In Nikšić, the collection "Internment of the population of Montenegro 1916-1918", which talks about the suffering of the Montenegrin people in the Great War, and which was prepared by the historian Vukota Vukotić, was promoted for the first time.
"This extremely valuable collection has permanently preserved until today largely unknown documents and made them available to the scientific and lay public. It was created as part of the activities of the State Archives to mark the centenary of the First World War," said the Acting Director of the State Archives, Saša Tomanović.
According to his words, the Collection aims to contribute to the study of Montenegro's participation in the Great War in a way that "will expand the documentary basis for further research work on that topic".
The archive material contained in the "Montenegro Red Cross 1916 - 1919" fund, which includes the work of the aforementioned organization in emigration, was selected as the basis of the Collection.
Dr. Boban Batrićević pointed out that Vukotić is trying to get the names of people who died in the Great War, but not those who died in the battles, but "persons who were forcibly taken from their homeland and scattered in the dungeons of the Austro-Hungarian occupier".
"The lists are sorted according to the reports and the heuristic base that remained behind the activities of the Montenegrin Red Cross in Nei, France, which was one of our most important institutions of humanity during the First World War," said Batrićević.
According to him, Vukotić reconstructs the life of prisoners and life in Montenegro under occupation on the basis of archival documents.
"With a style that deviates from classic historiography, Vukotić tries to acquaint readers with the activities of Montenegrin humanitarians and the actions that Montenegrin institutions and individuals took to help the vulnerable," said Batrićević.
According to Batrićević, Vukotić is a rare example of a diligent archivist and an educated historian.
"In all his published works, there is a noticeable desire for a more imaginative approach to the reconstruction of the past, whether it is about attempts to illuminate some very interesting topics, such as 'fortune-telling on the sword', which was popular in Montenegro, or whether it deals with some other anthropological topics", said Batrićević.
Srđan Pejović, assistant director of the State Archives, said that the Collection brings "a lot of new things" and that Vukotić managed to surprise him with new verifiable historical facts.
"This is not a tribute. This is actually a list that deserves all that suffering to have its own name and surname. Usually, big histories throw out small people. Every name we can come up with deserves to be recorded because they are part of that suffering, that suffering, and it shouldn't to be anonymous. We cannot allow ourselves to lose our memory of something significant that happened," said Pejović.
The editor of the anthology pointed out that he is aware that the first part, which contains the list of interned Montenegrins, and there are 8.451 of them in the book, represents the backbone of the anthology and what the readers are most interested in.
"As an archivist, I must highlight the importance of such lists, which are a kind of standard class of data, which is of most interest to the scientific and other public. I also think that we managed to do a significant job of promoting names, to bring these people out of historical anonymity and to let's make it available to all interested readers", said Vukotić.
He pointed out that the efforts of the entire Montenegrin diaspora, which organized itself to help both the interned population and those who remained in Montenegro, must not be forgotten.
"They say that whoever doesn't learn from someone else's experience pays twice for his own. Vukota Vukotić's collection is full of such warnings, so read it even if you don't intend to study history. You will learn a lot and you won't be bored," said the director of the State Archives.
The mediator of the evening, which was organized as part of the February repertoire "Nikšić Cultural Scene 2018" by the State Archives of Montenegro - Archives Department Nikšić and the National Library "Njegoš", was Kristina Radović.
Bonus video:
