A celebration of Dimitrije’s life was held in Santa Barbara on Saturday, May 16.
We record with sadness the death of our colleague, Professor Emeritus Dimitrije Djordjevic. Dimitrije was born in Belgrade in 1922, and died on March 5, 2009 at age 87. He is survived by his wife Nan, his daughter Jelena Markovic, two grandchildren and one great granddaughter, and three stepchildren. There was a ceremony in Dimitrije’s honor in Belgrade on March 12. There will be a celebration of Dimitrije’s life here in Santa Barbara, in late April or early May.
Update 5/18/09: The photo was taken at the celebration of Dimitrije’s life that took place at Elings Park on Saturday, May 16, from noon to 2pm, in the Singleton Pavilion. It shows Dimitrije’s grandson Vlad next to a portrait of his grandfather. Dimitrije’s wife Nan welcomed family, friends and colleagues to a celebration of his rich and diverse life as patriot, resister, scholar, friend and father. His passion for history and politics, as well as his optimism and profound compassion, are remembered by all who knew him.
Dimitrije’s education was interrupted by the Second World War; he joined the national resistance after the German invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941, and was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Mauthausen in 1942. Having survived a German concentration camp, he was sent to prison for anti-Communist resistance after his return to Yugoslavia. After his release he was able to continue his education; he completed his doctoral degree at the University of Belgrade in 1962, and worked in the Historical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences. Dimitrije joined UCSB’s Department of History in 1970, and attracted many students to UCSB for graduate study of Balkan and Eastern European history. He retired in 1991. His own remarkable story of growing up in Yugoslavia and surviving the Second World War is told in his memoir, Scars and Memory: Four Lives in One Lifetime (1997; amazon page).
Colleagues, students and friends wishing to donate memorial tributes are asked to donate to Alzheimer’s Disease research or to a charity of their choice.
April 2, 2009 obituary in the Santa Barbara Independent
There is a moving obituary of Djordjevic in the Winter 2010 issue of Slavic Review (vol. 69, No. 4), by Bernd J. Fischer.
See also this 2004 UCSB Press release: “Serb Expat Group Honors UCSB Historian Dimitrije Djordjevic.”
hm 3/11/09, 3/12, 4/3/09, 5/11/09, 5/18/09, 11/29/10