By: Duško Grbović, museum advisor
On May 24, 2025, the presentation of the exhibition “General Dušan Dodić – Hero of the Great War” and the promotion of the book “Dušan Dodić, War Diary 1918–1919”, Jagodina-Trstenik 2018, were held in the Ceremonial Hall of the Temple of Saint Sava in Paris. The exhibition and book were realized in 2018 as part of the project “A Century of the Great War 1918–2018”, and were jointly realised by the Regional Museum of Jagodina and the Museum-People’s University of Trstenik. Financial support for the realization was provided by the then Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia and the People’s University of Trstenik. The visit to Paris was the twenty-second presentation of the exhibition and book, and after Timisoara 2023, the second abroad, and was organized at the invitation of the association “Art et la vie” from Paris, represented by the poet Danica Dodić, a native of the village of Milutovac, where Dušan Dodić is also from. The exhibition display consisted of twelve selected panels.
First, the head of the Temple, Archpriest Nikola Škrbić addressed the audience. Then, Vesna Filipović Nikolić, Minister Counselor, Deputy Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to France, spoke. She showed special interest in the exhibition and expressed a desire for cooperation. The exhibition, the book and the character of General Dušan Dodić were discussed by the exhibition authors and the editors of the war diary, Duško Grbović, historian, museum advisor (Regional Museum of Jagodina) and Jelena Vukčević, Phd, historian, curator (Trstenik Museum-People’s University). The accompanying program included performances by: Aleksandar Rašković, students of the Supplementary School at the Ministry of Education, who were cared for by teacher Milija Jevremović, students of the “Sveti Sava” school and Katica Pavličević, a teacher at the aforementioned school and the moderator was Danica Dodić. The audience expressed particular interest in both the exhibition and the book.
The following day, May 25, 2025, the event participants visited military plot in the Cimetière Parisien de Thiais contains the graves of 743 Serbian soldiers who perished during the First World War and on that occasion, a tribute was paid to the buried soldiers.
The significance of this visit to Paris is multifaceted. First of all, it is a city of famous museums and the headquarters of the International Council of Museums, and also a place where memories of members of the Serbian Army, participants in the Great War, are preserved.
