Dragutin Wolf (1866–1927) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

industrialist and founder of the food company

Koestlin Koestlin is a Croatian food company based in Bjelovar, specializing in confectionery products. Koestlin was founded in 1905 by Croatian Jewish industrialist Dragutin Wolf. In 1921, the company began to produce biscuits and wafers. In 1932 Wolf's ...

Bjelovar Bjelovar ( hu, Belovár, german: Bellowar, Kajkavian: ''Belovar'') is a city in central Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Bjelovar-Bilogora County. At the 2021 census, there were 36,433 inhabitants, of whom 93.06% were Croats. History ...

. Wolf was born in

to a Jewish family. With his wife Irma Wolf he had two sons, Slavko and Otto. Wolf owned a small bakery for bread and cakes in Bjelovar which was founded on November 11, 1892. One decade later, Wolf started to focus on the production of baked goods with a prolonged shelf life. In 1905 he founded the food company "Tvornica keksa, dvopeka, biskvita i finih poslastica Dragutina Wolfa i sinova" (''Factory of biscuits, rusks and delicious pastries Dragutin Wolf and sons'') specialized in the

confectionery Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...

products. Factory was placed in Šenoa street near Wolf family villa. In 1921 company began to produce biscuits and wafers. Wolf lead the business with his sons and soon became one of the wealthiest people in Bjelovar. He owned the first car in Bjelovar and his family villa was most luxurious property in town. Wolf died in 1927 and was buried at a Jewish cemetery in Bjelovar. After his death his sons took over the company. In 1932 Otto and Slavko Wolf agreed cooperation with Koestlin in Hungary, which was founded by Hungarian industrialist Lajos Koestlin at the end of 19th. century, for marketing the products based on their recipes. They were also allowed to distribute the products under the Koestlin brand. Ruah Hadaša (Glasilo Židovske vjerske zajednice Bet Israel): Željko Karaula: ''Holokaust u Bjelovaru - nestanak Židovske zajednice u Bjelovaru tijekom razdoblja NDH'': stranica 27, broj 11, godina IV, 2009. During the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, in 1942, Wolf's wife Irma committed suicide unable to live with the knowledge of the Holocaust and so much hate toward the Jews. Wolf sons joined and fought with the Partisans during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war Wolf's company was

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

, in 1947, by the

Yugoslav Communists Yugoslav or Yugoslavian may refer to: * Yugoslavia, or any of the three historic states carrying that name: ** Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a European monarchy which existed 1918–1945 (officially called "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1918–1 ...

. Wolf's son Otto and his family made

Aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 1949. In 2011 after 14 years long court process Wolf's only living heirs, his great-grandchildren, Myrjam Wolkoon from

and Boris Bukač–Wolf from Bjelovar were partly compensated with the return of nationalized property in the form of shares and money.

References

Bibliography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf, Dragutin 1866 births 1927 deaths People from Bjelovar 19th-century Croatian people 20th-century Croatian people Croatian Jews Austro-Hungarian Jews Croatian Austro-Hungarians Croatian businesspeople History of Bjelovar