Croatian Scholar, Mystic and Patriot: Dušan Žanko

From an Unpublished Epistolary Legacy on the Life and Ideals of an Emigrée

Abstract

Dušan Žanko was a Croatian scholar who left Croatia after the Second World Waras one political emigrée among many. During the Independent State of Croatia, hewas the intendant of the Croatian National Theater and worked in its cultural diplomacy. He emigrated first to Argentina and then to Venezuela, where he worked at the Faculty of Agriculture and advanced to the position of full professor. He was married to Zdenka Latković, with whom he had four children. The paper explores the life andactivities of the Croatian emigrée Dušan Žanko whose 25–year–long correspondence with Drago Cerovac is extremely significant. This analysis is based on previously unpublishedmaterial housed in the Postulature of Blessed Ivan Merz in Zagreb, and it underscores the pivotal role of these letters in understanding Žanko’s life. The letterswere written within 25 years and may serve as a lifeline for the Žanko family, preservingtheir connection with Croatia. They provide a detailed account of the family’severyday life in their new homeland, Venezuela, their struggle for existence, and theirrelentless efforts to maintain ties with Croatia. In reading the lines, one gets the impression that Cerovac was the emigrée Žanko’s last connection with his homeland, the spirit of which he imbibed and revived through these letters. Selected fragmentsof his letters portray Žanko as a deeply religious individual, an active intellectual, and a sincere patriot who placed his creative energies in the service of Croatia as anemigrée in a foreign land.