COURAGE

savienojot kolekcijas

The foundation of “Special Collection” can be traced back to 1937-1939, when the members of the NKVD (the Russian abbreviation for the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs) collected potentially “dangerous” art works, with the aim of destroying them. Due to the outbreak of the Second World War and the efforts of museum workers, the collection survived, although many works were lost during the war. The artworks were secretly preserved in the museum’s storeroom. Apart from the secret police, only the museum’s director and chief curator knew about the existence of this collection. Due to the storeroom’s good conditions, the materials are well preserved. They were even catalogued in the 1940s, in preparation for the destruction, but survived. 

The early records of the Hungarian émigré scouting movement from the postwar period of 1946–1952 are mostly handwritten and typed manuscripts from Austrian and German refugee camps and include some press clippings, correspondence, etc. These represent the documents of the Hungarian DP (Displaced Persons) diaspora in Europe. However, the organization of HSAE started only following the second—and mostly overseas—Hungarian diaspora from 1952.

Prosvjeta’s archival records were turned over to the Croatian State Archives, then the Archive of Croatia, on two occasions: in 1947 (acquisition 2/1947) and the second time shortly after the abolition of Association, on 23 February 1981 (acquisition 2/1981). The records were relinquished for permanent safekeeping, and accessible for use and research as of 1 January 1983, with the right of disposition in accordance with the prescribed disposition dates.