of Yugoslav citizenship.

Yugoslav People's Liberation War

In 1941, after the proclamation of the Independent State of Croatia, Rittig on July 30, 1941, fled from Zagreb to Novi Vinodolski to his brother: this place was occupied by Italy. At the end of August, he got out in Selce near Crkvenica, established contact with the Communist Party of Croatia , found the Yugoslav partisans and began to provide them with help and support.

On September 10, 1943, Rittig went to Otočac , where he met with the leaders of the Anti-Fascist Council of the People's Liberation of Yugoslavia, Ivan Ribar , Andria Hebrang and many others. The very next day he returned to Selce, and a few days later made an appointment for Ivan Ribar on the island of Krk with Bishop Josip Srebrnich , at which it was planned to conclude an agreement on assistance to the church of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia and appoint a number of priests chaplains in the NOAU divisions. Srebrenich categorically refused to make concessions and a year later he condemned the partisan movement.

At the second meeting of the Land Anti-Fascist Council for the Liberation of Croatia in Plaski on October 12, 1943, Rittig delivered a speech which was published on September 20, 1943 on the front page of the newspaper “Bulletin of the United People’s Liberation Front of Croatia”.

After the war

After the war, he became chairman of the Commission on Religious Affairs of the People’s Republic of Croatia, held positions in the Constituent and Union Skuschins, as well as Sabor HP of Croatia. From 1946 to 1954 he was a minister without a portfolio in the government of NR Croatia.

July 21, 1961 Svetozar Rittig died in Zagreb . After his death, in 1966, an agreement was concluded between Yugoslavia and the Vatican, on which Rittig repeatedly insisted until the end of his days.

• Gospodlosvensky savremenci: ko e ko u Kugoslavia . “Sedma Strength,” Beograd 1957, 610. p.
• Encyclopedia Kugoslavia (kњiga sedma). “The Yugoslav Lexicographic Plant”, Zagreb 1968, 83-84. page
• Kirill Peteshi. Catholicism of the NOB-1941-1945. - Zagreb: Vesnikova Press Agency and Globus, 1982. - S. 130-154.

• Sbperiskop.net: Sramotan odnos prema Svetozaru Rittigu, znamenitom Brođaninu i svećeniku koji se pridružio narodnooslobodilačkoj borbi (5.XI 2012) (Serb.)
• Hrcak.hr: Svetozar Rittig - svećenik ministar u komunističkoj vladi Hrvatske (Croatian)