You could play one of main roles in Europe, but your flaws prevent you: How Reiss spoke about Serbs

Rudolf Archibald Reiss / Photo: Wikimedia/Unknown author

Rudolf Archibald Reiss, a Swiss doctor and forensic scientist, a great admirer and critic of the Serb people, was born in the German town of Hausach on this day in 1875.

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At the invitation of the Serbian government, Doctor Reiss first came to Serbia in 1914 as a neutral observer whose task was to investigate war crimes committed (by the Austrians) against the Serbian population at the beginning of the First World War. He published his findings in many newspapers across Europe.

During his stay on the front lines with the Serbian Kingdom's Army and in Belgrade, he gained a detailed insight into the mentality of people in the Balkans.

Since he fell in love with Serbians, he settled permanently in Belgrade, in Villa Dobro Polje, 73 Vojvode Misica Boulevard. He died in the capital on August 8, 1929. Reiss was buried with top state and church honors at the Topcider cemetery, where he still rests today.

He appeal, "Listen, Serbs!" was finished a year before his death, presenting an analysis of the state of Serbian society. He left the text, which he wrote in French, as a posthumous legacy. The Serbian version was printed only at the beginning of this century.

Doctor Reiss wrote about the hospitality, compassion and pride of the Serb people...

"Your people are hospitable. One cannot come to the villages without encountering a generous welcome. Folk celebrations still preserve the once beautiful custom of hospitality. The first piece of the Christmas bread is always saved for a passer-by.

Your people are democratic, and truly democratic, and not in the way of politicians. Among your people, a man is valued for how much of a man he is, and not by what suits and titles made him. Money, of course, as everywhere, gives him respect and leaves an impression, but that impression is not so much as to make him give up his own dignity...

The monument to Archibald Reiss in Topcider Park / PHoto: Shutterstock

Your people know compassion and sometimes it is those moments when a person does not hope to find that beautiful human trait. How many times during the war did I witness people bring captured enemy soldiers exhausted from hunger and, instead of abusing these people, who burned their homes and massacred women and children, your soldiers would take pity on them and give them their last piece of bread.

Your people are proud, but not arrogant. That pride is not a flaw, but a virtue. It is necessary for every really good person because it prevents them from succumbing to evil influences or temptations. That pride is simply respect for one's own personality. Bad people don't have it. They are just arrogant.

Lastly, you are a bright people, one of the brightest I have ever seen in my life. You understand quickly and correctly. With your intelligence and natural resources of the land, you should play one of the main roles in Europe. Your shortcomings, especially the shortcomings of those you call your "intelligence class," prevent you from achieving that," concluded Doctor Archibald Reiss.

Do you agree with his statements? Are they still valid today? Tell us in the comments.

(D.V./Telegraf.rs)