Miroslav Krleža u iseljeničkoj hemeroteci iz rukopisne ostavštine Nikole Čolaka

Abstract

U članku se donosi pregled sadržaja iseljeničkog hemerotečnog arhivskog gradiva iz rukopisne ostavštine hrvatskog povjesničara, publicista i iseljenika Nikole Čolaka, koje se odnosi na istaknutog hrvatskog književnika Miroslava Krležu. Tekstovi u tim novinama i časopisima objavljivanima u inozemstvu, iz vremena pred kraj Krležina života i neposredno po smrti, osvjetljuju stavove pojedinih grupacija i pojedinaca hrvatske političke emigracije iz razdoblja nakon 1945. o Krležinom životu i djelovanju. Posebno su istaknute kritičke zamjerke koje su iseljenici spočitavali Krleži, naglašeno apostrofirane u nekrologu lista Hrvatska istina iz Australije. U nastojanju da se sagledaju i Krležina uvjerenja i mišljenja o tim prijepornim točkama donose se detalji iz publicističkih zapisa nekih od pripadnika njegova bliskog kruga suradnika i prijatelja, bitnih Krležinih eseja, kao i promišljanja književnih teoretičara. Na početku članka ukratko je naznačen i Krležin stav prema ekstremno orijentiranom hrvatskom političkom iseljeništvu.

Alternate abstract:

This article uses numerous periodicals (newspapers and magazines) from the personal papers of Nikola Čolak (1914-1996), Croatian historian, publicist and post-WWII emigrant, as the source of attitudes of the Croatian political emigration towards the renowned Croatian writer Miroslav Krleža (1893-1981), the leading Croatian cultural figure in the past century, influential in both Croatia and Yugoslavia during the latter’s socialist period. These periodicals were published by the Croatian emigrantcommunity throughout the world (United Kingdom, Sweden, Federal Republic of Germany, Australia, USA and Argentina) and many articles dealt with Krleža’s work as a writer and more often, as a left-wing political figure, close to Marshal Tito and his form of communism. After mentioning Krleža’s own thoughts on the extreme right-wing part of Croatian émigrés, the article chronologically documents the important contents of various émigré texts about Krleža, written a few years before and shortly after his death. A special emphasis is put on the points of objection the Croatian émigrés often brought against Krleža. These were most evidently stated in the newspaper of the Australian branch of the Croatian Peasant Party in exile, Hrvatska istina (The Croatian Truth), where Krleža was accused among other things of a lack of patriotism, close fraternization with Tito, public silence after 1945 and being a coward and a traitor to Croatian national interests. In an endeavour to reach Krleža’s own views and thoughts on these issues the second part of the article looks into the publicized memoir and interview works of some of his close associates and members of his inner circle, supplemented by parts of his own political essays, one of his letters and the conclusions of literary scholarship. Thusly, it is possible to point the research into the direction of both parties. The article concludes that the analysed newspapers and magazines demonstrate Croatian political émigrés’ view of Krleža as anything but unambiguous i.e., including distinctive affirmation, moderate criticality and utter refutation. This leaves enough space for future research and also a possibility for revising some of the still present public perceptions about Krleža’s demeanour after 1945.