Miliatry Archives Building History
Location of the Military Archives often changed due to insufficient accommodation space, always with the explanation that this was a temporary solution. Available data state that, before the Second World War, archival material was situated in the building of the Faculty of Law. After the Second World War, upon the return from Vienna, the material was first situated in the same building, and after that, in September 1946, it was relocated to Topcider, in one inappropriate building. This ruined building did not provide even minimum conditions for protection, so part of valuable documents was destroyed. During 1946, military archives were relocated three more times to certain Belgrade locations. During 1947, Military History Institute moved to a building of pre-war Quartermaster Academy in Karaburma, and in the end of the same year, all archival material was sent from the Topcider storage to the facilities that were more appropriate for accommodation of archival material. In that time, Archives of the Military History Institute had at its disposal several wagons of disorganized archival material.
In the spring of 1999, NATO aggression toward the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia did not leave out the Military Archives. At that time, NATO aviation struck the facility of the Military Archives in the building of the Ministry of Defense – depots for archival material, library, laboratory for microfilming of archival material and laboratory for chemical maintenance of documents. With extreme effort of employees, archival material was relocated and protected. Almost all technical equipment for microfilming, as well as the laboratory for conserving archival material, was destroyed in this air strike.
In the middle of 2001, Military Archives moved its archival material from several inappropriate locations in Belgrade to the building of the Military Grammar School and to the building of the Federal Ministry of Defense. Thus, conditions were created for the archive to open its funds of archival material to scientific workers from the country and the world, as well as to other users.
In September 2006, Military Archives were moved to the Zarkovo barracks, into an inappropriate space, a facility that could not meet the prescribed standards for safe accommodation of archival material.