Josip Kraš (26 March 1900 – 18 October 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

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 ...

who died in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was proclaimed a

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 ...

. Kraš was born in the village of Vuglovec (near

Ivanec Ivanec is a town in northern Croatia, located southwest of Varaždin, east of Lepoglava and north of the mountain Ivanščica. History In the late 19th and early 20th century, Ivanec was a district capital in Varaždin County of the Kingdom of ...

and

Lepoglava Lepoglava is a town in Varaždin County, northern Croatia, It is located 32 km southwest of Varaždin, 7 km west of Ivanec, and 22 km northeast of Krapina. Demographics A total of 8,283 residents in the municipality (2011 census) live in the fo ...

) to a poor family of a miner Valent Kraš and his wife Bara (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Videc). He joined the workers' movement after

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 ...

and became a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

activist. In 1920 he was made one of the leaders of the League of Workers with Food and Water (''lixae'' or ''živežari'' - salespeople in markets, workers in food storages, cooks, waiters, water workers). In 1929, after the

January 6 Dictatorship The 6 January Dictatorship ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Шестојануарска диктатура, Šestojanuarska diktatura; ; ) was a royal dictatorship established in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of Yugoslavia after 1929) by K ...

was proclaimed in the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

, the State Court for the Protection of the State in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

sentenced him to five years in prison, which he served in the

Sremska Mitrovica prison Sremska Mitrovica Prison ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Казнено-поправни завод у Сремској Митровици, Kazneno-popravni zavod u Sremskoj Mitrovici) is the biggest prison in Serbia, consisting of two facilities. It is situated ...

. After he got out of prison, he was forced to live back home in Ivanec, and there he helped organize the miner strikes of 1936 and 1937, which resulted in higher salaries and better working conditions for the miners in the region.on znaci.net
/ref> Because of his political work, he was incarcerated eleven times up to 1940, and after that when

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

invaded Yugoslavia in 1941, he went underground. He was killed by

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 ...

the same year in

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

, age 41, as one of the early organizers of the partisan units in the region. Posthumously he was awarded the title of people's hero, and the municipality of Ivanec made his house in Vuglovec a memorial museum in 1965. The confectionery factory

Kraš Kraš () is a Croatian food company based in Zagreb, specializing in confectionery products. In 2012, Kraš was, after Podravka, the second largest Croatian exporter of food. History The company traces its origins from two factories from the ear ...

in Zagreb is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kras, Josip 1900 births 1941 deaths People from Ivanec Croatian people of World War II Yugoslav military personnel killed in World War II Yugoslav Partisans members Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero League of Communists of Croatia politicians Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Candidates of the Central Committee of the 4th Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia