Magda Bošković (3 November 1914 – 1942) 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 ...

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 ...

and member of the women's rights movement. Bošković was born in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

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 of Dragutin Bošković and Ivanka (Janka) Szarvas. Her father was clerk at the bank, and her mother was a housewife. Bošković was raised with younger sister Maja. In 1923, she moved with her family to

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. Bošković finished elementary school and gymnasium in Zagreb. She later graduated from the

Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb () is a public-owned faculty (business school) among 31 faculties and 3 art academies that together form one of the oldest public universities in Southeast Europe, the University of Zagreb. ...

. In 1932, Bošković was among the founders of

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

group at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

. In 1934, she joined the Young Communist League of Yugoslavia and was elected as a board member of the student section in the Women's movement. Bošković also worked on the accepting the Yugoslav volunteers who went to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

to join the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

in fight against

Spanish Nationalists Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in ...

. She was an editor of the papers ''Naše novine'' (''Our Papers'') and ''Ženski svijet'' (''Women's World''). After graduation Bošković worked as a clerk at the sawmill company Neuschloß, Schmidt und Marchetti (later Našička d.d.). She worked in

Đurđenovac Đurđenovac () is a municipality in Slavonia, in the Osijek-Baranja County of Croatia. At the 2011 census, there were a total of 6,750 inhabitants in the entire municipality, in the following settlements: * Beljevina, population 712 * Bokšić ...

and later in Zagreb. Bošković was active in the women's rights movement across Yugoslavia. After the

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...

in 1941, Bošković joined the resistance movement in

. She was a member of the Women's Antifascist Front of Croatia and council member of the Društvo za prosvjetu žena (''Society for education of women''). In 1942, Bošković was arrested and imprisoned at Savska cesta prison. Later she was deported to

Stara Gradiška concentration camp Stara Gradiška was a concentration and extermination camp in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II. The camp was specially constructed for women and children of Serb, Jewish and Romani ethnicity. Victims also included commu ...

where she was killed by the Ustashas. Her parents were also 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 ...

, while only her sister managed to survive.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boskovic, Magda 1914 births 1942 deaths People from Osijek Croatian Austro-Hungarians Yugoslav Partisans members Croatian communists Croatian people of the Spanish Civil War People who died in Stara Gradiška concentration camp Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb alumni Croatian people executed in Nazi concentration camps Jewish socialists Croatian revolutionaries Women in the Yugoslav Partisans Croatian Jews who died in the Holocaust Jews in the Yugoslav Partisans Women in the Spanish Civil War Women in World War II