Ivica "Ivina" Hiršl (1905 – 1941) was a

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 ...

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

and Mayor of

Koprivnica Koprivnica () is a city in Northern Croatia, located 70 kilometers northeast of Zagreb. It is the capital and the largest city of Koprivnica-Križevci County. In 2011, the city's administrative area of 90.94 km2 had a total populati ...

who was killed during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Hiršl was born in Koprivnica to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. His father was a merchant who owned an

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

in Koprivnica. Hiršl completed high-school education in his native town in 1923. Hiršl attended and graduated from the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

in 1929. Podravina: Mira Kolar: ''Grad Koprivnica i njegovi ljudi u vrijeme velike svjetske gospodarske krize'': stranica 155-156, broj 11, Volumen 6, 2007: Koprivnica. Fluent in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, Hiršl was a member of the

Yugoslav Communist Party 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 ...

, and during his two-year stay in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, he was also a member of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

. His communist activities were pursued in the framework of the

Alliance française (; "French Alliance", stylised as ''af'') is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name ''Alliance française pour la propa ...

, where intellectuals gathered to learn French, so that they could develop political, cultural and artistic activities in Koprivnica. Returning to Koprivnica, he worked as a theatre actor at the Alliance française. In 1935 he was employed as teacher at the Koprivnica gymnasium. Hiršl distinguished himself as a

Kajkavian dialect Kajkavian is a South Slavic supradialect or language spoken primarily by Croats in much of Central Croatia and Gorski Kotar. It is part of the South Slavic dialect continuum, being transitional to the supradialects of Čakavian, Štokavian ...

poet and wrote a linguistic study about the impact of the French language on the

Podravina ''Podravina'' (in Croatian) or ''Podravje'' (in Slovenian) are Slavic names for the Drava river basin in northern Croatia and Slovenia. Both names combine the hydronym with the South Slavic prefix "''po''-", meaning "alongside" or "after". Hist ...

Kajkavian dialect. He was dismissed as a teacher in the Koprivnica gymnasium because of his communist activities. In 1939, supported by

Mihovil Pavlek Miškina Mihovil Pavlek – Miškina (1887– 1942) was a Croatian poet, short story writer and politician. He was a member of the Croatian Peasant Party and an opponent of the Ustaša regime. Pavlek was born in Đelekovec, at the time in the Kingdom of ...

, Hiršl was elected Mayor of Koprivnica. As mayor, he continued his anti-

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and communist activities. In Koprivnica's local press he wrote columns ''Priča se i piše'' (''There is a talk and it is written'') and ''Politički kutić'' (''Political nook''). He also wrote columns ''Ivina z vugla'' (''Ivina angle'') and ''Ivina z drugoga vugla'' (''Ivina second angle''), in which he ridiculed the government of the time. During World War II, Hiršl was transferred to

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city settlement's population was 28,111 in the 2021 census, while the total population was 30,842, making it the largest town of the county. It is a local tr ...

as punishment, and in 1941 he was among the first arrested in Koprivnica by the

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...

. He was deported to

Jadovno concentration camp The Jadovno concentration camp was a concentration and extermination camp in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II. Commanded by a member of the Ustaše Militia Juraj Rukavina, it was the first of twenty-six concentration cam ...

where he was killed.Bilogorski planinar (list Planinarskog društva »Bilo« u Koprivnici): Božena Loborec: ''Ivinin vrh na Bilo-gori'': stranica 1, 2: broj 3: godina I (prosinca 1980).Podravka Koprivnica: Dragutin Feletar: ''Podravina: prinos poznavanju gospodarskog razvoja sjeverozapadne Hrvatske'': stranica 259: 1973. Hiršl was known by his nickname, "Ivina". He was a member of the

Croatian Mountaineering Association The Croatian Mountaineering Association () covers both mountaineering and a broad range of related activities. Unlike the majority of the international mountaineering associations, the association's remit extends to speleology, climbing, orienteeri ...

and was particularly knowledgeable on

Bilogora Bilogora (English: ) is a low mountainous range and a microregion in Central Croatia. It consists of a series of hills and small plains some 80 kilometres in length stretching in the direction northwest–southeast, along the southwest part of the ...

. In his honor Koprivnica Gymnasium teacher Vladimir Blašković proposed on 29 November 1975 that Koprivnica mountaineers rename the highest Bilogora peak as ''Ivina peak''.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirsl, Ivica 1905 births 1941 deaths People from Koprivnica People from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia Croatian Jews who died in the Holocaust Jews from Austria-Hungary Croatian Austro-Hungarians Croatian communists Mayors of Koprivnica Jewish socialists University of Paris alumni Croatian civilians killed in World War II People who died in Jadovno concentration camp Croatian people executed in Nazi concentration camps Date of birth missing Date of death missing Jewish Croatian politicians Politicians who died in Nazi concentration camps