Smjena kotarske vlasti u “prevratu” 1918. – slučaj Gračanice
The dismissal of the district administration in the “upheaval” of 1918 – the Gračanica case

Summary/Abstract: Using archival sources, the author attempted to explain the establishment and the functioning of the district administration on the case of Gračanica, dealing with the short period spanning from the foundation to the disappearance of the state of the Slovenians, Croats and Serbs (October – December 1918), in which Bosnia and Herzegovina was at least formally granted the status of a federal unit with its “own” National Council, which was authorized to rule by the last Austro-Hungarian deputy on the 1th of November 1918. This was a time of instability, inter-ethnic tensions and conflicts. There was an attempt by the administration to calm the situation through the National Council which was active on the ground. It is clear from the case of Gračanica that the sources of the instability and tensions could often be found in the activities of the committees themselves. Such was the case of the Gračanica committee where the Serbs had a dominating presence. Their goal was a swift takeover of the district administration and the positioning of their own people to administrative positions, even though they had no real majority in Gračanica. This was a major cause for the uneasiness of the local Muslims and led to a further escalation of the inter-ethnic tensions. The dramatic dismissal of the district deputy Abdulselam-beg Hrasnica, his disgraceful eviction from Gračanica, the general obstructions of the district deputy who came from the Muslim population, an inter-ethnic confrontations on the railway station; all these are points in the specific historical narrative which could almost pass as a novella to the reader.

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