Olga Ban (29 June 1926[a] – 8 October 1943[b]) was a Croatian partisan. She was part of the resistance against Axis forces in World War II until Nazis executed her father and her in 1943. She was posthumously declared a People's Hero of Yugoslavia in 1973.
Olga Ban | |
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| Born | 29 June 1926[a] |
| Died | 8 October 1943 (aged 17)[b] |
| Years active | 1941–1943 |
| Known for | Resistance against Nazi occupation |
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Early life
Olga Ban was born on 29 June 1926[a] to Mate Ban and Ana Dušan in Zarečje, near Pazin, Istria,[1] then under the administration of the Kingdom of Italy. After Olga finished elementary school, she started helping his father at work as a tailor. Mate Ban was involved in the progressive publication Edinost from Trieste.[3]
Resistance and execution
As World War II escalated, in 1941, Ban's family home became a hub for the local partisans of the National Liberation Movement in Croatia (NOP) in their resistance against the Axis powers.[2][3] Ban joined the League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ) in February 1942 and participated in partisan activities, sewing clothes or performing courier duties.[3] On 16 June 1943, Ban and her father were admitted to the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in a partisan base in Brgudac.[2]
The Carabinieri arrested her mother Ana and brother Antun and imprisoned them in the Coroneo prison in Trieste. They were released after the Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943.[5] On 10 September 1943, Ban returned to Istria to conduct youth organization.[5]
During the German offensive, on 6 October 2943, Nazi forces arrested and imprisoned her in the Pazin Castle, and then executed Olga, her father Mate, and several other Istrians in the Pazin cemetery.[5] Her mother and brother were deported to the Dachau concentration camp.[5]
Legacy
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In 1973, Olga Ban was posthumously declared a People's Hero of Yugoslavia by President Josip Broz Tito.[2][3][5][6][4]