Contemporary Croatian History and Troubles with Revisionism

U Hrvatskoj se pojam povijesni revizionizam javio početkom XX. stoljeća. Pojam revizionizam do tada je bio isključivo u sferi marksizma, što je u slučaju Hrvatske (i Jugoslavije) bila stvarnost od 1945. do 1990. godine. Pojam povijesni revizionizam uveo je Slavko Goldstein, osoba koja nije bila po vokaciji povjesničar, no taj je pojam od tada prisutan na lijevom krilu historiografije i hrvatskoga društva. U radu se objašnjavaju okolnosti kako je pojam ušao u uporabu i dovodi u pitanje smislenost njegova korištenja.The term ‘historical revisionism’ appeared in Croatia at the beginning of the 21st century. The term ‘revisionism’ in communist Yugoslavia fell exclusively within the sphere of Marxism and signified a standpoint that advocated abandonment of the dictatorship of the proletariat and an acceptance of the rules of parliamentary democratic struggle. The term ‘historical revisionism’ appeared in the Goldstein family circle in 2001. A key role in this was played by publisher, writer, and influential political activist Slavko Goldstein. The term was then systematically exploited by his son, the historian Ivo Goldstein, and is today very common among the left and far-left wing of Croatian society. In 2001, S. Goldstein claimed that revisionism in Croatia had appeared in 1989–90 ‘as a historiographical retardation and socio-political anomaly. In contrast to Western countries, it was tolerated and encouraged by the country’s new political leadership from 1990 on, and partially adopted into its political programme. Its general characteristic and basic starting point is – fetishisation of the state and fetishisation of the Croatian state-building idea!’ With strong media support and political backing, S. Goldstein managed to turn something nonsensical into a question of ‘vital importance’. Calling someone out for revisionism in science, and therefore historiography, is absurd, because ‘any statement becomes outdated and eventually needs revising’. Calling out for historical revisionism therefore aims to thwart any attempt to question the image of World War II that was created in communist Yugoslavia before 1990, and dissuade potential researchers. The question of whether scholars are ‘revisers’ or ‘revisionists’ is therefore a waste of time