Hi Mira,

Type that letter in original language, Serbian/Croatian or English if it is, and we will see than. It's hard to tell something by your post.

Bogdan

Hi, Bodgan. The letter was in English. I believe that this Zlatica had someone translate it for her. The printing of the letter looks different than the signature at the bottom. I'm at work now and the letter is at home. I'll type it out when I get there tonight.

Thanks!

Hello, Bogdan. Here is the letter, word for word. It is interesting to me that my father didn't know about this letter, for he would have jumped at the chance to visit a relative of his father's.

Dearest Aunt and all the others, -
I expect that this my first letter will surprise you. That after ever so many years I have heard of you at last. As sooon as he arrived from America, Uncle Rado came to see us, and has been ever so glad to have seen you all. I am very much pleased that you have found so good a husband, who has been so kind to Olgica and Lazar. Uncle Milorad had no thought of the future of his children, nor his own, but only cared for cards and drink. Dearest Auntie, you have surely known Franjo Zoric of Erdut, who has been in America at the same time as you. I do not know what sort of agreement Uncle Milorad and Franjo Zoric had come to. I only know by the documents we possess that Uncle Milorad sold Zoric his part for 50 (fifty) dollars, and gave him a letter of attorney to bring an action against my mother. As you see by this, that it is no wonder he did not think of his children if he could behave like this to his only sister. My mother has had no notion of all this, till our court of justice sold Uncle Milorad”™s part by acution, when she bought it for 10.000 (ten thousand) dinars, - at that time a very considerable sum. (By the way, this Franjo Zoric was a very bad man, whom the people of Erdut killed after the Second Great War of 1939-1945.) But as has been uncle Milorad”™s conduct, such has been his fate as well.
Auntie dear, I have already written to you once before, when Uncle Rado arrived at Stapar, but my letter came back, because the address was wrong.
My father has been very ill, had to undergo an operation, and died at Osijek in 1950. He is also buried there, while my mother and I have moved to Erdut, where we are living ever since. Now I am very anxious about my poor dear mother, who is seventy years old, for she is very ill, with a weak stomach and asthma of the heart. It would be ever so dreadful for me if she went from me, for I should be all alone with nobody to talk to, since you all, who are nearest and dearest to me, are so far away.
Auntie dear, what do hear from Olgica? Uncle Rado told us her husband has been severely ill, but we hope he has recovered his health completely since then. Do be such a dear, Auntie darling, as to send us a photo of Olgica and her family as well as her address, so I may get in touch with her, too. Let us know so well, whether Lazar is at Detroit, or living elsewhere, and send us a photo of him and his family, too. Do excuse me, Auntie dear, for not having sent you, Oglica and Lazar some gift that would have pleased you, but Uncle Rado neglected to send us word when he was going back to America - he only came to see us after his arrival at Stapar. If he had but let us know in time, I might have sent you all something. Auntie dear, I should like to know how old Oglica and Lazar are - I have been 43 years on November 22nd.
Auntie dear, ever so many Americans aer coming to Yugoslavia as tourists - maybe Olgica and Lazar might like to see the country their mother hails from, too? It would be delightful to have them over here some time. Your dollars play a most important part in our country. You can buy whatever you wish for dollars, even complete villas by the Adriatic Sea can be bought by Americans or other foreigners of late. For us Yugoslavs things are most expensive, but with dollars or German marks prices seem trifling.
Now I must stop, Auntie dearest, for there is no more room on this sheet. Many kind regards to our friend Jefto from us both, with ever so many kindest regards to yourself, Lazar, and Olgica, wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Your loving niece, Zlatica.

Hi Mira,

Well, I think that Franjo Zoric was killed because of his role in WWII, it doesn't sound to me that "people" could killed him as it is some tribal thing of revenge. Or it is "people's government/rule" or "people's court" what ended the life of Franjo, which are the terms communists had used to legitimize their regime after 1944. But you never know, of course. Check if Milorad was in some way involved during the war. Legal documents are for sure available, you should check with archives in Osijek, Croatia. Maybe there are still living persons who remembered that time too.

"But as has been uncle Milorad”™s conduct, such has been his fate as well." We are talking about some 50-60 years in the past, that's not so far away. Look for documents about Milorad, not Franjo, because this was Zlatica's bitter talk about her uncle, so it could be misleading. It would be better to have original letter, because it is so interesting, her comments about the situation in Yugoslavia, prices etc.

Hope this will help you.

All the best,
Bogdan

Hi, Bogdan. Thanks so much for your response. I agree, this Zlatica seems very angry. From the letter, it's not clear to me whether Milorad returned to the old country. If this Zoric was in the US at the same time as Milorad, and Milorad sold him his "part" in dollars rather than dinars, he may have stayed. My father said that once when he was in grade school in Indiana a man came to school and sat with him on the curb and asked questions about him, his sister and his mother. Dad had never seen this man before and never saw him afterwards. He had wondered if this man had been his father, or someone his father knew. This would have been in the 1930s.

Also, my mother's stepfather in Pennsylvania worked in the coal mines. He told my father that he worked with a Mike Mihajlovich in the mines who looked as if he had been kicked in the forehead by a horse once - with a horseshoe shaped indentation. This man, Walter Neal, started asking around about Mike and the next thing Walter knew, Mike was no longer with the mine. We had wondered whether this person was his father as well. This conversation was probably in the late 1950s.

I will try to contact the correct government people in Osijek to see if they retain some records. I've written the government in Erdut, asking about birth, death, and marriage records, but have not heard from them.

Thanks again!

Usually there is problem when you write to archives in Balkans in other language then official or native. So if you need translation from English and don't have the right person for that, be free to post your letter in English here and I will translate it.

Bogdan

Thanks for the offer, Bogdan. I had gone to a Croatian genealogy website and read at the bottom that it's not a problem to write in English. But it was also stated to add $5 or $10 for the search. So I sent a letter in English with $10 yesterday. If nothing happens, I'm only out $10. Merry Christmas to whomever got it.

I had tried the e-mail back on December 5th in my pigeon Serbo-Croatian, apologizing for not knowing the language and explaining that I was using a dictionary, my memory, and www.serbianschool.com. I still have not received a response to my e-mail.

If I don't hear anything in the first few weeks of the new year from either source, I'll definitely contact you. Thank you SO much!!

Warm regards,
Mira

Yeah, I know what you are talking about. It's general problem with people in Balkans. Ten dollars isn't much, but it would be shame just to throw away money.

If you need translation in month or two post it here and please send PM to me as a reminder (but I hope you will not need it, not because it's hard for me to translate - it would be nice change that someone so far away got answers through Internet directly from the source).

Best regards,
Bogdan

P.S. Next time when you address to archives in Croatia, mark that you used croatianschool dot com, maybe you'll have more luck.

OMG, Bogdan, I didn't even think of that - www.serbianschool. LOL Is there a croatianschool.com??? I will need to look that up. Imam pamet na glavu.