Hounded by Communists, Honoured in Spain: The Croatian Journalist Who Defended the Truth

Persecuted for his beliefs and forced to live far from his homeland, Luka Brajnović built an exceptional career as a journalist, writer and academic. In Spain, he became a leading authority on journalistic ethics, championing a principle that defined his life’s work: if information is not true, it is not information. When he died in Pamplona on February 8, 2001, he was remembered in Spain as a major cultural and spiritual figure.

Born into a Croatian family in the Bay of Kotor region, Brajnović left a lasting mark on Spanish academia while remaining deeply committed to his Croatian roots. His life was shaped by faith, political persecution, exile and a lifelong determination to preserve Croatian cultural identity.

Targeted by fascists and communists for his convictions

During the Second World War, Brajnović edited the Catholic publications *Luč* and *Hrvatska straža*. His Christian beliefs and outspoken views brought him into conflict with the political authorities of the time.

In December 1942, young members of the Ustaše movement broke into the editorial offices of *Luč*, a Catholic student magazine, and forced it to cease publication.

The magazine’s final issue carried a question posed by Brajnović that reflected his commitment to moral responsibility and Christian principles:

“Will we answer our calling as Christians, or will we once again darken Christianity in the eyes of the world?”

Even in the most difficult circumstances, he insisted that personal convictions must be matched by moral courage and accountability.

Exile in Spain, without forgetting Croatia

After the war, Brajnović spent time in Allied refugee camps before arriving in Spain in 1947. Persecuted by the communist authorities, he was forced to build a new life far from his homeland.

Exile, however, marked the beginning of one of the most productive periods of his academic and literary career.

For more than three decades, he taught generations of students at the University of Navarra, establishing himself as an influential figure in information science and journalistic ethics. His textbooks became important works in information theory, while his belief that information must be truthful became a defining principle of his approach to journalism and its responsibility to the public.

Preserving Croatian heritage abroad

Alongside his academic work, Brajnović was a poet, novelist and Catholic thinker.

Together with Dominican friar Hijacint Eterović, he launched the magazine *Osoba i duh* (*Person and Spirit*) and the publishing house *Osvit*, helping preserve Croatian cultural and spiritual heritage among communities living in exile.

He was particularly concerned with the responsibility one generation owes to the next. During the war years, he wrote:

“Will future generations, our children and grandchildren, blush at the memory of their predecessors?”

The question reflected his enduring concern with moral integrity, personal responsibility and the legacy people leave behind.

His daughter Elica: “His passion was the truth”

Behind Brajnović’s successful academic career lay a deeply personal story of separation and hardship.

His wife and daughter, Elica, were not able to join him abroad until 1956, after years of uncertainty and living apart.

Reflecting on her father’s life and convictions, Elica recalled his unwavering devotion to truth.

“His passion for truth was rooted in the real Truth, written with a capital T: without it, there is only falsehood,” she said.

A Croatian legacy that outlived exile

Luka Brajnović died in Pamplona on February 8, 2001. In Spain, he was remembered as a distinguished cultural and spiritual figure whose work had influenced generations of journalists and academics.

Although he spent most of his professional life outside Croatia, his legacy remained closely tied to Croatian identity, Christian values and the responsibility to defend the truth.

His life stands as a testament to a man who lost his homeland as a place to live, but never abandoned the principles he had carried with him from home.