Register of the Dragiša Nikola Ristić papers
Finding aid prepared by Processed by: Brad Bauer
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2007
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Dragiša Nikola Ristić papers
Date (inclusive): 1941-1980
Collection Number: 92077
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In Serbo-Croatian and English
Physical Description:
7 manuscript boxes, 1 painting
(5.2 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Correspondence and writings, relating primarily to Yugoslav military operations and diplomacy during World War II, and to
postwar Yugoslav émigré affairs. Includes postwar correspondence between D. T. Simović and Winston Churchill, and a book-length
study by D. N. Ristić relating to Nadezhda Krupskaya and V. I. Lenin.
Creator:
Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965
Creator:
Simović, Dušan, 1882-1962
Creator:
Ristić, Dragiša Nikola, 1909-
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in increments between 1972 and 2004.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Dragiša N. Ristić Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Biographical Note
| 1909 January 9 |
Born, Veliko Bonjice, Serbia |
| 1928 |
Graduated, Belgrade Military Academy, rank of second lieutenant, assigned to Yugoslavian air force |
| 1932 |
Promoted to first lieutenant, Yugoslavian air force |
| 1935 |
Instructor, non-commissioned officers school |
| 1936 |
Promoted to second captain, squadron commander |
| 1936-1938, 1940-1941 |
Aide-de-camp to General Dušan Simović, commander of Yugoslavian air force |
| 1939 |
Promoted to first captain |
| 1941 January 23 |
Accompanied General Dušan Simović to a meeting in Belgrade with Colonel William J. Donovan, Franklin D. Roosevelt's representative
in Europe
|
| 1941 March 23 |
Yugoslav Prime Minister Cvetković signed the Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany |
| 1941 March 27 |
Took part in the coup led by General Dušan Simović to overthrow the government of Prince Paul and Cvetković. The 17-year-old
Peter II was appointed king, and Simović became the new prime minister
|
| 1941 April 6 |
Germans bombarded Belgrade, began invasion of Yugoslavia |
| 1941 April 14 |
Received assignment to escort King Peter II out of Yugoslavia to safety, and flew him to Athens. Two days later, Simović,
Ristić, and the King flew to Alexandria
|
| 1941 April-June |
In Jerusalem, where Yugoslavian government-in-exile was based until it moved to London |
| 1942 March |
Transferred to the Yugoslav military mission in Canada and the United States, and was based variously at Ottawa, Washington,
Nashville, and Windsor, Ontario. While in Windsor, enrolled at Wayne State University in Detroit
|
| 1943-1945 |
Transferred to Yugoslavian forces based in Cairo, and while there, enrolled in the American University |
| 1945 May 26 |
Honorable discharge from the Yugoslavian armed forces, rank of major |
| 1946-1948 |
Returned to the United States, employed by U.S. Steel Products Company, Los Angeles, and enrolled at University of California,
Los Angeles
|
| 1950 |
Graduated, bachelor's degree in political science, University of California, Los Angeles |
| 1951 |
Employed as instructor of Serbo-Croatian language at the U.S. Army Language School, Presidio of Monterey, California |
| 1953 |
Graduated, master's degree in political science, University of California, Los Angeles |
| 1955 |
Studied at the Faculté de Droit, University of Paris, while researching book on the Yugoslavian revolution of 1941 |
| 1966 |
Published Yugoslavia's Revolution of 1941 (Pennsylvania State University Press) |
| 1972-1973 |
Studied in doctoral program for political science, Western Colorado University |
| 2004 |
Died, Monterey, California |
Scope and Content of Collection
The papers of Dragiša N. Ristić, acquired in increments between 1972 and 2004, document his military career in the Yugoslavian
air force, with a special emphasis on his role as a protégé of General Dušan Simović. Simović was one of the leaders of the
coup of March 27, 1941, which overthrew the pro-German government in Belgrade. Ristić was an aide-de-camp to General Simović,
and as such, was both a participant in and eyewitness to the events surrounding the coup.
In the years following the war, Ristić sought to document the events of this period, with an eye to defending the reputation
of his mentor. Having spent the war years in London, Simović returned to Yugoslavia in 1945, and lived in Belgrade until his
death in 1962. During the 1950s, Simović maintained a steady correspondence with Ristić, who by then had settled in Monterey,
California, and designated him to write his biography. To facilitate this, Simović transferred his wartime diary and manuscript
memoir to Ristić, both of which can be found in a separate collection under Simović's name at the Hoover Institution Library
& Archives. During that period, Ristić began corresponding with and interviewing many of the surviving key figures from the
Yugoslavian government before the coup, including Vladko Maćek, Slobodan Jovanović, Prince Paul, and others.
The Biographical File contains various personal documents, but also includes fairly extensive wartime diaries of Ristić from
his period in North America and Egypt. These diaries were written initially in Serbian, but Ristić switched to using English
in 1942, when he began studying English at Wayne State University in Detroit. Fragments of a never-completed memoir can also
be found in this series.
The Correspondence contains the bulk of the surviving research material for his book on the 1941 coup. It consists of correspondence
and interviews primarily from the 1950s, including his extensive correspondence with Simović. The Writings contains various
fragmentary works and essays, but also a lengthy unpublished history of the Russian Revolution, a topic that greatly interested
Ristić over the years. Also included in this series are theses from his academic career at the University of California, Los
Angeles and Western Colorado University, works that also are connected to the history of the 1941 coup. The Subject File and
Printed Material contain additional material that he used in his research. The collection also contains an oil Painting depicting
General Dušan Simović, by Yugoslavian artist Veljko Stanojevic, which Ristić displayed in his home in Monterey.
Arrangement
Arranged in six series, Biographical File, Correspondence and Interview Notes, Writings, Subject File, Printed Material, and
Painting.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Soviet Union -- History -- Revolution, 1917-1921
World War, 1939-1945 -- Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia -- History -- Axis occupation, 1941-1945
World War, 1939-1945 -- Diplomatic history
Yugoslavs -- United States
Lenin, Vladimir Ilʹich, 1870-1924
Krupskaya, Nadezhda Konstantinovna, 1869-1939
Biographical File
1941-1965, undated
Scope and Contents note
Diaries in Serbian and English, 1942-1945; draft fragments of a projected memoir, and various personal documents from his
military, civilian, and academic careers, arranged alphabetically by physical form
box 1, folder 1
Academic records
1950-1955
box 1, folder 3
Application for fellowship
1956
box 1, folder 4
Awards and memberships
1954-1961
box 1, folder 7
1942 October 12 - 1943 February 28
box 1, folder 8
1943 February 19 - September 21
box 1, folder 9
1943 September 22 - 1944 May 28
box 1, folder 10
1944 June 2 - December 31
box 2, folder 1
English lesson book
1944-1945.
Scope and Contents note
Includes diary entries, draft letters, and memoir fragments, graded by instructor
box 2, folder 2
"From Autobiography: A Record of (Foreign) Language Experiences,"
1965
box 2, folder 3
"A Supplementary: The Author's Recollections,"
undated
box 2, folder 6
Untitled fragments
undated
box 2, folder 7
Military documents
1944-1945
box 2, folder 8
Passports and visas
1941-1946
box 2, folder 9
Personnel records
1945-1961
box 2, folder 10
Photographs of family
undated
Correspondence and Interview Notes
1927-1996 (bulk 1951-1961).
1927-1996 (bulk 1951-1961).
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence and summaries of interviews with exiled Yugoslavian political leaders and others, primarily related to research
for his book on the 1941 coup, Yugoslavia's Revolution of 1941, arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent. Also contains
a few files of family and personal correspondence from the 1970s through the 1990s.
box 2, folder 18
Gavrilović, Milan
1956-1957
box 2, folder 22
Interview notes
1955-1956
box 2, folder 31
Pantelić, Vojislav, Maj.
1956
box 2, folder 33
Paul, Prince of Yugoslavia
1955-1956
box 2, folder 34
Pavelić, Ante Smith
1956-1967
box 2, folder 35
Pavlović, Paja, Gen.
1956
box 3, folder 1
Peter II, King of Yugoslavia
1943-1959
box 3, folder 4
Radusinović, Mihailo
1968
box 3, folder 6
Ristić, Katarina
1965-1966
box 3, folder 7
Ristić, Leposava (mother)
1927
box 3, folder 8
Savić, Dragutin
1955-1959
box 3, folder 10
Stanojević, Veljko
1965-1967
Veselinović, Božidar and Srbaslava (brother-in-law and sister)
box 3, folder 20
Yugoslavian air force, Cairo
1941-1942
box 3, folder 21
Živanović, Zagorka (sister)
1966-1986
Writings, 1942-1973, undated.
1942-1973, undated
Scope and Contents note
Various essays and book drafts on topics related to modern Yugoslavian history (primarily interwar years and events leading
up to the coup of March 27, 1941), and the Russian Revolution, arranged alphabetically by title
box 3, folder 22
Miscellaneous fragments
undated
box 3, folder 23
Notes for a history of the Yugoslavian revolution
undated
box 3, folder 24
Conclusion to book on Russian Revolution
undated
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 3, folder 25
Marxism
undated
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 3, folder 26
Preface to book about Yugoslavia
undated
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 3, folder 27
Work on Yugoslavian foreign relations
undated
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 4, folder 1
"Account of the Belgrade Revolution,"
undated
box 4, folder 2
"The Adriatic Question,"
undated
box 4, folder 3
"Djeneral Dušan Simović i Njegov Istoriski Cin,"
1942
box 4, folder 4
"Epilogue: Pen, Pencil, and Sweat,"
undated.
Scope and Contents note
Autobiographical work intended as epilogue to planned book
box 4, folder 5
"The February Revolution, the Tsar and the Formation of the Provisional Government," doctoral project, Western Colorado University
1973
box 4, folder 6
"Foreign Relations of Yugoslavia, 1914-1934," master's thesis, University of California, Los Angeles
1953
box 4, folder 7
"Imperial Russia and Serbia,"
undated.
Scope and Contents note
Draft. In Serbian
box 5, folder 1
"A Lecture Syllabus for Yugoslavia's Revolution of 1941, EDCS-700 Independent Study Curriculum," Western Colorado University
1971
"Nadezhda Krupskaya and Lenin,"
undated
box 6, folder 3
Pages 939-1061, plus Chapter XXIV
box 7, folder 2
Additional notes and fragments of draft
box 7, folder 3
"Oktobarska Revolucija,"
1962-1964.
Scope and Contents note
Manuscript drafts
box 7, folder 4
"Opening Stage of the Triune State,"
undated
box 7, folder 5
"Poseta Pukovnika Williama Donovana,"
undated
box 7, folder 6
"Russia's Great Revolution,"
undated
box 7, folder 7
"Trieste in International Politics,"
undated
box 7, folder 8
"Turkey: The Period of Mustapha Kemal Pasha,"
undated
Subject File
1941-1956, undated.
Scope and Contents note
Notes and other material, primarily related to Yugoslavian leadership in exile during World War II, arranged alphabetically
by subject
box 7, folder 9
Coup of March 27, 1941
1941-1956 and undated
box 7, folder 10
Grol, Milan
1945 and undated
box 7, folder 11
Knežević, Živan
1944-1955
box 7, folder 12
Nedić, Milan
1941
undated
box 7, folder 14
Unattributed report from Yugoslav mission in Washington, to Slobodan Jovanović, London
Sep-42
Printed Material
1942-1957, undated.
Scope and Contents note
Arranged alphabetically by title
box 7, folder 15
Prince Paul of Yugoslavia (printed in Great Britain, unattributed)
circa 1942.
Scope and Contents note
Includes tipped-in letter to Ristić from Dušan Simović, 1957
box 7, folder 16
Samoubistvo Jugoslavije, by Danilo Gregorić. Belgrade: Izdavaćko i Prometno A.D. Jugoistok
1942
Scope and Contents note
Copy owned and annotated by Du*san Simović
box 7, folder 17
Yugoslavia at War (Yugoslav Documents, No. 2, Collection of official statements). London: Yugoslav Information Department
1942
art Racks
Painting
undated.
Scope and Contents note
Portrait in oil of General Dušan Simović, by Veljko Stanojevic, undated
