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

Biography

A native of

Drniš Drniš is a town in Croatia, located in inland Dalmatia, about halfway between Šibenik and Knin. History The name Drniš was mentioned for the first time in a contract dated March 8, 1494. However, there are traces of older Middle Ages' fortr ...

in the

Kingdom of Dalmatia The Kingdom of Dalmatia ( hr, Kraljevina Dalmacija; german: Königreich Dalmatien; it, Regno di Dalmazia) was a crown land of the Austrian Empire (1815–1867) and the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). It encompassed the entire ...

(present-day

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 ...

), of Croat and Serb descent, Adžija participated in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a soldier in

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

. 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 local Zagreb government. As an avid

Social Democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

, he was member of various left-wing and Marxist parties and wrote many articles about labour and social issues. His views gradually shifted towards

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

and in 1934 he joined Communist Party of Yugoslavia. Because of that he was often arrested, the last such occasion being in March 1941, only days before the

Axis invasion of Yugoslavia An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

. When Yugoslavia collapsed and the Nazi puppet state of

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...

was established few weeks later, Adžija was kept in the

Kerestinec prison Kerestinec camp was a prison that served as a concentration camp in Kerestinec, Croatia. It was located in the castle overlooking the village. Early 20th century Before the outbreak of World War II, the government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia buil ...

together with many other members of Croatian left-wing intelligentsia. The Ustaša authorities had Adžija shot - together with Zvonimir Richtmann, Otokar Keršovani and Ognjen Prica - as a retaliation for Partisan 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; sl, Red narodnega heroja, mk, Oрден на народен херој, Orden na ...

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