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Croatian Fraternal Union of America and NSK jointly protecting Croatian emigrant heritage

Participants in the cooperation project run by the Croatian Fraternal Union of America and National and University Library in Zagreb.

The Croatian Fraternal Union of America and NSK, the National and University Library in Zagreb, are jointly running a project (Iz Pittsburgha s ljubavlju: knjižnična baština hrvatskih iseljenika) aimed at fostering cultural connections between Croats in the US and Croatia and popularising the cultural legacy of Croatian emigrants in America and its significance for Croatia’s culture.

In October 2024, Senior Archivist and Curator at the NSK Manuscripts and Old Books Collection Dr Tamara Štefanac, NSK Library Adviser and the Head of the NSK Music Collection Dr Tatjana Mihalić and Senior Conservator and Head of the NSK Preservation and Storage Department Dr Sanda Milošević visited the Union’s headquarters in Pittsburgh, where they were presented with the written and published heritage of the Croatian emigrants in the US as part of the project’s programme. Numbering around 90,000 members, the Union is the largest organisation of Croatian emigrants in North America, with branches in the US and Canada.

Photos by: Sanda Milošević.

The project, aimed at strengthening the connections between Croats in the US and Croatia through cooperation initiatives in the field of culture, has been launched in a response to the provisions of the Croatian act regulating the relations between Croatia and Croatian emigrants (Zakon o odnosima Republike Hrvatske s Hrvatima izvan Republike Hrvatske, NN 124/11, 16/12) and Croatia’s related national plan by 2027 (Nacionalni plan razvoja odnosa Republike Hrvatske s Hrvatima izvan Republike Hrvatske u razdoblju do 2027. godine).

Preserving Croatian heritage outside Croatia

At its headquarters in Pittsburgh, the Union has since 1894 collected objects and materials representing the cultural heritage of Croatian emigrants in the US, organising activities focusing on research into the history of the Croatian community in America and enabling similar research to a wide range of the Union’s members.  Also, through the publication of its official journals (Danica (1894-1896), Napredak (1896-1904) and Zajedničar, still running), the Union has been making a significant contribution to Croatian written heritage.

Photos by: Sanda Milošević.

Apart from assembling book material, the Union runs the Bernard M. Luketich Croatian Cultural Museum, founded in 2003, as well as the Sheet Music Library, containing Croatian music on various media.

NSK Foreign Croatica Collection – curating a vital part of Croatia’s cultural heritage

The NSK Foreign Croatica Collection assembles and makes available works by Croatian authors published in various languages in different countries, works in the Croatian language and those including references to Croatia and Croats published outside Croatia, works in other languages with Croatian co-authors, translators, editors, illustrators, painters, designers, etc.

Covers of titles in the NSK Foreign Croatica Collection.

Enabling research into the history, legacy and significance of the Croatian diaspora, the Collection holds the private archives of many prominent American Croats, such as George J. Prpich, Ivan Lupis Vukić, Bogdan Radica, Jere Jareb, Adam Eterovich, Ive Vučičević and others.

Item from the collections of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America.
Item from the collections of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America.
Photos by: Sanda Milošević.

NSK’s cooperation with the Union represents another step forward in the Library’s work focusing on the collection, preservation and promotion of Croatia’s cultural heritage, of which Croatian cultural heritage originating abroad or created for audiences outside Croatia is a vital part.