Proslava 80. rođendana Tomaša Masaryka u Hrvatskojh 1930. godine
Celebrations in Croatia in honour of Tomáš Masaryk’s 80th birthday in 1930

Summary/Abstract: The 80th birthday of the founder and first president of the Czechoslovak Republic, Tomáš Masaryk, was officially celebrated in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as well as in his own country in March, 1930. The reason for this was the good political, economic, cultural, and other relations between the two countries, which were not seriously effected by the proclamation of a royal dictatorship by King Alexander in January,1929, as well as the fact that Masaryk as a thinker and politician personally contributed to the creation of a Yugoslav state. Because of the fact that Masaryk did not personally support Alexander’s dictatorship, which he showed by his refusal to visit Yugoslavia, in government circles the celebration of his birthday was restrained. In this respect, mention of Masaryk himself took a second seat to the emphasis that was placed on the fraternal relations as well as the alliance between Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. In Croatia, Masaryk enjoyed a particularly favourable reputation as he had been a member of the former Imperial Council and was also considered to be a spiritual father by many politicians and intellectuals. Celebrations of his birthday were held in almost all Croatian towns, and among other honours, the Yugoslavian Academy of Arts and Sciences proclaimed him an honourary member and a city street in the centre of Zagreb was named after him (already in 1921 Masaryk was named an honoury doctor of the University of Zagreb). In the majority of celebrations in Croatia Masaryk’s promotion of democracy and humanism, his ideological and philosophical views, and his scholarly works were emphasized. Since political life in Yugoslavia was almost totally dead at the time due to the dictatorship, these types of events which were organized by leading cultural institutions were utilized, among other things, as a measure of opposition to the ruling royal regime. Similarly, the press of the time, in spite of strict censorship, used praise of Masaryk to make a veiled criticism of political events at home.

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