FOREIGN STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BELGRADE AND THEIR INTEREST IN THE HISTORY OF SOUTH SLAVS (1923–1941)

The paper examines the schooling of foreign students, holders of the scholarships awarded by the Ministry of Education of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes/Yugoslavia, at the University of Belgrade between the two World Wars. The first competitions were opened mid 1920s, with those countries which aided the schooling of Yugoslav students at their respective universities being eligible to apply. During the 1930s student exchange continued, in an apparently more extensive and organized manner, only to be extended at the end of the period under review to include countries with which the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, in accordance with the change of foreign policy orientation, established close political and economic relations. Thus, in the beginning, students from France, Great Britain, Czechoslovakia and Poland came to study in Belgrade, whereas, during the years before World War II, students also came from Turkey, Germany and Italy. Scholarship holders most often worked on developing their knowledge of Serbo-Croatian-Slovenian, studied literature and Yugoslav culture in general. Many of them chose to study history, whether as part of their undergraduate or specialist studies. They are the particular focus of this study. The paper is based on unpublished archival sources, periodicals and relevant historiographic literature.