How Roza Became Ružica
In the silence of Balkan mornings, as church bells mingled with azans and the sounds of marketplaces, lived people whose names are now recorded more in memories than in books. Jews from the Balkans, from Belgrade, Sarajevo, Skopje, and Thessaloniki, were merchants, doctors, teachers, tailors, friends, and neighbors. Their languages carried the melody of Ladino and Hebrew, but also Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, and Greek. Their homes smelled of bread, spices, and the Sabbath candle that burned quietly and steadily, like the faith that tomorrow would be the same as yesterday… And then came the war.
How Roza Became Ružica This article details the story of Roza Kabiljo, a Jewish woman from Sarajevo who became Ružica Ćuković during WWII and attempted to hide with her son. She was eventually deported to a concentration camp and died in 1945, while her son survived. Her great-granddaughter, Ružica Ćuković, undertook extensive research to uncover her family’s past, with assistance from journalist Ronen Šnidman, who emphasizes the crucial need to remember Holocaust history.
- Roza Kabiljo, a Jewish woman from Sarajevo, changed her name to Ružica Ćuković during WWII to hide with her son from the occupiers.
- She was eventually deported to the Banjica camp and then Bergen-Belsen, where she died in a gas chamber on February 14, 1945.
- Her son, Dragutin, survived the war and was raised by his paternal grandmother, but rarely spoke of his wartime experiences.
- Ružica Ćuković, the great-granddaughter, conducted extensive research to learn about her family’s history, aided by journalist Ronen Šnidman.
- Šnidman emphasizes the importance of remembering Holocaust stories and learning from history to prevent future atrocities, noting the deep connection between Serbian and Jewish suffering during WWII.
Write a comment