Војни архив

The first regulation that established the military history research institution was the “General Staff Organization” from 1876. The third department of the General Staff was given the task of “collecting data about the history of war, writing them up, arranging them and preserving them”, as well as to “manage the library and entire General Staff archive”. This History department within the General Staff was the predecessor of the current Military Archive. The King’s regency regulation of March 6, 1940, transformed the History department into the Military History Institute. According to that regulation, the Institute was part of the General Staff and directly subordinate to it. History and War Experiment (Testing) Departments were established by the order of the Yugoslav People’s Liberation Army and the Partisans’ Supreme Commander on March 1, 1945, within the Yugoslav Army (YA) General Staff. Within the General Staff, there was also an Archival Department. In January 1946, the War Experiments Department was transformed into a separate unit, while the History Department was renamed the History Institute of the YA, and after April 1947, the Military Scientific and Publishing Institute. From Spring 1949 to Fall 2006, it was the Military History Institute, with the Military Archive as its part. From 1949 to 2006 there was the Vojnoistorijski institut (Military-historical Institute). Part of this Institute was Arhiv Vojnoistorijskog instituta, abbr. AVII (Archives of Military-historical Institute), a relevant institution for Holocaust. Since 2006 there are two independent institutions: Institut za strateška istraživanja, abbr. ISI (Institute for Strategic Research) and the Vojni arhiv, abbr,VA (Military Archives) which is relevant for the Holocaust. All the relevant archival collections are related to the Vojni arhiv and not to Arhiv Vojnoistorijskog instituta (Military-historical Institute). So, since 2006 Vojni arhiv became an indipendent institution. Some of the documents, like the microfilm and conservation laboratory suffered severe damage during the 1999 bombing. However, most of the archives were transported and protected on time.  

The Military Archive offers the possibility to photocopy materials and the price list is available in the reading room of the Military Archive. The use of a personal camera is allowed too. 

The Military Archive collects, processes, conserves, makes public and publishes documents that appeared in the Serbian and Yugoslav Army from 1847 until today. Funds and collections of the Archive include over 722 meters of archive materials, with more than 36 million pages. Documents preserved in the Archive are testimony to the efforts of the Serbian people to create and maintain a national state and all the victims who suffered in that battle. Archive funds after 1941 to May 15, 1945 are: - Popular Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, 1941-1945; - Draza Mihailovic’s Chetniks Movement, 1941-1945; - Milan Nedic’s Serbian Government, 1941-1944; - The Kingdom of Yugoslavia’s Government in Emigration, 1941-1945; - German occupying army, 1941-1945; - Italian occupying army, 1941-1943; - Independent State of Croatia, 1941-1945. The previous name of all these funds is Arhiv Neprijateljske jedinice (archives of enemy military units). 

The archival materials in the Military Archives can be used for scientific and research work, publishing services and other needs of legal and physical entities and for identifying rights of physical and legal entities from the country and abroad, after the date of 50 years since their creation has passed, if that is not contrary to the interests of the Ministry of Defense, the Serbian Armed Forces and Law on Personal Data Protection (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia“, No. 97/08, 104/09, 58/10). Certain documents can be available to the public earlier, only upon the approval of the commander of HQ, unit and institution (or legal successor) whose work included the creation of the archival materials. The archival materials of great importance for the security and defense of the country can be closed for a longer period by the decision of the Minister of Defense or his delegate. Legal and physical entities can submit their requests and applications that can be solved with necessary documents from the archival materials closed for researchers (documents created 50 years ago) and handed to be kept in the Military Archives, to Commands, units and institutions of the Ministry of Defense and the Serbian Armed Forces and respective Regional Centers of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Serbia (documents creators, or legal successors). Procedures for the use of the archival material Citizens of the Republic of Serbia The user of the archival material must be reported and registered in the user register book. Registration is conducted in the library of the Archives where a standard form is filled – application stating research topics. If the user does not research for his own purposes, he/she should submit an authorization with the application – a recommendation of the institution or other organization, which requested research from the user. The received application is reviewed and the Archives determine whether they have the archival materials that the user wants to use, and then the Director of the Archives approves the research of the archival materials. The approval for the use of the archival materials is valid until the user works on the topic for which he/she requested the approval, and not later than a year. After that deadline, he/she can submit an application again. The user submits a new application and if he changes a research topic before the expiry of one year. The previous approval is not valid at the moment when a new application is submitted. If the user wants to use documents from the other archival funds that are not directly related to the submitted application, he/she should submit a new application and asks for the approval. First, the available scientific and information resources are shown to the users. Only the arranged and registered archival materials with their scientific and information resources are issued to the users. Exceptionally, in reasonable cases, the users can be permitted to use the archival materials and the archival funds which do not have the prescribed scientific and information resources, and by the approval of the Director of the Archives. Original archival materials published in the editions and collections, as well as copied, microfilmed and digitized materials will not be issued to the users. The archival material is only used in the Archives library and premises upon the approval of the Director of the Archives. If the archival materials are currently outside of the depot (for the purpose of binding, arranging, recording and etc), the user must be informed when the materials will be available for the use. Physical and legal entities (users), citizens of the Republic of Serbia have the right to use the archival materials under the same conditions. The use of the archival materials is free of charge, apart from the costs of technical services and the expert service of the Military Archives, which can do the research upon the request of users, if the Military Archives have current capacities to engage their own resources. The cost of technical services and research work is determined by Regulations on the method of using the archival materials and service fees in the Military Archives. Foreign citizens The military Archive is not authorized to have a direct communication with foreign legal and physical entities. Foreign citizens, who would like to use the archival materials of the Military Archive, submit an application to the Diplomatic and Consular Office of the Republic of Serbia in their country or their Diplomatic and Consular Office in the Republic of Serbia. The received application is submitted to the Office of the Minister of Defense for approval. When a foreign researcher visits a scientific institution of the Republic of Serbia and submits an application to that institution or directly to the Military Archives, his application with the opinion will be submitted to the Cabinet of the Minister of Defense. If a foreign researcher does not speak Serbian language, he/she should provide a translator. General rules on the use of archival materials for foreign citizens are the same as for citizens of the Republic of Serbia and described in the part of procedures concerning citizens of the Republic of Serbia.