Diana Budisavljevic International Research Foundation was created in honour of Diana Budisavljevic. We educate and inspire others to uphold Diana Budisavljevic's legacy and to follow her example. Diana carried out the largest humanitarian rescue mission, initiated by an individual, in history. Diana B rescued 12,000 Serbian Orthodox children from Croatian Ustase concentration camps. Sadly, a couple thousand children died during the rescue mission (or en route to the hospital.) Approximately 8,000 - 10,000 of them survived. Diana B saved more people than Oskar Schindler and Irene Sendler combined.
Our Mission
We educate and inspire others to remember and uphold Diana Budisavljevic's legacy and to follow her example.
Early Life & Background
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Diana Budisavljević was born Diana Obexer on 15 January 1891 in Innsbruck, then part of Austria‑Hungary.
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In 1917, she married Julije Budisavljević, a Serbian surgeon, and they moved to Zagreb in 1919.
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Her husband, Julije, became a prominent surgeon and medical professor at the University of Zagreb.
World War II & “Action Diana Budisavljević”
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When the Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941, a puppet state, the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), was created. The Ustaša regime in that state persecuted Serbs, Jews, Roma, and others. The Croatian Ustasa regime carried out the largest genocide in Balkan history against Serbian Orthodox. 500,000-750,000 Serbians, 40,000 Roma and 30,000 Jews were brutally murdered in the Independent State of Croatia which was in existence from 1941-1945.
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In October 1941, Diana learned about children (mostly Serbian Orthodox) being detained in Ustaša concentration camps (for example, Jastrebarsko, Sisak and Gorna Rijeka). She initiated a private relief and rescue campaign known as Action Diana Budisavljević.
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With the help of collaborators and with partial cooperation from authorities (e.g. some officials, and even a German officer at times), she managed to operate within the constraints of the regime.
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She and her associates sent food, clothing, medical supplies, and money to inmates in camps.
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Over time, she gained permission (or managed to negotiate) to move children out from camps into safer institutions in Zagreb, Jastrebarsko, Sisak, and to families.
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She kept detailed records (a card index) of the children — their origins, health status, etc — in the hope of later reunification with their families.
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By war’s end, the card files had information on approximately 12,000 children. Approximately 8,000 - 10,0000 survived.
- After the war, on 28 May 1945, she handed over her files to the new Yugoslav authorities. What subsequently happened to many of those records is unclear.
Later Life, Recognition & Legacy
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After the war, Diana’s contributions were largely overlooked or downplayed, especially under the socialist Yugoslav regime.
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She remained in Zagreb with her husband until 1972, when they moved back to Innsbruck.
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She died on 20 August 1978 in Innsbruck.
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Her wartime diaries (written between 23 October 1941 and 7 February 1947) were published in 2003. These diaries helped historians piece together her story. In recent years, her work has finally received more recognition:
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Streets, parks, and memorials have been named in her honor in Croatia, Serbia, Austria, etc.
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The film The Diary of Diana B. (2019) brought her story to wider audiences.
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She has been posthumously honored by Serbia (Golden Medal of Miloš Obilić) and by the Serbian Orthodox Church (Order of Empress Milica), among others.
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