ARHIVSKI VJESNIK 42. (ZAGREB, 1999.)

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M. Kchrig, The position of military archives in the frame of archival service Independence or integration?, Arh. vjesn., god. 42 (1999), str. 113-128 mory of the armed forces", must remain identity-affirming institutions for the military, who must be aware that their history, both good and bad, is to be found in the military archives and that they are obliged to make use of this resource in the context of historical-political education, and to ensure that it is preserved and developed for the benefit of future generations. To conclude, let me sum up by saying that military archives are, by their nature, always a part of the national memory and as such crucial to the identity of states and their armed forces. Military archives are above all supporting institutions of the military state administration and only in second place centres for research and for the citizen. The character of the military archives as part of the national memory is manifested best in the state archival legislation. This firm 'legislative brace' must also be one which is tolerant of the need for autonomous military archives to be included in the responsibility for the creation and care of the national memory, and on the other hand to allow the integrated military archives their special relationship to the military administration in its widest sense, in order that their identity-affirming function for the military and its constitutional self-understanding is brought to flower. 128