Nikola Tesla - A Plea to Place His Museum in Croatia

We red that in Yugoslavia preparations are being made for the celebration of the centenary of the birth of Nikola Tesla, who was born ninety-eight years ago in the village of Smiljan in Croatia. We are pleased that the Committee for the Celebration of the Centenary of Tesla's Birth has already begun preparations now, so there is plenty of time for the celebration to be properly organized. Tesla is the greatest discoverer of new principles in the field of electrical engineering and surpasses all inventors in that field. However, Tesla was a man who had no sense for money; primarily he wished that with his discoveries and inventions he might benefit all of humanity. That is the reason why his name is not so well known to the broad strata of the people, because he cared neither for money nor for glory, but only to do something useful. Everything electrical that you see around you today is based on Tesla's discoveries. Without his discoveries, the majority of the world would still today be sitting by the kerosene lamp. Croatia has reason to be proud of this great son of hers, just as Tesla was proud of his Serbian origin and his homeland Croatia. Although others earned heavy billions of dollars with his discoveries, he died as a pauper. On the proposal of the Yugoslav Minister of Finance, the Croat Dr. Juraj Sutej, Yugoslavia paid him a pension in his old age.

And when we speak of Tesla and of how he was proud of his homeland Croatia we cannot but express our astonishment why it was necessary for Tesla's Museum to be founded in Belgrade and for the huge Tesla archive to be taken there, which even today has not been fully put in order, nor researched. Since Tesla's Museum could not be founded in his native village, because it is small and remote, then its place should have been in Zagreb in his homeland Croatia. We hold that it is not yet too late for Tesla's Museum to be established, and the archive transferred to Zagreb, so that at the opening of that Museum the centenary of his birth may also be celebrated. If those who today direct the destiny of Croatia and Yugoslavia take into consideration this our modest opinion, we are convinced that it will benefit the idea of brotherhood between Croats and Serbs more than all propaganda. Perhaps someone will object that these are small matters. It may be that they are, but whoever calmly reflects on it we are sure will realize that these small matters reach psychologically very deep. And in the relations between Croats and Serbs that psychological factor is the most important. If Tesla's Museum and archive remained in Belgrade, it is certain that every Croat would ask with pain: Is this brotherhood? And why rob Croatia of her children? Even when they are of Serbian origin they are hers.