This is the first part of a paper that contributes to knowledge about the relationship between Brod and the people of Brod and Archbishop Josip Stadler. Through his example it is possible to acquire a clear view of how politics dictates and forms the consciousness of citizens towards their fellow citizens, even those whom may be ranked among the most prominent. The political struggle at the national level was also reflected at the local level. Stadler was a great opponent of the Yugoslav option and the entry into a joint state with Serbia. His political option was Western, “trialistic” with a reliance on the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy; in social matters his option was Christian-social with a distinct feeling for the poorest citizens, regardless of religious affiliation. “Materinska riječ- The mother tongue” as the newspaper of the Croatian-Serbian coalition (whose leader was Dr. Vatroslav Brlić) and “Posavska Hrvatska-Posavina Croatia” as the rightwing newspaper of Frank’s side, are two papers that take a completely opposite position towards Stadler. For the Materinska riječ, Stadler is a “dangerous man” because of his opposition to their political program of “one nation with two names” and a common state with Serbia. As most of the newspapers published in Brod between the two wars represented Yugoslav ideology, Stadler was rarely mentioned and practically forgotten in them. His values for Croatian people were temporarily recognized during the Independent State of Croatia. After the advent of the communist dictatorship, primarily in the newspaper Brodski list, he was not even mentioned. With the collapse of the dictatorship, Brod and the people of Brod got to know their great fellow citizen. The biggest credit for this goes first of all to the Sisters of the Servant of the Infant Jesus, a religious community founded by Archbishop Stadler.