Ministry of defence Republic of Serbia
 
TextPhotogalleryVideogallery
11.11.2013.

War Album 1914-1918 in the Central Military Club presented



In the presence of the President of the Republic of Serbia , Tomislav Nikolic, of the Serbian Patriarch Irinej , Defence Minister Nebojsa Rodic, the Serbian Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dikovic and many people from cultural and public life today in the House of the Serbian Army  "War album 1914-1918” by Lieutenant Colonel Andra Popovic was presented last night.

It is a capital monograph of the publishing house "The Orthodox Word" from Novi Sad, which was first published in 1926 , it was amended and re-presented to the public in a meeting marking the centenary of the beginning of World War I. The editor of the book is Milovan Vitezovic our renowned writer while a foreword was written by Academician Milorad Ekmečić and the Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic.

President Nikolic, in his address, said that 94 years ago an armistice was signed that ended one of the greatest conflicts in human history. He pointed out that even then, as always in our history , both before and after the Great War , Serbia was on the winning side . The president said that a large part of the truth about the great participation of our military and the suffering of our people in the Great War has been presented in the War album.

- We underline the importance of the date selected for this promotion, it is the international day celebrating the victory of the Allies in World War I - Nikolic said , adding that today this photo - monograph provides a broader context giving the story its rightful place. He said that the monograph evidence of historical truth no army or power can change.

- It is not the first time we have been eeroneous against important people from the past who are historical figures and to whom we owe to be at least remembered for their huge contribution to today very much neglected culture of remembrance- as president Nikolic said adding that Serbian army was aware of the importance of war photography and film , and that this activity kept and developed .

- A soldier with the camera and a video camera is as important as a soldier with a rifle . This special knowledge is now transformed into artifacts , documents and testimonies of the campaigns, heroism and enormous suffering of the Serbian people and the army - underlined the President of Serbia concluding that the photos is a witness and also an emotional experience .

- It preserves our specific memory protecting it from some stray self righteous guards of conscience who want to kill our honorable history - said the President of the Republic of Serbia .

Serbian Patriarch Irinej said that the suffering of the Jewish people can only be measured with the massive suffering and the number of Serbs who perished in the 19th and 20th c. Patriarch recalled the horrifying fact that Serbia in those wars suffered at the hands of Christian , brotherly nations , which in some parts of the country committed unimaginable atrocities in order to exterminate the Serbs.

- It is good to have this book to remind us, because we are among the people who quickly forget what can not be forgotten and seem to have a poor memory of what should never have been lost sight of . Good thing we were reminded of the past times when the Serbian people showed great heroism , great perseverance , and great suffering. - Said the Patriarch Irinej.

The editor in chief and director of " Orthodox words " Zoran Gutovic and Dragoljub Zivojinovic academic , art historian Nikola Kusovac editor and writer Milovan Vitezovic spoke of the book.

"War album 1914-1918" presents a brief historical overview of the First World War and the events that preceded it . It contains many photographs , sketches, pictures , maps with explanations of the most important events of the war , all in English, Serbian and The French language. The photographs , in addition to well-known figures from this period depict details of the suffering of ordinary people , and civilian casualties as well as details from the front lines .

Monograph "War album 1914-1918 is one of the most remarkable publications dealing with the First World War in this region.

The host of the promotion was Ljiljana Blagojevic, with actor Lazar Ristovski, pianist Nikola Rackov and vocal soloist Ranko Jovic also taking part in the cultural program.