Rapalski ugovor 12. novembra 1920.: zbirka dokumenata

The Treaty of Rapallo, November 12, 1920: A Collection of Documents is an important publication selected and edited by Vojislav M. Jovanović. The booklet contains 65 original documents related to the signing of the Treaty of Rapallo.

The Treaty of Rapallo was concluded on November 12, 1920 in Rapallo (near Genoa) between the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and the Kingdom of Italy. It resolved the so-called Adriatic question after World War I and the Paris Peace Conference. Italy received Trieste, Gorica, Gradiška, Istria (mostly), Zadar, the islands of Cres, Lošinj, Lastovo and Palagruža, while the Free State of Rijeka was created. The treaty was the result of pressure from Italy and was unfavorable for the Yugoslav side, which had to accept the Italian demands under the threat of unilaterally imposing borders under the Treaty of London of 1915.

The collection provides a chronological and thematic overview: diplomatic correspondence, preparations for negotiations, the text of the treaty itself, the anti-Habsburg Convention and accompanying agreements. The documents are mostly diplomatic notes, reports, proposals and official texts, which provides insight into the course of negotiations from the occupation of Rijeka (d’Annunzio) to the final signing. The main Yugoslav negotiators were Milenko Vesnić, Ante Trumbić and Kosta Stojanović, and the Italian ones were Giovanni Giolitti, Carlo Sforza and Ivanoe Bonomi.

The edition was created in the spirit of Yugoslav historiography after World War II, with the aim of documenting territorial losses and Italian expansionist aspirations on the eastern coast of the Adriatic. It is useful as a source material for researchers of interwar diplomacy, Yugoslav-Italian relations and the Croatian-Slovenian border issue. Today it is considered a classical collection for the study of the Treaty of Rapallo and is often cited in scholarly works.

The editing style is scientifically objective for the time, with minimal commentary, focused on authentic documents. The book represents an important contribution to the archival availability of material on one of the most controversial peace treaties after 1918.