Croatian Bibliographical Publishing Institute
The Croatian Bibliographical Publishing Institute ( Croatian : Hrvatski izdavalački bibliografski zavod , abbreviation: HIBZ ) was the state-owned publishing company of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). It existed from August 1941 to 1945, with its seat in Zagreb . Its chief director has been the Croatian writer Mate Ujević since 1943 .
history
Origins
In 1939, on a private initiative, the authorities of the Croatian Bank founded a consortium to publish the Croatian Encyclopedia . The first volume of the encyclopedia appeared as early as 1940, which was one of the greatest events in Croatian cultural life in decades.
Emergence
After the creation of the Independent State of Croatia , the consortium was nationalized by resolution of the head of state Ante Pavelić and at the suggestion of the then Minister of Education Mile Budak and the State Secretary for Propaganda Josip Milković, and the Croatian Bibliographical Publishing Institute was established. From 1941 onwards, the latter took over the publication of the other volumes of the Croatian Encyclopedia .
The Croatian Bibliographical Publishing Institute took over the scheduled publication of further books in the interests of the new state. The existing Croatian publishing companies Matica hrvatska , Društvo Sv. Jeronima and the Croatian Academy were included in this new plan of Croatian publishing. Matica hrvatska was supposed to publish mainly fiction works by Croatian and foreign writers, Društvo Sv. Jeronima continued to publish popular books and the Croatian Academy published purely scientific works. The Croatian Bibliographical Publishing Institute should make publications for general education “within the framework of Croatian traditions and needs”.
Publishing activity
The most important project was the publication of the other volumes of the Croatian Encyclopedia in order to put them "on an equal footing with the encyclopedias of the greatest European peoples". Furthermore, the publishing institute worked on a concise dictionary of the Croatian written language and other compilations “to acquaint the Croatian people with all living values of the past and future”.
The book series The Croatian Idea and the Croatian Word emerged over the centuries , which, in addition to anthological representations of Croatian thought in individual periods, should also include a collection of interesting memoirs and correspondence from important Croats as well as travel descriptions by foreign authors from Croatia. Books about Croatian monuments, the book of the merchant Ignjat Brlić , the memoirs of General Neustädter about Ban Jelačić and various travel reports about Croatia and Dalmatia from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries were printed.
A second series of books, Texts and Overviews , in short: Tip ( Tekstovi i pregledi ), was based on the model of the German Reclam booklets . First and foremost, the most important works of Croatian literature and their presentation as well as, if necessary, works on “current problems” should be published. The books were supposed to be particularly inexpensive and were thus intended for the youth and broader social classes.
Furthermore, the collection Croatia in words and pictures was created , which should include books in which an overview of the past and then present of the territories of the Independent State of Croatia was offered. They were intended as a kind of travel guide for the Independent State of Croatia.
The propaganda activity for the Independent State of Croatia and the Ustaše took place through the preparation of compilations of "outstanding Croatian politicians, thinkers and writers". So should z. B. the collected works of Ante Starčević , Eugen Kvaternik , Milan Šufflay , and Fran Galović are published.
In addition, a small number of special editions were prepared, such as B. a small anthology of Croatian poetry under the title 42 and a series of picture albums about the Croatian countries, people, mountains, art, folk costumes, etc.
Furthermore, the Croatian Encyclopedia for Youth was founded, which was supposed to pass on all human knowledge to the Croatian youth in ten richly illustrated volumes.
The publishing institute published numerous publications, especially in German , Italian and French , “to familiarize foreign countries, and primarily the friendly and allied nations, with the Croatian people, their aspirations and their participation in the European community”.
The End
The publishing activity ended with the dissolution of the Independent State of Croatia in 1945. The Croatian Bibliographical Publishing Institute was renamed the Croatian Publishing Institute ( Nakladni zavod Hrvatske ) in the same year .
source
- The Croatian Bibliographical Publishing Institute . In: Croatia . No. 2 . Zagreb 1942, p. 37-38 .