Ferdo Kozak (28 October 1894 – 8 December 1957) was a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, playwright, editor and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He was born as Ferdinand Kozak in an

upper middle class In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term ''lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class strat ...

family in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His older brother

Juš Kozak Juš Kozak (26 June 1892 – 29 August 1964), also known under the pseudonym Jalanov, was a Slovenian writer, playwright, and editor. He is best known for his autobiographic novels, such as ''Celica'' (The Cell) on his experience as a politica ...

also became an author and literary critic, while his younger brother Vlado Kozak became a Communist politician. In 1913, Kozak joined the radical

Yugoslavist Yugoslavism, Yugoslavdom, or Yugoslav nationalism is an ideology supporting the notion that the South Slavs, namely the Bosniaks, Croats, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Serbs and Slovenes, but also Bulgarians, belong to a single Yugoslav nation ...

subversive youth organization '' Preporod'', which was engaged in anti-Austrian and pro-Yugoslav activities, in connection with other organizations of Austro-Hungarian

South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...

, such as

Young Bosnia Young Bosnia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Mlada Bosna, Млада Босна) was a separatist and revolutionary movement active in the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary before World War I. Its members were predominantly ...

. During World War I, he was drafted into the

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 ...

and fought on the Eastern Front. After the War, he studied Slavic

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, where he became friends with many Slovenes living in the

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

capital, such as the painter Božidar Jakac, philosopher Anton Trstenjak and sociologist

Mihajlo Rostohar Mihajlo Rostohar (July 30, 1878 – August 5, 1966) was a Slovenian psychologist, author and educator, who played an important role during the creation of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. Together with Ivan Hribar and Danilo Majaron, he ...

. In 1926, he moved to Belgrade, where he worked as a librarian. In 1929, he returned to

, where he worked as professor at the Ljubljana Classical Lyceum until 1942, except for a few years in the early 1930s, when he punitively transferred to

Novo Mesto Novo Mesto (; sl, Novo mesto; also known by other alternative names) is a city on a bend of the Krka River in the City Municipality of Novo Mesto in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered ...

because of his public opposition to the dictatorship of

King Alexander I of Yugoslavia Alexander I ( sr-Cyrl, Александар I Карађорђевић, Aleksandar I Karađorđević, ) ( – 9 October 1934), also known as Alexander the Unifier, was the prince regent of the Kingdom of Serbia from 1914 and later the King of Yug ...

. As a fierce opponent of Yugoslav centralism and nationalism, Kozak was among the founders of the left liberal journal ''

Sodobnost ''Sodobnost'' ( Slovene for ''Modernity'' or ''Contemporary Time'') is a Slovenian literary and cultural magazine, established in 1933. It is considered the oldest of currently existing literary magazines in Slovenia. Although ''Sodobnost'' has tr ...

'', which he edited together with

Josip Vidmar Josip Vidmar (October 14, 1895 – April 11, 1992) was a notable Slovenian literary critic, essayist, and politician. From 1944 to 1946 he was speaker of the Slovenian People's Liberation Council (Slovenian Parliament). From 1952 to 1976 was pr ...

Fran Albreht Fran Albreht (17 November 1889 – 11 February 1963) was a Slovenian poet, editor, politician and partisan. He also published under the pseudonym Rusmir. He was born as Franc Albrecht in the Upper Carniolan town of Kamnik in what was then the Aus ...

and

Stanko Leben Stanko or Stańko () is a variation of the Slavic masculine given name Stanislav. Nicknames in hbs, Ćane, Ćano. Notable people with the name include: Given name: * Stanko Abadžić (born 1952), Croatian photographer and photojournalist *Stanko ...

. The journal supported Slovenian autonomy within a democratic and federal Yugoslavia. In the years before World War II, it started moving to positions sympathetic to the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

. After 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 ...

in April 1941, Kozak was among the founders of the

Liberation Front of the Slovenian People The Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation ( sl, Osvobodilna fronta slovenskega naroda), or simply Liberation Front (''Osvobodilna fronta'', OF), originally called the Anti-Imperialist Front (''Protiimperialistična fronta'', PIF), was a Slovene ...

, a communist-dominated left-wing coalition that eventually fought the Nazi German and Fascist Italian occupation of Slovenia. Kozak was imprisoned by the Italians in 1942. After the

Italian armistice The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...

, he served as member of the

Yugoslav partisan The Yugoslav Partisans, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...

war mission to the allies in Bari. He returned to the liberated territory in Slovenia in 1944, and was appointed as Secretary for Culture in the Slovenian National Liberation Council. After World War II, he served as minister of culture between 1945 and 1946. As minister of culture, he led ideological purges at the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...

, removing prominent professors and staff such as Fran Bradač and . He also served as chairman (speaker) of the People's Assembly of the People's Republic of Slovenia from 1946 to 1953, although he never became a member of the

Communist Party of Slovenia The League of Communists of Slovenia ( sl, Zveza komunistov Slovenije, ZKS; sh, Savez komunista Slovenije) was the Slovenian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the sole legal party of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1989. It was establis ...

. Kozak died in Ljubljana. His son

Primož Kozak Primož Kozak (11 September 1929 – 22 December 1981) was a Slovenian playwright and essayist. Together with Dominik Smole, Dane Zajc and Taras Kermauner, he was the most visible representative of the so-called Critical generation, a group o ...

was also a renowned playwright and essayist.

References

External links

Literature in Context
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozak, Ferdo Writers from Ljubljana Slovenian essayists Slovenian literary critics Yugoslav Partisans members Charles University alumni Politicians from Ljubljana Culture ministers of Slovenia 1894 births 1957 deaths Ethnic Slovene people Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Yugoslav essayists Yugoslav expatriates in Czechoslovakia