Annual of social work, Vol. 13 No. 1, 2006.
Professional paper
THE ACTIVITY OF DIANA BUDISAVLJEVIĆ WITH THE CHILDREN VICTIMS OF WORLD WAR II
Marina Ajduković
Abstract
The activity of social activists, primarily women, in providing care for the children who were victims of World War II considerably contributed to the final establishment of social work as a profession in Croatia in 1952, when the College for Social Workers was founded in Zagreb. Such activity is illustrated in this paper through the description of the work of Diana Budisavljević, who instigated and organised the rescue from camps, participated in the care of and kept systematic records of 12,000 children, mainly Orthodox. She did all in her power to maintain the identities of the children and thus enable their return to their families. The work organised in this manner represents the practice of providing aid to the children suffering from the war in accordance with the contemporary aspects of the application of the Convention for the Rights of the Child, which was passed many years later. Although she did not start her activity with the idea that she was «doing social work», as an independent social activist, Diana Budisavljević is one of the forerunners of modern social work in Croatia in the promotion and respect of human rights of marginalized groups and the organisation of work based on well documented practice.
Keywords
women and history of social work; activity of Diana Budisavljević; children victims of World War II
Hrčak ID:
7596
URI
Publication date:
10.10.2006.
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