Bogdan Raditsa (in Croatian: ''Bogdan Radica'') (26 August 1904 – 5 December 1993) was a Croatian-American historian, journalist, diplomat, writer, and translator.

Biography

Bogdan Raditsa was born in 1904 in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. After his initial studies in his home town, he went to

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

to study between 1923 and 1924. In 1924 he moved to

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

to continue his studies. In 1928 he went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to work as a correspondent, and in the next year he moved to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

where he lived until 1933, working as the Press representative for the Yugoslavian embassy. From 1933 to 1939 he worked as diplomat, member of the Yugoslavian delegation in the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. In 1935 he married Nina Ferrero, daughter of Guglielmo Ferrero and granddaughter of

Cesare Lombroso Cesare Lombroso ( , ; ; born Ezechia Marco Lombroso; 6 November 1835 – 19 October 1909) was an Italian eugenicist, criminologist, phrenologist, physician, and founder of the Italian school of criminology. He is considered the founder of m ...

. Following the

Cvetković–Maček Agreement The Cvetković–Maček Agreement ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Sporazum Cvetković-Maček, Споразум Цветковић-Мачек), also known simply as the Sporazum in English-language histories, was a political compromise on internal divisions in the ...

of 1939 he went to work in the office for external printing in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. In 1940 he was transferred to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and, with the fall of Yugoslavia to the Germans in 1941 he began working in the press office in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. From 1943 on, he worked with Louis Adamič, an American writer of Slovene origin, in the campaign against the

Yugoslav government-in-exile The Government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Exile ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Vlada Kraljevine Jugoslavije u egzilu, Влада Краљевине Југославије у егзилу) was an official government-in-exile of Yugoslavia, headed by King ...

in London and the recognition of Tito and his movement. In October 1944 Raditsa went to London where

Ivan Šubašić Ivan Šubašić (7 May 1892 – 22 March 1955) was a Croat politician, best known as the last Ban of Croatia and Prime Minister of the royalist Yugoslav Government in exile during the Second World War. Early life Ivan Šubašić was born in ...

was working on the creation of a new Yugoslavian government. In 1945 Raditsa briefly worked in the Ministry of Information in Belgrade. After his return to Belgrade he managed to obtain a visa to go abroad and around Christmas 1945 he travelled to

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

, from where he sent a telegram to his wife Nina: "Left Tito's paradise forever". After returning to the U.S., in 1946 he wrote in New York his famous

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

article, ''Yugoslavia's Tragic Lesson to the World''. In it he enumerated all the reasons for his disappointment with Tito's Yugoslavia and urged Americans not to fall for false slogans. From 1950 to 1974 he was professor of History at the

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University () is a private university with its main campuses in New Jersey, located in Madison / Florham Park and in Teaneck / Hackensack. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University offers more than 100 degree prog ...

. He died in

in 1993 at the St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center. His remains were transferred from New York to Strada in Chianti, a small community near Florence. His library and archives are stored in the

Croatian State Archives The Croatian State Archives () are the national archives of Croatia located in its capital, Zagreb. The history of the state archives can be traced back to the 17th century. There are also regional state archives located in Bjelovar, Dubrovnik ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

References

External links

Bogdan Radica Papers (MS 1588).
Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Raditsa, Bogdan 1904 births 1993 deaths Journalists from Split, Croatia People from the Kingdom of Dalmatia 20th-century Croatian historians Croatian diplomats Croatian writers Yugoslav historians Yugoslav diplomats Yugoslav writers 20th-century male writers Fairleigh Dickinson University faculty Yugoslav emigrants to the United States
Life of Bogdan Radica, by Martino Rossi Monti.
Intellectuals Displaced from Fascist Italy. Migrants, Exiles and Refugees Fleeing for Political and Racial Reasons, Florence, Firenze University Press, 2023- 2nd edition, revised and enlarged (1st ed. 2019-22).