Nada Dimić (6 September 1923 – 17 March 1942) was a Yugoslav Partisan 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. Nada Dimić was born in Divoselo near Gospić, Kingdom of Serbs, Croat and Slovenes (modern

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 ...

) to an ethnic Serb family. She finished four grades of elementary school in Gospić, and then moved to Zemun for another four grades of gymnasium and one year of the economics academy. In 1938 she joined the Communist Youth, and in 1940 the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. When

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 ...

was invaded during

, in June 1941 she joined the 1st Sisak Partisan Detachment, the first Partisan unit in Croatia. The same year, the Ustaša police arrested her in Sisak, but as they transferred her to the prison in

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 ...

, she swallowed poison in order to avoid interrogation. It did not kill her, but she was soon rescued by the Zagreb cell of the

Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

, and transferred to the Partisan-controlled areas of Kordun. When she recovered from the poisoning, she went to

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 ...

where she worked as an undercover agent for the Partisans. She was eventually caught by the

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

who surrendered her to the Ustaša police on 3 December 1941, who then tortured her. She refused to give them any information, and was sent to the Stara Gradiška concentration camp in February 1942. She was murdered there a month later, aged 18.

Legacy

She was awarded the title of People's Hero of Yugoslavia, posthumously, after the war (on 7 July 1951). A (now defunct) textile factory in Zagreb was named after her.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dimic, Nada 1923 births 1942 deaths People from Gospić Serbs of Croatia Women in the Yugoslav Partisans Yugoslav communists Yugoslav Partisans members Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero People who died in Stara Gradiška concentration camp People executed by the Independent State of Croatia