Another successful project realized in cooperation between MISANU and Department of Historical Sciences SANU and supported by the Ministry of Culture and Information: Digitization of the documents about foreign politics of the Kingdom of Serbia 1903 - 1914!
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INTRODUCTION by Vladimir S. Kostić
It appears that on that day, 27 October 2015, when successful completion of the project entitled Documents on Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Serbia, 1903-1914 was announced in a celebratory atmosphere, only few members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA) were aware - the author of these lines certainly was not – that it was a conclusion of an effort half a century long (starting in 1964 to be precise), endeavor of a large number of historians, led at the time by academicians Petar Popović, Jorjo Tadić, Vasa Čubrilović and Vasilije Krestić. The undertaking of huge proportions is summed up in u 42 volumes!
Although we believed naively for quite some time that “manuscripts do not burn”, our experience reminds us of innumerable lost written records of our history, the disappearance of which opens up space for interpretations, half-truths, historical confabulations and even intentional falsifications. Therefore SASA decided to digitalize documents encompassed by the project and make them user friendly, facilitating both storing and search. It only remains to congratulate wholeheartedly the participants in this major and important endeavor as well as the Mathematical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts for the job well done, which will be an inspiration for future similar undertakings. Nothing can defend us better before the judgment of history than the documents. Participants in the project Documents on Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Serbia , 1903-1914 bitterly note that others accomplished the task long ago, and we are lagging behind again. Without any intention to reply, it is nevertheless true that they faced multiple, often seemingly insurmountable obstacles (e.g. the occupying forces consistently and intentionally seized these documents). But they overcame! With this effort SASA settles yet another debt, headway to new challenges. The experience with participants in this project convinces me that they will, unquestionably, also be successfully completed.
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