By Maciej Siekierski
The Hoover Library & Archives have received a rich collection of documentation on the former Yugoslavia in the final decade of the 20th century. The papers are a gift of a prominent member of the Serbian diaspora, the American international banker and author of several books, including a 2016 two-volume work about American and European Union involvement in the Yugoslav conflict, Miroslav Michael Djordjevich.
In his own words: “this decade could be characterized as a decade of big illusions; America’s about the New World Oder, Serbia’s about a third Yugoslavia, and Serbian diaspora’s about the beginning of a new democratic era. That also includes: Germany’s illusion that it will lead Europe according to its will, Russia’s to become a ‘partner’ of America in the construction of the New World Order, and Vatican’s on the establishment of an Intermarium and promotion and strengthening of the Catholic faith.”
Mr. Djordjevich, or Michael to his American friends and associates, came to the United States from Belgrade in 1956. He worked his way up from a manual laborer to banker, founder and director of successful companies. In 1990, he organized and was the first president of the Serbian Unity Congress. In 1998, Michael Djordjevich established internationally and became the first president of the Council for Democratic Changes in Serbia. Its aim was to support transition to democracy in Yugoslavia and peace and stability in the Balkans. The papers donated to Hoover are essentially the records of these two organizations during the 1990s, a decade very eventful and frequently tragic in the history of the lands of former Yugoslavia.
Maciej Siekierski PhD
Maciej Siekierski is curator of the European Collections at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives and a research fellow at the Hoover Institution.
