Two episodes from the life of Jozo Kljaković. “Yugoslav phase” and controversial article “The Croats at the II Vatican Council”

Tema ovog rada su dvije epizode iz Kljakovićeva života. Prva se odnosi na njegovu tzv. “jugoslavensku” fazu (1910.-1918.), kada je, zahvaćen idejom jugoslavenskog nacionalizma, boravio i radio u Srbiji, uvjeren da se hrvatsko pitanje može najlakše riješiti povezivanjem sa Srbima. Radi se o najslabije istraženom razdoblju Kljakovićeva života. Iako je on sam pisao otvoreno o svojem prihvaćanju jugoslavenskih ideja, koje je potom i napustio, to nije spriječilo pojedince da, u pravilu bez navođenja izvora, iznesu tvrdnje kojima su krivo protumačili Kljakovićevu prošlost i time zbunili javnost. Druga epizoda je dosad nikada neproučavani odnos Joze Kljakovića i uredništva poznatog časopisa Hrvatska revija, tj. njezinog glavnog urednika Vinka Nikolića. Iako su oni sve do 1963. plodno surađivali i bili u gotovo prijateljskom odnosu, spomenute su godine njihovi odnosi pogoršani zbog članka “Hrvati na II. vatikanskom koncilu” objavljenog pod pseudonimom. Članak su vrlo oštro osudili Mirko Živković, braća Josip i Stjepan Torbar i J. Kljaković, kojima su anonimni autori uputili oštar i poduži protuodgovor. Sve se pretvorilo u oštru polemiku, popraćenu međusobnim optužbama, pa i uvredama, što je rezultiralo produbljivanjem sukoba između Kljakovića i V. Nikolića, te Krunoslava Draganovića, kojeg je Kljaković zajedno sa svećenikom Ivanom Tomasom smatrao autorom spornog teksta, ili barem njegovim mentorom. Polemike su okončane prekidom suradnje Kljakovića i Hrvatske revije.The subject of this work is two episodes from the life J. Kljaković. The first one refers to his so called “Yugoslav phase” (1910 – 1918), when he, caught by the idea of Yugoslav nationalism, lived and worked in Serbia, convinced that the easiest way to settle the Croatian issue is through allying with the Serbs. It is the least investigated period of Kljaković’s life. Although he himself openly wrote about his accepting the Yugoslav ideas, which he later on rejected, some persons did not hesitate to put forward, never quoting the source, the assertions by which they wrongly interpreted Kljaković’s past and thus confused the public. The second episode, which has never been studied so far, is the relationship between Jozo Kljaković and the editorial board of a well known magazine The Croatian Review i.e. its chief editor Vinko Nikolić. Although they had had a constructive cooperation and almost friendly relationship as long as up to 1963, it worsened in the mentioned year because of the article The Croats at the II Vatican Council published under a pseudonym. The article was severely condemned by Mirko Živković, brothers Josip and Stjepan Torbar and J. Kljaković, who then received a sharp and long replication by some anonymous authors. All that turned into a violent polemics, matched by mutual accusations, and even insults, which resulted in an intensified conflict between Kljaković and Vinko Nikolić, as well as with Krunoslav Draganović whom Kljaković, together with the priest Ivan Tomas, thought to be the author, or at least the mentor, of the controversial text. The polemics were closed by the rupture of cooperation between Kljaković and The Croatian Review