Milan Šufflay
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Milan Šufflay (8 November 1879 – 19 February 1931) was a Croatian
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
and
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. He was one of the founders of
Albanology Albanology, also known as Albanian studies, is an interdisciplinary branch of the humanities that addresses the language, costume, literature, art, culture and history of Albanians. Within the studies the scientific methods of literature, ling ...
and the author of the first Croatian
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
novel. As a
Croatian nationalist Croatian nationalism is nationalism that asserts the nationality of Croats and promotes the cultural unity of Croats. Modern Croatian nationalism first arose in the 19th century after Budapest exerted increasing pressure for Magyarization of Cro ...
, he was persecuted in the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
, and his murder subsequently caused an internationally publicized affair.


Early life

Šufflay was born into a lower noble family (hence ''pl.'', ''plemeniti'', "noble", equivalent of ''von'') in
Lepoglava Lepoglava is a town in Varaždin County, northern Croatia, located southwest of Varaždin, west of Ivanec, and northeast of Krapina. Demographics A total of 8,283 residents in the municipality (2011 census) live in the following settlements: * ...
, in the
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia ( hr, Kraljevina Hrvatska i Slavonija; hu, Horvát-Szlavónország or ; de-AT, Königreich Kroatien und Slawonien) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation with ...
to Augustin Šufflay (1847–190?), a teacher, and Franciska Welle von Vorstern (1847–1910), a German Hungarian from
Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
. The family coat of arms was included in ''Der Adel von Kroatien und Slavonien'' (1899) as "Sufflay de Otrussevcz". Their original surname was Sufflei or Schufflei, and their estate was Otruševec. He attended a comprehensive high school in
Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
and studied
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
at the
University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...
. He received a
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in 1901 from the same university with the thesis ''Croatia and the Last Endeavor of the
Eastern Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
Under the Scepter of Three
Komnenos Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην ...
(1075–1180)''. He was a brilliant student both in high school and at the university. Already during his studies, he spoke French, German, Italian, English, all the Slavic languages, as well as Latin, old Greek, and middle Greek. Later in life, he learned modern Greek, Albanian, Hebrew, and Sanskrit. Tadija Smičiklas considered Šufflay his most gifted student and took him as his assistant when editing ''Codex Diplomaticus'' of the
Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Croatica, hr, Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, abbrev. HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under patronage of the Croatian bishop Jo ...
. Šufflay became a historian of the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
and was convinced that the history of the
Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...
can only be researched properly from that perspective. This conviction clashed with the prevailing opinion of Croatian historians that the Croats were representatives of the West, as opposed to the Balkans. Ignoring the proposal of the university senate, Ban
Pavao Rauch Baron Pavao Rauch de Nyék (20 February 1865 – 29 November 1933) was a Croatian politician who served as Ban (viceroy) of Croatia-Slavonia between 1908 and 1910. Life Born in Zagreb, he was the son of Baron Levin Rauch de Nyék, Ban (vicer ...
appointed him a university professor in Zagreb in 1908. However, when
Nikola Tomašić Nikola Tomašić ( Hungarian: ''Miklós Tomassich'' or ''Miklós Tomasics''; 13 January 1864 – 29 May 1918) was a Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem ...
, his distant cousin and enemy, became a Ban in 1910, Šufflay had to leave the university. No longer exempt from military duty as a university professor, he was drafted in early 1915 but was soon released because of illness. He wrote his most important works during this period.


Politics

In the new state, the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
, he was arrested for high treason and charged with spying for a foreign power together with
Ivo Pilar Ivo Pilar (19 June 1874 – 3 September 1933) was a Croatian historian, politician, publicist and lawyer, considered the father of Croatian geopolitics. His book ''The South Slav Question'' is a seminal work on the South Slav geopolitical issues. ...
, another Croatian historian. Their defense lawyer was
Ante Pavelić Ante Pavelić (; 14 July 1889 – 28 December 1959) was a Croatian politician who founded and headed the fascist ultranationalist organization known as the Ustaše in 1929 and served as dictator of the Independent State of Croatia ( hr, l ...
, at the time a leader of the
Party of Rights The Party of Rights ( hr, Stranka prava) was a Croatian nationalist political party in Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and later in Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was founded in 1861 by Ante Starčević and Eugen Kvaternik, two influenti ...
and an associate of Šufflay. Šufflay was sentenced to three years and six months in prison. The reaction to the sentence was stronger abroad than in Croatia, as scientific colleagues from numerous countries tried to obtain his release but without success. He did his time in the Sremska Mitrovica prison. After serving over half of his sentence, he was released from prison in 1922 and he returned to his scientific work. In 1924, Šufflay wrote his first science fiction novel, ''On the Pacific in 2255'', which is considered the first Croatian science fiction novel. In 1924, Šufflay became a member of the leadership of the Pure Party of Rights, a rightwing Croatian political party inspired by the work of
Josip Frank Josip Frank (16 April 1844 – 17 December 1911) was a Croatian lawyer and politician, a noted representative of the Party of Rights in the Croatian Parliament, and a vocal advocate of Croatian national independence in Austria-Hungary. Early li ...
, a fervent nationalist. The party had reportedly not managed to win more than a few seats in the 300-strong legislative. In 1928, when Stjepan Radić was assassinated in the Yugoslav parliament, a year before king
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
would establish his dictatorship, Šufflay wrote ''Hrvatska u svijetlu svjetske historije i politike'' (Croatia in the Light of World History and Politics). He wrote that the Croatian people was suffering under the Yugoslav dictatorship and that it had to free itself. He claimed that the border between Western and the Eastern Civilisations lay on the
Drina The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long Balkans river, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps whic ...
river, the "destined borderline on the Drina river on which the mighty Roman Empire snapped into two... a border both spiritual and cultural". :''The Croatian people have passed through the Roman-Western retort, while the Serbian people passed through the Byzantine-Turkish. Therefore the psyche of the two peoples is essentially different, even if the languages are similar. Unification of the two peoples would mean neutralization and careful constraining. To centralize here would mean to make Croatia a guinea pig for vivisection experiments. It is my thesis that the Croatian nation, as a citizen of the great empire of the western civilization, has the right to raise its voice against any oppression.'' :''Those who know history know that the Yugoslav idea has no dynamics. It is nothing compared to the mighty Croatian idea. In Croatia, the Yugoslav idea is a shallow wreckage under which the Croatian national volcano boils; only a subtle push is necessary to make it erupt.'' :''To me personally, as a philosopher and an open-minded Croat, it is the same whether I sit shackled at the court or a penitentiary, or whether I get out into the false freedom hiding the larger dungeon in which – thank God, only temporarily! – the Croatian nation is suffering!'' Šufflay's idea about the delineation on the Drina river would later influence
Greater Croatia Greater Croatia ( hr, Velika Hrvatska) is a term applied to certain currents within Croatian nationalism. In one sense, it refers to the territorial scope of the Croatian people, emphasising the ethnicity of those Croats living outside Croatia. I ...
n irredentism. In 1928, he was appointed a professor at the
University of Budapest A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
, but he could not take the job because he did not hold a passport. On the request of the
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
n government and the Academy of Sciences in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, he continued the work of Jireček and Thalloczy, editing the 3rd book of ''Codex albanicus'', an archival collection. In 1931, he finally obtained a passport and travelled to Albania to sign a contract to work on ''Acta Albaniae''.


Murder

Members of the regime organisation, Young Yugoslavia, under royal protection, ambushed him at his doorstep in Zagreb and broke his skull with a hammer, killing him. Then, they broke into his apartment and took the manuscript of the third book of ''Codex albanicus''. There was never any investigation about the criminals. The authorities denied any knowledge of the assailants and banned activities related to Šufflay's funeral.
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
and
Heinrich Mann Luiz Heinrich Mann (; 27 March 1871 – 11 March 1950), best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German author known for his Social criticism, socio-political novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the ...
sent a letter to the
International League for Human Rights The International League for Human Rights (ILHR) is a human rights organization with headquarters in New York City. Claiming to be the oldest human rights organization in the United States, the ILHR defines its mission as "defending human right ...
in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
appealing to the global cultural public to protest against the murder of Milan Šufflay appealing for protection of Croatian people from the oppression of Yugoslavian regime. The appeal was addressed to the Paris-based ''
Ligue des droits de l'homme The Human Rights League (french: Ligue des droits de l’homme '' t du citoyen' or LDH) of France is a Human Rights NGO association to observe, defend and promulgation of Rights Man within the French Republic in all spheres of public life. The ...
'' (Human Rights League) and made the front page of the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' on 6 May 1931.
Einstein accuses Yugoslavian rulers in savant's murder
',
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
. 6 May 1931
mirror
/ref> It accused the king of complicity in the crime.mirror
/ref> In June 1940, in the Banovina of Croatia, a trial was organized for Šufflay's murder. The murderers were the police agents Belošević and Zwerger, who fled to
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
. All later attempts of the Banovina of Croatia to have them extradited were fruitless.


Works

* ''Hrvatska i zadnja pregnuća istočne imperije pod žezlom triju Komnena'' (Croatia and the Last Efforts of the Eastern Empire under Three
Comnenus Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην ...
es, 1901) * ''Die Dalmatinische Privaturkunde'' (
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
n Private Deeds, 1904) * * * ''Kostadin Balšić (1392–1401): historijski roman u 3 dijela'' (Kostadin Balšić: A Historical Novel in Three Parts, 1920) * ''Srbi i Arbanasi'' (Serbs and Albanians, 1925) * ''Na Pacifiku god. 2255.: metagenetički roman u četiri knjige'' (On the Pacific in 2255: A Metagenetic Novel in Four Books, first printed as a book in 1998) * ''Hrvatska u svijetlu svjetske historije i politike : dvanaest eseja'' (Croatia in the Light of World History and Politics: Twelve Essays, 1928, reprinted in 1999) * ''Hrvati u sredovječnom svjetskom viru'' (Croats in the Global Medieval Upheaval, 1931) * ''Izabrani eseji, prikazi i članci'' (Selected Essays, Criticisms and Articles, 1999) * ''Izabrani eseji, rasprave, prikazi, članci i korespondencija'' (Selected Essays, Discussions, Criticisms, Articles and Correspondence, 1999) * ''Izabrani politički spisi'' (Selected Political Works, published by ''Stoljeća hrvatske književnosti'', 2000)


References


Sources

* *


External links


New York Times article about the death of Šufflay


{{DEFAULTSORT:Szufflay, Milan 1879 births 1931 deaths People from Lepoglava Anti-Serbian sentiment Catholicism and far-right politics People from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia 20th-century Croatian historians Croatian people of German descent Croatian people of Hungarian descent Croatian science fiction writers Albanologists Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb alumni People convicted of treason against Yugoslavia Croatian prisoners and detainees Persecution of Eastern Orthodox Christians Ustaše People murdered in Croatia Assassinated Croatian politicians People murdered in Yugoslavia Prisoners and detainees of Yugoslavia Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Assassinated Yugoslav people