Dedicated to the Aboriginal people, written by Maja Gavranic Tomislav Gavranic Remembrance PieceWritten by Mara Gavranic, Australia (daughter of Tomislav Gavranic)Tomislav Gavranic, Dulcie’s loving husband and our Dad, was an amazing man…
Category: Human Rights
Tomislav Gavranic 1937-2025 Croatian doctor of Aboriginal Health in Australia
Tomislav Gavranić, born in Croatia on the island of Korčula (in the town of Blato), was very passionate, loyal and dedicated to the Aboriginal people which we all know. This was shown in both his private and working life. He was honoured whilst working in Gove to be initiated into the Marika Clan in Yirrkala. His aboriginal family kept in contact and they would come to visit, where many a story was told around a very multicultural table. We provide a text written by Mrs. Tuga Tarle, in Croatian. It was a part of her PhD thesis, and included into her very interesting monograph published in 2024 in Zagreb.
Vukovar road to recovery
We provide an audio presentation “Vukovar road to recovery” by Thomas Burns. We also provide a description of the drama in the Vukovar Hospital by the end of 1991, when its director was late Dr. Vesna Bosanac (on the photo). Dr. Vesna Bosanac sent numerous messages during several months of Serbian attacks on the city, asking for help. We also add a video-film “Operation Storm” produced by Nikola Knez. Another video contains a song Croatia written and composed by Dr. Drago Štambuk in 1991, musically arranged by Arsen Dedić.
Dr. Vesna Bosanac 1949-2022 Croatian hero of the city of Vukovar
Dr. Vesna Bosanac was born in 1949 in the city of Subotica, and her family moved to the Borovo Naselje near Vukovar when she was less than 1 year old. Her grandmother was Bunjevci Croatian. Since July 1991, during the Serbian military aggression on Croatia, she was emolyed as the director of the famous Vukovar Hospital. Until the end of 1991, during the most savage bombing and shelling of the city, The Vukovar Hospital took care of about 4000 people. About 2250 people underwent difficult and long term operations. Each day approximately 700 (seven hundred) granades was falling on the building of the hospital.
Romain Rolland's 1924 book "Mahatma Gandhi" translated into Croatian as "Naš Gandhi" (Our Gandhi!)
Romain Rolland’s book was published on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi (celebrated in 2019), and Stjepan Radić (honored in the year 2021). The original Croatian version of the book was published in 1924, entitled “Naš Gandhi” (Our Gandhi!). Issuing this reprint was suggested by Mr. Joginder Singh Nijjar, the president of Croatian-Indian Society in Zagreb. It appeared under the auspices of highest Croatian political, cultural and scientific institutions, as well as under the auspices of the Embassy of the Republic of India to Croatia. We provide a presentation of the reprint written by Ante Belić.
An appeal to world leaders regarding the status of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina
This appeal was sent by Mr. Miro Gavran, distinguished Croatian writer and the current president of Matica hrvatska (Matrix croatica), to several world leaders: Mr Joe Biden, President of the USA, Mr Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic; The French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Mr Olaf Scholz, federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, His Holiness Pope Francis, Mr Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. Let us help Bosnia and Herzegovina become a country of equal nations and citizens, and to help open and secure the way for the country to become a member of European and Euro-Atlantic integrations.
Vesna Skulic Croatian cinderella participating in White Path humanitarian action in BiH 1993
Vesna Škulić is living in the village of Ražanac near the city of Zadar, Croatia. As an amateur radio operator, she She trasfered more than hundred thosand humanitarian messages. She actively participated in solving numerous problems related to the humanitarion action of White Path in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993. According to late Professor Slobodan Lang, Zagreb, who was the chief organizer of the action, this was the first ever successful joint Christian – Muslim humanitarian operation in history. Vesna Skulić, a courageos and charming Croatian woman, is a paraplegic.
Elizabeth Peratrovich a native woman in Alaska and civil rights pioneer bearing Croatian second name
Elizabeth Peratrovich (1911-1958) was a native Tlingit woman and civil rights pioneer who, in 1945, was instrumental in getting the Alaska legislature to pass what historians cite as the first anti-discrimination law in America (pre-dating the Civil Rights Act by 19 years). In 1988, the state of Alaska designated Feb. 16 — the anniversary of the signing of the act — as a holiday honoring Elizabeth Peratrovich. Her second name of Peratrovich comes from her husband Roy Peratrovich. His father Ivan was born in Croatia on the island of Hvar, and arrived to California in 1860.
Christophe Dolbeau published his monograph "By the Croatian Patriots" in French in 2019
Christophe Dolbea published his new monograph entitled Aux cotes des patriotes croates (By the Croatian Patriots), as a private edition, in 2019. The book commprises 11 chapters, and ends with a complete bibliography of the author. In the middle of the book, twelve pages containing the photos of the main persons described in the book are exhibited. The book deals with Croatian emmigration in France, with parts of which the author was very close. We also learn of Dominque Gay, a young Frenchman who fought during Homland Defensive War and tragically died in Croatia in 1992 near te town Drniš. The book represent an important contribution to the study of the history of Croatian emmigration in France.
Ivanka Bubalo i njezina bijela kosuljica jos bdiju nad Bosnom
Ivanka Bubalo je poput ostalih Plehančana protjerana s Plehana, ali se ona nikad nije rastala, ni svojim umom ni srcem odvojila ni od Plehana, ni od Plehančana. Susreti s Ivankom bili su bogatstvo. Opredijeljena za trajne vrijednosti, bila je pravi prijatelj, u svakom, baš svakom našla je bar zrnce dobra. Krhka izgledom, snažna duha, spremna svakom i uvijek pomoći… Provela je i pomagala mnoge humanitarne aktivnosti, poticala na povratak prognanika kućama, tješila, hrabrila, pa je nisu bez razloga zvali Majkom Terezom Posavljaka. Mario Essert nam je poslao svoj članak objavljen u časopisu Prsten.
Vladimir Paleeek Croatian humanist and founder of "Hungry Child" international fund in Croatia 1969
Vladimir Paleeek: “A catastrophic earthquake hit Sicily in 1968 in which many men, women, and children lost their lives. Gibellina, Salaparuta, Santa Margarita, and Montevago were wiped off the map. … When I walked through these places, when I saw hundreds of tents which had to replace warm homes, when I saw children without parents, when I saw children naked, barefooted, and hungry, who crowded around me, I came to the idea of creating a movement which would have one goal – TO HELP CHILDREN.” With this article we mark 50 years since founding “Hungry Child”, the only humanitarian NGO ever behind the “Iron Curtain”.
Nenad Bach, Dragica Kragic and Sven Maricic participating at prestigious MTF Stockholm Sep 7-9 2018
The talks stage features an incredible lineup of inspiring people from around the world in conversation – representing all areas of industry, academia, the arts, sciences and public life. Rather than a series of keynotes, speeches, panel sessions or powerpoint presentations, the magazine-style interviews and intimate performances at MTF Stockholm provide a personal insight into the world and the stories of each of these amazing individuals. Three Croatian representatives are invited: Nenad Bach (with his project World Peace In One Hour ), Danica Kragić (a leading expert in robotics) and Sven Maričić (expert in 3D printing).
Stjepan Radic 1871-1928 a great Croatian politician, humanist and martyr
In 2018 we commemorate a tragic death of Stjepan Radić, one of the greatest Croatian politicians and humanists in history (on the photo with his grandchildren), assassinated in 1928 in the Belgrade Parliament. We provide an articl written by Dr. Ante Cuvalo, an information about a new street in the Prague bearing his name (and his wife Marija was a Czech schoolteacher), as well as an article about him written by a Danish writer Karin Michaelis, who used to know his family in person. We conclude the article with a very interesting article of Stjepan Radić about the Russian Branch of the noble Croatian family of Jelačić.
Marko Veselica 1936-2017 Croatian economist and politician passed away – article by Ante Glibota
Marko Veselica was distinguished Croatian economist and legendary human rights activist who spent 11 years in communist prisons in 1970s and 80s. We provide an article of his close colleague and friend Academician Ante Glibota, vicepresident of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and Humanity in Paris , written in Croatian language. We also provide the titles of some of Veselica’s relevant books and studies.
Mother Teresa proclaimed a saint in 2016 and her connections with Croatia
Saint Mother Teresa was deeply connected with Croatian people. Croatian Jesuits stand at the beginning of her spiritual path, and her close collaborator in India was Ante Gabric, SJ, Croatian missionary and a good spirit of Bengal. In 1995, in Kolkata, she obtained an official Croatian passpoirt from the then Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia dr. Drago Stambuk, as an authorized representative of the Republic of Croatia for Humanitarian Aid . Saint Mother Teresa had spiritual speaches in Croatian language in the Zagreb Cathedral on several occasions. The photo on the left is from her Croatian passport. We also provide some anthological photos of Mother Teresa by Zvonimir Atletić, distinguished Croatian photographer.
Umro je Dr. Slobodan Lang: smrt koja nas moralno obvezuje na gradnju mira i einjenje dobra
Umro je … hrvatski domoljub i nacionalist, Židov i Hrvat, štovatelj i sljedbenik ideja i vjere Isusa Krista, hrabar čovjek u ratu, spasitelj brojnih ljudskih života, idejni začetnik humanitarnih konvoja “Libertas” (uz Branku Šeparović) i “Bijeli put” (s Hermanom Vukušićem), odan suprug i brižan i nježan otac i djed, sin velikog znanstvenika i plemenitog čovjeka dr. Rikarda Langa … Ništa od onog što je bio Slobodan Lang nije nikada prešutio i zatajio i zato bi nas njegova smrt mogla potaknuti na gradnju mira i činjenje dobra. (Prof.dr. Slaven Letica)
Jimmy Lyggett an American boxer and trainer of Croatian boxing national team from 1939 to 1945
Jimmy Lyggett (1897-1955) was an American boxer and trainer of Croatian boxing clubs in Zagreb, as well as of Croatian boxing national team from 1939 to 1945, on the photo on the right. While he lived in Vienna, he met a woman of Croat descent, Roza, whom he married. The couple moved to Zagreb, Croatia in the early 1930s, where he opened his boxing school. He trained many young boxers in several boxing clubs in Zagreb, starting with boxing club Croatia, and later with clubs Herkules, Makabi and Radnik.
Esther Gitman's interview 2016 about Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac and his role in saving the Jews in Croatia
Dr Esther Gitman analized about 5000 archival documents kept in various Croatian archives. Especially important among them are 500 signed petitions for the rescue of Jews in Croatia during the WW2. Some of these documents contain as many as 150 names, signed by ordinary people, who risked their lifes in order to save the lifes of their endangered Jewish neighbors and friends. Furthermore, according to Dr Girtman, THOSANDS OF ORDINARY PEOPLE signed these petitions, which is a fact totally unknown in historigraphy (not only Croatian). Similar documents in such abundonce, cannot be found in any other European country, said Dr Gitman. We invite you to see and listen to this extremely interesting and important interview, conducted by the Laudato TV in Zagreb, Croatia.
The Story of Ilija Letica by distinguished Croatian filmmaker Jakov Sedlar
We present the readers of the CROWN a fascinating documentary by Croatian filmmaker Jakov Sedlar about the life and work of Ilija Letica in the USA, about his very successful LETICA CORPORATION in the USA, with a special emphasis on his ties with Croatia and on his life philosophy. LETICA is a multi-faceted packaging company with diverse talent and technologies to support business on a number of fronts. The company works in multiple technologies such as thermoform, injection mold, paper-forming and sheet extrusion as well as with multiple mediums including paper, rigid and thinwall plastic, reclaimed post-consumer fiber, and other environmentally-friendly materials.
Frank Westerman's book about the Lipik Lipizzaners translated into Croatian
Frank Westerman’s book about Lipizzaner horses, with emphasis on their destiny in the 20th century, especially during the Serbian aggression on Croatia in 1990-1995, originally published in Dutch, has been translated into 15 languages and has 40 editions until 2015. As stressed by Frank Westerman in his book, the CROWN (Croatian World Network) and Nenad Bach had an important role in launching the international media campaign aiming to return from Serbia the stolen Croatian Lipizzaners from back to their homeland. Mr. Westerman visited on many occasion the town of Lipik, in which numerous noble Lipizzan horses have been mercilessly assassinated during the aggression.