The most meritorious lobbyist for the international recognition of Croatia. And no, we are not talking about Tuđman, Granić, Šeparović. An an unknown story of Crown Prince Otto von Habsburg.
While many, out of pride attributed so many often other people's merits, the name of the late Crown Prince Otto (in Croatian Oton) Habsburg-Lothringen, in his noble modesty, was written on the margins of our society, although he deserves to be on the front pages of our history textbooks. These days, when we remember January 15 and the great accomplishment in the international recognition of Croatia in 1992, it is time to remember one modest deserving figure.
The difficult life and rise of young Otto
Born on November 20, 1912 as the eldest son of Archduke Charles Habsburg-Lothringen, he will be destined by providence for a great future and difficult days ahead. After the Assassination in Sarajevo in 1914, when the Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand and his wife Duchess Sofia were murdered, Otto's father Charles become the new heir to the throne. In the maelstrom of the Great War of 1914 - 1918, the historical events of that time will define the youngling Otto for the rest of his life. With the death of the long-lived Austrian Emperor, the Hungarian, Croatian and Czech King Franz Joseph, Otto's father became the new monarch, and Otto himself the heir to the throne and the Crown Prince of all the kingdoms and lands of the then K u K monarchy.
Although he was only four years old, the magnificent Hungarian-Croatian coronation of his father in the Royal Capital city of Budapest will remain etched in his memory. With the collapse of the centuries-old Monarchy, Otto shares the fate of the entire family, exiled with his father, mother and other brothers and sisters to the island of Madeira where, in difficult living conditions, he will watch his father suffer and finally die at the age of only thirty-four. In that torment and suffering of his father, Otto himself testified to the voice of holiness, which would later elevate his late father, King Charles IV as the Blessed of our Church in 2004. His mother Queen Zita told him at the time of his father's death:
"Witness how he dies as an Emperor and Christ... Your father is now sleeping the eternal sleep - you are now Emperor and King"
(Queen Zita, 1922)
In difficult conditions, deprived of their family property, they continued to maintain the family tradition of a strict courtly and Christian upbringing. All eight children were brought up well and proved to be the pride of their late father, all the hardships of their early life and upbringing were certainly borne by their mother Queen Zita, born of the Bourbon-Parma house and family. Young Otto continued his international education, especially at the Catholic University of Leuven in the Kingdom of Belgium, where he obtained a doctorate in political sciences. He finds his youth and early adulthood in the difficult era of the Interbellum and the Second World War. During this period, he witnessed the dangers of nazism and fascism, famous for even offering to the Austrian chancellor that he would take over as chancellor if he found it difficult to deal with the Nazis. During this period, he built his strong stance as an anti-totalitarian criticizing nazism, fascism and communism as scourges of the 20th century. In the order of the new post-war Europe, Crown Prince Otto outlined a pan-European path, the idea of a European union of states in a cultural, economic and military alliance that would prevent future wars and totalitarian ideologies on the European continent, an alliance based on sovereign states, nations and their culture and individuality, their European and Christian values.
Although he welcomed the creation of the European Union and supported the idea of a European alliance of states, he was extremely disappointed that such an EU represented a creation that turned its back on Christian identity and values, the unity of nations and the sovereignty of states. It was during this period that he became one of the few European politicians who called not only for the freedom of the people behind the Iron Curtain, but also for the right to freedom of his peoples in the dungeon called Yugoslavia. He was one of the first and rare European politicians who in the European Parliament called for the freedom of Croatia and Slovenia decades before any idea about the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was even debated, in a time when many of our own political protagonists in the 1990s were not even determined for the Croatian path of independence and outside of the Socialist Yugoslavia.
"I have been a Croatian citizen since I was born!"
(Otto von Habsburg, 2006)
The road to Croatia's freedom and the restoration of its millennial statehood
With the political changes in 1990 and the arrival of multi-party system in Croatia made it possible for Otto to return to his Croatian homeland for the first time since 1918. Welcomed in Zagreb, even filmed by television cameras, through a television news report about a "pleasant walk in the Upper and Lower old town", he was almost unnoticed by the wider population who were just discovering their long-lost freedom. Then and there, he met for the first time the president of the presidency, Franjo Tuđman, with whom he would maintain a close friendship after that first meeting. President Tuđman was almost confused by the appearance of a person who was born with the right to rule from God. Soon he will see in Otto an ally and a key figure for Croatia's international reputation on the difficult path through its war years.
"Although I was given the right by God, which I carry with my birth, I did not come to rule but to serve"
(Otto von Habsburg, 1991)
Already in the first year of the war in 1991, Crown Prince Otto was exceptionally and wholeheartedly involved in the service of his Croatian homeland. His two sons, Charles (Karl) and George (Georg), were also present during the war years, especially in the area of protection of Croatian cultural heritage from the aggressor's suppression. Because, after all, a nation without cultural heritage is one without history, and a nation without history is one without identity. Therefore, it is clear why before the Serbo-Yugoslav aggressor, the valuable cultural property and legacy of our country is a frequent target of destruction, looting and appropriation. Charles, Otto's son, particularly distinguished himself in the area of the Karlovac and Dubrovnik war fronts with the Blue Shield organisation, and it is interesting that he met his future wife Baroness Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza, an art historian, there in war time conditions. In addition to the above, our royal dynasty has proven itself in the field of humanitarian aid, especially for the wounded and exiles from Vukovar. Because of his pro-Croatian activities, Otto would be one of the targets of planed assassination by the Serbo-Yugoslav army during the rocket attack on the Dubrovnik airfield just after its opening, fortunately he and many other guests and representatives of the Croatian government survived that assassination attempt. His attachment to Vukovar was also deepened with his friendship with the parliamentary representative of Vukovar and a double-refugee, Count Eltz (he was exiled by the Serbo-Yugoslav aggressors in both the Second World War (1941-1945) and Homeland war 1991-1995), whose family home, the large Eltz palace in Vukovar became a symbol of the Great Serbian destruction of Croatian cultural heritage. Therefore, Otto especially advocated and mediated during the negotiations and implementation of the peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube region in 1995 - 1998.
"Croatia is one of the countries that has always, first of all, been faithful, that has been an example to others with its courage..."
(Otto von Habsburg, 2008)
The fight for Croatia's reputation
Despite his decades-long commitment to Croatian sovereignty and independence, for Croatian orientation towards Central European and Christian values, Otto realised early on that the lobby against Croatia was extremely strong. He often stated that Croatia belongs in Central Europe and not in the Balkans, but the voices of those who were against Croatia are getting stronger. Otto particularly emphasized that it is unfair to impose the burden of the Ustasha and the term genocide state on Croatia, to attack everything Croatian under the false symbol of criticising the Ustasha, and at the same time commit a historical injustice by covering up Nedić's Serbia and their often more terrible and greater war crimes and genocide. Otto believed that the instrument of historical attacks and historical relativization has become also a diplomatic tool, that along with open war aggression, became a serious threat to the survival of Croatia during the early 1990s.
"Without Croatia, Europe is unthinkable"
(Otto von Habsburg, 1991)
Diplomatic struggle for international recognition of Croatia
Croatia's diplomatic efforts were difficult, many prominent names of that time showed their great knowledge and ability during the many achievements gained in international cooperation and diplomatic negotiations. Crown Prince Otto proved to be the greatest diplomatic tool that Croatia had at its disposal! As a German and Austrian politician, and an European representative, Otto made significant political connections in order to prevail for Croatian international recognition in key countries such as Germany and Austria. He always positioned himself as the guarantor of Croatia, on the basis that Croatia is a Central European country and should be viewed as a equal candidate and member of the European Union, against the established view of it as a Balkan country. With his knowledge, background and connections he heartily defended Croatian international reputation. As the sovereign of several distinguished European and dynastic orders, he was intertwined with dignitaries of many countries, but also with many reigning families. Otto took advantage of his close ties with the Belgian, Luxembourg, Spanish and Liechtenstein ruling families whose high royal state and dynastic Orders he belonged to achieve Croatian international recognition. The Habsburgs have always had great influence in the Church, being its greatest protectors throughout the centuries. Otto was a close friend of Cardinal Razinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, who held at that time a high position in the Roman Curia. While with St. Pope John Paul II his personal friendship and commitment to the legacy of his father, whom the Pope beatified in 2004, has been known for a long time. With Otto, the Croats received a guarantor in the otherwise extremely neutral diplomatic policy of the Holy See, so that the history of Vatican diplomacy towards Croatia during the Second World War would not be repeated (The Holy See had a policy of not recognising new states during war time). That impacted that the Vatican change its practice and internationally recognise Croatia as a sovereign and independent state. In the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, as its high-ranking member, Otto used all connections and opportunities for recognition. Often in discussions for international recognition, he lobbied firmly and strongly saying Croatia or me! Ultimately, an unknown historical fact, even the Kingdom of Morocco recognised Croatia thanks to his merit, because Otto was a close friend of King Hasan II.
His lobbying did not stop only with the international recognition of Croatia, at every moment he conveyed the name of his Croatian homeland, advocating for its European path and return to its Christian roots. Even after the war, he attacked those who accused Croatia with words such as genocide and criminal. In this, he was not even afraid to tell Carla Del Ponte clearly that what The Hague Tribunal is doing against Croatia is unjust, that the war was just and defensive, that it was not a civil war, that Croatia was being attacked by Serbia. He clearly defended the Croatian soldiers and generals who were accused, and this message from him has remained for us in history:
"The entire deliberately harmful act and thought, which Carla Del Ponte managed to act against Croatia, is the worst of all and still plays a role today. We have to be honest here, we have to tell the truth! If I'm going to tell you honestly, my role was to act against that slander, because one of the most important weapons in such political confrontations was propaganda. Others didn't do that, I mean other Croats unfortunately, and I believe that's where we, as Croats, have to do something and stand up for Croatia. First of all, especially defend the truth about Croatia!"
(Otto von Habsburg, 2008)
As he is noble in his modesty, years later he did not rise to the pedestal of public merit, because he was still considered one of those who only served and didn't want to take credit for it. While others in the most sinful nature of their pride exalted themselves and attributed their merits, and often those of Crown Prince Otto. When confronted that someone took credit or recognition for his work, he waved his hand at it, because for him the merit that Croatia is an independent and recognised country is itself is good enough. That was Otto's glory and prize, that his Croatian homeland be finally free and recognised. In the end Franjo Tuđman recognised his value and in 1995 decorated him with the Grand Order of King Dmitar Zvonimir with Sash and Morning Star. Crown Prince Otto was never a member of the ruling political parties in Croatia, yet he considered himself a servant of his people and country. And that happens to be a rare quality in our people that has no fertile ground in contemporary Croatian politics at the turn of the century.
Many thanks to the silent giant of our history
HRH Crown Prince Oton (Otto) Habsburg-Lothringen
Written by Ante Brešić pl. Mikulić for CRC
Croatian Royal Council
2023
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