Vahida Maglajlić

World War II erupted in September 1939; Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers a year-and-a-half later, and the Independent State of Croatia (Serbo-Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska; NDH) was established on 10 April 1941. A fascist puppet state, the NDH incorporated all of Bosnia and Herzegovina, almost all of Croatia and parts of Serbia. Maglajlić immediately began organizing resistance to the NDH authorities. In May 1941, she officially entered the outlawed Communist Party of Yugoslavia,[1] despite her father's misgivings about the organization's attitude towards religion. Nevertheless, the NDH's atrocities against Bosniaks prompted him to support the resistance movement. Suspecting his loyalty to the new regime, the Ustaše forced Maglajlić's father to retire from his position as Sharia judge.[2]

Maglajlić was able to take advantage of her father's high reputation as a qadi to shelter communists in their house, organize their transfer to liberated areas and gather medical supplies, clothes, weaponry and ammunition.[1][3] Maintaining an elaborate network of undercover contacts, checkpoints and lodgings, she became one of the most reliable Partisan supporters in Banja Luka.[4] She had her mother prepare food supplies for the Partisans and provided them with equipment such as radio transmitters by convincing Banja Luka's Serb, Muslim and Jewish families to donate their property to the resistance movement rather than see it confiscated by the Ustaše.[2] The social status she enjoyed as a member of one of the city's most respectable families greatly encouraged other Muslims of Banja Luka to join the Partisans.[5]

The Ustaše eventually found out about Maglajlić's activities, but to arrest her in public meant risking a significant revolt among the Muslim population. She was requested to report to the Ustaše militia in October 1941, and the opportunity to apprehend her quietly was seized. During the two months she spent in prison, Maglajlić was interrogated under torture with the aim of extracting information about the Partisans. Because she kept silent, the authorities decided to send her to Zagreb. On 20 December 1941, the day of the transfer, Maglajlić managed to escape the prison along with a friend, Danica Marić. The two women spent several days hiding in the home of Maglajlić's father before moving to Partisan-held territory on Mount Čemernica. On 31 December 1941, they became Partisans.[1] Her brothers had already joined the guerrilla fighters; two ended up in prison, while her father was sent to a concentration camp in 1942.[2]

Maglajlić's sister and brothers at her grave in Mala Krupska Rujiška in 1963.

Shortly after reaching the liberated territory, Maglajlić took up politics. She worked with the people of Kozara, Grmeč and Cazin, mostly with women. Her influence was most notable among the Muslim women of Cazin, and her political career culminated with her election to the Central Committee of the Women's Antifascist Front of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 6 December 1942.[2][4] She represented the communists in Sanski Most and Bosanski Novi until January 1943, when the Fourth Enemy Offensive forced her to retreat over Mount Šator into Glamoč and Livno. She soon found herself back in Bosanska Krajina, and returned to Bosanski Novi.[2]

Along with the rest of the 12th Krajina Brigade, Maglajlić arrived in Mala Krupska Rujiška on the afternoon of 31 March. She and her fellow Partisans were woken by gunfire early in the morning of 1 April, having been encircled by the Germans.[2] The Partisans tried to break out and seek refuge on a nearby hill.[2][5] Maglajlić failed to reach the hillside and was shot in the back in the ensuing crossfire. The surviving Partisans returned later that day to recover the bodies of their 28 fallen comrades, including Maglajlić, and bury them in the village.[2] After the war, her remains were reburied at the Partisan cemetery in Banja Luka, where they remain to this day.[3]