Božidar Adžija
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Božidar Adžija ( sr-Cyrl, Божидар Аџија; 24 December 1890 – 9 July 1941) was a Croatian communist politician and publicist.


Biography

A native of
Drniš Drniš is a town in the Šibenik-Knin County, Croatia. Located in the Dalmatian Hinterland, it is about halfway between Šibenik and Knin. History The name Drniš was mentioned for the first time in a contract dated March 8, 1494. However, the ...
in the
Kingdom of Dalmatia The Kingdom of Dalmatia (; ; ) was a crown land of the Austrian Empire (1815–1867) and the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). It encompassed the entirety of the region of Dalmatia, with its capital at Zadar. History The Habs ...
(present-day
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
), of Croat and Serb descent, Adžija participated in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
as a soldier in the
Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...
. Prior to that, he went to Prague to study law, completing his doctorate in 1914. After the war and collapse of Austria-Hungary, in 1919 he became labour policy commissioner in the local Zagreb government. As an avid
Social Democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
, he was a member of various left-wing and
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
parties and wrote many articles about labour and social issues. His views gradually shifted towards
Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
, and in 1934 he joined the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats a ...
. Because of that, he was often arrested, the last such occasion being in March 1941, only days before the
Axis invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put forward in "Fü ...
. When Yugoslavia collapsed and the Nazi puppet state of the
Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...
was established a few weeks later, Adžija was kept in the Kerestinec prison together with many other members of the Croatian left-wing intelligentsia. The Ustaša authorities had Adžija shot — together with Zvonimir Richtmann,
Otokar Keršovani Otokar Keršovani (23 February 1902 – 9 July 1941) was a Croatian and Yugoslav journalist, literary critic, publicist and communist politician. He was born in Trieste, which was part of Austria-Hungary at the time. The collapse of the Habsburg ...
, and Ognjen Prica — as a retaliation for
Partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...
activity. Adžija posthumously received the title of
People's Hero of Yugoslavia The Order of the People's Hero or the Order of the National Hero ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Orden narodnog heroja, Oрден народног хероја; , ), was a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav gallantry medal, the ...
.


References

1890 births 1941 deaths People from Drniš People from the Kingdom of Dalmatia Serbs of Croatia League of Communists of Croatia politicians Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Croatian people of World War II Yugoslav civilians killed in World War II People executed by the Independent State of Croatia Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero {{Croatia-politician-stub