William Klinger: Historija tragedije, tragedija historije

U petak 30. siječnja u dva sata poslijepodne po njujorškom vremenu, razmijenio sam s Williamom Klingerom posljednji mejl. Dvadeset i četiri sata kasnije moj prijatelj je bio mrtav.

Svakog tjedna izmjenjivali smo na desetke mejlova, to je išlo u rafalima. Tako smo radili na rukopisu naše druge zajedničke knjige o Titu, ”Tito’s Clandestine Empire”, koja je trebala konačno demonstrirati fenomenalan dijapazon i prodornost njegova znanstvenog uma.

William je imao sve osobine velikog povjesničara – poznavao sam osobno našu najveću povjesničarku Nadu Klaić i znam točno što govorim. Njegov je uvid bio cjelovit, događaje je sagledavao živo, imao je dara za detektivski rad u arhivima, bio je u neprekidnoj komunikaciji s ljudima sa sto strana koji su mu kao stručnjaci i znalci mogli pomoći da prodre u materiju. Ukratko, bio je strastven oko onoga što ga zaokuplja, a takve posvećene strasti za svoj predmet malo je na bilo kojem znanstvenom području.

Društvene znanosti danas uglavnom pružaju sigurno činovničko zaposlenje, a akademija je u velikoj mjeri postala pribježište mediokriteta. Znam to i zato jer sam o tome i s Williamom često razgovarao. Istraživanja su atomizirana, a u prave sinteze se upuštaju samo iznimno nadareni, literarno daroviti ljudi koji pišu historiografske bestselere izvan učenjačkog mejnstrima.

Klinger je – uz moju pomoć, a nekako smo se dobro nadopunjavali, sjajno razumjeli i odlično surađivali – odlučio napraviti veliku sintezu najteže oblasti moderne povijesti – nakanio je rekonstruirati istinsku storiju i razotkriti stvarnu karijeru suvremenog potpuno krivo shvaćenog, de facto nepoznatog junaka ovih prostora, Josipa Broza Tita.

Ono sve što znaš o meni, to je samo stara priča – pjeva Arsen Dedić kao da zapravo pjeva o Titu, jer je ono što se o Titu zna ”legenda”, krinka kominternovskog obavještajca. Njegova je biografija – bio je William u tome odlučan, baš kao i ja – namjerno zatajena i zamagljena biografija čovjeka koji je bio vodeći svjetski staljinist, a zatim razbio svjetski komunistički monolit i presudno djelovao u oblikovanju modernog svijeta – ne samo u Europi, ne samo na Mediteranu…

Stvarna priroda tog djelovanja ostala je nerastumačena, a tu golemu tajnu William je odlučio napasti svom snagom svog neustrašivog talenta povezanog sa silnom upornošću i akribijom. Glavninu je teme dospio obraditi; oblikovali smo temeljni rukopis knjige kroz skoro tri godine, izdavši prvo neke do sad nepoznate izvore (”Tito: Neispričane priče”, 2012.).

Prije nego što je otišao u Ameriku, uspio sam Willija ‘natjerati’ da mi preda zadnja poglavlja – ono o grčkom građanskom ratu 1944-1949 i sintezu njegove knjige o Ozni, koja također ima mjesto u ovoj priči.

Na knjizi smo radili hektično, koliko god su nam dopuštale moje raznovrsne profesionalne obaveze, njegove još raznovrsnije… Iako su nam putanje nepodudarne, proveli smo ipak dosta vremena zajedno, nadasve u Beogradu, gdje je istraživanje bilo centrirano u Arhivu Jugoslavije. Tako smo postali bliski a da zapravo nikad nismo puno razgovarali o privatnim stvarima: bili smo previše zaokupljeni onim što radimo. Osim toga, on je bio tako lagan za druženje, nenametljiv, zaokupljen do kraja svojim vlastitim interesima i itinererima – svakome je davao samo onoliko koliko je tko tražio, nikad se nije nametao ili nekoga opterećivao…

Nevjerojatno je koliko je prijatelja tako stekao u mom krugu u Zagrebu, Banja Luci, Beogradu i Mariboru, kamo nas je vodio taj zajednički angažman. Ljudi koja bi ga ovlaš upoznali za nj su se neobično brzo vezali, fascinirani njegovom žovijalnom prirodom uvijek alertnog i živahnog momka, veselog i slobodnog poput ptice koje je toliko obožavao kao fanatični birdwatcher, sljedbenik Brehma i Audobona.

Ima sad samo jedna stvar koja mi preostaje, a to je da nekako dovršim to djelo, sam i uz pomoć drugih ljudi koji tu mogu nešto pridonijeti, jer ono što mu dugujemo jest da izađe na svjetlo dana taj njegov majstorski rad koji je trebao biti prva stepenica jedne, siguran sam, blistave učenjačke karijere što bi ga odvela na same vrhove znanstvene discipline kojoj se bio s takvom strašću posvetio… U tom djelu sačuvan je njegov genijalni um – prosto vidiš kako se okreću kotačići veličanstvenog turbillona, koji je sad, vae, zauvijek stao…

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Ja sam uspio pojmiti jedino Klingerov intelekt. Moja oštroumna šogorica, Amerikanka Peggy – William je kod nje i kod mojeg šogora Mije Mirkovića odsjeo u Ridgewoodu, u New Jerseyu kad je stigao u Ameriku – sjajno je opisala njegovu toplu ljudsku narav. Ovo je pismo uputila Williamovoj ženi Francesci:

Dear Francesca,

We want to let you know that William had some wonderful times during his short stay with us and that he was a delightful guest.

The first thing William did when he arrived at our home was to pull from his suitcase three bottles of beautiful Italian wine. He had been well informed about what would make my husband happy. The second thing he did was to pull out an album of photos of you and the family. This is clearly what made him most happy and proud. We knew we were going to like him right away.

The morning after he arrived he began investigating our local birds. Despite being almost completely different from European birds, he could identify almost all of them. Mijo and I had always had a hard time telling one “little brown bird” from another. Then, out of his suitcase came something else fantastic, the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, which he insisted we keep as a gift. We spent a lot of time with William watching and waiting for the birds to come to our feeders through the windows, binoculars out. We saw two types of woodpeckers, Titmouses, and sparrows, but he was most excited to see what he happily called “Angry Birds” (Red Cardinals) as they reminded him of his boys. He showed us a photo of Tom (I think) wearing an Angry Birds t-shirt. We will always remember them as William Birds. He also enjoyed seeing squirrels and rabbits active in our garden despite the winter snow cover.

That first morning we took William for breakfast to an American style diner, something you don’t find in Europe. We all had café lattes with elaborate bird patterns teased into the coffee foam. He ate a Mexican tortilla and egg dish that he seemed to like. Something completely new for him. For a relatively small man he had a large appetite. We walked around town taking photos and looking at the architecture. We stopped at an overlook above Ridgewood with a dramatic view of New York City in the distance.

William was very curious about the wildlife in our area, so our next stop was the James A. McFaul Wildlife Preserve in nearby town of Wycoff. We saw a lovely herd of dear up close relaxing after what I am sure was a night of raiding nearby suburban gardens. We also saw owls, foxes, and eagles, but sadly no turkeys. He was disappointed by the lack of turkeys.

On our way home from the wildlife preserve, we had a serendipitous and quirky find. We were driving past an 18thcentury national landmark property called the Hermitage in HoHoKus, and saw a sign advertising a “Civil War Encampment.” There is a tradition here by history buffs to reenact historical eras, the favorite always being the American Civil War (1861-1865). Enthusiasts dress up in period costumes, set up camps using period equipment, and display their collections of odds and ends from the old times. This is a hobby that appeals to an excentric but devoted bunch of mostly men who love history and want to keep it alive. We couldn’t have found a better show for your William than this slice of Americana. We enjoyed the descriptions of the life and times and had a tour of the house built in 1763 and remodeled in the 1800s.

That Sunday night we when out to our favorite Thai restaurant in Ridgewood. We all ate massive amounts of food from all over the menu and washed it down with some of the wine William brought. We have a great photo of him trying on Mijo’s Ausi hat. We argued about whether he looked more like Brad Pitt or Mat Damon. Will send the photo, and you can decide.

Monday morning William was so eager to go into New York City that he joined Mijo on his way to work at 5:30 am. Despite it being very cold and early, he wandered far and wide. He stopped and had a lunch and beer at the Pig and Whistle Pub and watched the New York crowd. He was impressed by how huge everything is in New York. He browsed a famous used-book store called the Strand where he found a copy of The Imperial Collection of Audubon Animals written by the artist and naturalist John James Audubon in 1848 and republished by John Bachman in 1967. Knowing that we shared a love and interest in all animal life, he brought this book home for us as a gift. It is a lovely book with drawings and descriptions of all of North American’s mammals by Audubon.

William returned that afternoon to Ridgewood with Mijo as our “storm of the century” was beginning to swirl. We had been warned to prepare for the worst and so prepared our generator, got batteries out, stocked up on food and hunkered down inside. All transportation was cancelled for Tuesday and a travel ban was issued statewide. We awoke on Tuesday to a storm but not to Armageddon, thank goodness. We had a quiet day of clearing snow and William did some writing in his room.

That Tuesday night we invited some local friends for a snow bound evening. I hope William enjoyed meeting them and sharing the evening with them over some pasta, sausages and again more wine. He was well liked by our friends who enjoyed him and were very happy to have met him. I want you to know that that evening his album of family photos was pulled out again and passed around proudly and with love. You were always in his thoughts.

Between these events were many conversations about history, nature, and life. He was intelligent, an encyclopedia of knowledge, and a very kind, gentle, and gracious person.

We were very happy to have had a chance to meet William and hope that we helped to bring joy, comfort and home to him while he was with us. We hope someday to be able to do the same for you should you or your boys ever wish to visit. Our heartfelt condolences to you, Max and Tom. He loved you all very much.

Sincerely,

Peggy Vandervoort and Mijo Mirkovic