A proven friend of the Serbs, he left his political testament seven decades ago in his manuscript entitled “Listen, Serbs”, whose messages are still more than topical, even today.

Life and Biography

Rudolphe Archibald Reiss was born on July 8, 1875 as the eighth of ten children, son of Ferdinand Reiss, landowner, and Pauline, in Hechtsberg (today a part of Hausach), in the southern German province of Baden.

After completing his primary and secondary education in Germany, for reasons of poor health he went to Switzerland for his studies, to the Romandie Canton of Vaud.

He received his Ph.D. in chemistry at the early age of 22 and was selected as a photography assistant, and later became a recognized docent for this area at the University of Lausanne. In 1906, he was appointed professor of forensic science. As a professor, he devoted himself to scientific work and gained the reputation as a world renowned criminologist.

In 1909, Dr. Rudolphe Archibald Reiss founded the Insitut de Police Scientifique (Institute of Scientific Police), where students of different nationalities were schooled, including those from Serbia.

Dr. Rudolphe Archibald Reiss, professor at the University of Lausanne, a renowned criminologist, came to Serbia in 1914 at the invitation of the Serbian Government, and was the first to reveal to the world the many crimes and atrocities of the Austro-Hungarians in Mačva and other places. He met a Dutch physician, Arius van Tienhoven, who had previously started an investigation into war crimes against the civilian population. Reiss grew to love the Serbian people so much and was so sympathetic to their sufferings that he never returned to Switzerland.

For his merit, Dr. Reiss was awarded the highest decorations – he was given the rank of honorary first class captain in the Serbian army, and the Association of Reserve Officers and Warriors presented him with an honorary saber with a gold hilt.

Dr. Reiss conducted an investigation of hearings of the Austrian prisoners of war by going to the scene, opening graves, examining corpses and the wounded, entering houses and performing technical investigations, never breaking the given oath to serve truth and justice. The results of this investigation had enormous repercussions in the world, forcing the public to face the atrocities of the army of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.

In addition to all attractions, Reiss was most interested in Serbian peasants and soldiers, their conduct in tragedy and victory. The fascination with the Serbian soldier, his mentality and spirit, led to a permanent bond between Dr. Reiss and Serbia, both with his heart and his future destiny. Together with the Serbian army he retreated across Albania, sharing the hardships of the Serbian people. His commitment to truth is most manifested in his personal engagement in helping Serbian refugees, by finding homes in Switzerland for Serbian orphans, and by sending aid to the occupied Serbian population. After he had arrived to the Macedonian Front, Reiss bonded with the Serbian spirit so much that he became its inseparable part. Later in his life he was awarded the Medal of Courage, which he earned by tirelessly visiting the troops, going to the most dangerous locations where he directed all of his attention to the soldiers.

Despite all the awards and medals, Reiss always maintained that the only reward for all he had done in the toughest days was the gratitude of the Serbian people. Dr. Reiss spent the period from November 18, 1916 until November 1, 1918, when Belgrade was liberated, on the Macedonian Front.

Dr. Reiss was the first to inform the world of the crimes committed by the Austro-Hungarian troops and their officers. Dr. Reiss sent articles to world newspapers about the initial findings of atrocious crimes in Serbia, in all border areas penetrated by Austro-Hungarian soldiers. He also sent photographs which spoke louder than any words could about the cruel crimes against the innocent Serbian population, against weak children, women, and the elderly. But Dr. Reiss was also the first to report of the Serbian army victories on Mount Cer and at the Jadar River.

After the breakthrough on the Macedonian Front on September 15, 1918, Dr. Reiss conducted investigations of the atrocities in the occupied territories in all the places he passed through, directly helping the truth about the crimes come to light. The end of the war did not mean the end of his mission, because he had an obligation to compile an official report from his findings on the crimes for the upcoming international peace talks. He also served for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where he founded a two-year police academy and directly managed it. Since the liberation of Serbia all until his death, he stopped providing his services to the Belgrade police for personal reasons, and he refused the offer to be the chair of a department at the University of Belgrade.

Works

Dr. Rudolphe Archibald Reiss was also the fist honorary president of the Serbian, and later Yugoslav Aero Club “Naša krila” (Our Wings). The Aero Club president was Prince Paul (Kаrаđorđević), and the vice president was Tаdijа Sondermаjer, a war pilot and later director of the first Yugoslav national airline “Aeroput”.

He wrote many outstanding works in his field: "Photographie judiciaire" (Forensic photography) (1903); “Manuel du portrait parlé” (1905), translated into 10 languages; “Manuel de Police scientifique” (Manual of Scientific Police) (1911) in four volumes, of which only the first was completed and published – “Cambriolages et Homicides” (Burglaries and Homicides).

Due to a difference of opinion with the then Government, and Nikola Pašić in particular, and not willing to be engaged in intrigues, Dr. Reiss decided to withdraw from public life but he never lost his popularity with the people. In 1928, he wrote a political testament, an appeal "Listen, Serbs!", documenting the period between 1918 and 1928. Knowing the heart and soul of the Serbian people and the circumstances at the time, our good-willed friend made a justified decision not to publish the text during his lifetime. In his text, Reiss exposed the complete immorality of the politicians and the intelligentsia of the time. His intention was to point out to the people the negative developments in the post-war society he had seen and which, according to him, posed a threat to the future of the country he truly loved.

Dr. Archibald Reiss was truly mystified by the morality and heroic virtue of the Serbian peasants and soldiers, which he had discovered during WWI. He thought these two virtues should be the foundation of the newly liberated Serbia and that it was a country where it was possible to build an ideal society with what was at hand. His conflict with the authorities in Belgrade came after Reiss had become aware of the harsh reality. In his desire to contribute to the development of the Serbian state, he bestowed upon it all the knowledge he had gained. However, he soon came to realize that the Serbian authorities were not looking for experts. The knowledge and righteousness of Dr. Archibald Reiss came to be seen as a nuisance by the dilettantes in power. Unable to confront them with his knowledge and the truth, and unable to use ignorance and lies, disillusioned, he withdrew into solitude. Unlike the so-called intellectuals who obtained a position of power, the Serbian people had an enduring respect for Dr. Archibald Reiss. This might have been the only reason why the great Archibald Reiss was resolute in his desire to bestow his heart upon the Serbs. He was aware that the majority of the Serbian people were those common peasants whose virtues were priceless, and not the so-called intelligentsia that was ruling Serbia.

After the war, he threw himself into the work of modernizing and developing the Serbian state. Above all, he advocated the idea to send 300 Serbian orphans to Geneva so that they could get an education. Owing to Reiss, forensic technique at the Ministry of Internal Affairs was up to high standards at the time. Apart from the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he also participated in the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department for War Crimes Documentation. For a while, he also worked as an expert for counterfeit banknotes with the National Bank in Belgrade. He was also a member of the Yugoslav Government delegation at the Peace Conference in Paris.

Reiss’ villa “Dobro polje”

The house where Archibald Reiss spent the last years and moments of his life has still not been transformed into a museum.

The initiative to adapt this location into a museum goes back to 1992. Such proposals were often put forward, but they were never realized.

King Aleksandar I presented Archibald Reiss with a parcel of land in Topčider, Bulevar vojvode Mišića 73 as a gift, where he constructed a house. The house was built to the design of civil engineer Lazar Lacković in 1921, reflecting the style of the traditional houses of Šumadija. Archibald Reiss dubbed his villa “Dobro polje” in remembrance of a venue in Macedonia where one of the decisive battles was waged at the Macedonian Front.

Dr. Archibald Reiss was awarded the Medal of Courage, but he always maintained that his only reward was the gratitude of the Serbian people.

“Villa ‘Dobro polje’ is located on a small triangular property amidst recently planted orchards. They were planted by Mr. Reiss himself when, after the war, he remained in the capital of the people he had come to know and love during the war. It was also there, on the outskirts of Belgrade, by “Careva ćuprija” that he had his small villa constructed.”

The Heart of Archibald Reiss

His delight with Serbia started to wane in the post-war period. Dr. Archibald Reiss was the object of numerous insults by Serbian politicians and “intellectuals”. He came into conflict with members of the Government and with the then Prime Minister Nikola Pašić in particular. He criticized the authorities’ treatment of the war veterans and invalids. He was utterly disillusioned by the developments in the social and political life. Not willing to be engaged in intrigues, Dr. Reiss decided to withdraw from public life. He lived a modest existence at his villa “Dobro polje”.

The death of Dr. Archibald Reiss on August 8, 1929 was a sudden one. Following an altercation with ex-minister Kapetanović, a war profiteer who had spent the war abroad, Dr. Reiss was “shot down” by words he could not get over.

His written will included, among others, the following words: “... As for my remains, I wish my body to be opened in order to extract my heart which is to be placed in an urn and at some point taken to Kajmakčalan where it will be laid next to the chapel without being interred. I loved the Serbian land and I cherish the thought of my heart being laid to rest and perish at the proudest peak of the Serbian lands, close to the comrades whose death I had witnessed.”

His wish was granted and the heart of Dr. Archibald Reiss was taken to Kajmakčalan. It is a sad fact that at the beginning of WWII, following the occupation of Macedonia, the Bulgarian fascists broke the marble urn and removed the heart of Archibald Reiss.

After WWII, the state nationalized the property of Dr. Archibald Reiss. Villa “Dobro polje” became a children's clinic and in 1963, it was occupied by lodgers who still live there. The house is now a protected cultural monument, however, the property and legal relations have remained unsolved for years.

The stone urn at the mountain heights bears the following inscription:

“Here in this urn, at the top of Kajmakčalan, sleeps the golden heart of a friend of the Serbs from the hardest of times, a Swiss, Reiss. Glory to him.”